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■ODORE    PERRY    AT   THE    BATTLE    ON    LAKE    ERIE. 


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fOfuEEN  OF  Republics 


A  Standard  History  of  the 
United  States 


Discovery  of  the  American  Continent 
to  the  Present  Time 

(..ONTAIMNti 

ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  OF  THE  NORSEMEN,  SPANIARDS, 

ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH;  THE  MOUND  BUILDERS;  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS; 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD;  THE  FRENCH  AND 

INDIAN  WARS:  THE  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

The  Establishment  of  the  /\merican   f^epublic; 

THE  SECOND  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND;  THE  MEXICAN  WAR;  THE  LONG  PERIOD  OF  PEACE; 
THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  GREAT  CIVIL  WAR;  THE  CENTENNIAL  OF  AMERICAN  INDE- 
PENDENCE, WITH  VALUABLE  STATISTICS  FROM  THE  LATEST  CENSUS;  A 
PORTRAIT  GALLERY  AND  BIOGRAPHIES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS; 
THE  CUBAN  AND  VENEZUELAN  QUESTIONS;  THE  POLITICAL 
ISSUES  AND  STRUGGLES,  AND  ALL  IMPORTANT  EVENTS 
DOWN  TO    THE  PRESENT  TIME 

A  IS\£isriiiicent  Qescription  of  the  Columbian   Exposition 


By  henry  davenport  NORTHROP 

THE  WELL-KNOWN  HISTORIAN 

EMBELLISHED   WITH    NEARLY  50o  SUPERB   ENGRAVINGS 


Entered  nccordins:  to  Act  of  Cotigress,  in  the  year  i8<       by 

J.     R.     JONES, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 


THERE  is  nothing  more  worthy  of  a 
man's  study  than  the  history  of  his 
countr}'.  In  our  own  land,  how- 
ever, the  means  of  pursuing  such  a 
study  are  limited.  Our  great  cities  contain 
large  and  valuable  public  libraries,  and  the 
collections  of  our  historical  societies  are  rich 
and  very  complete  ;  but  these  are  accessible 
only  to  the  communities  in  which  they  are 
located,  and  are  practically  useless  to  the 
majority  of  the  American  people.  The  great 
works  of  Bancroft  and  Hildreth  cover  but  a 
portion  of  our  historj',  and  are  removed  from 
the  reach  of  the  masses  by  reason  of  their 
costliness.  Besides  these,  the  larger  number 
of  the  works  treating  of  American  history  are 
compendiums,  or  outlines  intended  for  the 
use  of  schools,  and  are  therefore  unsatisfac- 
tory to  the  adult  reader. 

The  demand  for  a  popular  History  of  the 
United  States  which  shall  fill  a  place  between 
these  greater  and  smaller  works  has  led  the 
author  to  the  preparation  of  this  volume.  He 
has  endeavored  to  popularize  the  story  of  the 
nation,  and  at  the  same  time  to  neglect  noth- 
ing that  could  in  the  least  contribute  to  a 
clear  and  comprehensive  understanding  of 
the  subject.  He  has  sought  to  trace  the  his- 
tory of  the  Republic  from  the  discovery  of 
the  American  continent  to  the  present  day, 
and  has  endeavored  especially  to  fix  the 
attention  of  the  reader  upon  the  various  influ- 
ences which  have  aided  in  moulding  our 
national  character,  and  have  produced  our 
distinctive  political  and  moral  national  traits 


He  has  endeavored  to  write  from  ^  broad 
national  standpoint,  and  to  cultivate  in  the 
minds  of  his  readers  that  feeling  of  national 
patriotism  which  must  ever  be  the  safeguard 
of  our  country. 

It  is  a  fitting  time  to  consider  the  story  of 
the  past,  to  learn  the  lessons  which  it  teaches, 
and  to  ponder  the  warnings  which  it  conveys 
for  the  future.  Four  hundred  years  ago 
America  was  an  unknown  wilderness.  Less 
than  three  centuries  ago  it  passed  into  the 
hands  of  England,  and  was  thus  secured  for 
the  language  and  the  free  influences  of  the- 
all-conquering  Anglo-Saxon  race.  It  was  a 
precious  heritage  which  was  thus  secured  for 
liberty ;  a  land  stretching  from  the  frozen 
regions  of  the  north  to  the  sunny  skies  of  the 
tropics,  from  the  stormy  Atlantic  to  the  calm 
Pacific ;  a  land  embracing  every  variet)'  of 
climate,  and  a  soil  capable  of  producing 
almost  every  product  of  the  earth,  from 
the  stunted  herbage  of  the  frozen  regions 
to  the  luxuriant  fruits  of  the  tropics.  The 
earth  is  rich  in  mineral  deposits,  from  the 
homely,  but  invaluable,  veins  of  coal,  to  beds 
of  the  most  brilliant  and  precious  mineral -i. 
It  pours  out  in  streams,  oil  for  burning,  gas 
that  may  be  used  fresh  from  the  natural 
springs,  salt  that  requires  but  the  heat  of  the 
sun  for  its  perfection,  and  beds  of  pure  soda 
that  cover  the  earth  like  the  dust  in  the  high- 
ways. In  short,  all  that  is  needed  for  the  pres- 
ervation and  comfort  of  animal  and  human 
life  exists  in  this  favored  land  in  the  greatest 
profusion. 


2053027 


PREFACE. 


Such  is  the  land  designed  by  God  for  the 
home  of  liberty.  The  people  to  whom  He 
has  intrusted  it  have  not  abused  His  good- 
ness. In  the  short  space  of  two  centuries, 
the  American  people  have  grown  from  a 
small  handful  of  hardy  adventurers  to  a 
"  mighty  continental  nation,"  increasing  with 
a  rapidity  that  is  almost  marvellous.  They 
have  built  up  their  country  on  a  scale  of 
magnificence  of  which  they  are  justly  proud. 
They  have  covered  it  with  powerful  and  free 
States,  and  splendid  cities,  connected  by  a 
network  of  railways,  telegraphs,  navigable 
rivers,  and  canals,  which  bind  all  the  scat- 
tered parts  into  one  solid  whole.  They  have 
made  a  commerce  and  a  system  of  manufac- 
tures before  which  the  fabled  wealth  of  Tyre 
sinks  into  insignificance.    They  have  created      new  light  upon,  or  impart 


a  literature  which  commands  the  respect  of 
the  world ;  they  have  illustrated  their  history 
with  deeds  of  arms  not  less  splendid  than 
their  more  peaceful  achievements,  and  have 
given  to  the  world  names  in  every  walk  of 
life  that  will  never  die.  They  have  shown 
that  liberty  and  power  can  go  hand  in  hand; 
they  have  made  themselves  a  nation  in  which 
God  is  feared,  and  of  which  Christianity  is  the 
basis,  in  which  ignorance  and  vice  are  des- 
pised, and  in  which  the  great  lesson  that  lib- 
erty is  possible  only  to  an  educated  and 
virtuous  people  is  being  practically  demon- 
strated. 

This    is    a    grand    history  —  a    record    of 
the  highest  achievement  of  humanity — the 


noblest,  most  thrilling,  and  glorious  story 
ever  penned  on  earth.  Yet  the  fact  remains 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  American  people 
are  but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  it.  There 
is  a  real  need  that  we  should  know  better 
than  we  do  what  we  have  done.  It  is  only 
by  a  thoughtful  study  of  our  past  that  we  can 
safely  provide  for  the  perils  of  the  future. 
We  have  triumphed  over  adversity,  and  we 
are  now  called  upon  to  bear  the  test  of  suc- 
cess. He  can  be  no  good  citizen  who  is 
ignorant  of  his  countrj^'s  history. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume,  no 
authority  of  importance  has  been  overlooked; 
the  author  has  carefully  searched  every 
source  of  information  open  to  him  ;  and  has 
availed  himself  of  ever>'  fact  that  could  throw 
additional  interest 


to,  the  subject  under  consideration. 

In  the  narration  of  military  events,  he  has 
preferred  to  give  each  campaign  as  a  whole 
rather  than  to  mingle  several  by  presenting 
the  events  in  chronological  order.  At  the 
same  time  he  has  sought  to  preserve  the 
inter-relation  of  events  in  one  field  of  opera- 
tions to  those  in  the  others. 

The  book  is  offered  to  the  public  in  the 
sincere  hope  that  it  may  induce  its  readers  to 
take  to  heart  the  lessons  which  our  history 
teaches,  and  to  set  a  higher  value  upon  the 
precious  heritage  of  constitutional  liberty 
which  our  fathers  won  for  us  with  their  blood, 
and  handed  down  to  us  in  trust  for  our  chil- 
dren's children. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I. 
Discovery  of  the  Western  Continent. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Strange  People  in  a  Strange  Land. 
Earliest  Inhabitants  of  the  United  States— The 
Mound  Builders — Remarkable  Works  Constructed 
by  Them — Evidences  of  a  Primitive  CiviUzation — 
Indications  of  the  Antiquity  of  this  Period — A  Re- 
markable Cherokee— Who  Were  the  Mound  Build- 
ers— Ancient  Phoenicians — False  Assumption — The 
American  Indians — Divisions  of  the  Country  Among 
the  Tribes— Names  and  Location  of  the  Various 
Tribes — Organization  and  Government  of  the  In- 
dians— Their  Dress,  Manners  and  Customs — Vil- 
lages— Indian  Inventions — The  War  Dance — Le- 
gends of  the  Norsemen  Respecting  the  Discovery  of 
America 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Voyages  of  Colitmbus. 
Maritime  Enterprise  in  the  Fifteenth  Century — The- 
ories Respecting  the  Earth's  Surface — Christopher 
Columbus— His  Early  Life— His  Theory  of  a  WesU 
em  Passage  to  India — His  Struggles  to  Obtain  the 
Means  of  Making  a  Voyage^Is  Aided  by  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  of  Spain — -His  First  Voyage — 
Discovery  of  America — Reception  in  Spain — His 
Second  Voyage— Setdement  of  Hayti— Third  Voy- 
age of  Columbus— He  Reaches  the  Mainland— Dis- 
covery of  Gold  in  Hayti — Troubles  in  the  Colony 
— Columbus  Sent  to  Spain  in  Irons — Indignation  of 
the  Queen — Last  Voyage  of  Columbus — His  Ship- 
wreck— Returns  to  Spain — Refusal  of  Ferdinand  to 
Comply  with  His  Promises — Death  of  Columbus — 
Amerigo  Vespucci — Origin  of  the  Name  America      32 

CHAPTER  III. 
Engush  and  French  Discoveries. 
Discovery  of  the  North  American  Continent  by  John 
Cabot — Voyages  of  Sebastian  Cabot — The  English 
Fail  to  Follow  Up  these  Discoveries — Efforts  of  the 


French  to  Explore  America — Voyage  and  Diseor- 
eries  of  Verrazzani — Cartier  Explores  the  St.  Law- 
rence— Reaches  Montreal — Efforts  to  Found  a  Col- 
ony on  the  St.  Lawrence — Failure — Rolwrval's 
Colony — Trading  Voyages — Explorations  of  Cham- 
plain — Colonization  of  Nova  Scotia — Founding  of 
Quebec — Discovery  of  Lake  Champlain — .Arrival  of 
the  Jesuits  in  Canada — Death  of  Champlain  ...      43 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Spaniards  in  America. 
Settlement  of  the  West  Indies — Discovery  of  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean — Voyage  of  Magellan — Discovery  of 
Florida — Ponce  de  I/Con's  Search  for  the  Fountaia 
of  Youth — Vasquez  de  Ayllon  Kidnaps  a  Cargo  of 
Indians — Effort  of  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  to  Con- 
quer Florida — A  Terrible  March — The  Voyage  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico — Fate  of  the  Fleet — Escape  of 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  His  Comrades — Discovery  of 
New  Mexico — Ferdinand  de  Soto — Obtains  Leave 
to  Conquer  Florida^Sails  from  Spain — .\rrival  in 
Cuba — Departure  for  Florida — Landing  at  Tampa 
Bay— Events  of  the  First  Year— De  Soto  Enters 
Georgia — Descends  the  Alabama — Battle  of  Ma- 
villa — Destruction  of  Chickasaw — Sufferings  of  the 
Spaniards  —  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  —  The 
Spaniards  Cross  the  Great  River — De  Soto  in  Ar- 
kansas— Reaches  the  Mississippi  Again — Sickness 
and  Death  of  De  Soto — His  Burial — Escape  of  His 
Followers  to  Mexico — The  Huguenot  Colony  in 
Carolina— Its  Failure  —  The  French  Settle  in 
Florida— Wrath  of  Philip  II.— Melendez  Ordered 
to  Exterminate  the  Huguenots — Foundation  of  St. 
Augustine — Massacre  of  the  French  at  Fort  Caro- 
lina— The  Vengeance  of  De  Gourges 50 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  First  English  Colony. 
The  English  Claim  to  America — Voyages  of  Fro- 
bisher — Exploits  of  Sir  Francis  Drake — Sir  Humph- 
rey Gilbert — Intends  to  found  a  Colony  in  America 
—Is  lost  at  Sea— Sir  Walter  Rajeigh  obtains  a  Pat- 
ent  of  Colonization — Discoveries    of  .\midas  and 


CONTENTS. 


Barlow— Raleigh  sends  out  a  Colony  to  Virginia- 
Settlement  on  Roanoke  Island— Its  Failure — Arri- 
T«l  of  Crenville— Second  Effort  of  Raleigh  to  Colo- 
nize Virginia— Roanoke  Island  again  Settled— The 
•'  City  of  Raleigh  "—Virginia  Dare— Fate  of  the 
Colony— Death  of  Raleigh- Other  Voyages  of  the 
English 


BOOK  II. 
Settlement  of  America. 

CHAPTKR  VI. 
Captain  John  Smith  and  Pocahontas. 
Formation  of  the  London  Company — Conditions  of  its 
Charter— Departure  of  the  first  Colony— Quarrels 
during  the  Voyage— Arrival  in  the  Chesapeake- 
Settlement  of  Jamestown — Formation  of  the  Gov- 
ernment— Character  of  Captain  John  Smith — Ex- 
ploration of  the  James  River — Newport  and  Smith 
visit  Powhatan — Smith  Admitted  to  the  Govern- 
ment— Explores  the  Chickahominy — Is  Captured 
and  Sentenced  to  Death — Is  Saved  by  Pocahontas — 
Gains  the  Friendship  of  Powhatan  for  the  Colony 
.—Returns  to  Jamestown — His  Decisive  Measures — 
Return  of  Newport — Smith  Explores  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay — The  new  Emigrants — Smith  compels 
them  to  Labor — Smith  is  V^'ounded  and  compelled 
to  return  to  England — Disasters  to  the  Colony — Ar- 
rival of  Sir  Thomas  Gates — Jamestown  Abandoned 
— Arrival  of  Lord  Delaware— The  Return  to  James- 
town— A  Change  for  the  Better — New  Settlements 
— Sir  Thomas  Gates  arrives  with  Reinforcements — 
Capture  of  Pocahontas  by  Captain  Argall — She  is 
Baptized — Marries  John  Rolfe — Sir  Thomas  Dale's 
Administration — Yeardley  Governor — The  first  Leg- 
islative Assembly — Representative  Government  es- 
tablished in  America — The  Colonists  obtain  Wives 
— Changes  in  the  Government 73 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Progress  of  the  Virginia  Colony. 
Introduction  of  Negro  Slavery  into  Virginia — Efforts  of 
the  Assembly  to  Restrict  .Slavery — The  Indians  At- 
tempt the  Destruction  of  the  Colony — Terrible  Suf- 
ferings of  the  Whites — Aid  from  England — The 
Indian  War  Begun — King  James  Revokes  the  Char- 
ter of  the  London  Company — Charles  I.  Desires  a 
Monopoly  of  the  Tobacco  Trade — Action  of  the 
Assembly — Sir  William  Berkeley's  First  Adminis- 
tration— Severe  Measures  against  Dissenters — Close 
of  the  Indian  War — Death  of  Opechancanough — 


Emigration  of  Royalists  to  Virginia— Virginia  and 
and  the  Commonwealth— Treaty  with  England — 
The  Assembly  Asserts  its  Independence  of  the  Gov- 
ernor—The Restoration— Berkeley  Chosen  Gover- 
nor by  the  Assembly— His  Hypocrisy 89 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Virginia  After  the  Restoration. 
Characteristics  of  the  Virginians — Causes  of  the  Suc- 
cess of  the  Royalists— Growth  of  the  Aristocratic 
Class — Berkeley  decides  against  the  People — The 
Aristocratic  Assembly  Claims  the  Right  to  sit  Per- 
petually— Deprives  the  Common  People  of  their 
Liberties — Revival  of  the  Navigation  Act  by  Charles 
II. — The  King  bestows  Virginia  as  a  Gift  upon  his 
Favorites — Protests  of  the  Assembly — Growing  Hos- 
tility of  the  Virginians  to  the  Colonial  Government — 
The  Indian  War — The  Governor  Refuses  to  allow- 
the  Colonists  to  Defend  themselves — Nathaniel  Ba- 
con— He  Marches  against  the  Indians — Rebellion 
of  the  People  against  Berkeley  and  the  Assembly — 
The  Convention — Repeal  of  the  Obnoxious  Laws — 
Berkeley's  Duplicity — The  People  take  up  Arms. 
— Flight  of  Berkeley — Destruction  of  Jamestown — - 
Death  of  Bacon — Causes  of  the  Failure  of  the  Rebel- 
lion— Berkeley's  Triumph — Execution  of  the  Patriot 
Leaders — Berkeley's  Course  Condemned  by  the 
King— Death  of  Berkeley— The  Unjust  Laws  Re- 
enacted — Lord  Culpepper  Govemor^His  Extor- 
tions— James  II.  and  Virginia — Effects  upon  Vir- 
ginia of  the  Revolution  of  1688 — William  and  Maiy 
College  Founded 98 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Colonization  of  Maryland. 

Extent  of  the  Territory  of  Virginia — Claybom's  Trad- 
ing-Posts established — Sir  George  Calvert,  Lord 
Baltimore — Becomes  interested  in  American  coloni- 
zation— Obtains  a  Grant  of  Maryland — Terms  of 
the  Charter — A  Colony  sent  out — Arrival  in  the 
Chesapeake — St.  Maiy's  Founded — Charter  of  the 
Colony — Friendly  Relations  established  with  the 
Indians — First  Legislature  of  Maryland — Trouble 
with  Clayborne — Rapid  Growth  of  the  Colony — 
Progress  of  Popular  Liberty — Policy  respecting  the 
Treatment  of  the  Indians — Clayborne's  Rebellion — 
Law  granting  Religious  toleration  enacted— Condi- 
tion of  Maryland  under  the  Commonwealth — The 
People  declared  Supreme — Lord  Baltimore  re- 
covers his  Proprietary  Rights — Characteristics  of 
the  Colony — Rapid  Increase  in  Population — Charles 
Calvert,    Governor — Death    of  the    s"cond    Lord. 


CONTENTS. 


BaUimore — Roman  Catholics  disfranchised — Mar)-- 
land  becomes  a  Royal  Province — Triumph  of  the 
Protestants — Annapolis  made  the  Seat  of  Govern- 
ment— Restoration  of  the  Proprietary  Government — 
Continued  Prosperity  of  Maryland Ill 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Pilgrim  Fathers. 
Rise  of  the  Puritans — Their  Increase  in  England — 
They  are  Persecuted  by  the  English  Church  and 
Government— Conduct  of  James  I. — His  Hatred  of 
Puritanism — Puritans  take  Refuge  in  Holland — The 
Congregation  of  John  Robinson — They  Escape  to 
Holland — The  Pilgrims — their  Sojourn  at  Leyden — 
They  wi.sh  to  Emigrate  to  Virginia — Failure  of  their 
Negotiations  with  the  London  Company— They 
form  a  Partnership  in  England — A  Hard  Bargain — 
Departure  of  the  Pilgrims  from  Holland — Voyage 
of  the  "Mayflower" — .-Vrrival  in  New  England — 
The  Agreement  on  board  the  "  Mayflower" — Car- 
ver chosen  Governor — Settlement  of  Plymouth — 
The  first  Winter  in  New  England — Suff'erings  of 
the  Pilgrims — Arrival  of  new  Emigrants — Continued 
Suffering — Assignment  of  Lands — Friendly  In- 
tercourse with  Indians— Samoset  and  Squanto— 
\ibit  of  Massasoit — A  Threat  of  War — Bradford's 
Defiance — Weston's  Men — A  Narrow  Escape — The 
Colonists  Purchase  the  Interests  of  their  English 
Partners — Lands  Assigned  in  Fee  Simple — The 
Colony  Benefited  by  the  Change — Government  of 
Plymouth — Steady  Growth  of  the  Colony  ....     121 

CHAPTER  XI. 

SETTLEME.NT  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   AND    RHODE     ISLAND. 

Settlement  of  Newr  Hampshire— The  English  Puritans 
determine  to  form  a  new  Colony  in  America — The 
Plymouth  Council — A  Colony  sent  out  to  .Salem 
under  Endicott  —  Colonization  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  begun — .\  Charter  obtained — Concessions  of 
the  King— Progress  of  the  Salem  Colony — The 
Charter  and  Government  of  the  Colony  removed  to 
New  England — .Arrival  of  Governor  Winthrop — 
Settlementof  Boston— Suff'erings  ofthS  Colonists- 
Roger  WiUiams — His  Opinions  give  off'ence  to  the 
Authorities — The  Success  of  the  Bay  Colony  Estab- 
lished—Growth of  Popular  Liberty— The  Ballot 
Box — Banishment  of  Roger  Williams — He  goes 
into  the  Wilderness — Founds  Providence — Growth 
ofWilliams's  Colony — C  nued  Growth  ofMassa 
chusetls— Arrival  of  Sir  Henry  Vane— Is  elected 
Governor— Mrs.  .Anne  Hutchinson — The  Amino 
mian  Controversy — Mrs.  Hutchinson  banished — • 
Settlement  of  Rhode  Island— Murder  of  Mrs. 
Hutchinson 158 


CHAPTER  XII. 
Colonization  of  Connecticut. 
The  Dutch  claim  the  Connecticut  Valley— They  build 
a  Fort  at  Hartford — Governor  Winslow  makes  a 
I.<xigment  in  Connecticut  for  the  English — With- 
drawal of  the  Dutch— The  First  Efforts  of  the  Eng- 
lish to  Settle  Connecticut — Emigration  of  Hooker 
and  his  Congregation— They  Settle  at  Hartford— 
Winthrop  builds  a  Fort  at  Saybrook — Hostility  of 
the  Indians — Visit  of  Roger  Williams  to  Miantono- 
moh — .A.  Brave  Deed — The  Pequod  War — Capture 
of  the  Indian  Fort — Destruction  of  the  Pequod 
Tribe— Effect  of  this  War  upon  the  other  Tribes — 
Connecticut  Adopts  a  Constitution — Its  Peculiar 
Features — Settlement  of  New  Haven 150 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Union  of  the  New  England  Colonies. 
Feeling  of  the  Colonies  towards  England — Hostility  of 
the  English  Government  to  New  England— Eff'orts 
to  Introduce  Episcopacy — Massachusetts  Threatens 
Resistance — The  Revolution  in  England — Estab- 
lishment of  Free  Schools  in  New  England— Har- 
vard College— The  Printing  Press— The  Long  Par- 
liament Friendly  to  New  England— The  United 
Colonies  of  New  England — Rhode  Island  obtains  a 
Charter — Maine  Annexed  to  Massachusetts — The 
Quakers  are  Persecuted— Efforts  to  Christianize  the 
Indians — John  Eliot,  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians  .    .     157 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

New  England  After  the  Restor.\tion. 
Arrival  of  the  News  of  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II. 
— The  Regicides  in  New  England — They  are  Pro- 
tected— Revival  of  the  Navigation  Acts — Eff'ect  of 
this  Measure  upon  the  New  England  Colonies — 
Massachusetts  delays  the  Proclamation  of  the  King 
— Connecticut  obtains  a  Charter — Union  of  New 
Haven  with  the  Connecticut  Colony — Rhode  Island 
given  a  new  Charter — Massachusetts  settles  her  diffi- 
culties with  the  Crown — Changes  in  the  Govern- 
ment— High-handed  acts  of  the  Royal  Commission- 
ers— Troubles  with  the  Indians — Injustice  of  the 
Whites — King  Philip's  War — .\  Forest  Hero — An 
Incident  in  the  Attack  upon  Iladley — Sufferings  of 
the  Colonies — Destruction  of  the  Narraganselts — 
Death  of  Philip — Close  of  the  War — England  asserts 
her  right  to  Tax  the  Colonies — Mass.tchusetts  buys 
Gorges'  claims  to  Maine — New  Hampshire  made  a 
separate  Hrovince — James  II.  Revokes  the  Charter 
of  Massachusetts — Dudley  and  Randolph  in  New 
England — Andros    appointed    Governor-General — 


CONTENTS. 


His  Tyranny— He  demands  the  Charter  of  Connect- 
icut—It  is  carried  away  and  Hidden— The  Charter 
Oak— Fall  of  James  II.— The  people  of  Massachu- 
-Andros  arrested— Effects  of 
England 


sent  take  up  Arms 
the  Revolution  upon  Ne 


CHAPTER  XV. 
Witchcraft  in  Massachusetts. 
Results  of  the  Failure  of  Massachusetts  to  Resume  her 
Charter— The  New  Charter— Loss  of  the  Liberties 
of  the  Colony— Union  of  Plymouth  with  Massachu- 
setts Bay— Belief  in  Witchcraft— The  History  of 
Witchcraft  in  Massachusetts— The  Case  of  the  Good- 
win Children— Cotton  Mather  espouses  the  Cause  of 
the  Witches— Samuel  Parris— He  Originates  the  Sa- 
lem Delusion— A  Strange  History— A  Special  Court 
Appointed  for  the  Trial  of  the  Witches— The  Vic- 
tims—Execution of  the  Rev.  George  Burroughs- 
Cotton  Mather's  Part  in  the  Tragedies— The  Gen- 
eral Court  takes  Action  in  behalf  of  the  People — 
End  of  the  Persecution— Failure  of  Cotton  Mather's 
Attempt  to  Save  his  Credit 182 

CH.\PTER  XVI. 
The  Settlement  of  New  York. 
Voyages  of  Henry  Hudson — He  is  Employed  by  the 
Dutch— Discovei-y  of  the  Hudson  River— Early 
Dutch  Voyages — Adrian  Block — Fate  of  Hudson — 
The  Dutch  build  a  Fort  on  Manhattan  Island — Set- 
tlement of  New  Amsterdam — The  Province  named 
New  Netherlands — Fort  Nassau — Peter  Minuits 
Governor — The  Dutch  Settlement  of  Delaware — 
Wouter  Van  Twiller — Kieft  Governor — His  Unjust 
Treatment  of  the  Indians — Massacre  of  the  Indians 
at  Hoboken— The  Indian  War— Stuyvesant  Ap- 
pointed Governor — Disputes  with  the  English  in 
Connecticut — The  Swedes  Settle  Delaware — Stuy- 
vesant Captures  the  Swedish  Forts — Growth  of  New 
Amsterdam — Disputes  between  the  People  and  Gov- 
ernor— Growing  Spirit  of  Popular  Liberty — The 
People  Appeal  to  the  States  General — Capture  of 
New  Netherlands  by  the  English — The  Name  of  the 
Province  changed  to  New  York — Results  of  the 
English  Concjuest — Progress  of  New  Jersey — An- 
dros  Governor  of  New  York — He  Fails  to  Establish 
his  Authority  over  Connecticut — New  York  allowed 
an  Assembly — Discontents  of  the  People — Leisler's 
Rebellion — Execution  of  Leisler  and  Milbourne — 
Fletcher  Governor — His  Attempt  to  obtain  Com- 
mand of  the  Connecticut  Militia — Episcopacy  Es- 
talilished  in  New  York — The  Freedom  of  the  Press 
Sustained — New  Jersey  a  Royal  Province  ....     193 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Colonization  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  Quakers— Their  Origin  and  Doctrines— William 
Penn— Becomes  a  Quaker— Is  Persecuted  for  his 
Rehgious  Opinions — Becomes  interested  in  Ameri- 
can Colonization— Purchases  West  Jersey  from  the 
Proprietor— Conceives  the  Idea  of  Founding  a  Free 
State  in  America— Purchases  Pennsylvania  from 
Charles  II.— Conditions  of  his  Charter— Sends  out 
a  Colony— Arrival  of  Penn  in  America— Philadel- 
phia Founded— Penn's  Treaty  with  the  Indians- 
Religious  Toleration  Guaranteed— Penn's  Relations 
with  his  Colonists- Rapid  Growth  of  Pennsylvania 
in  Population  and  Prosperity— William  Penn  and 
James  II.— Renewal  of  Penn's  Troubles— William 
HI.  Declares  Pennsylvania  a  Royal  Province— Penn 
is  Vindicated  and  Restored  to  his  Proprietary  Rights 
^His  Return  to  Pennsylvania — Character  of  the 
Settlers  of  the  Province — Penn  Goes  Back  to 
England— Efforts  to  deprive  him  of  his  Possessions 
—His  Death 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Settlement  of  the  Carolinas. 

Gradual  Settlement  of  North  Carolina  from  Virginia — 
Charles  II.  grants  Carolina  to  Clarendon  and  others 
— The  "  Grand  Model  " — .'Vn  Ideal  Aristocracy 
Proposed  for  Carolina— The  Authority  of  the  Pro- 
prietaries Established  in  North  Carolina — Con- 
tinued Settlement  of  that  Region — Characteristics 
of  the  Eariy  Settlers  of  North  Carolina — The  People 
Reject  the  Grand  Model — Hostility  of  England  to 
the  Colonial  Commerce — Insurrection  in  North 
Carolina — Slothel  Governor — Settlement  of  South 
Carolina — Charleston  Founded — The  Proprietary 
Constitutions  Rejected  by  South  Carolina — Rapid 
Growth  of  the  Colony — Introduction  of  Slavery — 
Chracteristics  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  South  Carolina 
— Efforts  to  Enforce  the  Navigation  Acts — Resis- 
tance of  the  People — The  Proprietaries  Abandon 
their  Constitutions — Archdale's  Reforms — Religious 
Intolerance — -Eatablishment  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  South  Carolina— Action  of  the  Crown — 
Continued  Prosperity  of  South  Carolina — Governor 
Moore  Attacks  St.  Augustine — Failure  of  the 
Effort — The  Spaniards  are  Repulsed  in  an  Attempt 
to  Capture  Charleston — Indian  War  in  North  Caro- 
lina— The  Tuscaroras  Driven  Northward — War 
with  the  Yemmassees — Destruction  of  their  Power 
— Separation  of  the  Carolinas 22J 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Settlement  of  Georgia. 

.general  James  Edward  Oglethorpe— His  Efforts  to 
Reform  Prison  Discipline  of  England — Proposes  to 
Found  a  Colony  in  America  for  the  Pi  or  and  for 
Prisoners  for  Debt — A  Charter  Obtained  from  the 
King — Colonization  of  Georgia — Savannah  Settled 
— B'irst  Years  of  the  Colony — Labors  of  Oglethorpe 
^Arrival  of  New  Emigrants — Augusta  Founded — 
The  Moravian  Settlements — The  Wesleys  in  Amer- 
ica— George  Whitefield — War  between  England 
and  Spain — Oglethorpe  Invades  Florida — Failure  of 
the  Attack  upon  St.  Augustine — The  Spaniards  In- 
vade Georgia — Oglethorpe's  Stratagem — Its  Success 
— Battle  of"  Bloody  Marsh  " — Close  of  the  War — 
Charges  against  Oglethorpe — His  Vindication — 
His  Return  to  Europe — Changes  in  the  Colonial 
Government — Introduction  of  Slavery  into  Georgia 
—  Prosperity  of  the  Colony 24: 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Fre.nxh  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

Origin  of  the  Hostility  of  the  Iriquois  to  the  French 
— Settlement  of  Canada — Plans  of  the  French  res- 
pecting the  Indians — The  Jesuits— Their  Work  in 
America — Success  of  their  Missions — The  Early 
Missionaries — Foundation  of  a  College  at  Quebec — 
Efforts  of  the  Jesuits  to  ConTsrt  the  Iroquois — 
Father  Jogues  —  Death  of  Ahasistari — Father 
Allouez — The  Missions  on  the  Upper  Lakes — 
Father  Marquette — His  E.xploration  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  —  Death  of  Marquette — La  Salle — 
Efforts  of  France  to  Secure  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi— La  Salle  Descends  the  Mississippi  to  its 
Mouth — His  Effort  to  Colonize  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi— The  First  Colony  in  Texas — Its  Failure 
Death  of  La  Salle — Lemoine  d'lbberville — Settle- 
ment of  Louisiana — Colony  of  BiIo.\i — Settlement 
Mobile — Crozat's  Monopoly — Founding  of  New 
Orleans — Detroit  Founded — Slow  Growth  of  the 
French  Colonies — Occupation  of  the  Ohio  Valley 
by  the  French — Wars  with  the  Indians — Exter 
mination  of  the  Natchez  Tribe— War  with  the 
Chickasaws 251 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Conflicts  Between  the  E.nglish  and  French. 
Relations  Between  the  English  and  the  Five  Nations 
—The  Hostility  of  the  Latter  to  the  French— King 
William's  War — Destruction  of  Dover — The  Jesuit 
Missionaries  Incite  the  Indians  to  Attack  the  Eng- 
lish— Expedition  against  Quebec — Attack  on    Dus- 


tin's  Farm— Peace  of  Ryswick— Hostility  of  the 
English  to  Roman  Catholics— Queen  Anne's  War 
— Burning  of  Deerfield — Eunice  Williams — Cruel- 
ties of  the  French— Effort  of  New  England  to  Con- 
quer  .'\cadia— Capture  of  Poit  Royal— Failure  of 
the  Expedition  against  Quebec — King  George's 
War — Expedition  against  Louisburg — Its  Composi- 
tion—Arrival of  the  Fleet  at  Cape  Breton— Good 
Conduct  of  the  Provincials — Capture  of  Louisburg 
— Treaty  of  Aixla-Chapelle — Unjust  Treatment  of 
the  Colonies  by  England — Sentiment  of  the  Anaeri- 
cans  towards  England 267 


BOOK  III. 

The   French  and  Indian  Wcr. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Outbreak  of  Hostilities. 
England  Claims  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio— Organiza- 
tion of  the  (.>hio  Company— The  French  Extend 
their  Posts  into  the  Ohio  Country — Washington's 
Mission  to  the  French  at  Fort  Duquesne — His  Jour- 
ney— Reception  by  the  French — His  Journey  Home 
— A  Perilous  Undertaking — Organization  of  the 
Virginia  Forces — Washington  Made  Second  in 
Command — The  French  Drive  the  English  fiom  the 
Head  of  the  Ohio— Fort  Duquesne  Built  by  Them 
— Washington  Crosses  the  Mountains — The  Fight  at 
Great  Meadows — Beginning  of  the  French  and  In- 
dian War — Surrender  of  Fort  Necessity  to  the 
French — Unjust  Treatment  of  the  Colonial  Officers 
— Congress  of  the  Colonies  at  New  York — Frank- 
lin's Plan  of  a  Union  of  the  Colonies — Its  Failure — 
Reasons  of  the  British  Government  for  Rejecting  It 
— England  Assumes  the  Direction  of  the  War — Ar- 
rival of  General  Braddock — Plan  of  Campaign — 
Obstinacy  of  Braddock — He  Passes  the  Mountains 
— Defeat  of  Braddock — Heroism  of  Washington — 
Retreat  of  Dunbar  beyond  the  Mountains — Vigor- 
ous Action  of  Pennsylvania — Armstrong  Defeats  the 
Indians  and  Burns  the  Town  of  Kittanning    .    .    .    274! 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

.Sanguniarv  Struggles  on  the  Frontier. 

Expedition  against  .\cadia — Brutal  Treatment  of  the 
Acadians — They  Are  Expelled  from  their  Country 
— A  Sad  Story — Fate  of  the  Acadians — Johnson  at 
Lake  George  —  March  of  Dieskau — Battle  of  Lake 
George — Failure  of  Shirley's  Expedition — .Arrival 
of  the    Earl   of  Loudon — Monlciilm  in    Canada — 


CONTENTS. 


Capture  of  Oswego  by  the  French— Outrages  of  the 
Earl  of  Loudon  upon  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
—  Expedition  against  Louisburg — How  the  Earl  of 
Loudon  Beat  the  French— Capture  of  Fort  William 
Henry  by  Montcalm— Massacre  of  the  Prisoners  by 
the  Indians — Efforts  of  Montcalm  to  Save  Them — 
The  Royal  Officers  Attempt  to  Cover  Their  Failures 
by  Outraging  the  Colonics 298 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

End  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 
L  Change  for  the  Better — William  Pitt  Prime  Minister 
— Vigorous  Measures  Adopted — Recall  of  the  Earl 
of  Ix>udon — Capture  of  Louisburg — Abercrombie  on 
Lake  George — Advances  against  Ticonderoga — 
Death  of  Lord  Howe — Failure  of  the  English  At- 
tack upon  Ticonderoga — Disgraceful  Conduct  of 
Abercrombie — llis  Retreat — Capture  of  Fort  Fron- 
tenac — Advance  of  General  Forbes — Grant's  Defeat 
— TheVirginians  Again  Save  the  Regulars— Capture 
of  Fort  Dutiuesne — Washington  Retires  from  the 
Army — Ticonderoga  and  down  Point  Occupied  by 
the  English — Capture  of  Fort  Niagara — The  Expe- 
dition against  Quebec — Failure  of  the  First  Opera- 
tions— Despondency  of  Wolfe — He  Discovers  a 
Landing-place — The  Army  Scales  the  Heights  of 
Abraham— Montcalm's  Surprise— Battle  of  the  Plains 
of  Abraham  —  Death  of  Wolfe  —  Defeat  of  the 
French — Death  of  Montcalm — Surrender  of  Quebec 
— Capture  of  Montreal — Treaty  of  Paris — Canada 
Ceded  to  England — France  Loses  all  Her  American 
Possessions — The  Cherokee  War — Hostility  of  the 
Indians  to  the  English — Pontiac's  War — Death  of 
Ponliac — Bouquet  Relieves  Fort  Duquesne — Results 
of  the  War -loa 


BOOK  IV. 
The  American  Revolution. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Causes  OF  THE  Struggle  for  Independence. 
•njustice  of  Great  Britain  towards  Her  Colonies — The 
Navigation  Acts — Effects  of  these  Laws  ujxjn  the 
Colonies — Great  Britain  Seeks  to  Destroy  the  Man- 
ufactures of  America — Writs  of  Assistance — They 
Are  Opixpsed — Home  Manufactures  Encouraged  by 
the  Americans — Ignorance  of  Englishmen  Concern- 
ing America — Great  Britain  Claims  the  Right  to 
Tax  America — Resistance  of  the  Colonist.s— .Samuel 
Adams — The     Parsons'    Cause — Patrick    Henry 


England  Persists  in  Her  Determination  to  Tax  Amer- 
ica— Passage  of  the  Stamp  Act — Resistance  of  the 
Colonists — Meeting  of  the  First  Colonial  Congress 
—Its  Action — William  Pitt — Repeal  of  the  Stamp  ' 
Act — Franklin  before  the  House  of  Commons — 
New  Taxes  Imposed  upon  America — Increased  Re- 
sistance of  the  Colonies — Troops  Quartered  in  Bos- 
ton— The  "  Massacre  " — The  Non-Importation  As- 
sociation— Growth  of  Hostility  to  England — Burn- 
ing of  the  "  Gasp6" — The  Tax  on  Tea  Retained  by 
the  King — Destruction  of  Tea  at  Boston — Wrath 
of  the  British  Government — Boston  Harbor  Closed 
—Troops  Quartered  in  Boston— The  Colonists  Come 
to  the  Assistance  of  Boston — .\ction  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly — General  Gage  in  Boston — The  Regulat- 
ing Act — Its  Failure — Gage  Seizes  the  Massachu- 
setts Powder — Uprising  of  the  Colony — Meeting  of 
the  Continent.il  Congress — Its  Action — Addresses  to 
the  King  and  People  of  England — The  Earl  of 
Chatham'slndorsement  of  Congress — The  King  Re- 
mains Stubborn 327 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Progress  of  the  War. 

Gage  fortifies  Boston  Neck — He  Summons  the  Gen- 
eral Court — Recalls  his  Proclamation — The  Provin- 
cial Congress  of  Massachusetts — It  takes  Measures 
for  Defence— The  Militia  Organized— The  Minute 
Men — Friends  of  America  in  England — Gage  re- 
solves to  seize  the  Stores  at  Concord — Midnight 
March  of  the  British  Troops — The  Alarm  given — 
Skirmishes  at  Lexington  and  Concord — Retreat  of 
the  British — A  Terrible  March — Uprising  of  New 
England — Boston  Invested — Dunmore  seizes  the 
Virginia  Powder — Is  made  to  pay  for  it — Uprising 
of  the  Middle  and  Southern  Colonies — The  Meck- 
lenburg Declaration  of  Independence — Capture  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point — Meeting  of  the  Sec- 
ond Cjintinental  Congress — Congress  resolves  to  sus- 
tain Massachusetts — Renewed  Efforts  for  Peace — 
Congress  Assumes  the  General  Government  of  the 
Colonies — A  Federal  Union  Organized — Its  Charac- 
ter— A  Continental  Army  formed — George  Wash- 
ington Appointed  Commander-in-chief — Genera] 
Officers  Appointed — Condition  of  the  Army  before 
Boston— Inaction  of  Gage— Battle  of  Breed's  Hill 
—A  Glorious  Defence— The  Battle  Equivalent  to  a 
Victory  in  its  Effects  upon  the  Country — .\rrival  of 
Washington  at  Cambridge — He  takes  Command  of 
the  Army— He  Reorganizes  the  Army— Difficulties 
of  the  Undertaking— The  Invasion  of  Canada  Re- 
solved upon — March  of  Montgomery  and  Arnold — 
Rapid    Successes    of    Montgomery — He    Captures 


CONTENTS. 


Montreal — March  of  Arnold  through  the  Wilder- 
ness— Arrival  before  Quebec- -Forms  a  Junction 
with  Montgomer)- — The  Siege  of  Quebec — The  Ice 
Forts — Failure  of  the  Attack — Death  of  Montgom- 
er)'— Retreat  of  the  Americans  from  Canada — Lord 
Dunmore's  War  in  Virginia — Destruction  of  Nor- 
folk— The  Thirteen  United  Colonies — Burning  of 
Falmouth — Naval  Matters — Action  of  Great  Britain 
—The  War  to  be  carried  on — The  Hessians  .    .    .    354 

CHAPTER  XXYII. 

The  Decl.\ration  of  Independenci-^ 
The  Siege  of  Boston^Difficulties  of  the  American 
Army — Activity  of  the  Privateers — Clinton's  E.\[>e- 
tion — Colonel  Knox  arrives  from  Ticonderoga  with 
Cannon — Seizure  of  Dorchester  Heights  by  Wash- 
ington— The  British  Evacuate  Boston — Royalist 
Plots  in  New  York^Paper  Money  Issued  by  Con- 
gress— Gates  sent  to  the  North — The  British  Attack 
Charleston — Battle  of  Fort  Moultrie — The  Howes  in 
New  York  Bay— Change  in  the  Character  of  the  War 
— Growing  Sentiment  in  Favor  of  Independence — 


— V 


rgiE 


Proposes  the  Colonies  Assert  their  Inde- 


pendence— Action  of  Congress — The  Declaration  of 
Independence — Articles  of  Confederation  Adopted 
by  Congress — Lord  Howe's  Efforts  at  Conciliation — 
Addresses  a  Letter  to  Washington — Battle  of  Long 
Island — Defeat  of  the  Americans — Retreat  from 
Long  Island— Evacuation  of  New  York  by  the 
Americans — I^oss  of  Fort  Washington — Washington 
Retreats  through  New  Jersey— He  Crosses  the  Del- 
aware— Darkest  Period  of  the  War — Washington's 
Determination  to  Continue  the  War — Lord  Howe's 
Proclamation — Its  Effect — Congress  at  Baltimore — 
Carleton  invades  New  York — Defeats  Arnold  on 
Lake  Champlain — Carleton  Retires  into  Canada — 
Battle  of  Trenton — Happy  Eff'ects  of  the  ^■ictory 
— Congress  confers  Dictatiorial  Powers  upon  Wash- 
ington— Commissioners  sent  to  France 377 

CHAPTER  XXVni. 
The  Year  1777. 
Howe  -Attempts  to  Crush  Washington — Battle  01 
Princeton — The  British  Confined  to  the  Seaboard — 
Recovery  of  New  Jersey — The  American  Army  in 
Winter  Quarters  at  Morristown— Effects  of  the 
American  Successes — Difficulty  of  Procuring  Troops 
-Washington  Refuses  to  Exchange  Prisoners — His 
Course  Approved  by  Congress — Measures  of  Con- 
gress— Naval  Affairs — Tryon  Bums  Danbury — Gal- 
lantry of  Arnold — Troubles  in  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment— Congress  Adopts  a  National  Flag — "The 
Stars  and  Stripes" — Course  of  France  towards  the 
United  States — France  Decides  to  Assist  the  Amer 


icans — Lafayette — His  Arrival  in  America — Capture 
of  the  British  General  Prescott — Howe  Threatens 
Philadelphia  —  Washington  Moves  Southward — 
Battle  of  the  Brandy  wine — Washington  Retreats  to 
the  Schuylkill— Wayne's  Defeat  at  Paoli— Philadel- 
phia Exacuated  by  the  Americans —  It  Is  Occupied 
by  the  British— Battle  of  Germantown--The  British 
Attack  the  Forts  on  the  Delaware — They  Are  Aban- 
doned by  the  Americans — Burgoyne's  Army  in 
Canada — Advance  of  Burgoyne  into  New  York — 
Investment  of  Ticonderoga — It  Is  Abandoned  by 
the  Americans — The  Retreat  to  Fort  Edward — 
Burgoyne  Reaches  the  Hudson — Murder  of  Miss 
McCrea — Siege  of  Fort  Schuyler— Battle  of  Ben- 
nington — Critical  Sittiation  of  Burgoyne — Gates  in 
Command  of  the  American  Army — Battles  of  Beh- 
mui'  Heights  and  Stillwater- Surrender  ot  Bur- 
goyne's Army — Clinton  in  the  Highlands    ....    405 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Aid  From  Abroad. 
Suff'erings  of  the  Army  at  Valley  Forge — .Appeals  of 
Washington  to  Congress — The  British  in  Philadel- 
phia— The  Conway  Cabal — Its  Disgraceful  Failure 
— F-ffbrts  to  Improve  the  Army — Worthlessness  of 
Continental  Bills — General  Lee  Exchanged — Effect 
of  Burgoyne's  Surrender  upon  England — The  King 
Is  Forced  to  Agree  to  Measures  of  Conciliation — 
.■\ctionof  France — Louis  XVI.  Recognizes  the  In- 
dependence of  the  United  States — .Vlliance  Between 
the  United  States  and  France — Failure  of  the  Brit- 
ish Measures  of  Conciliadon — Clinton  Evacuates 
Philadelphia — Battle  of  Monmouth — General  Lee 
Dismissed  from  the  .Army — .Attack  upon  Newport 
— Its  Failure — Withdrawal  of  the  French  Fleet  to 
the  West  Indies — Outrages  of  the  British  on  Long 
Island  Sound — Massacre  of  Wyoming — the  Winter 
of  1779-S0 — The  Army  in  Winter  Quarters — 
Robert  Morris — Condition  of  Congress — Georgia 
Subdued  by  the  Bridsh — Prevost  Attempts  to  Take 
Charleston — Siege  of  Savannah — Its  Failure — Cap- 
ture of  Stony  Point — Capture  of  Paulus  Hook — 
The  Indians  Punished— Naval  Affairs — Exploits  of 
John  Paul  Jones — Evacuation  of  Newport — Settle- 
ment of  Kentucky — Conquest  of  the  Illinois  Country 
bv  George  Rogers  Qarke — Settlement  of  Tennessee.  Jr% 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
The  Close  of  the  War. 
Severity  of  the  Winter  of  1779-80— Suff'erings  of  the 
American  Army — Clinton  .Sails  for  the  Caroli- 
nas — Colonel  Tarleton — Capture  of  Charleston — 
Conquest  of  South  Carolina — Gates  in  Command  of 
the  Southern    Army — Battle  of  Camden — i:x])loits 


CONTEXTS. 


of  Marion  and  Sumter — Advance  of  Cornwallis — 
Battle  of  King's  Mountain— Gates  Succeeded  by 
General  Greene — Knyphausen's  Expeditions  into 
New  Jersey— Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet  and 
Army- Arnold's  Treason— The  Plot  for  the  Be- 
trayal of  West  Point— Arrest  of  Major  Andr6— 
Flight  of  Arnold— Execution  of  Andre— Mutiny  of 
the  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jereey  Troops— Meas- 
ures of  Congress — Arnold  Captures  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia—BatUe  of  the  Cowpcns— Masterly  Retreat  of 
General  Greene— Cornwallis  Baffled^Battle  of 
Guilford  Court  House — Cornwallis  at  Wihninglon 
—Battle  of  Hobkirk's  Hill— Siege  of  Ninety-Six- 
Execution  of  Colonel  Hayne— Battle  of  Eutaw 
Springs— Washington  Decides  to  Attack  New  York 
—The  French  Army  on  the  Hudson— Financial 
Affairs— Resumption  of  Specie  Payments— Message 
from  the  Count  De  Grasse— Cornwallis  at  York- 
town — The  American  Army  Moves  Southward — 
Siege  of  Yorktown — Surrender  of  Cornwallis — Ef- 
fect of  the  News  in  England — Indian  Troubles — 
Efforts  in  England  for  Peace — Negotiations  Opened 
—Treaty  of  Paris— End  of  the  War— The  Army 
Disbanded — Washington  Resigns  His  Commission 


450 


BOOK  V. 

From  the  Close  of  the  Revolution  to  the 

Civil  War. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  .\i>oPTioN  OF  the  Constitution — Washington's 
Administration. 

Unsettled  Condition  01  the  Counlr\- — Failure  of  the 
.Articles  of  Confederation — Desire  for  Reform — 
Meeting  of  the  Federal  Convention  at  Philadelphia 
— The  Constitution  of  the  United  States — Adoption 
of  a  Decimal  Currency — The  Northwest  Territory 
— Washington  Elected  President — His  Journey  to 
New  York — Establishment  of  the  New  Government 
— The  First  Cabinet — Financial  Measures — Re- 
moval of  the  Capital  Agreed  Upon — The  Govern- 
ment at  Philadelphia— The  First  Census— The  In- 
dians of  the  Northwest  Conquered — Re-election 
of  Washington — Division  of  Parties — The  French 
Revolution— The  United  States  Neutral- Citizen 
Genet — Efiorts  to  Commit  the  United  States  to  the 
French  Alliance — Genet's  Recall  Demanded — The 
"  Whiskey  Insurrection" — Jay's  Treaty  with  Eng- 
land— Opposition  to  It — Negotiations  with  Algiers 
— Political  Disputes — Hostility  to  Washington — His 
Farewell  Address — Its  Effect  upon  the  Country — 
Election  of  John  Adams  to  the  Presidency — Admis- 
sion cT  Vermont,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — Retire- 
ment  of   Washington — His  AdminisUalion  .    .    .    481 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  AnMiNisTRATioNS  of  John  Adams  and  TnoM.is 
Jefferson. 

PAG« 

Inauguration  of  John  Adams — Aggressions  of  France 
upon  the  United  States — The  American  Commis- 
sioners Insulted  by  the  French  Government — The 
Alien  and  Sedidon  La\vs— The  United  States  Pra- 
pare  for  War  with  France — France  Signifies  her 
Willingness  to  Treat — New  Commissioners  -Ap- 
pointed— Settlement  of  the  Dispute — Hostilities  at 
Sea — Capture  of  the  "Insurgente"  and  "Yen 
geance" — Death  of  Washington — Removal  of  the 
Capital  to  ^Vashington  City — The  Second  Census — 
Inauguration  of  Thomas  Jefferson — The  President's 
Message — His  First  Measures — .\dmission  of  Ohio 
— Louisiana  Purchased  by  the  United  States — ^Yar 
with  the  Barbary  Powers — Burning  of  the  "  Phila- 
delphia " — Re-election  of  Mr.  Jefferson — Aaron  Burr 
Kills  Alexander  Hamilton  in  a  Duel — Burr's  Subse- 
quent Career — Fulton's  Steamboat — Outrages  of 
England  and  France  upon  American  Commerce — 
American  Vessels  Searched  and  American  Seamen 
Impressed  by  England — Efforts  to  Settle  these 
Questions — Aflairofthe  "  Chesapeake"  and  "Leop- 
ard"— The  Embargo — Results  of  this  Measure — • 
Los.>es  of  the  Eastern  States — Election  of  James 
Madison  to  the  Presidency — Repeal  of  the  Embargo.  496 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Tke  AD.MINISTRAT10N  OF  James  Madison— The  Seconi 
War  WITH  Engl.\nd. 

Inauguration  of  Mr.  Madison — Negotiations  with  Mr. 
Erskine — Their  Failure — Seiziu-e  of  American  Ves- 
sels in  France — Suflerings  of  American  Ship-owners 
— Great  Britain  Stations  her  Ships  of  Waroff  Amer- 
can  Ports — Affair  of  the  "  President "  and  "  Little 
Belt" — Trouble  with  the  Northwestern  Indians — 
Tecumseh — Battle  of  Tippecanoe — Meeting  of  the 
Twelfth  Congress — Measures  for  Defence — Admis- 
sion of  Louisiana  into  the  Union — Death  of  George 
Clinton — The  British  Ultimatum — War  Declared 
Against  Great  Britain — Opposition  to  the  W'ar — The 
British  Offer  of  Settlement  Rejected— The  War  for 
"Free  Trade  and  the  Sailors'  Rights" — Mr.  Madi- 
son Re-elected — Campaign  of  1S12 — Preparation.--- 

for  the  Invasion  of  Canada General  Hull  Sui- 

renders  Detroit  to  the  Britbh — Loss  of  the  Nortlh 
western  Frontier — Failure  of  the  Attack  on  Queens- 
town — Exploits  of  the  Navy— Capture  of  the  "  Guer 
Here"  by  the  " Constitution " — The  Privateers — 
Russia  Offers  to  Mediate  between  the  United  States 
and  Eng!and — Financial  A  flairs — Harrison  s  Cam 
paign — Massacre  at  the  River  Basin — Defence  oi 
Forts  Meigs  and  Stephenson-Perrj's  Victoryon  l.ake 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


Erie— Battle  of  the  Thames — Death  of  Tecumseh— 
Recovery  of  the  Northwest — Capture  of  York- 
British  Attack  on  Sackett's  Harbor  Repulsed — 
Removal  of  General  Dearborn — Failure  of  the  Cam- 
pagn  on  the  Lower  Lakes — The  Creek  War — 
Jackson's  Victories— Naval  Affairs- The  British 
Outrages  in  Chesapeake  Bay — Negotiations  for  Peace 
—Capture  of  Fort  Erie— Battles  of  Chippewa  and 
Lundy's  Lane — Siege  of  Fort  Erie — Successes  of 
the  Americans — Advance  of  Prevost — Battle 
Plattsburgh — Macdonough's  Victory  on  Lake  Cha 
plain — Battle  of  Bladensburg — Capture  of  Wash- 
ington— Destruction  of  the  Public  Buildings  by  the 
British — Attack  on  Baltimore— Death  of  General 
Ross—"  The  Star- Spangled  Bunner  "—The  British 
Attack  on  the  New  England  Coast — Opposition  of 
New  England  to  the  War — The  Hartford  Cunvei 
tion — The  British  in  Florida — General  lacksc 
Expels  Them — Jackson  at  New  Orleans — Arrival  ( 
the  British  Expedition  ofiF  the  Coast — Vigorous 
Measures  of  Jackson — Battle  of  New  Orleans — 
Defeat  of  the  British— Naval  Affairs— The  Treaty 
of  Peace— The  Barbary  Powers  Humbled— The 
Tariff— The  Bank  of  the  United  States— Admis- 
sion of  Indiana — James  Monroe  Elected  President  .     512 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Administrations  of  James  Monroe  and  John  Quincy 
Adams. 

Inauguration  of  Mr.  Monroe — His  Tour  through  the 
Eastern  States — Admission  of  Mississippi  into  the 
Union — Troubles  with  the  Indians — General  Jack- 
son's Vigorous  Measures  against  tiie  Spaniards  in 
Florida— Purchase  of  Florida  by  the  United  States 
— Illinois  Becomes  a  State — The  First  Steamship 
— Maine  Admitted  into  the  Union — The  Slavery 
Question^The  Missouri  Compromise — Admission 
of  Missouri  as  a  State — The  Fourth  Census — Re- 
elecUon  of  Mr.  Monroe— The  Tariff— Protective 
Policy  of  the  Government — Recognition  of  the 
Spanish  Republics — The  Monroe  Doctrine — Visit  uf 
Lafayette  to  the  United  States — Retirement  of  Mr 
Monroe — John  Quincy  Adams  Elected  President-  - 
His  Inauguration — Rapid  Improvement  of  the  Coun- 
tr>- — Increase  of  Wealth  and  Prosperity — Intenial 
Improvements — The  Creek  Lands  in  Georgia  Ceded 
to  the  United  States — Death  of  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  John  Adams— The  Anti- Masons— The  Tariff  of 
1828 — Andrew   Jackson  Elected  President   .    .    .     548 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Administrations  op  Andrew  Jackson   and    Martin 

Van  Buren. 
Character  of  Andrew  Jackson — Indian   Policy  of  this 
Administration —  1  he  President  Vetoes    the    Bill  Uj 


Renew  the  Charter  of  the  United  States  Bank— De- 
bate Between  Hayne  and  Webster — Jackson's  Quar- 
rel with  Calhourn — Death  of  ex- President  Monroe 
—The  Cholera— Black  Hawk's  War— Reelection 
of  President  Jackson— The  Tariff— Action  of  South 
Carolina — The  Nullification  Ordinance — Firmness 
of  the  President — The  Matter  Settled  by  Compro- 
mise—Patriotism of  Henry  Clay— The  Removal  oj 
the  Deposits — The  Seminole  War  Begun— Great 
Fire  in  New  York— Settlement  of  the  French 
Claims — Arkansas  Admitted  into  the  Union — The 
National  Debt  Paid — Death  of  ex- President  Madi- 
son— Martin  Van  Buren  Elected  President — Michi- 
gan Admitted  into  the  Union — The  Panic  of  1837 — 
Causes  of  It — Suspension  of  Specie  Payments- 
Great  Distress  throughout  the  Union — The  Sub- 
Treasury— Repudiation  of  State  Debts — The  Can- 
adian Rebellion— The  President's  Course— The 
Seminole  War  Ended— The  Anti-Slavery  Party- 
Resolutions  of  Congress  Respecting  Slavery- 
William  Henry  Harrison  Elected  President— The 
Sixth  Census 561 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Administrations  of  William  Henry  Harrison  and 
John  Tvler. 

An  Extra  Session  of  Congress  Summoned — Death  of 
President  Harrison — John  Tyler  Becomes  President 
of  the  United  States— Meeting  of  Congress— The 
Bankrupt  Law — President  Tyler  Vetoes  the  Bills  to 
Revive  the  United  States  Bank— His  Quarrel  with 
his  Party— The  "  Tyler  Whigs  "—The  Tariff  of 
1S42— The  Treaty  of  Washington— The  United 
States  Will  Not  Tolerate  the  Exercise  of  the  Right 
of  Search — Dorr's  Rebellion — The  Mormons — In- 
vention of  the  Electric  Telegraph — Explosion  on 
the  "  Princeton  " — Efforts  to  Secure  the  Annexation 
of  Texas— Early  History  of  Texas— The  Texan 
War  of  Independence — Battle  of  San  Jacinto— 
Texan  Independence  Established — Texas  Applies 
for  Admission  into  the  Union — Opposition  to  the 
Measure — Significance  of  the  Vote  at  the  Presiden- 
tial Election— James  K.  Polk  Elected  President- 
Texas  .\dmitted  into  the  Union — Iowa  and  Florida 
Become  States 559 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


WAk 


administration  op  James  K.  Polk 
WITH  Mexico. 
The  Oregon  Question — Position  of  President  Polk 
Respecting  It — The  Question  Settled — Treaty  for 
Settlement  of  Claims  against  Mexico^Mexico  Re- 
sents the  Annexation  of  Texas — General  Taylor 
Ordered  to  Texas — He  Advances  to  the  Rio  Graude 


CONTENTS. 


—Battles  cf  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma— 
The  War  wilh  Mexico  Begun— Invasion  of  Mexico 
— Occupation  cf  Matamoras — Action  of  the  United 
States  Government — Taylor  Advances  into  the 
Interior— The  Storming  and  Capture  of  Monterey 
— The  Armistice — Return  of  Santa  Anna  to  Mexico 
—President  Polk  Duped— Santa  Anna  Seizes  the 
Mexican  Government — General  Wool  Joins  General 
Taylor — Troops  Taken  from  Taylor's  Army — Ad- 
— vance  of  the  Mexicans— Battle  of  Buena  Vista— 
•Conquest  of  California  by  Fremont  and  Stockton — 
Occupation  of  Santa  Fe— New  Mexico  Conquered 
— Doniphan's  March — Occupation  of  Chihuahua — • 
Sailing  of  Scott's  Expedition — Reduction  of  Vera 
Cruz— Santa  Anna  Collec's  a  New  Army— Battle  cf 
•of  Cerrc  Gordo— Occupation  of  Puebla  by  Scott — 
Trouble  with  Mr.  Trist — Vigorous  Measures  of 
Santa  Anna — Scott  Advances  upon  the  City  of 
Mexico — El  Pefion  Turned — Battles  of  Contreras 
and  Churubusco — Capture  of  Molino  del  Rev — 
Storming  of  Chapultepec — Capture  of  the  City  of 
Mexico — Siege  of  Puebla  Raised — Flight  of  Santa 
Anna — Treaty  of  Peace  Negotiated — Close  of  the 
War — Acquisition  of  California  and  New  Mexico — 
Discovery  of  Gold  in  California — Rapid  Emigration 
to  the  Pacific — Death  of  John  Quincy  Adams — The 
Wilmot  Proviso — Revival  of  the  Slavery  Question 
v-General  Taylor  Elected  President 593 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Administrations  of  Zachary  Taylor  and  Millard 
Fillmore. 

Character  of  General  Taylor — Department  of  the  Inte- 
rior—Death of  ex-President  Polk— The  Slavery 
\gitation — Views  of  Clay  and  Webster — California 
asks  admission  into  the  Union — Message  of  President 
Taylor— The  Omnibus  Bill— Efforts  of  Henry  Clay 
— A  Memorable  Debale — Webster's  "  Great  Union 
Speech  "—Death  of  John  C.  Calhoun— Death  of 
President  Taylor — Millard  Fillmore  becomes  Pres- 
ident— Passage  of  the  Compromise  Measures  of 
1850 — Death  of  Henry  Clay — Dissatisfaction  with 
the  Compromise — The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  Nul. 
lified,  by  the  Northern  States — The  Nashville  Con- 
vention—  Organization  of  Utah  Territory  —  The 
Seventh  Censu;^ — The  Expedition  of  I^pez  against 
Cuba— The  Search  for  Sir  John  Franklin— The 
Grinnell  Expedition — Dr.  Kane's  Voyages — Inaug- 
uration of  Cheap  Postage — Laying  the  Corner, 
■stone  of  the  new  Capitol — Death  of  Daniel  Webster 
— Arrival  of  Kossuth — The  President  Rejects  the 
Tripartite  Trea'y — Franklin  Pierce  elected  Pres- 
ident— Death  of  William  R.  King 626 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

The  Administration  of  Fr.a.n-klin  Pierce. 

TAOK 

Dispute  with  Mexico — The  Gadsden  Purchase — Sur- 
veys for  a  Pacific  Railway — The  Japan  Expedition 
— Treaty  with  Japan — The  Koszta  Affair — The 
"  Black  Warrior  "  seized  by  the  Cuban  Officials — 
The  "Ostend  Conference" — Dismissal  of  the  British 
Minister — The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — History  of 
the  Bill — Its  Passage  by  Congress — History  of  the 
Struggle  in  Kansas — Conflict  between  the  Pro- 
Slavery  and  Free  Soil  Settlers — Lawrence  Sacked — 
Civil  War— The  Presidential  Campaign  of  1S56 — 
James  Buchanan  elected  President  of  the  United 
States — Rajid  Increase  of  the  Republican  Party   .    639 

CHAPTER  XL. 
The  Administration  of  James  Buchanan. 
Inauguration  of  Mr.  Buchanan — The  Mormon  Re- 
bellion— The  Financial  Crisis  of  1S57— Laying  of 
the  Atlantic  Telegraphic  Cable — Minnesota  admit- 
ted into  the  Union— The  San  Juan  Affair — Admis- 
sion of  Oregon  into  the  Union — The  Kansas  Ques- 
tion— The  Lecompton  Constitution — Its  Defeat — 
The  Wyandotte  Constitution — Admission  of  Kan.sas 
into  the  Union— The  John  Brown  Raid— Prompt 
Action  of  the  Government — Brown  and  his  Com- 
panions Surrendejed  to  the  State  of  ^  irginia — 
Their  Trial  and  ExecuUon— Presidential  Campaign 
of  1 S60 — Rupture  of  the  Democratic  Party — Abra- 
ham Lincoln  elected  President  of  the  United  States 
— Secession  of  South  Carolina — Reasons  for  this  Act 
—Secession  of  the  other  Cotton  States — Major  An- 
derson  Occupies  Fort  Sumter — ^Trying  Position  of 
the  General  Government — ^Course  of  Mr.  Buchanan 
— The  "  Star  of  the  West "  fired  upon  by  the  South 
Carolina  Batteries — Organization  of  the  Confeder- 
ate States  of  America — Jefferson  Da%TS  elected 
President  of  the  Southern  Republic— The  Peace 
Congress — Its  Failure 649 

BOOK  VI. 
The  Civil  War. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
The  Administration  of  Abraham  Lincoliv. 
Inatignration  of  President  Lincoln — His  History — The 
Confederate  Commissioners  at  Washington — Attack 
upon  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Confederates— The  Prej- 
ident  calls  for  Troops — Res]xinse  of  the  North  and 
West — Secession  of  the  Border  States — Opening 
Events  of  the  War  in  Virginia— Withdrawal  of  West 
Vii^nia — Admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  Separate 
State — Meeting   of  Congress — The   West  Virginia 


CONTENTS. 


Campaign-  -Battle  of  BiJl  Run — The  War  in  Mis- 
souri— Kentucky  Occupied — The  Blockade — Cap- 
ture of  Port  Royal— The  "Trent"  Affair— Insur- 
rection in  East  Tennessee — State  of  Affairs  at  the 
Opening  of  the  Year  1S62 — Edwin  M.  Stanton  made 
Secretary-  of  War — Capture  of  Forts  Henry  and  Don- 
elson — The  Confederates  fall  back  from  Kentucky^ 
Battle  of  Shiloh— Capture  of  Island  No.  10— Evac- 
uation of  Corinth — Capture  of  Memphis — Bragg's 
Kentucky  Campaign — His  Retreat  into  Tennessee 
—Battles  of  luka  and  Corinth — Battle  of  Murfrees- 
boro',  or  Stone  River — Grant's  Campaign  against 
Vicksburg — Its  Failure — The  War  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi— Battle  of  Pea  Ridge — Capture  of  Roanoke 
Island— Capture  of  New  Orleans-  Surrender  of  Fort 
Pulaski — The  War  in  Virginia — Johnston's  Retreat 
from  Centreville — Battle  between  the  "  Monitor " 
and  "  Virginia  " — The  Move  to  the  Peninsula — ■ 
Johnston  Retreats  to  the  Chickahominy— Battle  of 
Seven  Pines — Jackson's  Successes  in  the  Valley  of 
Virginia — The  Seven  Days'  Battles  before  Richmond 
— Battle  of  Cedar  Moimtain — Defeat  of  General 
Pope's  Army — Lee  Invades  Marj-land — Capture  of 
Harper's  Ferry — Battles  of  South  Mountain  and 
Antietam — Retreat  of  Lee  into  Virginia — McCIellau 
Removed — Battle   of  Fredericksburg 666 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

The  Administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln — the 
Civil  War — Conxluded. 
rhe  Emancipation  Proclamation — Battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville — Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson — Invasion  of 
the  North  by  Lee's  Army — Battle  of  Gettysburg- 
Retreat  of  Lee  into  Virginia — Grant's  Army  crosses 
the  Mississippi — Battle  of  Champion  Hills — Invest- 
ment of  Vicksburg — Surrender  of  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson — Battle  of  Chickamauga — Rosecrans 
Ehut  up  in  Chattanooga — Grant  in  command  of  the 
Western  Armies — Battles  of  Lookout  Mountain  and 
Mission  Ridge— Defeat  of  Bragg's  Army— The  Cam- 
paign in  East  Tennessee — Retreat  of  Longstreet— 
Capture  of  Galveston— Attack  on  Charleston— Cap- 
ture of  Fort  Wagner^Charleston  Bombarded — State 
of  Affairs  in  the  Spring  of  1S64— The  Red  River 
Expedition  —  Grant  made  Lieutenant-General — 
Advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — Battles  of  the 
Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  and  Cold  Harbor — Sheri- 
dan's Raid— Death  of  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart— Bat- 
tle of  New  Market — Early  sent  into  the  Valley  of 
Virginia — Butler's  Army  at  Bermuda  Hundreds — 
Grant  crosses  the  James  River— The  Siege  of  Peters- 
burg begun — Early's  Raid  upon  Washington — Sheri- 
dan defeats  Early  at  Winchester  and  Fisher's  Hill — 
BaiUe  of  Cedar  Creek— The  final  Defeat  of  Early's 


Army — Sherman's  Advance  to  Atlanta — Johnston 
Removed — Defeat  of  Hood  before  Atlanta — Evacu- 
ation of  Atlanta — Hocxi's  Invasion  of  Tennessee 
— Battle  of  Franklin — Siege  of  Nashville — Hood 
Defeated  at  Nashville — His  Retreat — Sherman's 
"March  to  the  Sea"  —  Capture  of  Savannah  — 
Battle  of  Mobile  Bay— Attack  on  Fort  Fisher— 
The  Confederate  Cruisers — Sinking  of  the  "Ala- 
bama" by  the  "  Kearsarge" — Re-election  of  Pres 
ident  Lincoln — Admission  of  Nevada  into  the  Union 
— The  Hampton  Roads  Peace  Conference — Capture 
of  Fort  Fisher — Occupation  of  WUmington — Sher- 
man advances  through  South  Carolina — Evacuation 
of  Charleston — Battles  of  Averasboro'  and  Benton- 
ville— Sherman  at  Goldsboro' — Critical  Situation  of 
Lee's  Army — Attack  on  Fort  Steadman — Sheridan 
joins  Grant — Advance  of  Grant's  Army — Battle  of 
Five  Forks — Attack  on  Petersburg — Evacuation  of 
Richmond  and  Petersburg — Retreat  of  Lee's  Army 
—  Richmond  Occupied  —  Surrender  of  General 
Lee's  Army  —  Rejoicings  in  the  North— Assas- 
sination of  President  Lincoln— Death  of  Booths 
Execution  of  the  Conspirators  —  Johnston  Sur- 
renders —  Surrender  of  the  other  Confederate 
Forces — Capture  of  Jefferson  Davis — Close  of  the 
War 


?'► 


CHAPTER  XLHI. 

The  Administration  of  Andrew  Johnson. 
The  New  President — Return  of  the  Army  to  Civil 
Life— The  Public  Debt— The  Reconstruction  Ques- 
tion— Action  of  the  President — He  declares  the 
Southern  States  Readmitted  into  the  Union — The 
Fifteenth  Amendment — Meeting  of  Congress — The 
President's  Acts  Annulled — Reconstruction  Policy 
of  Congress — The  Fourteenth  Amendment^The 
Freedman's  Bureau  and  Civil  Rights  Bill — The 
Tenure  of  Office  Act — Admission  of  Nebraska  into 
the  Union — The  Southern  States  Organized  as  Mil- 
itary Districts — Admission  of  Southern  States  into 
the  Union — The  Fourteenth  Amendment  Ratified — 
President  Johnson's  Quarrel  with  Secretary  Stanton 
— Impeachment  of  the  President — His  Acquittal — 
Release  of  Jefferson  Davis — Indian  War — The 
French  in  Mexico — Fall  of  the  Mexican  Empire — 
Laying  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph — Purchase  of 
Alaska — NaturUzation  Treaty  with  Germany- 
Treaty  with  China — Death  of  General  Scott — Death 
of  ex-President  Buchanan — General  Grant  Elected 
President — The  Fifteenth  Amendment ygQ 

CHAPTER   XLIV. 
The  Administration  of  Ulvsses  S.  Grant. 
Early  Life   of   President   Grant— Completion   of  the 
Pacific    Railway— Death  of  ex-lYesidcnt   Pierc*— 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  Ratified— The  En- 
forcement Act— The  Test  Oath  Abolished— 
The  Constitutionality  of  the  Legal-Tender 
Act  Affirmed— The  Income  Tax  Repealed— 
The  Alabama  Claims — Treaty  of  Washington 
— The  Geneva  Conference — Award  in  Favor  of 
the  United  States— Burning  of  Chicago — The 
Civil  Disabilities  Removed  from  the  South- 
em  People — Re-election  of  General  Grant — 
Great  Fire  at  Boston — The  Modoc  War — 
Murder  of  General  Canby  and  the  Peace 
Commissioners  —  Execution  of  the  Modoc 
Chiefs— The  Panic  of  1873— Bill  for  the  Re- 
sumption of  Specie  Payments — The  Centen- 
nial Exhibition— The  Sioux  War- Death  of 
General  Custer — Presidential  Election — The 
Electoral  Commission — Count  of  the  Vote — 
Hayes  Declared   Elected Soi 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

The  Administration  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 

Inauguration  of  President  Hayes — Sketch  of  the 
New  President — Civil  Service  Reform — Troops 
in  South  Carolina — Two  Legislatures  in  Ses- 
sion—  Investigation  by  President  Hayes — 
Prompt  Action — Settlement  of  the  Troubles 
in  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana — General 
Grant's  Tour  Around  the  World— Enthusiastic 
Reception  by  the  Crowned  Heads  of  Other 
Nations — Election  of  General  Garfield  as  Presi- 
dent   841 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
The  Administration  of  James  A.  Garfield. 
General  Garfield  Declared  President — Inaugural 
Ceremonies — Sketch  of  the  New  President — 
The  Star  Route  Cases — Assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Garfield — His  Illness — Removal  to  Long 
Branch — Death  of  President  Garfield — Inaugu- 
ration of  President  Arthur — Indictment  of 
Guiteau  for  Murder — Trial  and  Execution  of 
Garfield's  Assassin — The  Greely  Arctic  Ex- 
pedition —  Reaching  a  Point  Beyond  the 
Eighty-first  Parallel — Lieutenant  Lockwood's 
Heroic  Exploit — Celebration  of  the  Landing 
of  William  Penn — Great  Suspension  Bridge 
between  New  York  and  Brooklyn S49 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 
The  Administration  of  Grover  Cleveland. 
Mr.  Cleveland's  Early  Life — Governor  of  New 
York — Elected  President — Inauguration  Cere- 
monies—The New  Cabinet— Death  of  General 
Grant  —  Honors   to    the    Illustrious    Dead — 


Death  of  General  George  B.  McClellan— Pen- 
sion Granted  to  the  Widow  of  President 
Grant — President  Cleveland's  Message — Bill 
Regulating  the  Presidential  Succession — Labor 
Agitations — Riot  at  Chicago  Instigated  by 
"Anarchists  " — Statue  of  Liberty  Enlighten- 
ing the  World — President  Cleveland's  Mar- 
riage—Nomination of  President  Cleveland — 
Nomination  of  Benjamin  Harrison — Harri- 
son's Election 864 

CH.APTER  XLVni. 
The  Administration  of  Benjamin  Harrison. 
Inauguration  of  President  Harrison —President 
Harrision's  Inaugural  Address — Celebration  of 
the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  Washington's 
Inauguration  —  The  New  Cabinet  —  Terrible 
Calamity  at  Johnstown — .\dmission  of  New 
States — President's  Message  to  the  Fifty-first 
Congress — Legislation  of  the  First  Session  of 
the  Fifty-first  Congress— The  New  Tariff  Law 
— Indian  War  in  the  Northwest — Death  of 
Sitting  Bull — Restriction  of  Imigration — Mob 
Law  in  New  Orleans — Trouble  in  Chile — 
Political  Conventions  of  1S92 — Labor  Contest 
at  Homesteed— Defeat  of  the  Silver  Bill  .    .      S78 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Second  Administration  of  Gro%-er  Cleveland. 

Second  Inauguration  of  Presdent  Cleveland — 
The  New  Cabinet — Extraordinary  Session  of 
Congress — Repeal  of  the  Sherman  Silver  Law 
—New  Tariff  Bill— The  Bill  Passes  the  House 
of  Representatives — Discussion  in  the  Senate 
— Over  Six  Hundred  Amendments — Senate 
Bill  Rejected  by  the  House  —  Afterwards 
Passed— The  President  Refuses  to  Sign  the 
Bill— Bland  Seigniorage  Bill— Utah  Admitted 
as  a  State — Congress  Investigates  the  Relations 
of  the  United  States  to  Hawaii — Subsequent 
Events— Bond  Issue  of  1896 898 

CHAPTER  L. 
Cuba  and  Venezuel.*. 
Story  of  Cuban  Insurrections— Great  Revolution 
of  184S — Gallant  Uprising  of  the  People  for 
Life  and  Liberty — Long  and  Bitter  Struggle — 
Political  Situation  in  Cuba — Insurrection  of 
1895-96 — Boundary  Line  Dispute  between 
Venezuela   and    Great   Britain — The   Monroe 

Doctrine  Asserted 901 

EMINENT  AMERICANS 917 

THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION  .  949 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Frontispikce. 

Mounds  at  Marrietta,  Ohio ly 

A  Dead  Town  of  the  Moquis  Indians 21 

Indian  Village  in  Winter 24 

Navajo  Boy 25 

Pueblo  Indian  at  Prayer 26 

Civilized  Indian  Woman 27 

Thorvald  Wounded  by  the  Red  Men 30 

Christopher  Columbus 33 

Columbus  W.itching  for  Land 37 

Landing  of  Columbus 38 

Reception  of  Columbus  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella    .  39 

Norse   Seaking 41 

Sebastian  Cabot 44 

Samuel  Champlain 47 

Cabot  on  the  Shores  of  Labrador 4S 

The  Coast  of  Florida 51 

Hernando  Cortez 52 

Fernando  De  Soto 55 

The  Spaniards   Descending  the    Mississippi    after  the 

Death  of  De  Soto 59 

The  Renowned  Explorer,  Sir  Martin  Frobisher    .    .  64 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh 65 

Frobisher  and  His  Ships  Passing  Greenwich  ....  66 

Queen  Elizabeth 67 

Murder  of  White's  Assistant 70 

Captain  John  Smith 76 

Pocahontas  Interceding  for  the  Life  of  Captain   John 

Smith 78 

Pocahontas So 

Building  the  First  House  in  Jamestown 82 

Types  of  North  American  Indians 85 

Massacre  of  Settlers  by  Indians 90 

Flight  of  the  Indians  after  the  Massacre 92 

Indian  Weapons 94 

King  Charles  II 99 

Indians  Making  a  Midnight  Attack  upon  Settlers  .    .  103 

Bacon  Demands  the  Commission  of  Berkley  .    ...  105 

Cecil,  Second   Lord  Baltimore 113 

A  Civilized  Indian 115 

Oliver  Cromwell 116 

William  III 118 

Chained  Bible,  Time  of  James  I 122 


The  Puritans  in  Conference  with  James  I 

The  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth 

The  "  Mayflower  "  at  Plymouth  Harbor 

Governor  Brewster's  Chair 

Landing  of  the  Pilgrims 

The  First  Church  in  New  England 

The  Treaty  between  Plymouth  Colony  and  Massasoit 

John  Endicott 

John  Winlhrop 

Roger  Williams  Seeking  Refuge  Among  the  Indians  . 

Landing  of  Roger  Williams  at  Providence 

John  Hampden 

A  Group  of  Indians 

Yale  College 

An  American  Free  School 

John  Eliot  Preaching  to  the  Indians 

Indian  Medicine  Man 

Indian  Life  in  Their  Native  Forests 

King  Philip 

The  Burning  of  Brookfield  by  the  Indians 

Mrs.  Rowlandson  Captured  by  the  Indians 

Sir  Edmund  Andros 

The  Charter  Oak 

The  Rev.  Cotton  Mather ■    •    .    . 

Execution  of  the  Rev.  George  Burroughs 

Nova  Zembla — From  an  Old  Print 

Mock  Suns  Seen  by  Early  Explorers 

Henry  Hudson 

Hudson  Strait • 

Mutiny  on  Hudson's  Ship 

First  Settlement  of  New  York 

Peter  Stuyvesant 

Gustavus  Adolphus 

Queen  Anne 

William  Penn 

William  Penn's  Treaty  with  the  Indians 

Penn  Treaty  Monument 

The  Old  Swedes' Church,  Built  in  1 64 1 

Indian  Amusements — Canoe  Race  between  Squaws  . 

The  Coast  of  North  Carolina 

A  Settler's  Cabin 

Birds'-Eye  View  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina  .    .    . 

Scene  on  a  Tributary  of  the  St.  John's  River  .... 

xix 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


King  George  1 239 

General  Oglethorpe 243 

A  Southern  Plantation 244 

John  Wesley 245 

George  Whitefield 246 

University  and  Normal  School  Buildings  at  Toronto  in 

1892 254 

Falls  of  St.  Anthony 261 

Murder  of  La  Salle 263 

View  of  Montreal  from  Mount  Royal 268 

Return  of  the  Daughter  of  Eunice  Williams  .    ...  272 

Cruel  Murder  of  Rasle 274 

French  Explorers  Buying  Leaden  Plates 279 

Scenes  in  the  Allegheny  Mountains 28 1 

The  Half  King 2S5 

Benjamin  Franklin 289 

Wills'  Creek  Meadows 291 

Disastrous^efeat  of  General  Braddock 294 

Burning  of  Kittaning  by  General  Armstrong  ....  296 

Th;  Palisades  of  the  Hudson 302 

Site  of  Fort  William  Henry  on  Lake  George  ....  305 

Montcalm 306 

Arrival  of  ludian  Allies  at  the  French  Camp  ....  307 

William  Pitt 310 

Washington  Planting  the  Flag  on  Fort  Duquesne  .    .  315 

Niagara  Falls 317 

General  James  Wolfe 318 

Death  of  General  Wolfe  before  Quebec 320 

King  George  III 321 

Visit  of  Pontiac  and  the  Indians  to  Major  Gladwin  .  .  324 

Scene  near  the  Source  of  the  Raritan  River 329 

Samuel  Adams 332 

Patrick  Henry 333 

Colonel  Barri 335 

Hanging  a  Stamp  Act  Official  in  Effigy 337 

Stamp  Act  Official  Beaten  by  the  People 339 

British  Troops  in  Boston 342 

Throwing  the  Tea  Overboard  in  Boston  Harbor    .    .  347 

John   H.-incock 349 

Carpenter's  Hall,  Philadelphia 351 

The  Minute  Man -355 

The  Battle  of  Lexington,  April  19,  1775 356 

Death  of  Isaac  Davis 35S 

Capture  of  Ticonderoga  by  Ethan  Allen 360 

Signers  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration 361 

General  Israel  Putnam 364 

General  Burgoyne 365 

Battle  of  Hunker  Hill 368 

Death  of  Major  Pilcairn 370 

Bunker  Hill  Monument 372 

General  Richard  Montgomery 374 

General  Henry  Knox 378 

Medal  Struck  by  Congress  in  Honor  of  the  Recapture 

of  Boston • 380 


Continental  Bills 3S1 

Sergeant  Jasper  at  Fort  Moultrie 383 

Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia 3SS 

House  in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 

Written,   Philadelphia 3S6- 

Signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence 387 

Old  Bell  of  Independence  Hall 388 

Signatures  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence        390 

General  John  Sullivan 393 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  Read  to  the  Army  396 

General  Chailes  Lee 39S 

Washington  Crossing  the  Delaware 401 

Washington  Calls  on  Colonel  Rahl 403 

American  Marksman  in  a  Tree 406- 

Washington's  Quarters  at  Morristown 408- 

General  Philip  Schuyler 411 

Flag  and  Shield 412 

Seal  of  the  United  States — Obverse 412 

Seal  of  the  United  States — Reverse 412 

The  Marquis  de  Lafayette 413 

Arrest  of  General  Prescott      415 

Lafayette  and  Washington 41 7 

General  Burgoyne  Addressing  the  Indians 420 

Ruins  of  Fort  Ticonderoga 421 

Herkimer  Mortally  Wounded ....  423 

General  John  Stark .    .  424 

General  Horatio  Gates 426 

An  American  Rifleman 431 

Louis  XVI 434 

Sir  Henry  Clinton 435 

Indian  Scalp  Dance 439 

General  Benjamin  Lincoln 441 

Gallant  Charge  of  Count  Pulaski ■    ■    ■    .  442 

General  Anthony  Wayne 443 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  Lee 444 

Paul  Jones  Seizing  the  Silver  Plate  of  Lady  Selkirk   .  445 

John  Paul  Jones 446 

Medal  Struck  in  Honor  of  Paul  Jones — Obverse    .    .  447 

Medal  Struck  in  Honor  of  Paul  Jones — Reverse    .    .  447 

Daniel  Boone 44S 

Lord  Cornwallis 453 

Total  Rout  of  the  Loyal  Recruits 454 

General  Francis  Marion 455 

General  Nathaniel  Greene     .    .     ■ 457 

"  Now  Put  Watts  into  them,  Boys," 45S 

Benedict  Arnold 46c 

Major  Andre 461 

Escape  of  Benedict  Arnold 463 

General  Daniel  Morgan 466 

Lord  Rawden,  afterwards   Marquis  of  Hastings    .    .  468 

Scene  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson 471 

View  of  Vorktown      473 

Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis 474 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Captain  Iluddy  led  from  Prison  to  be  Hanged  .  . 
Washington's  Headquarters  at  Newburg,  New  York 
The  Room  with  Seven  Doors  and  One  Window    . 

Oliver  Ellsworth 

Washington's  Reception  at  Trenton 

Rufus  King 

C.  C.  Pinckney 

I  he  Inauguration  of  Washington 

George  Washington 

Indian  Child  in  Cradle 

Alexander  Hamilton 

Rufus  Putman 

John  Jay 


Fisher  Ames 

Scene  in  the  Mammoth  Cave,  Kentucky 

Washington's  Home  at  Mount  'Vernon 

John  Adams 

John  Marshall 

Washington's  Grave,  Mount  Vernon 

Thomas  Jefferson 

Aaron  Burr 

Robert  R.  Livingston 

Napoleon  I 

Captain  (afterward  Commodore)    Bainbridge  and  the 

Dey  of  Algiers 

Duel  between  Burr  and  Hamilton 

Fulton's  First  Steamboat 

William   Pinkney 

Officers    of   the    "  Chesapeake "    Surrendering    their 

Swords 

Tames  Madison 

A  Pioneer  Hero's  Fight  with  the  Savages 

John  Randolph 

Stephen  Van  Rensselaer 

Massacre  by  Indians  at  Fort  Dearborn 

Capture  of  the  "  Guerriere"  by  the  "  Constitution  "  . 

Commodore  Hull 

The  "  Wasp  "  Boarding  the  "  Frolic  " 

Indians  Torturing  Prisoners 

Commodore  Perry  

Perr)''s  Victory  on  Lake  Erie 

Battle  of  the  Thames — Death  of  Tecumsch   .... 

Captain  (^afterward  Sir  Philip)  Broke 

Fight  between  the  "  Chesapeake"  and  the  "Shannon'' 

Scene  of  the  Battle  of  Lake  Champlain 

Commodore  MacDonough 

A  New  England  Farm-house 

Joseph  Story 

The  Plain  of  Chalmette— Scene  of  the  Battle  of   New 

Orleans 

Pakenham  Leading  the  Attack  on  New  Orleans  .  .    . 

Commodore  Decatur 

Decatur  and  the  Dey  of  Algiers 

William  C.  C.  aaibome 


P.\OB 

477 
479 
•?T9 
482 
483 
4S4 
485 
4S6 
487 
4S8 
489 
490 
491 
492 
495 
494 
497 
49S 
500 
SOI 
5°2 
503 
504 

505 
506 
507 
509 

510 
513 
516 
517 
519 
520 
522 
523 
524 
526 
527 
52S 
529 
531 
533 
536 
537 
539 
540 

541 

543 
544 
545 
546 


James  Monroe j^g 


Old  Way  of  Picking  Cotton 

Henry  Clay •  •    ■    ■  553 

Unique  Cotton  Harvester 555 

John  Quincy  Adams 557 

Steamboat  Loading  with  Cotton 558 

Statue  of  Jefferson  at  Washington 559 

Daniel  Webster 560 

Andrew  Jackson 562 


Robert  V.   Hayne 

A  Lumberman's  Camp  in  the  Woods  of  Maine  .    . 

John  C.  Calhourn 

Edward  Livingston 

The  United  States  Treasury  at  W'ashington,  D.  C. 

Osceola,  Chief  of  the  Seminoles 

Martin  Van  Buren 

Canadian  Trappers 

The  Smithsonian  Institution,  W'ashington,  D.  C.    . 
View  of  the  National  Capitol  at  Washington  .    .    . 

William  Henry  Harrison 

John  Tyler 


563 
564 
56s 
566 
567 
566 
571 
574 
575 
577 
580 
581 
Fac-Simile,  According  to  Joe  Smith,  of  the  Writing  on 

the  Original  Plates  of  the  "  Book  Mormon  "  .    .     583 

Murder  of  the  Smiths 584 

The     Mormon    Hand-cart    Company    Crossing    the 


Pla 


Utah  . 


5SS 
586 
S87 
588 
589 


Mormon  Tabernacle  at  Salt  Lake 

Professor  Morse 

A  Village  in  Texas 

Santa  Anna 

General  Houston 590 

General  Post  Office,  Washington 591 

James  K.  Polk 594 

Columbia  River,  Oregon 595 

Battle  of  Palo  Alto 598 

Major  Ringgold  Mortally  Wounded 599 

Charge  of  the  Dragoons      600 

General  Winfield  Scott 601 

Capture  of  a  Battery  at  Monterey 603 

Lieutenant   Grant   Going   for   Ammunition  at    Mon- 
terey    604 

Mexican  Cart  and  Oxen 607 

Battle  of  Buena  Vista 609 

General  View  of  the  Yosemite  Valley 6n 

The  Great  Caiion  and  Lower   Falls,  Yellowstone  .    .  613 

East  Side  of  Plaza— Sante  Fi 614 

Bombardment  of  Vera  Cruz 616 

Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo 617 

Storming  of  Chapultepec 621 

General  Scott  Entering  the  City  of  Mexico 622 

A  M«xican  Cathedral      623 

Hydraulic  Mining 624 

Zachary  Taylor 627 

The  White  House,  Washington,  D.  C iai 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Robert  Toombs 629 

MiUard  FiUmore 631 

Portraits  of  Leading  Mormons 632 

Cuban  Fillibusters  on  the  March 633 

Sir  John  F        lin 635 

Relics  of  Franklin's  Polar  Voyage 636 

Dr.  E.  K.  Kane  and  his  Companions 637 

Franklin  Pierce 640 

Stephen  A  Douglas 642 

Salmon  P.  Chase 644 

Scene  on  the  Allegheny  River 645 

Charles  Sumner 647 

James  Buchanan 650 

The  Mormon  Temple,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah    ....    651 

Mountain  Meadow  Massacre 652 

W.'ishington  Irving 655 

Edward  Everett 65S 

Bridge  Crossing  the  Susquehanna  River  at  Harris- 
burg  660 

Jefierson  Davis 663 

Inauguration  of  Jefferson  Davis 664 

Abraham  Lincoln 666 

William  H.  Seward 667 

Ai-rival  of  President  Lincoln  at  the  Capitol 66S 

Fort  Prickens 669 

Major  Anderson 670 

Fort  Sumter  in  1S61 671 

Forts  Sumter  and  Moultrie 672 

Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston  Harbor 673 

The  Confederate  Flag 674 

The  Si.xth  Massachusetts  Regiment   Passing   through 

Baltimore 675 

Fortifications  in  and  around  Washington 676 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Federal  Generals 677 

Map  Showing  the  Shenandoah  Valley 67S 

The  Battle  of  Manassas,  or  Bull  Run 680 

Capitol  at  Richmond,  Virginia 6S1 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Federal  Generals 6S2 

The  "  Nashville"  Destroying  a  Federal  "  Merchant- 
man " 6S4 

Lieutenant-General  Polk 6S5 

John  M.  Mason 6S6 

John  Slidell 686 

The  Arrest  of  Mason  and  Slidell  on  the  British  Steamer 

"Trent " 687 

Grant's  Headquarters  near  Fort  Donelson 688 

A  View  of  the  Country,  Showing  Fort  Donelson  in 

the  Distance 689 

Map  Showing  Pittsburg  Landing  and  Corinth  ....    690 

Charge  of  the  Federals  at  Corinth 6gi 

Iron-clad  Gunboat 692 

Island  No.  lo 694 

Burning  Horses  at  Shiloh 695 

Massacre  of  the  Morrisites 696 


Portraits  of  Prominent  Confederate  Generals  ....  697 

General  Sherman  at  the  Outbreak  of  the  War  .  .    .    .  699 

Bumside's  Expedition  Crossing  Hatteras  Bar  ....  700 
Portraits  of  the  Principal  Naval  Commanders  during 

the  War 703 

The  "Meirimac  "  Sinking  the  '-Cumberland"  ....  704 

Genera]  George  B.  McClellan 706 

View  of  the  Chickahominy  near  Mechanicsville  .  .    .  707 

Map  of  Northern  Virginia 70S 

Lieutenant-General  T.  J.  Jackson 709 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Confederate  Generals  .  .    .    .  711 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Federal  Generals 714 

Major-General  Philip  Kearney 715 

McQellan  at  the  Battle  of  Antietam 717 

View  of  Antietam  Battle  Ground 718 

Portraits  of  Some  of  the  Generals  of  the  Army  of  the 

Potomac 720 

General  John  Sedgwick 721 

General  George  G.  Meade 722 

Battle  of  Gettysburg 724 

Positions  dining  the   First   Day's   Fight   at  Gettys- 
burg    727 

Positions  during  the  Second  and  Third  Days'  Fight  at 

Gettysburg 727 

Map  Showing  Vicksburg  and  Its  Approaches  ....  730 

Vicksburg,  Mississippi 731 

Gunboats  Running  Past  Vicksburg  at  Night   ....  732 

General  John  C.  Pemberton 733 

Grant's  Headquarters  near  Vicksburg 734 

Map   of   the  Chickamauga   and   Chattanooga  Cam- 
paigns   • 73S 

Positions  of  the  Armies  at  the  Battle   of  Missionary 

Ridge 736 

Grant's  Headquarters  at  Chattanooga 737 

Capture  of  Lookout  Mountain 73S 

Missionary  Ridge  from  the  Cemeter\-  at  Chattanooga  739 

The  Attack  on  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Monitor  Fleet  .    .  74c 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Federal  Generals 721 

Fort  De  Russy 742 

Bailey's  Red  River  Dam 743 

Grant     'Writing    Dispatches    before      Crossing     the 

Ripadan 744 

General  James  Longstreet 745 

The  Place  Avhere  Sedgw  ick  was  Killed 746 

General  Fitzhugh  Lee 747 

Battle  of  Cold  Harbor 74S 

Battle  of  Spottsylvania  Court-house 74c 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart 75c 

General  Winfield  S.Hancock 751 

Stuart's  Cavalry  Cutting  Telegraph  Wires 752 

Pontoon  Bridge  at  Deep  Bottom 753 

General  Philip  H.  Sheridan 754 

Portraits  of  Federal  Cavalry  Commanders 755 

Sheridan's  Cavalry  Charge  at  Cedar  Creek     ....  756 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Country  between  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta 757 

General  Joseph  E.  Johnston 75S 

General  James  B.  McPherson 761 

General  George  H.  Thomas 762 

Portraits  of  Sherman  and  some  of  his  Commanders    .    763 
rhe  Countrj'   Traversed  by  Sherman  in    His   March 

through  Georgia 764 

MapShomng  the  City  of  Mobile  and  Its  Defences  .  .    765 

^Commodore  David  G.  Farragut 766 

Cape   Fear    River   and    Approaches   to   Wilmington, 

N.  C ■ 767 

Boat  oi  the  "Deerhound  "  Rescuing  Captain  Senimes  76S 
Sinking  of  the  "  Alabama"  by  the   "Kearsarge  "  .  .    769 

Raphael  Semmes 770 

Portraits  of  Prominent  Federal  Generals 771 

Major-Genera!  J.  M.  Schofield 772 

Portraits  of  Federal  Cavalry  Commanders 773 

Interior  of  Fort  Steadman 774 

Positions  of  the  Armies  near  Petersburg,  Va 775 

General  Robert  E.  Lee 776 

The  Last  Cavalry  Charge  of  the  War 777 

General  John  B.  Gordon 7S0 

The  McLean  House 7S1 

Surrender  of  General  Lee 7S2 

General  Lee's  Farewell  to  His  Soldiers 7S3 

Assassination  of  President  Lincoln 7S5 

The  Grave  of  President  Lincoln 7S6 

Interview   between    Generals   Sherman   and    Johns- 
ton     78S 

Andrew  Johnson 791 

Ruins  of  Richmond  after  the  War 792 

Fort  Warren,  Boston  Harbor 793 

Lincoln    Monument    in    Fairmount    Park,   Philadel- 

ptiia 795 

Emperor  Maximilian 7gS 

Natives  of  Alaska  Building  Houses 799 

LHysses  S.  Grant S02 

View  on  the  Greene  River  at  the  Crossing  of  the  Union 

Pacific  Railroad,  Wyoming 803 

President  Grant  on  his  way  to  the  Inauguration.    .    .    S04 

Humboldt  Palisades,  Pacific  Railway S05 

(Theyenne   Indians  Reconrioitering  the  First  Train  on 

the  Pacific  Railroad 806 

The  Geneva  Board  of  Arbitration  Settling  the   Ala- 
bama Oaims S07 

The  Burning  of  Chicago 808 

Horace  Greeley S09 

President   Grant  Passing   Through    the   Rotunda  to 

take  the  Oath  of  Office Sio 

Mrs.  U.  S.  Grant.    .        811 

TheLavaBeds— Scene  of  the  Modoc  War     ....    Si  2 
jScene  in  the  New  York  Stock  E.\change  During  the 

Panic  of  1S73 814 

Scene  on  the  Colorado  River S15 


View  in  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River  .  S18 
Memorial  Hall,  Fairmount  Park,  Pliiladelphia  .  .  .  S20 
View  of  the  Main  Building  of  the  International  Cen- 
tennial E.\hibition S22 

General  J.  R.  Hawley Sz^ 

Intersection  of  Ninth  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Philadel 

phia 826 

Obverse  of  Centennial  Medal •    •    •    .    .  82; 

Reverse  of  Centennial  Medal S27 

Shoshone  Falls,  Idaho 828 

General  George  Crook 829 

Indians  Surprised  and  Defeated S30 

Horseshoe  Bend  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  near 

Altoona S3I 

Canyon  of  the  Lodore  and  Greene  Rivers,  Wyoming.  832 

Samuel  J.  TiUlen 833 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks 834 

Point    P'easant,    Ohio,   the    Birthplace    of   General 

Grant S35 

Samuel  J.  Randall 836 

The  New  Department  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C  .  .  837 

George  F.  Edmunds 838 

Thomas  F.  Bayard 839 

Rutherford  E.  Hayes 842 

William  A.  \\T)eeler 843 

Arrival  of  General    Grant  at  San   Francisco  in  the 

Steamer '•  City  of  Tokio  " 844 

William  H.  English 845 

The  "  Jeannette  "  Crushed  by  the  Ice 846 

The  Mirage — A  Scene  in  the  Arctic  Regions  ....  847 

James  A.  Garfield 850 

Mrs.  Lucretia  R.  Garfield 85 1 

James  G.  Blaine 852 

The  Assassination  of  James  A.  Garfield S53 

Death-bed  of  J.imes  A.  Garfield 854 

The  Catafalque  at  Cleveland,  Ohio •  S55 

James  A.  Garfield  Lying  in  State  in  the  Rotunda  of 

the  Capitol  at  Washington 856 

Chester  A.  Arthur 857 

John  A.  Logan S58 

John  G.  Carlisle S59 

Sanderson's  Hope,  Upernavik,  Bafiin  Bay S60 

Arctic  Region — Beechey  Head 86l 

Scene  in  the  Arctic  Region — .-Vmong  the  Icebergs  .  .  862 

The  Brooklyn  Suspension  Bridge 863 

Grover  Cleveland 865 

Chief  Justice  Waite  Administering  the  Oath  of  Office 

to  President  Cleveland 866 

Death  of  General  Grant 867 

Cottage  in  which  Grant  Died  at  Mount  McGregor  .  .  868 
General  Grant's  Temporary  Tomb,  Riverside  ParV, 

New  York S6g 

Mrs.  Frances  Folsom  Cleveland S72 

Tlie  New  Post  Office  Building,  Philadelphia  ....  873 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

The  New  City  Hall,  Philadelphia S74 

Steamship  Docks  on  the  Delaware  River,  Phila- 
delphia      S75 

Allen  G.  Thurman S76 

hevi  P.  Morton S77 

Benjamin  Harrison 879 

Bird's-eye  View  of  New  York  City S80 

The  Post  Office,  New  York 88  r 

The  Battery  and  Castle  Garden,  New  York     .     .  8S2 
The  Harbor  of  New  York 883 


PAGE 

The  Break  in  vSouth  Forks  Dam,  Johnstown,  Pa.  888 

William  McKinley 885 

Charles  F.  Crisp 886 

Sitting  Bull  in  his  War  Dress 887 

Chief  American  Horse 888 

General  Nelson  A.  Miles 889 

Captain  Wallace  Found  After  the  Wounded  Knee 

Fight 890 

Scene  on  the  Yellow  Stone  River 892 

U.  S.  Exhibit  Battle  Ship  "  Illinois  "     .     .     .     .  915 


Superb     Phototype     (Full-page)     Engravings     Illustrating    the     Story     of    the 
New  World. 


Christopher  Columbus. 

Landing  of  Columbus. 

Columbus  before  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

De  Soto  Discovering  the  Mississippi. 

General  Pepperell  at  the  Siege  of  Louisburg 

George  Washington. 

Putnam's  Escape  at  Horseneck. 

Battle  of  Bennington. 

General  Harrison  and  Tecumseh. 

Commodore  Perry  at  the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

General  Scott  at  the  Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo. 

Bombardment  of  Island  No.  10. 

Capture  of  New  Orleans. 

Battle  of  Gettysburg. 

Capture  of  the  Works  at  Petersburg. 

Columbus  Sighting  Land. 


The  Landing  of  Roger  Williams. 

Boston  Massacre,  1770. 

Patrick  Henry. 

Washington  Reviewing  the  Army. 

Massacre  at  Fort  Mimms. 

Decatur's  Conflict  with  the  "Algeriue"  at  Tripoli 

General  George  G.  Meade. 


U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 
U.  S.  Cruiser  ' 


Baltimore." 
Petrel." 
Philadelphia." 
Newark." 
York  town." 
San  Francisco.' 
'  Columbia." 


U.  S.  Cruiser  "Chicago.' 


Thomas  A.  Edison. 
Chauncey  M.  Depew. 
Philip  D.  Armour. 
Thomas  B.  Reed. 
Melville  W.  Fuller. 
John  Wanamaker. 
Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 
Marshall  Field 


John  Sherman. 
Lew  Wallace. 
Frances  E.  Willard. 
William  B.  Allison. 
Richard  Olney. 
James  Whitcomb  Riley. 
Charles  H.  Parkhurst. 
Claus  Spreckels. 


CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS 


Queen  of  Republics 

OR 

Standard  History  of  the  United  States 


BOOK  I 


Discovcrv  ob  bl)c  \v  csberi)  Coi)bii)ci;l! 


CHAPTER   I 


Strange   Pcopl 


e  in   a 


Stranirc   Land 


Karlicst  Inhabitants  of  the  rnited  States— The  Mound  Builders— Remarkable  Works  Constructed  by  Them— 
Evidences  of  a  Primitive  Civilization — Indications  of  the  Antiquity  of  this  Period — The  American 
Indians — Division  of  the  Country  Among  the  Tribes — Names  and  Location  of  the  Various  Tribes — 
Organization  and  Government  of  the  Indians— Their  Dress,  Manners  and  Customs— Villages— Indian 
Inventions— The  War  Dance — Legends  of  the  Norsemen  Respecting  the  Discovery  of  America. 


E  do  not  know  who  were 
the  inhabitants,  or  what 
was  the  history-  of  North 
America  previous  to  its 
discovery  and  settlement 
by  the  Europeans.  That 
it  was  at  some  remote 
period  occupied  by  a  more  civilized  and 
powerful  race  than  the  Indians,  found  by 
the  first  explorers,  is  very  certain ;  but  who 
they  were,  what  was  their  history,  or  what 
the  cause  of  their  extinction,  are  among  the 
profoundest  mysteries  of  the  past.  Traces 
as  distinct  as  those  which  mark  the  various 
physical  changes  which  the  continent  has 
undergone,  exist  to  show  that  these  primi- 
tive inhabitants  were  both  numerous  and  far 
advanced  in  civilization ;  but  this  is  all  that 
we  know  concerning  them. 

In  various  parts  of  the  countrj',  and  espe- 
cially in  the  valley  of  the  Mis.sissippi,  large 
mounds  and  other  structures  of  earth  and 
stone,   but   chiefly  of  cirth,  remain  t')  show 


the  magnitude  of  the  works  constructed  by 
these  people,  to  whom  the  name  "  Mound 
Builders"  is  generally  applieti.  Some  of 
these  earthworks  embrace  as  much  as  fifteen 
or  sixteen  miles  of  embankment. 

As  no  domestic  animals  existed  in  this 
country  at  that  period,  these  works  mu.st 
have  been  con.structed  by  bringing  the  earth 
used  in  them  by  hand ;  a  fact  which  shows 
th.it  the  primitive  population  was  a  large 
one.  The  construction  of  the  works  proves 
that  the}-  had  considerable  engineering  skill. 
The  square,  the  circle,  the  ellipse,  and  the 
octagon  are  all  used  in  these  structures, 
being  all  combined  in  a  single  system  of 
works  in  some  places.  The  proportions  are 
always  perfect.  The  square  is  always  a  true 
square,  and  the  circle  a  true  circle.  Many 
implements  and  ornaments  of  copper,  silver, 
and  precious  stone.s — such  r.s  axes,  chisels, 
knives,  bracelets,  beads,  and  pieces  of  thread 
and  cloth,  and  well-shaped  vases  of  pottery 
have  been  found  in  these  mounds,  and  show 
17 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


the  exttt.i  of  the  civiUzation  of  the  "  Mound 
Builders  "  and  their  knowledge  of  the  arts. 
In  the  region  of  Lake  Superior  are  found 
old  copper  mines  worked  by  these  ancient 
people.  In  one  of  these  mines  there  was 
discovered  an  immense  block  of  copper 
weighing  nearly  six  tons.  It  had  been  left 
in  the  process  of  removal  to  the  top  of  the 
mine,  nearly  thirty  feet  above,  and  was  sup- 
i)orted  on  logs  of  wood  which  were  partly 
petrified.  The  stone  and  copper  tools  used 
by  the  miners  were  discovered  lying  about 
as  they  had  been  left  by  their  owners  ages 
before.  At  the  mouth  of  this  mine  are  piles 
of  earth  thrown  out  in  digging  it,  and  out  of 
Jiese  embankments  trees  are  growing  which 
.le  nearly  four  hundred  years  old. 

Who  were  the  "Mound  Builders"? 

The  following  interesting  account  of  the 
mounds  and  their  builders  is  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  J.  H.  Beadle,  who  has  kindly  given  us 
permission  to  quote  from  his  valuable  work, 
entitled  77/1?  Undeveloped  West: 

In  his  description,  Mr.  Beadle  says  : 

A  people  for  whom  we  have  no  name, 
vaguely  included  under  the  general  term  of 
Mound  Builders,  have  left  evidences  of  exten- 
sive works  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Ohio  Rivers  and  their  tributaries.  These 
are  of  three  kinds :  mounds,  square  and 
circular  inclosures,  and  raised  embank- 
ments of  various  forms.  Of  mounds,  the 
following  are  most  important  and  best 
known  :  One  at  Grave  Creek,  West  Virginia, 
70  feet  high  and  1,000  feet  in  circumference 
at  the  base ;  one  near  Miamisburg,  Ohio,  68 
feet  high  and  852  feet  in  circumference  ;  the 
great  truncated  pyramid  at  Cahokia,  Illinois, 
700  feet  long,  500  wide,  and  90  in  height ; 
the  immense  square  mound,  with  face  of  188 
feet,  near  Marietta,  Ohio  ;  and  some  hun- 
dreds of  inferior  mounds  from  60  to  30  feet 
'a  height,  in  different  States,  from  Wisconsin 


to  the  iTiouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Unlike 
all  the  mounds  in  Me.xico  and  Central  and 
South  America,  those  in  our  country  have 
no  trace  of  buildings  on  them.  WHiy? 
Until  I  visited  Arizona  I  had  no  answer. 
There  the  solution  was  easy.  In  those 
regions  stone  was  abundant  and  timber  was 
scarce  ;  here  the  reverse  was  the  case.  Our 
predecessors  built  of  wood,  the  others  of 
stone;  the  works  of  the  latter  remain  to 
this  day,  while  wooden  buildings  would 
leave  no  trace  after  one  or  two  centuries, 
if  indeed  they  were  not  burnt  by  the  savages 
as  soon  as  abandoned. 

Immense  Structures. 

Of  the  second  class  the  best  known  are  : 
the  square  fortification  at  Cedar  Bank, 
Scioto  River,  Ohio,  with  face  of  800  feet, 
inclosing  a  mound  245  feet  long  by  150 
broad;  the  works  four  miles  north  of  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio,  a  square  and  a  circular  fortifica- 
tion inclosing  twenty  acres  each  ;  the  graded 
way  near  Piketon,  Ohio ;  about  a  hundred 
mounds  and  inclosures  in  Ross  County, 
Ohio ;  the  pyramid  at  Seltzertown,  Missis- 
sippi, 600  feet  long  and  40  feet  high,  and  a 
vast  number  of  mounds,  inclosures,  squares 
and  pyramids  on  the  upper  lakes,  and  scat- 
tered through  the  Southern  and  Western 
States.  Every  State  in  this  great  region 
contains  these  ancient  structures. 

By  far  the  greatest  division  is  in  Central 
and  South  America  ;  and  here  we  find  our- 
selves at  the  point  where  our  ancient  civiliza- 
tion reached  its  height,  among  works  which 
are  the  astonishment  of  explorers  and  per- 
plexity of  scholars.  Yucatan  is  a  vast  field 
for  antiquarian  research,  dotted  from  one  end 
to  the  other  with  the  ruins  of  cities,  temples 
and  palaces.  But  in  the  great  forest  which 
covers  the  northern  half  of  Guatemala,  the 
southern  half  of  Yucatan,  and  parts  of  other 
States,  covering  an  area  larger  than  Ohio,  is 


STRANGE    PEOPLE   IN   A    STRANGE   LAND. 


19 


|r>  ho  found  the  key  to  our  ancient  history. 
Within  a  few  years  past  cities  have  been  dis- 
coverfcd  which  must  have  contained  a  popu- 
lation of  a  quarter  of  a  million,  in  an  advanced 
condition  of  civilization ;  and  yet,  owing  to 
the  jealousy  of  the  natives  and  the  indiffer- 
2nce  of  modern  scholars,  next  to  nothing  is 
cnown,  and  few  scientific  researches  have 
been  made  upon  this  intensely  interesting 
subject. 

In  my  limited  space  I  confine  this  inquiry 
mostlv  to  the  remains  in  our  own  couiitr\-. 


''■.  They  were  an  agricultural  people.  The 
baroarous  state  requires  many  tiinca  as 
large  an  area  for  the  same  number  of  people 
as  the  civilized  state ;  and  the  savage  condi- 
tion a  much  larger.  The  State  of  Ohio  will 
support  an  agricultural  population  of  many 
millions;  yet  it  never  contained  fifty  thousand 
savages.  It  is  easily  proven  that  that 
portion  of  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  never  contained  half  a  million 
Indians.  It  follows,  also,  that  a  very  large 
portion  of  the   conntr\'  around  their  works 


MOUNDS    AT    M 

From  what  we  see  in  the  Western  and 
Southern  States,  the  following  conclusions 
are  evident : 

I.  The  Mound  Builders  constituted  a 
considerable  population,  under  one  govern- 
ment. No  wandering  and  feeble  tribes  could 
aave  erected  such  works  ;  and  the  extent  of 
the  works,  evidently  many  years  in  erection, 
as  well  as  their  completeness  and  scientific 
exactness,  show  the  controlling  energy  of  one 
directing  central  power,  which  alone  can 
Account  for  their  uniform  character. 


ARIETI  >  I   1 

I  must  have  been  cleared  of  timber  and  in 
cultivated  fields. 

3.  They  left  our  country  a  long  time 
ago.  Nature  does  not  give  a  forest  growth 
at  once  to  abandoned  fields ;  a  preparatory 
growth  of  shrubs  and  softer  timber  comes 
first.  But  forest  trees  have  been  found  upon 
the  summit  of  their  mounds,  which  show,  by 
annual  rings  and  other  signs,  at  least  six 
hundred  years  of  growth.  There  could  be 
no  better  proof  of  their  great  antiquity. 

Their  works    are    never  found  upon  the 


20 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


lowest  terrace  of  the  formation  on  the  rivers  ; 
though  many  signs  indicate  that  they  built 
some  as  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  streams  as 
possible.  Their  "  covered  ways,"  leading 
down  to  water,  now  terminate  on  the  second 
terrace  above.  It  is  demonstrable  that  of  the 
various  terraces — "  second  bottoms  " — on 
our  streams,  the  lowest  was  longest  in  form- 
ing. From  these  and  many  other  signs,  it  is 
proved  that  the  last  of  the  Mound  Builders 
left  the  Ohio  \alley  at  least  a  thousand  years 
ago. 

How  Long  were  they  Here  ? 

4.  They  occupied  the  country,  at  least 
the  southern  part  of  it,  where  their  popula- 
tion was  densest,  a  very  long  time.  This  is 
shown  by  the  extent  of  their  works,  the 
evidences  of  their  working  the  copper-mines 
of  the  Superior  region,  and  many  other 
proofs.  The  best  judges  estimate  that  nearly 
a  thousand  years  elapsed  from  the  time  of 
their  entrance  till  their  departure  from  the 
Mississippi  valley. 

5.  At  the  south  they  were  at  peace  ;  but 
as  they  advanced  northward,  they  came 
more  and  more  into  contact  with  the  wild 
tribes,  before  whom  they  finally  retired — 
again  towards  the  south.  These  facts  are 
clearly  proved  by  the  increase  of  fortifica- 
tions northward,  and  broad  flat  mounds, 
suitable  only  for  buildings,  southward. 

So  much  for  proof;  and,  connecting  these 
with  other  proofs,  the  latest  antiquarians  are 
of  the  opinion  that  theToltecs — the  civilized 
race  preceding  the  Aztecs — were  our  Mound 
Builders.  This  opinion  is  the  only  reason- 
able one  that  can  be  formed  under  all  the 
circumstances. 

When  we  pass  to  the  more  southern 
ruins  the  proofs  of  great  antiquity,  large 
population  and  long  occupation  are  vastly 
increased.  Some  of  them  have  been  alluded 
to.  The  great  forest  of  Guatemala  and 
Yucatan   is   nearly    as    large    as    Ohio    and 


Indiana  combined,  and  could  easily  have 
sustained  a  civilized  population  of  ten  mil- 
lions. The  Aztecs,  whom  the  Spaniards 
found,  were  the  last  of  at  least  three  civilized 
races,  and  much  inferior  to  the  Toltecs 
immediately  preceding  them.  Their  history 
indicates  that  they  were  merely  one  of  the 
original  races,  who  overthrew  and  mingled 
with  the  Toltecs,  adopting  part  of  their  reli- 
gion and  civilization.  The  Peruvian  Incas, 
found  by  Pizarro,  seemed  to  have  been  the 
second  in  the  series  of  races.  But  civiliza- 
tion is  not  spontaneous  ;  it  must  have  re- 
quired nearly  a  thousand  years  for  the  first 
of  the  three  dynasties  to  have  developed  art 
and  learning  far  enough  to  erect  the  build- 
ings we  find.  To  that  race  before  the  Incas, 
the  authors  of  the  original  civilization,  De 
Bourbourg  and  others  have  given  the  name 
of  Colhuas. 

What  may  Reasonably  be  Conjectured, 

Thus  we  have  the  series :  a  thousand 
years  since  the  Mound  Builders  left  our 
country;  a  previous  thousand  jears  of  set- 
tlement and  occupation,  and  a  thousand 
years  for  the  precedent  civilization  to  develop. 
Or,  beginning  in  Mexico,  etc. :  a  thousand 
years  of  Spaniard  and  Aztec  ;  a  previous 
thousand  years  for  Toltec  migration  and 
settlement,  and  a  thousand  years  before  that 
for  the  Colhuas  to  develop,  flourish  and 
decline.  This  carries  us  back  to  the  time 
when  the  same  course  of  events  was  inaugu- 
rated on  the  Eastern  Continent.  We  know 
that  it  has  required  so  long  to  produce  all 
we  see  in  Europe  and  Asia;  all  reasoning, 
by  analogy,  goes  to  show  that  at  least  as 
long  a  time  has  been  required  to  produce 
equally  great  evidences  in  America. 

Besides  a  host  of  surmises  there  have 
been  at  least  nine  theories  promulgated,  and 
strenuously  defended,  in  regard  to  the  origin 
of  this  civilization. 


STRANGE  PEOPLE  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND. 


J.  The  Jewish  theory.  Some  sixty  years 
since  Major  Noah  maintained  that  the  "  Lost 
Tribes  "  were  the  ancestors  of  the  American 
Indians   and  the    builders   of  the  ruins   de- 


such  a  people  as  the  Jews  could,  in  a  few 
centuries,  lose  all  trace  of  their  language, 
religion,  laws,  form  of  government,  art, 
science  and  general  knowledge,  and  sink  into 


A    DEAD    TOWN    OF    THE    MOQUIS    INDI.VNS. 


scribed ;  and  a  few  others  held  that,  if  not 
the  Ten  Tribes,  there  was  a  Jewish  Colony. 
It  would   certainly  be  an    amazing  thing    if 


a  tribe  of  barbarians.  But  when  we  add 
that  their  bodily  shape  mu.st  have  completely 
changed,  their  skulls  lengthened,  the  beard 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  WESTERN  CONTINENT. 


dropped  from  their  faces,  and  their  lan- 
guage undergone  a  reversion  from  a  deriv- 
ative to  a  primitive  t>-pe — a  thing  unknown 
in  any  human  tongue — the  supposition  be- 
comes too  monstrous  even  to  be  discussed. 

2.  The  Malay  theory  is  that  a  great 
Malay  Empire,  once  existing  in  the  island  of 
Malaysia,  planted  colonies  here ;  but  this  is 
easily  disproved. 

Works  of  the  Phoenicians. 

3.  The  Phoenician  theory:  that  those 
ancient  navigators  planted  colonies  in  Amer- 
ica. If  correct,  this  would  be  certain  of 
demonstration  ;  for  they  were  pre-eminently 
a  people  of  letters  and  monuments.  The 
Phoenician  alphabet  is  the  parent  of  all  the 
alphabets  of  Europe  except  the  Turkish. 
They  must  have  left  some  trace  of  their  lan- 
guage But  none  has  been  found.  Nor  can 
any  similarity  be  traced  in  the  ruins  with  the 
works  of  the  Phoenicians. 

4.  5,6.  The  Assyrian,  Egyptian  and  Roman 
theories  fell  for  the  same  reasons  as  the 
Phoenician.  The  works  of  none  of  these 
people  have  any  marked  resemblance  to 
those  found  in  America.  A  pyramid  or 
temple  here  is  no  more  like  an  Eg)'ptian  or 
Assyrian  one  than  a  Chinese  pagoda  is  like 
an  American  church. 

7.  The  Northmen  in  America  have  been 
credited  with  these  works.  It  is  barely 
possible  the  remains  in  the  United  States 
might  be  thus  accounted  for;  but  how  about 
the  far  more  extensive  and  elaborate  works 
in  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America  ? 
The  cause  ascribed  is  utterly  inadequate  for 
the  effect. 

8.  The  Chinese  or  Tartary  theory  is, 
that  about  the  year  1250  Kublai  Khan  sent 
Tartar  colonies  to  America;  that  among 
them  were  some  Nestorian  Christians,  which 
accounts  for  the  crosses  found.  The  time  is 
utterly  inadequate.       Palenque    and    Copan 


were  built  and  abandoned  before  the    year 
1250. 

9.  The  Atlantean  theory  is,  b}-  far,  the 
most  brilliant  and  fascinating  of  all  proposed, 
and  appeals  with  subtle  power  to  the  imagi- 
nation. It  is  propounded  by  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  who  maintains  that  the  Island  of 
Atlantis,  often  mentioned  by  ancient  poets, 
had  a  real  existence  ;  that  it  extended  nearly 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  was  the  cradle  of 
civilization  ;  that  it  actually  sank  in  the  sea 
as  the  Greek  poets  tell  us,  and  that  the  West 
India  Islands  are  the  only  portions  that 
remain  above  water.  He  conjectures  that 
from  this  common  centre  civilization  spread 
east  and  west,  and  supports  this  view  by 
numerous  traditions  from  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic.  Of  this  theor^'we  must  regretfully 
say,  "  Not  proven." 

A  False  Assumption. 

To  dispose  of  so  many  theories  to  make 
way  for  my  own  opinion,  is  scarcely  in 
keeping  with  the  modesty  I  had  proposed  to 
myself;  but,  in  my  humble  judgment,  these 
theorists  all  start  from  one  fatal  assumption  : 
that  this  civilizatio7i  was  necessarily  an  exotic. 
W'h)^  not  a  civilization  native  to  America  as 
well  as  to  any  other  countrj'  ?  I  would  sug- 
gest that  a  good  basis  might  be  laid  by 
analogy  with  the  course  of  civilization  in 
Europe.  There  it  began  in  the  South,  spread 
slowly  by  successive  developments  towards 
the  North,  where  it  was  overwhelmed  and 
driven  back,  as  it  were,  by  an  irruption  of 
barbarians;  it  again  revived  in  the  South, 
and  slowly  e.xtended  to  the  North,  where  it 
is  now  advanced  beyond  the  original. 

Similarly  here  the  Colhuas  originated 
civilization  in  the  South  ;  their  successors 
the  Toltecs,  carried  it  towards  the  North, 
about  the  line  of  Ohio,  they  encountered  the 
irruption  of  northern  barbarians,  and  slowly 
retired  towards  the  South  ;  there  civilization 


ISTRANGE  PEOPLE  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND. 
again  revived,  and  was  steadily  advancing  [  America,  the  same  as  in  Europe,  the 


towards  the  North  when  the  Spaniards  came 
and  destroyed  it.  On  each  continent  the 
full  cycle  required  a  period  of  about  three 
thousand  years. 

On  this  basis  I  should  place  the  Moquis 
and  other  Pueblo  races  the  last  in  a  series  of 
four,  the  second  the  greatest,  and  a  decline 
thence  to  the  last :  Colhaus,  Toltecs,  Aztecs, 
Pueblos.  In  summing  up,  why  are  we 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  adopting  any 
hypothesis  of  an  Eastern  origin  ?  Is  it 
unreasonable  to  believe  that  self-improve- 
ment began  among  savages  in  America,  as  it 
did  three  thousand  years  ago  among  savages 
in  Egy^pt  and  Greece  ?  Does  sound  philos- 
ophy forbid  the  theorj'  of  a  spontaneous 
civilization  in  America  ?  We  are,  perhaps, 
too  much  in  the  habit  of  thinking  that 
everything  really  good  originated  with  our 
branch  of  the  human  race.  To  my  mind, 
the  evidences  are  many — though  a  profound 
American  arch^ologist  might  smile  at  the 
supposition — that  this  civilization  was  sui 
generis,  native  and  not  derived. 

A  Remarkable  Indian. 
We  now  know  that  in  China  a  civiliza- 
tion developed  spontaneously,  totally  unlike 
and  receiving  no  aid  from  that  of  Europe. 
Two  starting  points  proved,  what  is  there  to 
forbid  the  idea  of  a  third  ?  This  is  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  European  as  is  the  Chinese  ; 
it  shows  no  signs  of  derivation,  and  facts 
indicate  clearly  that  the  native  mind  of  Amer- 
ica is  naturally  equal  to  either  of  the  others. 
Within  the  memory  of  man  a  Cherokee  has 
invented  a  complete  alphabet,  one  serving 
the  purpose  in  his  language  better  than  ours 
does  in  the  P2nglish.  (Better  because  each 
letter  represents  invariably  one  and  the  same 
sound).  This  fact  is  worth  a  volume  of  con- 
jecture. It  shows  that  the  human  mind  was 
slowly  working  toward  something  better  in 


only 
difference  being  that,  from  reasons  of  race  or 
climate,  it  there  got  an  earlier  start. 

Outgrowing  Barbarism. 

And  as  to  the  northern  barbarians  who 
destroyed  this  civilization,  why  are  we  driven 
to  inventing  a  plausible  theory  as  to  how 
they  crossed  from  Asia  ?  On  the  whole,  I 
incline  to  flank  all  the  difficulties  of  the  main 
question  thus :  America,  as  shown  by  geo- 
logy, is  the  oldest  of  the  continents,  and  it 
is  quite  reasonable,  therefore,  to  suppose  was 
early  inhabited.  This  race  had  a  native 
genius  peculiarly  its  own,  totally  unlike  that 
which  developed  in  Asia  the  Chinese  civili- 
zation, or  that  in  Europe  which  created  that 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  and  the  later 
nations.  Like  them,  many  hundreds  of  years 
passed  in  barbarism  before  even  a  start  was 
apparent.  But  civilization  did  begin  in  Amer- 
ica, and  was  reviving  from  its  first  overthrow 
when  the  whites  came. 

Mexico  had  advanced  through  the  savage 
and  barbarous  to  the  half-civilized  state ;  the 
New  England  tribes  had  taken  the  first  steps 
toward  improvement,  and  the  New  York 
Indians  had  already  a  political  organization, 
code  of  laws,  national  confederacy  and  sys- 
tem of  representative  council  and  govern- 
ment. Had  the  whites  discovered  America 
a  thousand  years  later,  they  might  have 
found  on  the  Atlantic  coast  a  comph^ed 
native  civilization  as  perfect  as  that  of  Ch.i  i 
to-day.  The  innate  power  of  the  Inc.;.  i 
mind  among  the  superior  tribes  is  evidc:/ 
The  inferior  ones  would  have  perished  as  did 
inferior  aboriginal  races  before  Asiatic  and 
European  civilization. 

The  foregoing  theories,  by  Mr.  Beadle,  are 
doubtless  the  best  solution  to  this  problem. 
At  the  time  of  its  discovery  by  the  whites 
the  Indians  were  the  sole  human  occupants 
of  the  continent,  which  was  covered  with  vast 


24 


DISCOVERY    OF   THE   WESTERN    CONTINENT, 
ame  of 


v/oods   and  plains  abounding  witi 
every  description. 

Though  nominally  divided  into  tribes  and 
■"  nations,"  the  Indians  were  really  one  great 
family  in  physical  appearance,  manners,  cus- 
toms, religion,  and  in  the  observance  of  their 
social  and   political  systems.      The  division 


and  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina  as  far 
south  as  Cape  Fear,  a  large  part  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  and  nearly  all  of  Ohio,  Indi- 
ana, Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Min- 
nesota. This  nation  was  subdivided  into  the 
following  tribes  :    the   Ottawas,   Chippewas 


INDIAN    VILLAGE    IN 


into  tribes  was  the  result  of  their  difference 
in  language.  Each  tribe  had  a  dialect  pecu- 
liar to  itself  and  distinct  from  those  of  the 
others.  The  tribes  were  for  the  most  part 
hostile  to  and  were  constantly  engaged  in 
war  with  each  other.  They  were  generally 
divided  into  eight  nations,  speaking  eight 
radically  distinct  languages.     These  were  : 

I.  The  Algonquins,  who  inhabited  the  ter- 
ritory now  comprised  in  the  six  New  Eng- 
land States,  the  eastern  part  of  New  York 


Sacs  and  Foxes,  Miamis,  Potawatomies, 
Shawnees,  Powhatans,  Delawares,  Mohegans, 
Narragansetts  and  Pequods. 

The  Famous  "  Five  Nations." 
II.  Iroquois,  who  occupied  almost  all  of 
that  part  of  Canada  south  of  the  Ottawa,  and 
between  lakes  Ontario,  Erie  and  Huron,  the 
greater  part  of  New  York,  and  the  country 
lying  along  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie, 
now  included  in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Penn- 
sylvania.      This    territory,   it  will    be  seen, 


COMMODORE   PENNANT. 


U.  S.  ADMIRAIi. 


\  "    7 


•  >■    • — <^ 


-'^m 


\  f  VBirEZDEI.A. 


urn 


L4 


FLAGS  OF  ALL   NATIONS. 


■•►■ 


STRANGE   PEOPLE   IN   A   STRANGE   I>AND. 


bordered  on  the  domains  of  their  powerful 
and  bitter  enemies,  the  Algonquins.  The 
nation  was  subdivided  into  the  following 
tribes:  the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas, 
Oneidas  and  Mohawks,  These  five  were 
afterwards  called  by  the  English  the  "  Five 
Nations."     In  1722  they  admitted  the  Tus- 


banks  of  tlie  Pearl  River.  They  were  almost 
surrounded  by  the  tribes  of  the  Mobilian 
language,  yet  remained  until  their  extinction 
a  separate  nation,  speaking  a  distinct  lan- 
guage peculiar  to  themselves,  and  worship- 
ping the  sun  as  their  God.  They  are  believed 
to  have  been  the  most  civilized  of  all  the 


caroras  into  their  confederation,  and   were  j  savage  tribes  of  North  America. 


afterwards  called  the  "  Six  Nations." 

Tribes  of  the  South. 

III.  TJic  Cataxvbas,  who  dwelt  along  the 
banks  of  the  Yadkin  and  Catawba  ri\ers, 
near  the  line  which  at  present  separates 
the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 

IV.  The  Cherokccs,  whose  lands  were 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Broad  river 
of  the  Carolinas,  including  all  of  north- 
ern Georgia. 

V.  The  Uchees,  who  dwelt  south  of 
the  Cherokees,  along  the  Savannah,  the 
Oconee,  and  the  head-waters  of  the 
Chattahoochee.  They  spoke  a  harsh 
and  singular  language,  and  are  believed 

to    have   been   the  remnant    of  a    once      > 
powerful  nation. 

VI.  The  Mobilian  Nation,  who  inhabi-  , 
ted  all  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  X 
not  mentioned  in  the  above  statements, 

a  part  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Mis- 
sissippi and  all  of  Florida  and  Alabama. 
Their  territory  was  next  in  extent  to  that 
of  the  Algonquins,  and  extended  along  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
the  Mississippi  River.  The  nation  was 
divided  into  three  great  confederations — the 
Creeks  or  Muscogees,  the  Choctaws  and  the 
Chickasaws  —  and  was  subdivided  into  a 
number  of  smaller  tribes,  the  principal  of 
which  were  the  Seminoles  and  Yemassees, 
who  were  members  of  the  Creek  Confed- 
eration. 

VII.  The  Natchez,  who  dwelt  in  a  small 
territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  along  the 


VIII.  The  Dacotahs  or  Sioux,  whose  terri- 
tory was  bounded  on  the  north  b/  Lake 
Winnipeg,  on  the  south  by  the  Arkansas 
River,  on  the  east  by  the  Mississippi,  and  on 


^ 


:-^ 


'■•  ^       ""^^ 


^i^' 


NAVAJU     liOV. 

the  west  by  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
nation  was  divided  into  the  following 
branches  :  the  Winnebagoes,  living  between 
Lake  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi ;  the 
Southern  Sioux,  living  between  the  Arkan- 
sas and  the  Platte ;  and  the  Mandans  and 
Crows,  who  lived  north  of  them. 

The  great  plains,  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  Pacific  coast  were  held  by  the  powerful 
tribes  of  the  Pawnees,  Comanches,  Apaches, 
Utahs,  Black  Feet,  Snakes,  Nezperces,  Flat- 
heads,  Navajos  and  California  Indians. 


26 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


Each  tribe  was  divided  into  classes  or 
clans,  which  were  distinguished  by  a  mark 
tattooed  on  the  breast.  This  mark  was 
called  the  totem,  and  was  generally  the 
representation  of  an  animal  or  bird.  The 
Indians  believed  that  all  animals  had  protect- 
ing spirits,  and  each  class  was  supposed  to 
be  protected  by  the  spirit  of  the  animal  it 
chose  for  its  totem.  Over  each  class  was  a 
chief,  and  the  head  of  the  tribe  was  a  chief 
or  sachem,  who  was  usually  a  man,  but  some- 


PL  tbi    )  IM  IAN  AT  PRA\ER 

times  a  woman.  The  Indians  had  no  writ- 
ten laws,  but  the  customs  and  traditions  of 
the  tribe  took  the  place  of  these.  The  reli- 
gious belief  of  the  Indians  was  simple. 
They  adored  a  Great  Spirit — some  tribes  had 
many  gods — and  believed  in  a  future  state. 
The  brave  were  admitted  to  the  happy  hunt- 
ing-grounds of  the  spirit-world,  but  cowards 
were  excluded  from  them.  The  weapons  of 
a  warrior  were  buried  with  him  that  he  might 
use  them  in  his  s]iirit  home,  and  pursue  the 
occupations  of  his  earthly  life. 


Their  heaven  lay  far  beyond  the  mountains 
of  the  setting  sun.  It  was  a  land  rich  in 
game,  and  abounding  in  fertile  meadows  and 
sparkling  streams.  There  the  warrior,  re- 
leased from  the  cares  and  hardships  of  life, 
passed  the  ages  of  eternity  in  the  chase ;  and 
there  parting  from  friends,  suffering,  fatigue, 
hunger  and  thirst  were  unknown.  The 
Indian  heard  voices  of  spirits  in  the  wind, 
and  saw  them  in  the  stars.  The  shades  of 
his  ancestors  were  constantly  hovering  o\er 
him,  stimulating  him  to  brave  deeds,  keep- 
ing fresh  in  his  mind  the  duty  of  avenging 
them  upon  the  enemies  they  had  left  behind, 
and  of  proving  himself  a  true  warrior. 

Grotesque  Dress  of  the  Savages. 

The  dress  of  the  savages  consisted  of  the 
skins  of  animals,  which  were  prepared  by 
smoking  them.  After  the  settlement  of  the 
colonies  they  added  a  blanket  to  this  dress. 
Their  garments  were  decorated  with  skins 
and  feathers,  and  on  special  occasions  they 
painted  their  faces  with  various  bright  colors. 
In  the  warm  weather  they  wore  scarcely  any 
clothing.  Their  houses  or  wigwams  were 
formed  of  poles  set  firmly  in  the  ground  and 
bent  toward  each  other  at  the  top.  These 
were  covered  with  chestnut  or  birch  bark. 
Some  of  the  tribes  had  large  houses,  often 
thirty  feet  high  and  over  two  hundred  feet 
long,  which  accommodated  a  number  of 
families.  Some  of  the  Indian  villages  were 
laid  off  regularly  and  were  permanent ;  others 
were  broken  up  with  each  migration  of  the 
tribe.  All  the  Indians,  however,  pursued  a 
roving  life,  passing  from  point  to  point  in 
search  of  game  and  the  means  of  subsist- 
ence. Some  of  the  tribes  lived  by  hunting 
only  ;  others  added  to  this  pursuit  the  culti- 
vation of  maize  or  Indian  corn,  beans,  hemp, 
tobacco  and  pumpkins.  The  food  of  the 
Indians  was  coarser  and  less  nourishing  than 
that  of  the  Europeans,  and  they  were  conse- 


STRANGE  PEOPLE  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND. 


27 


quently  inferior  to  the  latter  in  bodily 
strength.  They  surpassed  them  in  endur- 
ance, however,  and  could  bear  tests  which 
the  whites  could  not.  They  were  swift  run- 
ners, and  could  accomplish  long  distances  in 
this  way.  It  was  a  common  thing  for  a  good 
runner  to  run  seventy  or  eighty  miles  in  a 
single  day.  They  were  thoroughly  proficient 
in  the  craft  of  the  woodsman.  Sounds  and 
sights  which  had  no  meaning  to  the  white 
man  were  eloquent  to  them ;  and  they  sur- 
passed the  latter  in  keenness  of  hearing  and 
of  vision.  They  communicated  with  each 
other  by  signs  or  marks  on  rocks  and  trees. 

For  money  they  used  wampum  beads  ;  and  1 
belts  made  of  this  wampum  were  used  to 
record  treaties  and  other  important  events. 
They  had  no  intoxicating  drinks  before  the 
arrival  of  the  whites ;  but  used  tobacco, 
which  they  smoked  in  pipes  made  of  clay. 
They  were  expert  marksmen  with  the  bow 
until  they  learned  the  use  of  firearms  from 
the  \\hites,  when  they  lost  much  of  their 
ancient  skill  with  this  weapon. 

Canoes  and  Snow-shoes. 
"  The  most  ingenious  inventions  of  the  In- 
dians," says  Colonel  Higginson,  "  were  the 
snow-shoe  and  the  birch  canoe.  The  snow- 
shoe  was  made  of  a  maple-wood  frame  three 
or  four  feet  long,  curved  and  tapering,  and 
filled  in  with  a  network  of  deer's  hide.  This 
network  was  fastened  to  the  foot  by  thongs, 
only  a  light,  elastic  moccasin  being  worn. 
Thus  the  foot  was  supported  on  the  surface 
of  the  snow ;  and  an  Indian  could  travel 
forty  miles  a  day  upon  snow-shoes,  and  could 
easily  overtake  the  deer  and  moose  whose 
pointed  hoofs  cut  through  the  crust.  The 
peculiar  pattern  varied  with  almost  every 
tribe,  as  did  also  that  of  the  birch  canoe. 
This  was  made  of  the  bark  of  the  white 
birch,  stretched  over  a  very  light  frame  of 
white   cedar.     The   whole   bark  of  a  birch 


tree  was  stripped  off  and  put  around  the 
frame  without  being  torn.  The  edges  were 
sewed  with  thongs  cut  from  the  roots  of 
the  cedar,  and  were  then  covered  with  pitch 
made  from  the  gum  of  trees.  If  torn,  the 
canoe  could  be  mended  with  pieces  of  bark 
fastened  in  the  same  way.  The  largest  o! 
these  canoes  was  thirty  feet  long,  and  u-oul  1 
carry  ten  or  twelve  Indians.  They  were 
very  light  and  could  be  paddled  with  ease 
They  were  often  very  gracefully  shaped,  and 
drew  very  little  water. 

"The  Indians  had  great  courage,  seif-con- 
trol,  and    patience.     Th:y    were  grave  and 


f^^ 


n'  '-i 


CIVILIZED    INDIAN    W'OMAN. 

dignified  in  their  manners  on  important  occa- 
sions ;  in  their  councils  they  were  courteous 
to  one  another,  and  discussed  all  important 
questions  at  great  length.  They  were  often 
kind  and  generous,  and  sometimes  even  for- 
giving; but  they  generally  held  sternness  tc 
be  a  virtue, and  forgiveness  a  weakness.  They 
were  especially  cruel  to  captives,  putting 
them  to  death  with  all  manner  of  tortureS; 
in  which  women  took  an  active  part  It  v/as 
the  custom  among  them  for  women  to  do 
most  of  the   hard  work,  in   ordfei    that  the 


s8 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


bodies  of  the  men  might  be  kept  supple  and 
active  for  the  pursuits  of  the  chase  and  war. 

Great  Power  of  Endurance. 

"  When  employed  on  these  pursuits,  the 
rdian  men  seemed  incapable  of  fatigue; 
*jut  in  the  camp  or  in  travelling  the  women 
carried  the  burdens  ;  and  when  a  hunter  had 
carried  a  slain  deer  on  his  shoulders  for  a 
longdistance,  he  would  throw  it  down  within 
sight  of  the  village,  that  his  squaw  might  go 
and  bring  it  in. 

*'  i\Iost  of  the  Indian  tribes  lived  in  a  state 
"if  constant  warfare  with  one  another.  When 
there  was  a  quarrel  between  tribes,  and  war 
seemed  ready  to  break  out,  strange  cere- 
monies were  used.  Some  leading  chief 
would  paint  his  body  black  from  head  to 
Coot,  and  would  hide  himself  in  the  woods  or 
<n  a  cavern.  There  he  would  fast  and  pray, 
and  call  upon  the  Great  Spirit;  and  would 
observe  his  dreams  to  see  if  they  promised 
good  or  evil.  If  he  could  dream  of  a  great 
war-eagle  hovering  before  him  it  would  be  a 
sign  of  triumph.  After  a  time  he  would 
come  forth  from  the  woods  and  return  among 
his  people.  Then  he  would  address  them, 
summon  them  to  war,  and  assure  them  that 
the  Great  Spirit  was  on  their  side.  Then  he 
would  bid  the  warriors  to  a  feast  at  his  wig- 
wam. There  they  would  find  him  no  longer 
painted  in  black,  but  in  bright  and  gaudy 
colors,  called  '  war  paint.'  The  guests  would 
also  be  dressed  in  paint  and  feathers,  and 
would  seat  themselves  in  a  circle  around  the 
wigwam.  Then  wooden  trenchers,  contain- 
■ng  the  flesh  of  dogs,  would  be  placed  before 
hem,  while  the  chief  would  sit  quietly  smok- 
ng  his  pipe,  and  would  not  yet  break  his 
./)ng  and  wearisome  fast. 

"  After  the  feast,  the  war-dance  would  fol- 
low, perhaps  at  night,  amid  the  blaze  of  fires 
juid  lighted  pine  knots.  A  painted  post 
w-'ould  be  driven   into  the  ground,  and  the 


crowd  would  form  a  wide  circle  round  It- 
The  war  chief  would  leap  into  the  op«*ri 
space,  brandishing  his  hatchet,  and  would 
chant  his  own  deeds  and  those  of  his  fathers, 
acting  outall  that  he  described  and  striking 
at  the  post  as  if  it  were  an  enemy.  Warrioi 
after  warrior  would  follow,  till  at  last  the 
whole  band  would  be  dancing,  shouting,  and 
brandishing  their  weapons,  striking  and  stab- 
bing at  the  air,  making  hideous  grimaces 
and  filling  the  forest  with  their  yells. 

Making  the  Attack. 

"  Much  of  the  night  would  pass  in  this 
way.  In  the  morning  the  warriors  would 
leave  the  camp  in  single  file,  still  decorated 
with  paint  and  feathers  and  ornaments ;  and, 
as  they  entered  the  woods,  the  chief  would 
fire  his  gun,  and  each  in  turn  would  do  the 
same.  Then  they  would  halt  near  the  vil 
lage,  would  take  off"  their  ornaments  anc 
their  finery,  and  would  give  all  these  to  the 
women,  who  had  followed  them  for  this  pur- 
pose. Then  the  warriors  would  go  silentlv 
and  stealthily  through  the  forest  to  Ihr 
appointed  place  of  attack.  Much  of  theif 
skill  consisted  in  these  silent  approaches,  aiic 
in  surprises  and  stratagems,  and  long  ant* 
patient  watchings.  They  attached  no  shanu 
to  killing  an  unarmed  enemy,  or  to  private 
deceit  and  treachery,  though  to  their  public 
treaties  they  were  always  faithful.  They  were 
desperately  brave,  and  yet  they  saw  no  dis- 
grace in  running  away  when  there  was  no 
chance  of  success." 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America 
the  Indians  were  rapidly  disappearing.  Theii 
relentless  wars  and  frequent  pestilences  were 
sweeping  them  away.  Contact  with  the 
white  race  has  hastened  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion. Many  of  the  tribes  e.^ist  now  but  in 
name,  and  those  which  remain  are  growing 
smaller  in  numbers  with  each  generation , 
and  it  would  seem  tha*-  the  time  is  not  £a> 


V 


STRANGE  PEOPLE  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND. 


Jstant  when  the  last  trace  left  of  the  red  man  1 
en  America  will  be  his  memory. 

Old  Traditions. 

vVhether  any  white  men  ever  trod  the 
Jiores  of  America  previous  to  the  coming  of 
Columbus  is  a  disputed  question.  It  would 
>eem,  however,  that,  several  centuries  previ- 
justohis  disco\-er}%a  Norwegian  vessel  from 
Iceland  to  Greenland  was  driven  out  of  her 
course  by  storms  to  the  coast  of  Labrador 
or  Newfoundland.  Tlie  national  pride  of  the 
Icelanders  and  the  Danes  has  led  them  to 
accept  as  literal  history  the  traditions  of  their 
race  concerning  this  voyage,  and  they  have 
Riven  it  a  definite  date.  According  to  them 
this  voyage  took  place  in  A.  D.  986,  and  was 
followed  in  lOOi  by  a  voyage  of  Lief  Erick- 
son,  an  Icelandic  navigator,  who  is  said  to 
have  discovered  America,  reaching  Labrador 
first,  and  then  sailing  southward  to  Newport 
and  New  Y  rk  harbors.  This  voyage  is 
said  to  have  led  the  way  to  the  further 
exploration  of  the  coast  as  far  south  as  the 
rapes  of  Virginia,  and  to  the  planting  of 
colonics,  which  soon  perished,  in  Newfound- 
land and  Nova  Scotia.  That  some  Icelandic 
voyagers  visited  the  American  continent  pre- 
vious to  the  expedition  of  Columbus  is  most 
likely  ;  but  we  cannot  accept  the  definite  and 
explicit  statements  of  the  writers  in  ques- 
tion;  at  least  in  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge  upon  this  subject.  We  must  con- 
tent ourselves  with  the  bare  fact,  without 
admitting  all  the  details  narrated. 

Among  the  strange,  stirring  and  wonder- 
fill  stories  of  early  voyages  there  was  none 
vhich  excited  such  interest  as  that  of  Bjarni, 
a  native  of  Iceland,  who  had  cruised  along 
the  coast  of  an  unknown  world,  and  looked 
upon  hills,  woods  and  mountains,  of  v/hose 
existence  no  one  had  ever  dreamed.  It 
naturally  occurred  to  the  hardy  sailors  who 
discussed  the  question,  tliat  they  could  do 


what  Bjarni  had  done,  and  indeed  far  more, 
for  he  had  not  set  foot  on  the  shores  he  had 
seen  at  the  west. 

The  oldest  son  of  Eric  the  Red  was  Lief— 
Lief  the  Lucky,  he  was  afterward  called 
In  the  year  lOOO  ne  set  sail  from  Herjulfness 
with  a  crew  of  thirty-five  men,  Bjarni  being 
among  them.  Heading  boldly  out  to  sea,  the 
sailors  ploughed  through  the  icy  waters  until 
land,  supposed  to  be  Newfoundland,  was 
reached.  They  went  ashore  and  examined 
it,  but  there  was  little  to  please  the  eye  and 
they  soon  left.  The  next  place  visited  was 
probably  Nova  Scotia,  as  it  is  now  called. 
It  was  found  to  correspond  with  the  account 
given  by  Bjarni.  Two  days  further  sail, 
before  a  favoring  wind,  carried  the  explorers 
so  far  south  that  when  land  was  once  more 
descried,  it  must  have  been  New  England. 
The  main  facts  of  the  remarkable  voyage  of 
Lief  the  Northman  have  been  proven  beyond 
all  dispute,  but  the  accounts  themselves  arc 
so  confused  in  minor  details  that  it  can 
never  be  positively  known  where  it  was  these 
navigators  first  landed.  There  is  good  rea- 
son, however,  to  believe  it  was  on  the  coast 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  probably  at  some  point 
on  the  Narragansett  Bay. 

A  Bold   Navigator. 

The  Northmen  were  astonished  and 
deliglited  when  they  came  to  explore  the 
woods  to  find  luscious  grapes  in  abundance. 
To  the  Northmen,  the  climate  seemed  won- 
derfully mild.  Lief  gave  the  country  the 
name  of  Vinland,  and  when  he  sailed  north- 
ward, his  vessel  was  loaded  with  grapes  and 
valuable  timber,  asproof  of  the  fertility  of  the 
region  he  had  visited. 

The  Northmen  were  not  men  to  rest  con 
tent  with  the  voyage  and  discoveries  made 
by  Lief.  Eric  the  Red  had  another  son.  a 
brave  and  skillful  navigator  named  Thorvald, 
who   was   eager  to    visit   the   new   countrr. 


STRANGE  PEOPLE  IN  A  STRANGE  LAND. 


31 


Lief  gave  him  much  lielp,  and  in  1003  lie  set 
sail  witli  acrevv  of  thirty  men.  Good  fortune 
attended  them,  and  they  found  the  rough 
houses  left  by  Lief  still  strong  and  secure. 
The  men  spent  the  winter  in  hunting  and 
fishing,  but,  so  far  as  is  known,  never  saw  the 
face  of  any  native  of  the  New  World.  When 
spring  came,  part  of  the  company  went  on 
an  exploring  tour  along  the  coast  of  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut  and  Long  Island.  There 
is  good  reason  to  believe  they  entered  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  but  not  a  living  person 
beside  themselves  was  to  be  seen,  and  where 
stands  to-day  the  most  populous  city  in  the 
New  World,  there  was  not  so  much  as  an  j 
Indian  wigwam. 

The  records  show  that  in  the  spring  of 
1004  Thorvald  entered  on  a  more  extended 
voyage  of  exploration.  He  sailed  slowly 
northward  along  the  coast  of  Cape  Cod,  and 
was  drivea  ashore  by  a  tempest.  It  took  the 
crew  a  long  time  to  repair  damages,  but 
when  everything  was  ready,  they  resumed 
their  voyage,  keeping  close,  no  doubt,  along 
the  south  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Being  favorably  impressed  with  the  appear- 
ance of  a  certain  spot,  they  dropped  anchor 
and  went  ashore.  When  they  had  done  so, 
they  saw  for  the  first  time  some  of  the 
natives  of  the  new  country. 

Under  a  couple  of  rude  tents    they   dis-  ' 
covered  nine  quietly  lolling  on  the  ground  ! 
with  no  suspicion  of  the   presence    of  the  j 
strangers  who  had  landed  near  them.     Who 
would  think  that  the  Northmen  could   offer  I 


harm  to  vh;  poor  savages?  There  was  not 
the  slightest  excuse  for  the  dreadful  cruelty 
of  the  white  men,  and  yet,  no  sooner  did 
they  see  the  natives,  than  they  resolved  to  kill 
them  all.  Creeping  silently  forward,  they 
made  a  sudden  rush,  and  with  their  heavy 
swords  killed  all  but  one. 

Having  completed  the  massacre,  the 
triumphant  Northmen  lay  down  under  the 
trees  to  sleep;  but  they  had  hardly  closed 
their  eyes  when  the  woods  resounded  with 
shouts  and  yells,  and  the  natives  rushed  upon 
them  from  every  side.  The  single  survivor 
of  the  slaughter  had  made  haste  to  tell  what 
had  been  done  by  the  visitors,  who  were  now 
compelled  to  flee  to  their  ship,  fighting  as 
they  went.  Under  the  shelter  of  the  vessel, 
however,  they  were  able  to  beat  back  the 
natives,  only  one  of  the  Northmen  receiving 
a  wound :  he  was  Thorvald,  who  had  been 
pierced  so  deeply  by  an  arrow  that  he  was 
past  help.  He  died  and  was  buried  near  the 
shore,  the  grave  covered  with  stones  and  a 
cross  placed  both  at  the  head  and  foot.  Then 
the  survivors  sailed  back  to  Vinland  and  told 
their  countrymen  the  sad  tidings.  The  next 
spring  the  whole  colony  returned  to  Green- 
land. 

Thus  ends  all  authentic  history  of  the  dis- 
covery and  settlement  of  America  by  the 
Northmen.  Having  found  one  of  the  great 
continents  of  the  world,  it  may  be  said  they 
lost  it,  and,  during  nearly  five  centuries 
afterward  there  is  no  positive  proof  that  it 
was  known  to  Europeans. 


CHAPTER  II 


The  Vovaores  of  Columbus 


Maritime  Kcterprise  in  the  Fifteenth  Century — Theories  Respecting  the  Earth's  Surface — Christopher  Columbus — His  Earl; 
Life — His  1  heor)-  of  a  Western  Passage  to  India — His  Struggles  to  Obtain  the  Means  of  Making  a  Voyage — Is  Aided  by 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain — His  First  Voyage — Discover)-  of  America — Reception  in  Spain — His  Second  Voyage — 
Settlement  of  Hayti — Third  Voyage  of  Columbus — He  Reaches  the  Mainland^Discover)'  of  Gold  in  Hayti — Troublef 
in  the  Colonj- — Columbus  Sent  to  Spain  in  Irons — Indignation  of  the  Queen- — Last  Voyage  of  CfUimbus — His  Ship- 
wreck— Returns  to  Spain— Refiisal  of  Ferdinand  to  Comply  with  his  Promises — DectL 
of  Columbus — Amerigo  Vespucci — Origin  of  the  Name  America. 


HE  fifteenth  century  witnessed  a 
remarkable  awakening  of  human 
thought  and  enterprise,  one  of 
the  most  important  features  of 
which  was  the  activity  in  mari- 
time undertakings  which  led  to 
the  discovery  of  lands  until  then  unknown 
to  the  civilized  world.  The  invention,  and 
the  application  to  navigation,  of  the  mariner's 
compass,  had  enabled  the  seamen  of  Europe 
to  undertake  long  and  distant  voyages.  The 
Portuguese  took  the  lead  in  the  maritime 
enterprises  of  this  period,  the  chief  object  of 
which  was  to  find  a  route  by  water  from 
Europe  to  the  Indies.  The  equator  had 
been  passed ;  Bartholomew  Diaz  had  even 
doubled  the  Cape  of  Storms,  and  had  estab- 
lished the  course  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Af- 
rica ;  and  it  was  hoped  by  some  of  the  most 
daring  thinkers  that  the  ports  of  India  could 
be  reached  by  sailing  around  this  cape. 

Others,  still  bolder,  believed  that  although 
the  earth  was  a  sphere,  it  was  much  smaller 
than  it  is,  and  that  the  central  portion  of 
its  surface  was  occupied  by  a  vast  ocean 
which  washed  the  shores  of  what  they 
regarded  as  its  solitary  continent,  on  either 
side,  and  that  by  sailing  due  west  from  Eu- 
rope, the  shores  of  India,  China  or  Japan 
32 


could  be  reached.  Among  those  who  held 
this  opinion  was  Christopher  Columbus.  He 
was  a  native  of  Genoa,  in  Italy,  was  born 
about  the  year  1435,  and  was  the  son  of  a 
weaver  of  cloth.  His  ancestors  had  been 
sailors,  for  which  calling  he  at  an  early  age 
evinced  a  preference.  He  received  a  com- 
mon school  education,  and  afterwards  A^ent 
to  the  University  of  Pavia,  where  he  studied 
geometry,  astronomy,  geography  and  navi- 
gation. He  stayed  at  Pavia  but  a  short  time, 
only  long  enough  to  gain  a  decided  relish  fo; 
mathematical  studies. 

At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  he  went  on 
a  voyage  with  a  relative,  and  followed  the 
calling  of  a  sailor  until  he  had  completed  his 
thirtieth  year.  During  this  period  he  had 
married,  and  by  this  marriage  he  had  become 
possessed  of  the  papers  of  the  former  hus- 
band of  his  wife,  who  had  been  a  distinguished 
Portuguese  navigator.  He  had  learned  but 
little  at  school,  but  he  had  been  a  close  stu- 
dent  all  his  life,  and  had  stored  his  mind 
with  a  valuable  fund  of  information.  This 
habit  of  study  he  never  abandoned,  and  his 
e.xtensive  knowledge,  added  to  his  years  o( 
practical  experience,  made  him  one  of  the 
most  learned  navigators  of  his  day.  In  1470 
being  then  about  thirty  years  old,  Columbus 


THE  VOYAGES   OF   COLUMBUS. 


33 


took  up  his  residence  in  Portugal,  which  was 
then  the  centre  of  maritime  enterprise  in 
Europe.  Here  his  spirit  of  discovery  was 
quickened,  and  he  became  convinced  that 
'here  were  continents  still  unknown. 

He  continued  to  make  voyages  to  the 
then  known  parts  of  the  world,  and  while  on 


fortified  by  his  experience,  induced  him  to 
believe  that  there  was  land  beyond  the 
western  seas,  which  could  be  reached  by 
sailing  in  that  direction.  This  land  he 
believed  to  be  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia. 
He  was  confirmed  in  his  belief  by  his  corres- 
pondence with  the  learned  Italian  Toscanelli, 


CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 


shore  engaged  in  the  work  of  making  and 
selling  maps  and  charts.  The  papers  given 
him  by  his  wife  were  now  of  the  greatest 
service  to  him.  He  entered  eagerly  into  the 
speculations  of  the  day  concerning  the  short- 
est passage  to  the  Indies,  and  his  studies, 
3 


who  sent  him  a  map  of  his  own  projection 
in  which  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia  was  laid 
down  opposite  the  western  coast  of  Europe, 
with  only  the  broad  Atlantic  between  them. 
Other  things  also  confirmed  him  in  what  had 
now  become  the  profoundest  conviction  of 


34 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE 


his  life.  Sailors  who  had  been  to  the  Canary- 
Islands  told  him  they  had  seen  land  far  to  the 
westward  of  those  islands.  A  piece  of  wood 
strangely  carved  had  been  thrown  by  the 
waves  upon  the  Portuguese  coast  after  a  long 
westerly  gale,  and  had  been  seen  by  the 
brother-in-law  of  Columbus. 

Seven  Years  of  Disappointment. 
An  old  pilot  related  to  him  the  finding 
•>f  a  carved  paddle  at  sea,  a  thousand  miles 
to  the  westward  of  Europe.  Pine  trees  had 
been  cast  ashore  at  Madeira,  and  at  the  Azores 
he  learned  that  the  bodies  of  two  men,  whose 
features  and  dress  showed  that  they  belonged 
to  no  nation  of  Europe,  had  been  thrown  on 
the  land  by  the  waves.  Having  settled  it 
in  his  own  mind  that  there  was  land  to  the 
westward,  Columbus  was  eager  to  go  in 
search  of  it.  He  was  not  possessed  of  suffi- 
cient means  to  accomplish  this  at  his  own 
expense,  and  began  his  efforts  to  interest 
some  European  state  in  the  enterprise.  His 
first  application  was  addressed  to  his  native 
country,  the  Republic  of  Genoa.  He  met 
with  a  refusal,  and  then  turned  to  Venice, 
with  a  like  result.  His  next  effort  was  to 
enlist  the  Portuguese  king,  John  H.,  in  his 
scheme.  Here  he  was  subjected  to  delays 
and  vexations  innumerable,  and  once  the 
Portuguese  sovereign  attempted  to  make  a 
dishonorable  use  of  the  information  given  by 
Columbus  in  support  of  his  theory. 

Disgusted  with  the  conduct  of  this  sover- 
eign, Columbus,  after  years  of  waiting,  aban- 
doned the  hope  of  obtaining  his  assistance, 
and  applied  to  Henry  VII.  of  England, 
from  whom  he  received  a  decided  refusal. 
Quitting  Lisbon  in  14S4,  Columbus  went  to 
Spain,  intending  to  lay  his  plans  before  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,  the  sovereigns  of  that 
country.  He  could  scarcely  have  chosen  a 
more  unpropitious  time.  The  Spanish  nation 
was  engaged  in  the  Moorish  war,  which  had 


WESTERN  CONTINENT, 
exhausted  the  treasury,  and  which  absorbed 
the  attention  of  the  sovereigns  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  every  other  matter.  He  spent  seven 
years  in  endeavoring  to  interest  the  govern- 
ment in  his  plans.  "  During  this  time 
Columbus  appears  to  have  remained  in  attend- 
ance on  the  court,  bearing  arms  occasionally 
in  the  campaigns,  and  experiencing  from  the 
sovereigns  an  unusual  degree  of  deference 
and  personal  attention."  At  last,  wearied 
with  the  long  delay  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected,  he  pressed  the  court  for  an 
answer,  and  was  told  by  the  sovereigns  that, 
"  although  they  were  too  much  occupied  at 
present  to  embark  in  his  undertaking,  yet,  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  war,  they  should  find 
time  to  treat  with  him." 

He  accepted  this  answer  as  a  refusal, 
and  prepared  to  go  to  France  to  ask  the 
assistance  of  the  king  of  that  country,  from 
whom  he  had  received  a  friendly  letter. 
Travelling  on  foot,  tie  stopped  at  the  monas- 
tery of  Santa  Maria  de  Rabida,  near  Palos, 
to  visit  the  Prior  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena, 
who  had  befriended  him  when  he  first  came 
to  Spain.  The  prior,  learning  his  intention 
to  quit  Spain,  persuaded  him  to  remain  until 
one  more  effort  could  be  made  to  enlist  the 
government  in  his  plans.  Leaving  Columbus 
at  the  convent,  Juan  Perez,  who  had  formerly 
been  the  queen's  confessor,  mounted  his 
mule  and  set  off  for  the  Spanish  camp  before 
Granada.  He  was  readily  granted  an  inter- 
view by  Queen  Isabella,  and  he  urged  the 
suit  of  Columbus  with  all  the  force  of  elo- 
quence and  reasoning  of  which  he  was  master. 

Columbus  at  the  Royal  Court. 
His  appeal  was  supported  by  several 
eminent  persons  whom  Columbus,  during 
his  residence  at  the  court,  had  interested  in 
his  project,  and  these  represented  to  the 
queen  the  impolicy  of  allowing  Columbus  to 
secure   the   aid   of  a  foreign    power  which 


THE   VOYAGES   OF   COLUMBUS. 


35 


would  reap  the  benefits  of  his  discoveries,  if 
he  were  successful.  The  result  was  that  the 
sovereigns  consented  to  reopen  the  negotia- 
tion, and  Columbus  was  invited  to  return  to 
the  court,  and  was  furnished  with  a  sum  of 
money  to  enable  him  to  do  so.  Columbus 
promptly  complied  with  the  royal  mandate, 
and  reached  the  camp  in  time  to  witness  the 
surrender  of  Granada.  Amidst  the  rejoic- 
ings which  attended  this  event  he  was  admit- 
ted to  an  audience  with  the  king  and  queen, 
and  submitted  to  them  the  arguments  upon 
which  he  based  his  theory.  Isabella  was 
favorably  disposed  toward  the  undertaking, 
but  Ferdinand  looked  coldly  upon  it.  Co- 
lumbus demanded,  as  the  reward  of  his  suc- 
cess, the  title  and  authority  of  admiral  and 
viceroy  over  all  lands  discovered  by  him, 
with  one-tenth  of  the  profits,  and  that  this 
dignity  should  be  hereditary  in  his  family. 
The  archbishop  of  Granada  advised  the  king 
to  reject  the  demands  of  Columbus,  which, 
he  said,  "  savored  of  the  highest  degree  of 
arrogance,  and  would  be  unbecoming  in  their 
highnesses  to  grant  to  a  needy  foreign 
ad\enturer." 

Columbus  firmly  refused  to  abate  his 
pretensions,  and  abruptly  left  the  court, 
"  resolved  rather  to  forego  his  splendid  anti- 
cipations of  discovery,  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  career  so  long  sought  was  thrown 
open  to  him,  than  surrender  one  of  the  hon- 
orable distinctions  due  to  his  services."  His 
friends,  however,  remonstrated  with  the 
queen,  and  reminded  her  that  if  his  claims 
were  high,  they  were  at  least  contingent  on 
success.  By  representing  to  her  the  certainty 
of  his  being  employed  by  some  other  poten- 
tate, and  his  peculiar  qualifications  for  success, 
and  by  reminding  her  of  her  past  generous 
support  of  great  and  daring  enterprises,  they 
roused  her  to  listen  to  the  impulses  of  her 
own  noble  heart.     "  I  will  assume  the  under- 


taking," she  exclaimed,  "  for  my  own  crown 
of  Castile,  and  am  ready  to  pawn  my  jewels 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  it,  if  the  funds  of 
the  treasuiy  shall  be  found  inadequate." 
Louis  de  Si.  Angel,  the  receiver  who  had 
been  chiefly  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
this  decision  of  the  queen,  offered  to  ad- 
vance the  necessary  funds  from  the  reve- 
nues of  Aragon.  That  kingdom,  however, 
was  indemnified  against  loss,  and  all  the 
charges  and  profits  of  the  expedition  were 
reserved  exclusively  for  Castile.  A  messen- 
ger was  despatched  in  haste  after  Columbus. 
He  overtook  him  a  few  leagues  from  Granada, 
and  delivered  the  royal  order  to  return. 

Three  Ships  of  Renown. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  April,  1492,  a 
formal  agreement  was  signed  between 
Columbus  and  the  Spanish  sovereigns.  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella,  "  as  lords  of  the  ocean- 
seas,  constituted  Christopher  Columbus  their 
admiral,  viceroy  and  governor-general  of 
all  such  islands  and  continents  as  he  should 
discover  in  the  Western  Ocean,  with  the 
privilege  of  nominating  three  candidates,  for 
the  selection  of  one  by  the  crown,  for  the 
government  of  each  of  these  territories. 
He  was  to  be  vested  with  the  exclusive 
right  of  jurisdiction  over  all  commercial  trans- 
actions within  his  admiralty.  He  was  to  be 
entitled  to  one-tenth  of  all  the  products  and 
profits  within  the  limits  of  his  discoveries, 
and  an  additional  eighth,  provided  he  should 
contribute  one-eighth  part  of  the  expense. 
By  a  subsequent  ordinance,  the  official  digni- 
ties above  enumerated  were  settled  on  him 
and  his  heirs  forever,  with  the  privilege  of 
prefixing  the  title  of  Don  to  their  names, 
which  had  not  then  degenerated  into  an 
appellation  of  mere  courtesy." 

A  fleet  of  three  vessels  was  assembled 
in  the  little  harbor  of  Palos  in  Andalusia. 


36 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


Two  of  these  were  furnished  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  one  by  Columbus,  aided  by  his 
friend,  the  Prior  of  La  Rabida,  and  the  Pin- 
zons,  "  a  family  in  Pales,  long  distinguished 
for  irs  enterprise  among  the  mariners  of  that 
active  community."  The  admiral  had  some 
difficulty  in  equipping  his  vessels,  for  his 
voyage  -vas  regarded  by  the  sailors  of  the 
country  as  rash  and  perilous  in  the  extreme. 
At  length,  however,  a  sufficient  crew  was 
obtained.  One  hundred  and  twenty  per- 
sons were  enlisted  in  the  expedition.  The 
three  vessels  were  all  small.  The  Santa 
Maria,  the  largest,  was  ninety  feet  long,  was 
decked  all  over,  had  four  masts,  and  carried 
a  crew  of  sixty-six  seamen.  The  Pinta  and 
Nina  were  smaller,  and  were  without  decks. 
All  the  vessels  were  provisioned  for  a  year. 
The  admiral  was  instructed  to  keep  clear  of 
the  African  coast,  and  other  maritime  posses- 
sions of  Portugal. 

The  Fleet  Sails. 

At  length  all  things  were  in  readiness, 
and,  Columbus  and  his  whole  crew  having 
confessed  themselves  and  received  the  sacra- 
ment, the  fleet  sailed  from  Palos  on  the 
morning  of  Friday,  the  third  of  August, 
1492.  A  month  later  the  Canary  Islands 
were  reached.  A  brief  delay  was  made  there 
to  refit,  and  then  the  vessels  turned  their 
prows  to  the  westward,  and  sailed  out  into 
the  unknown  seas.  As  the  night  came  on 
the  sailors,  imagining  they  had  seen  the 
land  for  the  last  time,  gave  way  to  tears. 
Columbus  soothed  their  fears,  and  held  his 
course.  At  length  he  fell  in  with  the  trade- 
winds,  which  wafted  him  steadily  towards 
the  west  The  sailors  were  greatly  alarmed 
at  this,  and  declared,  that  if  the  wind  did  not 
change  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to 
reach  home  again.  The  variation  of  the 
compass  also  alarmed  them,  and  their  mur- 
murs increased  to  almost  open  mutiny.     It 


required  all  the  firmness  of  the  admiral  to 
restrain  them,  and  to  keep  them  from  aban- 
doning the  enterprise  and  returning  to 
Europe. 

Ten  weeks  of  anxiety  and  disappoint- 
ment had  passed  since  the  departure  of  the 
fleet  from  Palos ;  but  still  no  land  was  seen. 
There  were  unmistakable  signs  that  land 
was  near,  such  as  the  flight  of  land  birds 
around  the  ship,  the  finding  of  a  bush  floating 
on  the  waters  with  fresh  berries  upon  it,  and 
the  frequent  discovery  of  land  weeds  upon  the- 
waves.  Often  the  lookout  would  startle  the 
fleet  by  the  crj.-  of  land,  but  as  often  the  sup- 
posed shore  would  prove  to  be  only  a  banlc 
of  clouds  low  down  upon  the  western  horizon. 
Still  the  ships  held  their  westward  course, 
and  at  length  the  sailors  broke  into  opeit 
mutiny,  and  demanded  that  the  fleet  should 
return  home.  They  were  even  ready  to 
throw  the  admiral  overboard  if  he  refused  toi 
grant  their  demands. 

The  Torch  that  Lighted  up  a  New 
Continent. 

Columbus  alone  had  been  calm  and  hope- 
ful throughout  the  voyage.  He  was  resolved 
to  succeed  or  perish  in  the  attempt  to  find 
the  land.  The  success  of  the  mutiny  would 
have  destroyed  all  his  hopes,  and  as  the 
events  of  each  succeeding  day  strength- 
ened him  in  his  conviction  that  they  were 
rapidly  approaching  land,  he  condescended  to 
plead  with  his  men,  and  obtained  from  them 
a  promise  to  obey  him  for  a  few  days  longer. 
The  next  night  the  land  breeze,  laden  with 
the  rich  perfumes  of  tropical  flowers,  con- 
vinced the  weary  crews  that  the  admiral  was 
right,  and  that  the  long  wished-for  shore 
was  indeed  near.  The  ships  were  ordered  to 
lie  to  for  the  night  lest  they  should  go  ashore 
in  the  darkness.  No  one  slept  on  board  that 
night  About  ten  o'clock,  Columbus  saw  a 
light  moving  along  the  shore,  as  if  it  were  a 


THE 

torch  carried  in  a  man's  hand. 
Martin  Alonzo  Pin/on   one  of  his  captain 
and  pointed  it  out  to  hini      Pm/on  conh:  i 
the    admiral's 


37 


VOVAC^ES    OF   COLU!\IBUS. 

He  called  •  Orders  to  land  were  promptly  issued,  and 
the  fleet  stood  m  and  anchored  near  the 
1  iL  11  boats  were  manned,  and  the 
admiral,  clad 
in  rich  scarlet, 
md  bearing 
the  royal  ban- 
ner of  Spain 
and  accom- 
])anied  by  his 
captains,  each 
of  whom  bore 
a  green  ban- 
ner inscribed 
with  a  cross, 
went  ashore. 
As  he  set  foot 
on  the  land, 
Columbus 
l-cnelt  rever- 
entl)%  and 
kissed  the 
ground,  and 
then  rising 
and  drawing 
his  sword, 
took  posses- 
sion of  the 
island  in  the 
name  of  Fer- 
dinand and 
Isabella,  king 
and  queen  of 
Spain.  The 
island  was  one 
oftheBahama 
group,  and 
was  called  b\' 
the    natives 


COLU.MBUS    DlSCOVEKINij    L\ 


Stood  with  folded  arms,  and  heaving  breast,  j  Guanahani.  Columbus  named  it  San  Sal- 
gazing  upon  the  world  which  his  genius  vador.  He  explored  the  island,  and  then 
had  discovered,  the  penitent  sailors  crowded  sailing  on  discovered  Cuba,  Hayti,  and  other 
about  him,  and,  kissing  his  garments,  im-  We.st  India  islands.  He  belie\-ed  these 
plored  his  pardon  for  their  rebellious  conduct,  islands  to  lie  off  the  coast  of  Asia  and  to 


5S 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE   WESTERN    CONTINENT. 


form  a  part  of  the  Indies.  For  this  reason 
he  called  the  natives  Indians,  a  name  which 
they  have  since  borne.  Having  built  a  gar- 
rison, a  small  fort  in  Hayti,  Columbus  took 
on  board  seven  of  the  natives,  and  laid  in  a 
stock  of  fruits,  plants  and_  a  number  of  ani- 
mals as  specimens  of  the  products  of  the 
country,  and  set  sail  on  his  return  to  Spain. 
The  voyage  was  a  very  tempestuous  one. 
He  arrived  at  Palos  on  the  fifteenth  of  March, 
I  -"^"'.  His  arrival  was  greeted  with  enthusi- 
•"''■;        From  Palos  he  set  out  for  the  court 


j  covered  Jamaica,  and  many  of  thf.  Caribbee 
Islands. 

In  1498  Columbus  made  a  third  voyage, 
and  in  this  expedition  he  discovered  the 
mainland  of  the  American  Continent  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  and  explored  the 
coast  of  the  provinces,  since  called  Para  and 
Cumana.  He  was  not  aware  of  the  true  nat'ire 
of  his  discovery,  but  supposed  that  the  South 
American  coast  was  a  part  of  a  larg*i  island 
belonging  to  Cathay  or  Farther  India. 

In  tlie   meantime,  gold  had  been  discov- 


I  -^^^^^-^ 


LANDING     OF 

of  Barcelona.  Every  step  of  the  journey 
was  a  triumphal  progress.  He  was  received 
with  the  most  distinguished  honors  by  the 
sovereigns,  and  the  whole  court  joined  in  a 
Te  Dcuin  of  thankfulness  for  the  success  of 
his  voyage. 

A  second  expedition,  consisting  of  seven- 
teen ships  and  fifteen  hundred  men,  was  now 
fitted  out,  and  sailed  from  Cadiz  under  the 
command  of  Columbus  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
September,  1493.     On   this  voyage   he  dis- 


COLUMBUS. 

ered  in  Hayti,  and  crowds  of  adventurers 
were  drawn  hither  from  Spain.  They  in- 
flicted great  hardships  upon  the  natives, 
and  when  Columbus  arrived  he  found  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  in  a  most  deplor- 
able state.  The  sovereigns  at  length 
sent  over  a  commissioner  named  Boba- 
dilla  to  investigate  the  affairs  of  the  co-, 
lony.  He  was  a  narrow-minded,  incom-' 
petent  man,  and  instead  of  investigating  the' 
charges  against  the  admiral,  arre<;ted   liim. 


RECEPTION  OK  COLUMBUS  BY  FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA. 


40  DISCOVERY   OF  THE 

and  sent  him  back  to  Spain  in  irons.  When 
the  officers  of  the  ship  which  bore  him  back 
home  wished  to  remove  his  fetters,  he  refused 
to  allow  them  to  do  so,  saying,  "  I  will  wear 
them  as  a  memento  of  the  gratitude  of 
princes."  The  news  of  this  outrage  filled 
the  people  of  Spain  with  honest  indignation. 
■"  All  seemed  to  feel  it  as  a  national  dis- 
honor," says  Prescott,  "  that  such  indignities 
should  be  heaped  upon  the  man,  who,  what- 
ever might  be  his  indiscretions,  had  done  so 
much  for  Spain,  and  for  the  civilized  world." 

The  Fetters  Stricken  Off. 

Queen  Isabella  at  once  ordered  his  fetters 
to  be  struck  off,  and  he  was  summoned  to 
court,  reinstated  in  all  his  honors,  and  treated 
with  the  highest  consideration.  Isabella 
gained  from  the  king  a  promise  to  aid  her  in 
doing  justice  to  the  admiral,  and  in  punish- 
ing his  enemies ;  but  Ferdinand,  who  could 
never  bear  to  do  a  generous  or  noble  act, 
evaded  his  promise,  and  the  admiral  failed 
to  receive  his  just  recompense. 

Ir  1504  Columbus  sailed  on  his  fourth 
voyage;  his  object  this  time  being  to  find  a 
passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  by  which  he  might  reach  India.  He 
explored  the  Gulf  of  Honduras,  and  saw  the 
continent  of  North  America,  but  was  com- 
pelled by  the  mutiny  of  his  crew  and  by 
severe  storms  to  abandon  his  attempt  and 
return  to  the  northward.  He  was  ship- 
wrecked on  the  coast  of  Jamaica,  where  he 
remained  more  than  a  year.  Returning  to 
Spain  in  November,  1505,  he  found  his  best 
friend.  Queen  Isabella,  on  her  death-bed. 
The  enemies  whom  his  great  success  had 
raised  i-p  for  him  were  numerous  and  power- 
ful, while  he  was  now  old  and  broken  in 
health.  He  vainly  sought  from  Ferdinand 
a  faithful  execution  of  the  original  compact 
between  them ;  but  though  he  received  fair 
words  and  promises  in  abundance  from  the 


WESTERN   CONTINENT, 
king,  Ferdinand  steadily  refused  to  comply 
with  the  just  demands  of  the  admiral. 
The  Great  Navigator's  Death. 

At  last,  worn  out  with  care  and  disap« 
pointments,  Columbus  died  at  Valladolid.on 
the  twentieth  of  May,  1506,  being  about 
seventy  years  old.  He  was  buried  with  great 
pomp  in  the  Convent  of  St.  Francis,  at  Valla- 
dolid.  In  1 5 1 3  his  remains  were  removed  to 
the  monastery  of  Las  Cuevas,  at  Seville,  and 
Ferdinand  caused  this  inscription,  which  cost 
him  nothing  and  expressed  his  excuse  for  his 
conduct  towards  the  dead  man,  to  be  placed 
upon  his  tomb :  "  To  Castile  and  Leon 
Columbus  gave  a  New  World!"  In  1536 
the  body  of  the  great  admiral  was  conveyed 
with  appropriate  honors  to  St.  Domingo, 
Upon  the  cession  of  that  island  to  France  ifl 
1795,  the  body  was  removed  to  Cuba,  and 
buried  in  the  Cathedral  of  Havana.  Notyet 
have  the  ashes  of  the  Discoverer  of  America 
found  their  true  resting  place.  That  place 
is  under  the  great  dome  of  the  Capitol  of  the 
Republic,  for  whose  existence  he  prepared 
the  way. 

Though  Columbus  reached  the  continent 
of  South  America  on  his  third  voyage,  he 
was  not  the  first  European  who  beheld  the 
mainland  of  the  western  world.  In  the 
winter  of  1497-98,  Amerigo  Vespucci,  or 
Americus  Vespucius,  a  Florentme  navigator, 
made  a  voyage  to  the  West  Indies  and  the 
South  American  coast,  thus  reaching  the 
mainland  of  the  continent  nearly  a  year 
before  Columbus.  Returning  to  Europe  he 
published  an  account  of  his  discoveries. 
This  was  the  first  account  of  the  new  world 
published  in  Europe,  and  some  years  later  a 
German  geographer  gave  to  the  continent 
the  name  of  "  Americi  Terra,"  or  the  land 
discovered  by  Americus.  From  this  time 
the  name  America  was  applied  to  the  west- 
ern continent. 


THE  VOYAGES   OF   COLUMl^US. 


4« 


Columbus  was  a  man  of  great  and  invent- 
ive genius.  The  operations  of  his  mind 
were  energetic  but  irregular;  bursting  forth 
at  times  with  that  irresistible  force  which 
characterizes  intellects  of  such  an  order. 
His  mind  had  grasped  all  kinds  of  knowl- 
edge connected  with  his  pursuits;  and 
though  his  information  may  appear  limited 
at  the  present  day,  and  some  of  his  errors 
palpable,  it  is  because  that  knowledge,  in  his 
peculiar  department  of  science,  was  but 
scantily  de\eloped  in  his  time.  His  own 
discoveries  enlightened  the  ignorance  of  that 
age;  guided  conjecture  to  certainty;  and 
dispelled  numerous  errors  with  which  he 
himself  had  been  obliged  to  struggle. 

Character  of  Columbus. 

His  ambition  was  lofty  and  noble.  He 
was  full  of  high  thoughts,  and  anxious  to 
distmguish  himself  by  great  achievements. 
It  has  been  said  that  a  mercenary  feeling 
mingled  with  his  views,  and  that  his  stipula- 
tions with  the  Spanish  court  were  selfish  and 
avaricious.  The  charge  is  inconsiderate  and 
unjust.  He  aimed  at  dignity  and  wealth  in 
the  same  lofty  spirit  in  which  he  sought 
renown ;  but  they  were  to  arise  from  the 
territories  he  should  discover,  and  be  com- 
mensurate in  importance.  No  condition 
could  be  more  just. 

He  asked  nothing  of  the  sovereigns  but  a 
command  of  the  countries  he  hoped  to  give 
them,  and  a  share  of  the  profits  to  support 
the  dignity  of  his  command.  If  there  should 
be  no  country  discovered,  his  stipulated 
viceroyalty  would  be  of  no  avail ;  and  if  no 
revenues  should  be  produced,  his  labor  and 
peril  would  produce  no  gam.  If  his  com- 
mand and  revenues  ultimately  proved  mag- 
nificent, it  was  from  the  magnificence  of  the 
regions  he  had  attached  to  the  Castilian 
crown.  What  monarch  would  not  rejoice 
to  gain  empire  on  such  conditions  ? 


But  he  did  not  merely  risk  a  loss  of  labor 
and  a  disappointment  of  ambition  in  the 
enterprise;  on  his  motives  being  questioned, 
he  voluntarily  undertook,  and,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  his  coadjutors,  actually  defrayed 
one-eighth  of  the  whole  charge  of  the  first 
expedition.  This  shows  that  his  faith  in  the 
new  enterprise  was  unbounded,  and  he  was 
willing  to  stake  everything  on  its  success. 

A  peculiar  trait  in  his  rich  and  varied 
character  was  that  ardent  and  enthusiastic 
imagination  which  threw  a  magnificence  over 


OK~E  .P  V  Kl 


his  whole  course  of  thought.  Herrera  inti- 
mates that  he  had  a  talent  for  poetry,  and 
some  slight  traces  of  it  are  on  record,  in  the 
book  of  prophecies  which  he  presented  to 
the  Catholic  sovereigns.  But  his  poetical 
temperament  is  discernible  throughout  all 
his  writings,  and  in  all  his  actions.  It  spread 
a  golden  and  glorious  world  around  him, 
and  tinged  every  thing  with  its  own  gorgeous 
colors.  It  betrayed  him  into  visionary  spec- 
ulations, which  subjected  him  to  the  sneers 


42  DISCOVERY   OF   THE   WESTERN   COXTIXEXT 

and  cavillings  of  men  of  cooler  and  safer,  but 
more  groveiiing  minds. 


Such  were  the  conjectures  formed  on  the 
coast  of  Paria  about  the  form  of  the  earth 
and  the  situation  of  the  terrestrial  paradise ; 
about  the  mines  of  Ophir  in  Hispaniola,  and 
of  the  Aurea  Chersonesus  in  Veragua  ;  and 
such  was  the  heroic  scheme  of  a  crusade  for 
the  recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre.  It  min- 
gled with  his  religion,  and  filled  his  mind 
with  solemn  and  visionary  meditations  on 
mystic  passages  of  the  scriptures,  and  the 
shadowy  portents  of  the  prophecies.  It  ex- 
alted his  office  in  his  eyes,  and  made  him 
conceive  himself  an  agent  sent  forth  upon  a 
sublime  and  awful  mission,  subject  to  im- 
pulses and  supernatural  intimations  from  the 
deitj' ;  such  as  the  voice  which  he  imagined 
spoke  to  him  in  comfort,  amidst  the  troubles 
of  Hispaniola,  and  in  the  silence  of  the  night 
on  the  disastrous  coast  of  Veragua. 

A  Man  in  Advance  of  His  Time. 

He  was  decidedly  a  visionary,  but  a  vision- 
ary of  an  uncommon  and  successful  kind. 
The  manner  in  which  his  ardent,  imaginative 
and  mercurial  nature  were  controlled  by  a 
powerful  judgment,  and  directed  by  an  acute 
sagacity,  is  the  most  extraordinary  feature  in 
his  character.  Thus  governed,  his  imagina- 
tion, instead  of  exhausting  itself  in  idle  flights, 
lent  aid  to  his  judgment,  and  enabled  him  to 
form  conclusions,  at  which  common  minds 
could  never  have  arrived,  nay,  which  they 
could  not  perceive  when  pointed  out. 

To  his  intellectual  vision  it  was  given  to 
read  in  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  to  trace  in 
the  conjectures  and  reveries  of  past  ages,  the 
indications  of  an  unknown  world;  as  sooth- 
sayers were  said  to  read  predictions  in  the 
stars,  and  to  foretell  events  from  the  visions 
of  the  night.    "  His  soul,"  obsen-es  a  Spanish 


writer,  "  was  superior  to  the  age  in  which  he 
lived.  For  him  was  reserved  the  great  en- 
terprise of  traversing  a  sea  which  had  given 
rise  to  so  many  fables,  and  of  deciphering  the 
mystery  of  his  time." 

With  all  the  visionary'  fer\-or  of  his  imagi- 
nation, its  fondest  dreams  fell  short  of  tlie 
reality.  He  died  in  ignorance  of  the  real 
grandeur  of  his  discover)-.  Until  his  last 
breath,  he  entertained  the  idea  that  he  had 
merely  opened  a  new  way  to  the  old  resorts 
of  opulent  commerce,  and  had  discovered 
some  of  the  wild  regions  of  the  east.  He 
supposed  Hispaniola  to  be  the  ancient  Ophir, 
which  had  been  visited  by  the  ships  of  Solo- 
mon, and  that  Cuba  and  Terra  Firma  were 
but  remote  parts  of  Asia.  What  visions  of 
glory  would  have  broken  upon  his  mind, 
could  he  have  known  that  he  had  indeed  dis- 
covered a  new  continent,  equal  to  the  whole 
of  the  old  world  in  magnitude,  and  separated 
by  two  vast  oceans  from  all  the  earth  hither- 
to known  by  civilized  man  !  And  how  would 
his  magnanimous  spirit  have  been  consoled 
amidst  the  afflictions  of  age  and  the  cares  of 
penury,  the  neglect  of  a  fickle  public,  and  the 
injustice  of  an  ungrateful  king,  could  he  have 
anticipated  the  splendid  empires  which  were 
to  spread  over  the  beautiful  world  he  had 
discovered,  and  the  nations,  and  tongues,  and 
languages  which  were  to  fill  its  lands  with 
his  renown,  and  to  revere  and  bless  his  name 
to  the  latest  posterit}- ! 

It  may  be  questioned  whether  any  old 
Norse  Sea-King,  who  braved  the  storms  and 
billows  of  the  North  Atlantic,  ever  exhibited 
a  purpose  more  resolute,  a  courage  more 
daring,  or  a  self-sacrifice  more  complete  than 
characterized  Columbus.  Our  illustration  of 
the  royal  Norseman  shows  him  to  have  been 
a  man  born  to  command  and  achieve ;  the 
hero  of  1492  was  no  less  illustrious. 


CHAPTER  III 
Eno^lish  and  French   Discoveries 


Discovery  of  the  North  American  Continent  by  John  Cabot— Voyages  of  Sebastian  Cabot— The  English  fail  to  follow 
up  these  Discoveries — Efforts  of  the  French  to  Explore  America— Voyage  and  Discoveries  of  Verrazzani^Cartier 
Explores  the  Sl  Lawrence— Reaches  Montreal— Efforts  to  Found  a  Colony  on  the  St.  Lawrence— Failure— Roberval's 
Colony — Trading  Voyages — Explorations  of  Champlain — Colonization  of  Nova  Scotia — Founding  of  Quebec — Dis- 
covery of  Lake  Champlain — Arrival  of  the  Jesuits  in  Canada — Death  of  Champlain. 


X  the  meantime  the  success  of 
^_^^'j  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus 
^\  %  had  stimulated  other  nations  io 
similar  exertions.  The  Eng-  j 
lish  court  had  experienced  a 
feeling  of  keen  regret  that  the  petition  of 
Columbus  had  been  refused,  and  when  John 
Cabot,  a  native  of  Venice,  then  residing  at 
Bristol,  applied  for  leave  to  undertake  a  voy- 
age of  exploration  his  request  was  readily 
granted. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  1496,  a  patent  or 
commission  was  granted  to  him  and  his  three 
sons  by  Henry  VII.,  authorizing  either  of 
them,  their  heirs  or  their  agents,  to  under- 
take with  a  fleet  of  five  ships,  at  their  own 
expense,  a  voyage  of  discovery  in  the  east- 
ern, western  or  northern  seas.  Though  they 
were  to  make  the  attempt  at  their  own  cost, 
they  were  to  take  possession  of  the  countries 
they  should  discover  for  the  king  of  Eng- 
land. They  were  to  have  the  exclusive  pri- 
vilege of  trading  to  these  countries,  but  were 
bound  to  return  to  the  port  of  Bristol,  and 
to  pay  to  the  king  one-fifth  of  the  profits  of 
their  trade. 

Early  jn  1497  Cabot  sailed  from  Bristol, 
accompanied  by  his  son,  Sebastian.  The 
object  of  his  voyage  was  not  only  the  dis- 
covery of  new  lands,  but  the  finding  of  a 


northwest  passage  to  Asia.  He  sailed  due 
west,  and  on  the  twent>'-fourth  of  June,  1497, 
reached  the  coast  of  Labrador.  He  thus 
discovered  the  mainland  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican continent,  fully  fourteen  months  before 
Columbus  reached  the  coast  of  South 
America,  and  nearly  a  year  before  Amerigo 
Vespucci  made  his  discovery.  He  explored 
the  coast  to  the  southward  for  over  a  thou- 
sand miles,  made  frequent  landings,  and  took 
possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
English  king.  Returning  home,  he  was 
received  with  many  marks  of  honor  by 
Henry  VII.,  and  was  called  the  "  Great 
Admiral  "  by  the  people. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1497,  the 
Cabots  undertook  a  new  voyage,  and  the 
king,  pleased  with  the  success  of  the  first 
venture,  became  a  partner  in  the  enterprise, 
and  assumed  a  portion  of  the  expense.  The 
object  of  this  voyage  was  to  trade  with  the 
natives,  and  to  ascertain  if  the  country  was 
suited  to  colonization.  The  expedition  sailed 
from  Bristol  in  May,  1498,  and  was  com- 
manded by  Sebastian  Cabot,  who  reached  the 
Labrador  coast  about  four  hundred  miles 
north  of  the  point  discovered  by  his  father. 

He  found  the  country  cold  and  barren, 
though  it  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  sum- 
mer, and  sailed  southward.  "  The  coast  to 
43 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE  WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


which  he  was  now  borne  was  unobstructed 
by  frost.  He  saw  there  stags  larger  than 
those  of  England,  and  bears  that  plunged 
into  the  water  to  take  fish  with  their  claws. 
The  fish  swarmed  innumerably  in  such  shoals 
they  seemed  to  affect  even  the  speed  of  his 


"  Continuing  his  voyage,  according  to  the 
line  of  the  shore,  he  found  the  natives  of 
those  regions  clad  in  skins  of  beasts,  but 
they  were  not  without  the  facult}'  of  reason, 
and  in  many  places  were  acquainted  with  the 
use   of  copper.      In  the  early  part  of  Hi* 


.  ^.-x^^  v^ 


SEBASTIAN  CABOT. 


vessels,  so  that  he  gave  to  the  country  the 
name  of  Bacallaos,  which  still  linger,  on  the 
east  side  of  Newfoundland,  and  has  passed 
into  the  language  of  the  Germans  and  the 
Italians,  as  well  as  the  Portuguese  and 
Spanish,  to  designate  the  cod. 


voyage  he  had  been  so  far  to  the  north  tha 
in  the  month  of  July  the  light  of  day  was 
almost  continuous ;  before  he  turned  home- 
wards, in  the  late  autumn,  he  believed  be 
had  attained  the  latitude  of  the  Straits  ol 
Gibraltar  and  the  longitude  of  Cuba."*     On 

*  Hancroft. 


i 

II 


'W*'^*  ^.  ...^ii 


ENGLISH 


\ND    FRENCH 

Gulf 


DISCOVERIES. 


his  homeward  voyage   he  noticed  th 
Stream. 

This  was  the  last  voyage  from  England 
made  by  Seliastian  Cabot.  On  the  death  of 
Henry  VII.,  he  took  service  with  Ferdinand 
of  Spain,  and  under  him  and  his  grandson, 
Charles  V.,  he  made  many  voyages,  and  was 
for  nearly  sixty  years  the  foremost  man  in 
Europe  in  maritime  enterprises. 

A  Renowned  Explorer. 

He  explored  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America,  and  in  his  efforts  to  find  the  north- 
west passage  sailed  within  twenty  degrees  of 
the  North  Pole,  and  explored  the  eastern 
coast  of  North  America  from  Hudson's 
Straits  to  Albemarle  Sound.  He  was  in 
many  things  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
of  his  day,  and  besides  his  own  discoveries 
contributed  generously  by  his  advice  and 
encouragement  to  those  of  others.  "  He 
gave  England  a  continent,  and  no  one  knows 
his  burial  place." 

The  English  made  no  effort  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots.  They 
'sent  a  few  vessels  every  }'ear  to  fish  on  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland,  but  pursued  even 
this  industry  without  vigor.  The  other 
nations  were  more  energetic,  and  showed  a 
keener  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  new 
lands.  The  French  were  especially  active  in 
this  respect.  Their  vessels  engaged  in  the 
fisheries  far  outnumbered  those  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  many  plans  were  proposed  in  France 
for  the  colonization  of  those  regions.  In 
1523  Francis  I.  employed  a  Florentine  named 
John  Verrazzani,  an  experienced  navigator, 
to  undertake  the  discovery  of  a  northwest 
passage  to  India.  Verrazzani  sailed  on  the 
seventeenth  of  January,  1524,  and,  after  a 
stormy  voyage  of  fifty  days,  reached  the 
American  coast  in  the  latitude  of  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina.  Failing  to  find  a  good 
harbor,  he   sailed   southward  for   150  miles, 


45 
the 


and  then  turned   northward,   examininc^ 
coast  as  he  proceeded  on  his  journey. 

An  Earthly  Paradise. 

Verrazzani  was  surprised  and  delighted  by 
the  appearance  of  the  new  country  and  its 
inhabitants.  The  latter  welcomed  with  hos- 
pitality the  strangers  whom  they  had  not  yet 
learned  to  fear,  and  the  Europeans,  on  their 
part,  regarded  with  wonder  the  "  russet  "- 
colored  natives  in  their  dress  of  skins  orna- 
mented with  feathers.  Judging  from  the 
accounts  which  they  carried  to  Europe,  the 
voyagers  regarded  the  country  as  a  sort  of 
terrestrial  paradise.  "  Their  imagination 
could  not  conceive  of  more  delightful  fields 
and  forests  ;  the  groves  spreading  perfumes 
far  from  the  shore,  gave  promise  of  the  spices 
of  the  East;  and  the  color  of  the  earth 
argued  an  abundance  of  gold."  The  harbors 
of  New  York  and  Newport  were  carefully 
explored,  and  in  the  latter  the  voyagers 
remained  fifteen  days. 

They  then  proceeded  along  the  New 
England  coast  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  still  farther 
to  the  north.  They  found  the  natives  here  less 
friendly  than  those  farther  south.  A  Portu- 
guese commander,  Caspar  Cortereal,  had 
visited  their  coast  a  few  years  before,  and 
had  carried  away  some  of  their  number  and 
sold  them  into  slavery. 

Returning  to  France,  Verrazzani  published 
an  account  of  his  voyage.  This  narrative 
forms  the  earliest  original  description  now  in 
existence  of  the  American  coast,  and  added 
very  much  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Euro- 
peans concerning  this  country.  France  at 
a  subsequent  period  based,  upon  Verrazzani's 
discoveries,  her  claim  to  the  whole  coast  of 
America  from  Newfoundland  to  South  Car- 
olina. The  French,  however,  were  not  des- 
tined to  obtain  a  foothold  in  the  new  world. 

The  struggle  in  which  Francis  I.  was 
engaged  with  the   Emperor  Charles  V.  pre- 


46 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


vented  him  from  taking  advantage  of  these 
discoveries,  and  nothingwas  done  with  regard 
to  them  by  the  French  until  ten  years  later, 
when  Chabot,  Admiral  of  France,  induced 
King  Francis  to  make  another  effort  to 
explore  and  colonize  America.  An  expedi- 
tion \vas  fitted  out,  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  James  Cartier,  a  mariner  of  St.  Malo, 
and  despatched  in  April,  1534,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exploring  the  American  coast  with 
a  view  to  colonizing  it.  A  quick  voyage  of 
twenty  days  carried  Cartier  to  Newfound- 
land. Having  passed  through  the  straits  of 
Belleisle,  he  crossed  the  gulf  and  entered  a 
bay  which  he  named  Des  Chaleurs,  from  the 
extreme  heats  he  e.xperienced  there. 

France  Sends  Out  a  Colony. 

He  proceeded  along  the  coast  as  far  as  the 
small  inlet  called  Gaspe,  where  he  landed 
and  took  formal  possession  of  the  country  in 
the  name  of  the  king  of  France.  Leaving 
Gaspe  Bay,  Cartier  discovered  the  great  river 
of  Canada,  and  sailed  up  the  stream  until  he 
could  see  the  land  on  either  side.  His 
explorations  consumed  the  months  of  May, 
June  and  July.  Being  unprepared  to  pass  the 
winter  in  America,  the  fleet  sailed  for  Europe. 

The  reports  of  Cartier  concerning  America 
aroused  the  deepest  interest  in  France,  and 
it  was  determined  by  the  government  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  the  founding  of  a  colony  in 
the  new  world.  A  fleet  of  three  well-equipped 
ships  was  fitted  out,  and  volunteers  from 
some  of  the  noblest  families  in  France  were 
not  lacking.  The  whole  company  repaired 
to  the  cathedral,  where  they  received  the 
bishop's  blessing,  and  on  the  nineteenth  of 
May,  1535,  the  expedition  sailed  from  St. 
Malo.  The  voyage  was  long  and  stormy, 
but  Newfoundland  was  reached  at  length. 
Passing  through  the  straits  of  Belleisle,  they 
entered  the  gulf  lying  west  of  Newfoundland 
on  the  tenth  of  August,  the  festival  of  St. 


Lawrence  the  Martyr,  and  gave  to  the  gulf  the 

name  of  that  saint,  which  was  subsequently 

applied  to  the  great  river  emptying  into  it 

A  Beautiful  Country. 

The  voyagers  ascended  the  stream  to  the 
island  since  called  Orleans.  There  the  fleet 
anchored,  while  Cartier  proceeded  farther  up 
the  river  to  the  chief  Lidian  settlement  on  the 
island  of  Hochelega.  It  was  the  delightful 
season  of  September,  and  the  country  was 
beautiful  and  inviting.  Cartier  ascended  a 
hill  at  the  foot  of  which  the  Indian  settle- 
ment lay,  and  gazed  with  admiration  at  the 
magnificent  region  which  spread  out  before 
him.  He  named  the  hill  Mont  Real,  or 
Royal  Mount,  a  name  which  is  now  borne  by 
the  island  and  by  the  great  city  which  marks 
the  site  of  Indian  village. 

The  balminess  of  the  autumn  induced 
Cartier  to  hope  that  the  climate  would  prove 
as  mild  as  that  of  France  ;  but  a  rigorous 
winter,  which  was  rendered  horrible  by  the 
prevalence  of  scurvy  among  the  ships' crews, 
disheartened  the  whole  expedition.  The 
winter  was  spent  at  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and 
in  the  early  spring  Cartier  erected  a  cross  on 
the  shore,  to  which  was  affixed  a  shield 
inscribed  with  the  arms  of  France  and  a 
legend  declaring  Francis  I.  the  true  and 
rightful  king  of  the  country.  The  fleet  then 
sailed  for  France,  and  arrived  at  St.  Malo  on 
the  sixth  of  July,  1536.  Cartier  published 
a  truthful  account  of  his  voyage,  setting 
forth  the  severity  of  the  Canadian  climate 
and  the  absence  of  mines  of  precious  metals. 
His  report  checked  for  the  time  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  the  French  had  regarded 
America,  and  for  four  years  the  plan  of  col- 
onizing the  new  country  was  laid  aside,  and 
all  attempts  were  abandoned  until  a  more 
favorable  opportunity  should  present  itself. 

Some  ardent  spirits,  however,  still  believed 
in  the  possibility  of  planting  successful  col- 
onies in  the  new  world   and    bringing  that 


ENGLISH   AND   FRENCH   DISCOVERIES. 


47 


vast  region  under  the  dominion  of  France. 
Among  these  was  Francis  de  la  Roque,  lord 
of  Rober\aI,  a  nobleman  of  Picardy.  He 
was  appointed,  by  King  Francis,  Viceroy  of 
the  territories  on  or  near  the  gulf  and  river 
of  St.  Lawrence,  to  which  the  high-sounding 
name  of  Norimbega  was  given,  and  was 
empowered  to  colonize  it.  The  assistance  of 
Cartier  was  necessar\'  to  such  an  undertak- 
ing, and  he  had  the  additional  advantage  of 
possessing  the  entire  confidence  of 
his  royal  master  the  king. 

Roberval  was  forced  to  employ 
him,  and  Cartier  was  gi\'en  author- 
ity by  the  king  to  search  the  prisons 
and  take  from  them  such  persons 
as  he  needed  for  the  expedition. 
Rober\-al  and  Cartier,  however, 
failed  to  agree,  and  their  dissensions 
defeated  the  object  of  the  under- 
taking. Cartier  sailed  from  St.  Malo 
in  May,  1541,  and  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  a  point  near  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Quebec,  where  he  built 
a  fort.  The  winter  was  passed  in 
idleness  and  discord,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1542  Cartier  abandoned 
the  attempt,  and  sailed  away  for 
France  with  his  ships  just  as  Rob- 
erval arrived  with  a  large  reinforce- 
ment, prepared  to  render  aid. 

Roberval  was  unable  to  accom- 
plish more  than  Cartier.  His  new 
subjects  had  been  largely  drawn 
from  the  prisons,  and  they  gave  him  con- 
siderable trouble,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
efforts  resorted  to  to  keep  them  quiet.  One 
of  them  was  hanged  for  theft  during  the 
winter,  several  were  put  in  irons,  and  a  num- 
ber of  men  and  women  were  whipped.  After 
remaining  in  Canada  for  a  year,  Roberval 
became  disheartened,  and  re-embarked  his 
subjects  and  returned  to  France.  Thus 
ended  the  attempt  to  colonize  Canada. 


Nearly  thirty  years  passed  away,  during 
which  the  French  made  no  effort  to  secure 
to  themselves  the  region  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Their  fishermen,  however,  continued 
to  frequent  the  American  waters.  By  the 
close  of  the  sixteenth  century  one  hundred 
and  fifty  vessels  were  engaged  in  the  fisheries 
of  Newfoundland,  and  voyages  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trading  with  the  Indians  had  become 
common.     In  i  598  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche, 


^v^n- 


£JiONjhT 


SAMUEL  CHAMPLAIN. 


a  nobleman  of  Brittanj-,  attempted  to  plant 
a  colony  on  the  Isle  of  Sable.  The  colonists 
consisted  of  criminals  from  the  prisons  of 
France,  and  the  effort  proved  a  failure,  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  the  outset 
In  1600,  Chauvin  obtained  a  patent  from 
the  crown,  conferring  upon  him  a  monopoly 
of  the  fur  trade,  and  Pontgrave,  a  merchant 
of  St.  Malo,  became  his  partner  in  the  enter- 
prise.    Two  successful  voyages  were  made 


4rf 

to  Canada,  and  Cham  in  intended  founding  a 
colony  there.  His  death,  in  1602,  prevented 
the  execution  of  this  plan. 

In  1603,  a  company  of  merchants  of  Rouen 
was  organized,  and  Samuel  Champlain,  an 
able  and  experienced  officer  of  the  French 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE  WESTERN   CONTINENT. 

to  France,  and  laid  before  his  employers  his- 
report,  which  is  still  valuable  for  its  accurate 
description  of  the  country  and  the  manners 
of  the  natives. 

Soon  after  Champlain's  return  to  France, 
a  patent  was  issued  to  Des  Monts,  conferring 
■■;    1  liim  the  sole  right  to  colonize  the  vast 
region  lying  between   the  fortieth 
and  forty-sixth  parallels  of  latitude. 
i      As  this  territory  embraced  the  St. 
=      Lawrence  region,  the  Rouen  com- 
]     pany  were  unable  for  the  present  to^ 
I     accomplish  anything.      Des  Monts 
-^  I     proceeded   with   his    preparations, 

i  and  in  March,  1604,  an  expedition, 
consisting  of  two  ships,  was  sent 
out  to  Acadie  or  Nova  Scotia. 
The  summer  was  passed  in  trading- 
with  the  Indians  and  exploring  the 
coast,  and  in  the  autumn  the  col- 
onists made  a  settlement  on  the 
island  of  St.  Croix,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  ri\'er  of  the  same  name. 

In  the  spring  of  1605,  they  aban- 
I      doned  this  settlement  and  removed 
[      to  Port  Royal,  now  known  as  An- 
napolis. Efforts  were  made  to  find  a 
more  southern  location  in  the  latter 
part  of  1605  and  1606,  but  the  ex- 
<  peditions  sent  out  for  this  purpose 

were    driven    back    by   storms   or 
wrecked  among  the  shoals  of  Cape 
Cod,  and  the  colonists  decided  to 
remain  at  Port  Ro)-al.     Thus  the 
permanency  of  the  colony  was  estab- 
lished.   Some  years  later  a  number 
of  Jesuit  missionaries  were  sent  out 
to  Port  Royal.    These  labored  dili- 
gently among  the  tribes  between  the  Penob- 
scot and  the  Kennebec,  and  not  only  spread 
the  Christian  faith  among  them,  but  won  for 
the   French  the    constant    affection  of   the| 
savages.     During  all  her  contests  with  the 
English    in  America,  these  tribes   remained 


cAliOT    ON    THE    SHORES    OF    I.AHKADOK 

and  sent  to  Canada  to  explore  the  country. 
He  was  in  every  way  qualified  for  the  task 
committed  to  him,  and  after  making  a  thor- 
ough and  systematic  examination  of  the 
region  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  fixing  upon 
Quebec  as  the  proper  site  for  a  fort,  returned 


THE   VOYAGES   OF   COLUMBUS. 


49 


the  faithful  ana  unwavering  alh'es  of  France. 
In  1613a  French  colony  was  planted  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Mount  Desert.  The  settle- 
ment was  named  St.  Sauveur,  and  became 
another  centre  of  missionary  enterprise 
among  the  savages  of  Maine. 

In  the  meantime  the  French  merchants 
had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  revocation  of 
the  impolitic  monopoly  of  Des  Monts.  A 
company  of  merchants  of  St.  Malo  and 
Dieppe  was  formed,  and  an  expedition  was 
sent  out  to  Canada  under  Champlain,  who 
"  aimed  not  at  the  profits  of  trade,  but 
at  the  glory  of  founding  a  state."  On  the 
third  of  July,  1608,  the  city  of  Quebec 
was  begun  by  the  erection  of  one  or  two 
cottages. 


In  1609,  Champlain,  with  but  two  Euro- 
peans, joined  a  party  of  Hurons  from  Mon- 
treal, and  Algonquins  from  Quebec,  in  an 
expedition  against  the  Five  Nations.  He 
ascended  the  Sorel,  explored  the  lake 
which  is  now  called  by  his  name,  and  exam- 
ined a  considerable  part  of  northern  New 
York.  The  religious  disputes  of  France 
spread  to  the  colony,  and  Champlain  was 
obliged  to  use  all  his  energy  and  authority 
to  overcome  the  evils  which  these  inflicted 
upon  the  infant  settleinent.  He  succeeded 
in  overcoming  them,  and  by  his  energy  and 
perseverance  the  fortunes  of  Quebec  were 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  failure.  Cham- 
plain died  in  1635,  and  was  buried  in  "  New 
France,"  of  which  he  is   called  "  the  father." 


CHAPTER  IV 


The  Spaniards  in  America 


Settlement  of  the  West  Indies— Discover)-  of  the  Pacific  Ocean— Voyage  of  Magellan— Discovery-  of  Florida— Ponce  da 
Leon's  Search  for  the  F-untain  of  Youth- Vasquez  de  Ayllon  Kidnaps  a  Cargo  of  Indians— Effort  ol  Pamphilc  de 
Narvacz  to  Conquer  I-loricia- A  Terrible  March— The  Voyage  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico— Fate  of  the  Fleet— Escape  of 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  Comrades— Discovery  of  New  Mexico— Fernando  de  So'.o- Obtains  leave  to  Conquer  Florida 
—Sails  from  Spain— Arrival  in  Cuba— Departure  for  Florida— Landing  at  Tampa  Bay— Events  of  the  First  Year— De 
Solo  enters  Georgia— Decends  the  Alabama— Battle  of  MaviUa— Destruction  of  Chickasaw— Sufferings  of  the  Spaniards 
—Discovery  of  the  Mississippi— The  Spaniards  Cross  the  Great  River- De  Soto  in  Arkansas— Reaches  the  Mississippi 
again— Sickness  and  Death  of  De  Soto— His  Burial— Escape  of  his  Followers  to  Mexico— The  Huguenot  Colony  in 
Carolina— Its  Failure— The  French  Settle  in  Florida— Wrath  of  Philip  II.— Melendez  ordered  to  Exterminate  the 
Huguenots — Foundation  of  St.  Augustine — Massacre  of  the  French  at  Fort  Carolina — The  Vengeance  of  De  Gourges, 


WHILE  the  French  were  seek- 
ing to  obtain  a  footing  in  the 
north,  the  Spaniards  were 
busy  in  the  south.  In  the 
first  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  the 
more  important  of  the  West  India  Islands 
were  subdued  and  colonized,  and  from 
these,  expeditions  were  from  time  to  time 
sent  out  to  explore  the  shores  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  southern  part  of  the 
peninsula  of  Yucatan  was  explored,  and  a 
colony  was  established  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien.  One  of  the  governors  of  this  colony 
was  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa.  In  151 3,  while 
searching  the  Isthmus  for  gold,  he  discovered 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  took  possession  of  it 
in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain. 

In  1520,  a  Portuguese  navigator  named 
Magellan,  employed  by  the  king  of  Spain, 
passed  through  the  straits  north  of  Cape 
Horn,  which  bear  his  name,  and  entered  the 
Western  ocean,  which  he  named  the  Pacific, 
because  it  was  so  calm  and  free  from  storms. 
He  died  on  the  voyage,  but  his  ship  reached 
the  coast  of  Asis,  and  returned  thence  to 
Spain    hv  the    Cape   of  Good    Hope,   thus 

JO 


making  the  first  voyage  around  the  world, 
and  establishing  its  spherical  form  beyond 
dispute. 

In  15 13,  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  who  had 
been  a  companion  of  Columbus  on  his  sec- 
ond voyage,  and  had  been  governor  of  Porto 
Rico,  fitted  out  three  ships  at  his  own 
expense  to  make  a  voyage  of  discovery.  He 
had  heard  the  reports  which  were  then  com- 
monly believed  by  his  countrymen,  thai 
somewhere  in  the  new  world  was  a  fountain 
flowing  in  the  midst  of  a  country  sparkling 
with  gold  and  gems,  whose  waters  would 
give  perpetual  youtn  to  the  man  who  should 
drink  of  and  bathe  in  them. 

Ponce  de  Leon  was  ar  old  man,  and  he 
longed  to  taste  again  the  pleasures  and  the 
dreams  of  youth.  He  gave  a  willing  ear  to 
the  stories  of  this  wonderful  fountain,  and  in 
March,  15 13,  set  sail  from  Porto  Rico  in 
search  of  it.  He  sailed  among  the  Bahamas, 
but  failed  to  find  it,  and  on  Easter  Sunday, 
which  the  Spaniards  call  Pascua  Florida, 
land  was  discovered.  It  was  supposed  to  be 
an  island,  but  was  in  reality  the  long  south- 
ern peninsula  of  the  United  States.     Ponce 


THE   SPANIARDS    IN   AMERICA. 


51 


de  Leon  gave  it  the  name  of  Florida — which 
it  has  since  borne — partly  in  honor  of  the 
da)',  and  partly  because  of  the  beauty  of  its 
flowers  and  foliage.  The  weather  was  very 
bad,  and  it  was  some  days  before  he  could 
go  ashore.  He  landed  near  the  site  of  St. 
Augustine,  and  took  possession  of  the  coun- 
try for  Spain  on  the  eighth  of  April,  1513. 
He  remained  many  weeks  on  the  coast, 
exploring  it,  and  sailing  soutliward,  doubled 
Cape  Florida,  and  cruised  among  the  Tor- 
tugas.      He    failed  to  _^    _  .__ 

find    the    fountain    of 
youth  and  returned  in     ^^ 
despair  to  Porto  Rico.    j!^fc 
Tlie    king    of   Spain    f^^ 
rewarded   his  discov- 
ery by  appointing  him 
governor  of  Florida, 
on  condition  that   he 
should    colonize    the 
country. 

A  k\v  3'ears  later  he 
attempted  to  plant  a 
colony  in  Florida,  but 
was  attacked  by   the 

Indians,  who    were  __„  ---  — 

very  hostile,  and  driv-    *-.»?err''^iiit'~'  .,  -1- 
en  to   his  ships   with 
the  loss  of  a  number 
of  his  men.    Ponce  de 
Leon  himself  received 
a  painful  wound,  and 
returned  to  Cuba  to  die. 
life  upon    the  search    foi 
he  found  only  a  grave. 

Between  the  years  1518  and  1521,  the 
expeditions  of  Hernando  Cortez  against 
Mexico,  and  of  Francesco  Pizarro  against 
Peru,  were  despatched  from  Cuba.  They 
resulted  in  the  conquest  of  those  countries 
and  their  colonization  by  Spain.  These  expe- 
ditions, however,  form  no  part  of  this  narra- 
tive, and  we  cannot  dwell  upon  them. 


The  native  population  of  the  West  Indies 
died  out  rapidly  under  the  cruel  rule  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  it  soon  became  necessary  to 
look  elsewhere  for  a  supply  of  laborers  for 
the  plantations  and  the  mines.  In  1520, 
Lucas  V'asquez  de  Ayllon,  at  the  head  of  a 
company  of  seven  Spaniards,  fitted  out  a  fleet 
of  two  slave-ships  from  St.  Domingo  or  His- 
paniola,  for  the  deliberate  purpose  of  seizing 
the  natives  of  the  mainland  and  selling  them 
as    slaves.      Tlie  vessels    went    first   to   the 


He  had  staked  his 
perpetual  youth  ; 


THE  COAST  OF 


Bahamas,  from  which  they  sailed  to  the  North 
American  coast,  reaching  it  at  or  near  St. 
Helena  sound,  in  the  present  State  of  South 
Carolina.  The  Indians  had  not  yet  learned 
to  fear  the  whites,  and  were  utterly  unsus- 
picious of  the  fate  which  awaited  them.  They 
were  timid  at  first,  but  this  feeling  was  soon 
overcome  by  the  distribution  of  presents 
among  them.  Their  confidence  being  won, 
they  received  the  Spaniards  with  kindness, 
and  at  their  rcc^uest  visited  the  ships. 


3  2  DISCOVERY   OF  THE 

When  the  decks  of  the  vessels  were  cov- 
ered with  the  unsuspecting  natives  Vasquez 
made  sail,  and  standing  out  to  sea  steered  for 
the  West  Indies,  regardless  of  the  entreaties 
of  the  natives  who  were  tlius  torn  from  their 
friends  and  relatives  on  the  shore.  A  retrib- 
utive justice  speedily  avenged  this  crime. 
A  violent  storm  arose  and  one  of  the  ships 
foundered  with  all  on  board.  A  pestilence 
broke  out  in  the  remaining  vessel,  and  swept 
iNvay  many  of  the  captives.      Returning  to 


Spain,  Vasquez  boasted  of  his  infamous  deed, 
and  even  claimed  a  reward  for  it  at  the  hands 
of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  who  acknow- 
ledged his  claim,  and  appointed  him  governor 
of  Chicora,  as  South  Carolina  was  called,  with 
authority  to  conquer  that  country.  Vasquez 
spent  his  entire  fortune  in  fitting  out  an  expe- 
dition, and  reached  the  coast  of  Chicora  in 
1525- 

There  he  met  with  nothing  but  misfortune. 
His  largest  ship  was  stranded  in  the  Com- 


WESTERN   CONTINENT. 

bahee  River,  then  called  by  the  whites  the 
River  Jordan,  and  so  many  of  his  men  were 
killed  by  the  Indians  that  he  was  obliged  to- 
abandon  the  undertaking.  He  returned  to 
Europe  to  die  of  grief  and  mortification  for 
his  failure.  "  It  may  be,"  says  Bancroft, 
"  that  ships  sailing  under  his  authority  made 
the  discovery  of  the  Chesapeake  and  named, 
it  the  Bay  of  St.  Mary  ;  and  perhaps  even  en- 
tered the  Bay  of  Delaware,  which  in  Spanish, 
geography  was  called  Saint  Christopher's."" 


Adventurers  Seeking  Fortune. 

In  1526,  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  obtained 
from  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  authority  to- 
explore  and  conquer  all  the  country  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  the  River  of  Palms. 
He  was  very  wealthy,  and  spent  his  entire 
estate  in  preparation  for  the  expedition. 
There  was  no  lack  of  volunteers,  and  many 
younger  sons  of  nobles  joined  him,  hoping 
to  find  fame  and  fortune  in  the  new  world. 
Among  the  adventurers  was  Cabeza  de  Vaca 
the  historian  of  the  expedition,  who  held 
the  second  place  in  it  as  treasurer.  Narvaez 
sailed  from  the  Guadalquivir  in  June,  1527, 
touched  at  St.  Domingo,  and  passed  the 
winter  in  Cuba.  In  the  spring  of  1528,  he 
was  driven  by  a  strong  south  wind  to  the 
N  American  coast,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of 
April  his  fleet  cast  anchor  in  Tampa  Bay. 
A  week  later  he  landed  and  took  possession 
of  the  peninsula  of  Florida  in  the  name  of 
Spain. 
The  natives  showed  unmistakable  signs  of 
hostility,  but  they  exhibited  to  the  governor 
samples  of  gold,  which  he  believed,  from 
their  signs,  came  from  the  north.  In  spite 
of  the  earnest  advice  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  he 
determined  to  go  in  search  of  the  precious 
metal.  He  directed  his  ships  to  meet  him  at 
a  harbor  with  which  his  pilot  pretended  to  be 
acquainted,  and  then,  at  the  head  of  three 
hundred  men,  fortv  of  whom  were  mounted. 


THE    SPANIARDS    IX    AMERICA. 


53 


«et  off  into  the  interior  of  the  country.  1^0 
one  knew  whither  he  was  going,  but  all  be- 
lieved that  each  step  led  them  nearer  to  the 
land  ot  gold. 

The  beauty  of  the  forest,  the  richness  of  its 
vegetation,  and  the  size  of  its  gigantic  live- 
oaks,  filled  them  with  wonder  and  admira- 
tion, and  the  variety  and  abundance  of  the 
birds  and  wild  beasts  of  the  country  excited 
their  surprise;  but  they  found  neither  the 
gold  nor  the  splendid  cities  they  had  fondly 
believed  they  were  about  to  discover.  The 
forest  grew  denser  and  more  intricate  at  every 
step,  and  the  rivers  were  broad  and  deep, 
with  swift  currents,  and  could  be  crossed 
only  by  means  of  rafts,  which  were  con- 
structed with  great  difficulty.  The  march 
lay  through  swamps,  in  which  the  Indian 
warriors  harassed  the  strangers  painfully, 
and,  their  provisions  becoming  exhausted, 
they  began  to  suffer  with  hunger.  Late  in 
June  they  reached  Appalachee,  which  they 
had  supposed  was  a  large  and  wealthy  city. 
They  found  it  only  a  hamlet  of  some  forty 
poor  wigwams  ;  but  remained  there  twenty- 
five  days,  searching  the  neighboring  country 
for  gold  and  silver,  and  finding  none. 

A  Perilous  Voyage. 

It  was  plain  now  even  to  the  governor  that 
there  was  no  gold  to  be  found  in  this  region, 
and  every  nerve  was  strained  to  hasten  the 
march  to  the  harbor  where  they  had  ap- 
pointed to  meet  the  ships.  There  was  but 
one  impulse  now  in  the  whole  expedition — 
to  escape  from  the  terrible  country  which  was 
proving  so  fatal  to  them.  After  a  painful 
march  they  reached  a  bay  which  they  called 
the  Baia  de  Caballos,  now  the  harbor  of  St. 
Marks.  The  ships  could  not  be  seen,  and  it 
was  resolved  at  once  to  build  boats  and 
attempt  to  reach  some  of  the  Spanish  pos- 
sessions by  sea.  The  horses  were  slain  to 
furnish  food,  and  several  hundred  bushels  of 


corn  were  seized  Irom  the  Indians.  Subsist- 
ing upon  these  supplies,  the  Spaniards  beat 
tlieir  spurs,  stirrups,  cross-bows,  and  other 
implements  into  saws  anda.xes  and  nails,  and 
in  sixteen  days  built  five  boats,  each  more 
than  thirty  feet  long.  Pitch  for  the  calking 
of  the  boats  was  made  from  the  pine  trees, 
and  the  fibre  of  the  palmetto  served  as 
oakum.  Ropes  were  made  of  twisted  horse- 
hair and  palmetto  fibres,  and  the  shirts  of  the 
men  were  pieced  together  for  sails.  Fifty 
men  had  been  lost  on  the  march,  and  on  the 
twenty-second  of  September  the  survivors, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  began  the'r 
perilous  voyage. 

The  Fleet  Scattered  by  a  Storm. 

They  followed  the  shore,  encountering 
many  dangers,  and  suffering  greatly  from 
hunger  and  thirst.  On  the  thirtieth  of 
October  they  discovered  one  of  the  mouths 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  the  fifth  of  Novem- 
ber a  storm  scattered  the  little  fleet.  Cabeza 
de  Vaca's  boat  was  wrecked  upon  an  island 
which  is  believed  to  be  that  of  Galveston. 
Castillo's  boat  was  driven  ashore  farther  to 
the  east,  but  he  and  his  crew  were  saved 
alive.  Of  the  fate  of  the  other  boats  noth- 
ing is  known  with  certainty.  Of  those  who 
were  cast  ashore,  all  but  Cabeza  de  Vaca, 
Dorantes,  Castillo,  and  Estevanico,  a  negro, 
died  of  exposure  and  hardship.  These  four 
were  detained  captives  among  the  Indians 
for  nearly  six  years. 

At  the  end  of  this  period,  Cabeza  induced 
his  companions  to  join  him  in  an  attempt  to 
escape.  In  September,  1534,  they  set  out, 
naked,  ignorant  of  the  way,  and  without  any 
means  of  sustaining  life.  In  this  condition 
these  men  accomplished  the  wonderful  feat 
of  traversing  the  continent.  The  journey 
occupied  upwards  of  twenty  months,  and 
extended  from  the  coast  of  Texas  to  the 
Canadian    River,    and    thence     into     New 


54 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


Mexico,  from  which  they  continued  their 
way  to  the  village  of  San  Miguel,  in  Sonora, 
near  the  Pacific  Ocean.  They  reached  this  ! 
village  in  May,  1536,  and  found  themselves 
again  among  their  countrymen.  They  were  1 
escorted  to  Compostella  by  Spanish  soldiers, 
and  from  that  place  were  forwarded  to  the 
City  of  Mexico  by  the  authorities. 

Fabuio.  s  Tales  of  Gold. 

The  reports  of  Cabeza  and  his  compan- 
ions made  the  Viceroy  Mendoza  anxious  to 
send  out  an  expedition  to  explore  New 
Mexico,  which  was  believed  to  be  richer  in 
wealth  and  splendid  cities  than  Mexico  itself. 
A  Franciscan  friar  boasted  that  he  had  vis- 
ited a  region  in  the  interior  named  Cibola, 
the  Land  of  Buffaloes,  in  which  were  seven 
splendid  cities.  He  declared  that  the  land 
ivas  rich  in  silver  and  gold,  and  that  his  In- 
dian guides  had  described  to  him  a  region 
still  wealthier.  The  friar's  storj?  was  religi- 
ously believed,  and  an  expedition  set  out  in 
1539,  under  command  of  Francisco  Vasquez 
Coronado,  the  go\-ernor  of  New  Galicia. 

The  expedition  explored  the  region  of  the 
Colorado,  examined  the  country  now  known 
as  New  Mexico,  and  penetrated  as  far  east  as 
the  present  State  of  Kansas.  Coronado 
found  neither  gold  nor  precious  stones,  and 
the  only  cities  he  discovered  were  the  towns 
of  the  Zuni  Indians  of  New  Mexico.  He 
reported  to  the  viceroy  on  his  return  to 
Mexico  that  the  region  was  not  fit  to  be  col- 
onized, and  his  description  of  the  country 
through  which  he  marched  is  so  accurate  as 
to  challenge  the  admiration  of  every  suc- 
ceeding traveler. 

Still  the  Spaniards  refused  to  abandon  the 
belief  that  fabulous  wealth  was  to  be  found 
in  the  interior  of  the  continent ;  and  even 
those  who  had  borne  a  part  in  the  conquest  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  gave  credit  to  the  wild 
stories  that  were  told  concerning  the  undis- 


covered regions.  Among  those  who  gave 
such  implicit  faith  to  these  stories  was  Fer- 
nando de  Soto,  of  Xeres,  a  veteran  soldier, 
who  had  served  with  distinction  with  Pizarro 
in  the  conquest  of  Peru,  and  had  amassed  a 
considerable  fortune  from  the  spoils  of  that 
province.  The  fame  and  wealth  acquired  by 
him  in  this  expedition  opened  the  way  to 
other  successes  in  Europe.  He  was  honored 
with  the  favor  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
and  received  the  hand  of  a  noble  lady  in 
marriage.  Eager  to  distinguish  himself  still 
further,  he  determined  to  attempt  the  con- 
quest of  Florida.  He  demanded  and  re- 
ceived from  the  emperor  permission  to 
undertake  this  at  his  own  cost,  and  was  also 
made  governor  of  Cuba  and  all  the  terri- 
tories he  should  conquer.  As  soon  as  he 
made  known  his  intentions  applications  for 
leave  to  serv^e  in  the  expedition  poured  in 
upon  him.  Many  of  the  volunteers  were  of 
noble  birth,  and  sold  their  lands  and 
other  property  to  equip  themselves  for  the 
undertaking. 

Adventures  of  De  Soto. 

De  Soto  selected  six  hundred  well- 
equipped  men  from  the  number  who  had 
volunteered,  and  in  1538  sailed  from  Spain  to 
Cuba,  where  he  was  welcomed  with  great 
rejoicings.  A  vessel  was  despatched  from 
Cuba  to  find  a  harbor  in  Florida  suitable  for 
the  landing  of  the  expedition.  On  its  return 
it  brought  two  Indian  captives,  who  per- 
ceiving what  was  wanted  of  them,  told  by 
signs  such  stories  of  the  wealth  of  the  country 
as  greatly  delighted  the  governor  and  his 
companions.  Volunteers  in  Cuba  swelled 
the  ranks  of  the  expedition  to  nearly  one 
thousand  men,  of  whom  three  hundred  were 
horsemen. 

In  May,  1 539,  leaving  his  wife  to  govern 
the  island,  De  Soto  sailed  with  his  fleet  for 
Florida,  and  a  fortnight  later  landed  at  Espi- 


THE   SPANIARDS    IN    AMERICA. 


fitu  Santo  now  Tampa  Bay.  EvcrythinLj 
had  been  pi  ovidcd  which  the  foresight  of  an 
experienced  commander  deemed  necessary, 
a;.d  De  Soto,  in  order  to  remove  any  tempta- 
tion to  retreat,  sent  his  ships  back  to  Cuba. 
He  never  dreamed  of  failure,  for  he  believed 
th.at  at  the  most  the  task  before  him  would 
not  be  more  difficult  than  those  which  had 
been  accomplished  by  Cortcz  and  Pizarro. 
After  a  brief  halt  at  Tampa  Bay  the  march 
into  the  interior  was  begun.  It  was  long 
and  tedious,  and  was  full  of  danger.  The 
Indians  were  hostile,  and  the  guides  con- 
stantly led  the  Spaniards  astray,  and  plunged 
them  into  difficult  swamps.  The  guides  were 
instantly  given  to  the  bloodhounds,  and  torn 
in  pieces  by  the  ferocious  animals ;  but  not 
even  this  dreadful  punishment  was  sufficient 
to  prevent  a  renewal  of  such  acts.  Before 
the  close  of  the  first  season  the  whole  com- 
pany, save  the  governor,  had  become  con- 
vinced that  their  hope  of  finding  gold  \\as 
vain,  and  they  besought  De  Soto  to  return 
to  Cuba.  He  sternly  refused  to  abandon  the 
effort,  and  pushed  on  to  the  country  of  the 
Appalachians,  east  of  the  Flint  River,  and  not 
far  from  the  Bay  of  Appalachee.  The  winter 
was  passed  in  this  region,  and  a  scouting 
partyduring  this  season  discovered  Pensacola. 
In  the  spring  of  1540  the  march  was 
resumed.  An  Indian  guide  promised  to  con- 
duct the  Spaniards  to  a  country  abounding 
in  gold  and  governed  by  a  woman,  and  he 
described  the  process  of  refining  gold  so  ac- 
curately that  De  Soto  believed  his  story.  It 
is  possible  that  the  Indian  may  have  referred 
to  the  gold  region  of  North  Carolina.  One 
of  the  guides  told  the  governor  plainly  that 
he  knew  of  no  such  country  as  his  companion 
had  described,  and  De  Soto  had  him  burned 
for  what  he  supposed  was  his  falsehood. 
The  Indians,  terrified  by  his  fate,  from  this 
time  invented  all  manner  of  fabulous  stories 
to  excite  the  cupidity  of  the  Spaniards.     De 


55 

Soto,  with  a  singular  perversity,  held  to  his 
belief  that  he  would  yet  realize  his  hopes, 
and  continued  to  push  on  long  after  his  men 
had  become  disheartened ;  and  so  great  was 
liis  influence  over  them  that  in  their  deepest 
despondency  he  managed  to  inspire  them 
with  something  of  his  own  courage  and 
hopefulness. 


FERNANDO  DE  SOTO. 

Instead  of  conciliating  the  Indians,  ihe 
Spaniards  seized  their  provisions,  and  pro- 
voked their  hostility  in  numberless  ways 
They  treated  their  captives  with  the  greatest 
cruelty.  They  cut  off  the  hands  of  the  poor 
Indians,  burned  them  at  the  stake,  or  turned 
them  over  to  the  bloodhounds,  who  tore 
them  in  pieces.  They  were  chained  together 
by  the  neck,  and  forced  to  carry  the  baggage 
and  provisions  of  the  troops.  The  march 
was  now  into  the  interior  of  Georgia,  as  far  as 
the  headwaters  of  the  Chattahoochee,  from 
which  the  Spaniards  passed  to  tlie  head- 
waters  of  the  Coosa.      Here  they  turned   to 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE  WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


the  southwest,  and  marched  through  Ala- 
bama to  the  junction  of  the  Alabama  and 
Tombigbee  Rivers. 

At  this  point  there  was  a  large  and 
strongly  fortified  town  called  Mavilla,  or 
Mobile,  a  name  which  has  since  been  given 
o  the  river  and  bay.  The  town  consisted 
>i"  eighty  handsome  houses,  each  sufficiently 
rapacious  to  contain  a  thousand  men.  They 
were  encompassed  by  a  high  wall,  made  of 
immense  trunks  of  trees,  set  deep  in  the 
ground  and  close  together,  strengthened 
with  cross-timbers  and  interwoven  with  large 
vines."  It  was  the  middle  of  October  when 
Mavilla  was  reached,  and  the  Spaniards  tired 
of  living  in  the  open  countrj^  so  long,  wished 
to  occupy  the  town.  The  Indians  resisted 
them,  and  a  desperate  battle  ensued,  vvhich 
was  won  by  the  Spanish  cavalry.  The  vic- 
tory cost  the  whites  dear,  however,  for  the 
town  was  burned  during  the  batde,  and  with 
it  all  the  baggage  of  the  Spaniards  was  con- 
sumed. The  Intlians  fought  with  a  desperate 
bravery,  and  numbers  of  them  were  slain  and 
burned  to  death  in  the  town.  The  Spaniards 
had  eighteen  killed  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  wounded ;  twelve  horses  were  killed  and 
seventy-two  wounded. 

De  Soto  Presses  On. 

Ships  had  arrived  in  the  meantime,  accorc- 
Ingto  appointment,  at  f  ensacola,  and  by  them 
De  Soto  received  letters  from  his  wife.  He 
would  send  no  news  home,  however.  He 
had  not  yet  realized  the  objects  of  the  e.xpe- 
dition,  and  he  determined  to  send  no  news  of 
himself  to  his  countrymen  until  he  had  found 
or  conquered  some  rich  country.  Turning 
his  back  resolutely  upon  the  ships,  the  gov- 
ernor resumed  his  march  to  the  northwest. 

By  the  middle  of  December  he  reached  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  State  of  Mississippi, 
and  finding  a  deserted  village  in  the  country 
of  the  Chickasaws,  occupied  it  as  the  winter 


quarters  of  the  expedition.  December,  1 540^ 
the  winter  was  severe,  and  the  ground  was 
covered  with  snow,  but  the  corn  was  still 
standing  in  the  fields,  and  this  furnished  the 
Spaniards  with  food.  Their  force  was  now 
reduced  to  five  hundred  men,  and  it  Avas  evi- 
dent to  all,  except  the  governor,  that  they 
would  never  find  the  cities  or  the  wealth  they 
had  set  out  to  seek. 

Discovery  of  the  Mississippi. 

With  the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1541  a 
new  disaster  befell  the  Spaniards.  De  Soto, 
as  had  been  his  custom  with  the  other  tribes, 
demanded  of  the  Chickasaw  chief  two  hun- 
dred men  to  carry  the  baggage  of  the  troops. 
The  demand  was  refused,  and  that  night  the 
Indians,  deceiving  the  sentinels,  set  fire  to  the 
village.  The  bewildered  Spaniards  were 
aroused  from  their  slumbers  to  meet  a  fierce 
attack  of  the  savages.  The  latter  were  re- 
pulsed after  a  hard  fight,  but  the  whites  were 
left  in  an  almost  helpless  condition.  The 
little  they  had  saved  from  the  flames  at 
Mavilla  was  destroyed  in  the  burning  village. 
Armor  and  weapons  were  rendered  worth- 
less, and  scarcely  any  clothing  was  saved. 
The  troops  were  forced  to  resort  to  dresses 
of  skins  and  the  long  moss  of  the  country 
woven  into  mats.  In  this  condition,  they 
suffered  greatly  from  the  cold.  To  supply 
the  weapons  destroyed  forges  were  erected, 
and  the  swords  were  retempered  and  new 
lances  made. 

Renewing  their  march  the  Spaniards 
pushed  on  still  farther  west,  and  about  the 
second  of  May  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  at  a  point  a  short  distance  below 
the  present  cit\'  of  Memphis.  They  were  the 
first  white  men  to  gaze  upon  the  mighty 
flood  of  this  noble  river,  but  De  Soto  had  no 
admiration  to  e.xpress  for  it.  It  was  only  an 
obstacle  in  his  westward  march,  and  would 
require    greater  efforts  for  its  passage  than 


THE  SPANIARDS 
A 


IN   AMERICA. 


57 


any  stream  he  had  yet  encountered, 
month  was  passed  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
in  constructing  barges  large  enough  to  hold 
three  horsemen  each.  At  length  they  were 
completed,  and  the  Spaniards  were  trans- 
ported in  safety  to  the  opposite  shore.  The 
natives  received  them  kindly,  and  presented 
them  with  food,  and  regarding  them  as  the 
children  of  their  god,  the  sun,  brought  to 
them  their  sick  to  be  healed,  and  their  blind 
to  be  restored  to  sight.  The  blunt  soldier, 
cruel  as  he  had  been  to  the  savages,  shrank 
from  claiming  the  power  of  heaven.  "  Pray 
only  to  God,  who  is  in  heaven,  for  whatso- 
ever ye  need,"  he  answered. 

Exploring  the  Country. 

De  Soto  remained  forty  days  on  the  west- 
ern bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  during  this 
time  an  exploring  party  was  sent  to  examine 
the  country  to  the  north.  They  reported 
that  this  region  was  thinly  inhabited  by 
hunters,  who  lived  by  chasing  the  bison, 
which  abounded  in  this  region.  The  gover- 
nor then  turned  to  the  west  and  northwest, 
and  advanced  two  hundred  miles  farther  into 
the  interior  of  the  continent,  probably  to  the 
highlands  of  the  White  River. 

Then  turning  southward,  he  passed 
through  a  succession  of  Indian  tribes  who 
lived  by  cultivating  the  soil,  and  who  enjoy- 
ed a  civilization  superior  to  that  of  their 
nomadic  brethren.  The  winter  was  passed 
near  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas.  The 
Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi  were  treated 
with  the  same  cruelties  that  had  marked  the 
conduct  of  the  Spaniards  towards  the  sav- 
ages cast  of  that  stream.  "  Any  trifling 
consideration  of  safety  would  induce  the 
governor  to  set  fire  to  a  hamlet.  He  did 
not  delight  in  cruelty,  but  the  happiness,  the 
life  and  the  rights  of  the  Indians  were  held 
of  no  account." 

In  the  spring  of  1542,  De  Soto  determined 


to  descend  the  Washita  to  its  mouth,  and 
endeavor  to  reach  the  sea.  At  last,  after  a 
most  arduous  march,  in  which  he  frequently 
lost  his  way  amid  the  swamps  and  bayous  of 
the  region,  he  reached  the  Mississippi.  The 
chieftain  of  this  region  could  not  tell  him  the 
distance  to  the  sea,  but  informed  him  that 
the  country  along  the  lower  river  was  a  vast 
and  uninhabited  swamp.  An  exploring 
party  was  sent  to  descend  the  banks  of  the 
river,  and  returned,  after  penetrating  about 
thirty  miles  in  eight  days,  to  confirm  the 
Indian's  report. 

Reaching  the  vicinity  of  Natchez,  the 
governor  found  the  Indians  prepared  to  con- 
test his  occupation  of  that  town.  He  at- 
tempted to  overawe  them  by  claiming  to  be 
the  child  of  the  sun,  their  chief  deity.  The 
chieftain  answered  him  scornfully:  "You 
say  you  are  the  child  of  the  sun.  Dry  up 
the  river,  and  I  will  believe  you.  Do  you 
desire  to  see  me  ?  Visit  the  town  where  I 
dwell.  If  you  come  in  peace,  I  will  receive 
you  with  special  good  will ;  if  in  war,  I  will 
not  shrink  one  foot  back."  The  savages 
were  becoming  more  dangerous  every  day, 
and  the  Spaniards  less  able  to  resist  their 
assaults. 

Burial  of  De  Soto. 

De  Soto  was  now  conquered.  It  was  at  last 
as  plain  to  him  as  it  had  been  all  along  to 
his  followers  that  the  expedition  was  a  failure. 
He  had  spent  three  years  in  roaming  over 
the  continent,  and  he  had  found  neither  the 
cities  nor  the  wealth  he  had  hoped  for.  His 
magnificent  anticipations  had  disappeared; 
his  little  army  was  reduced  to  a  mere  hand- 
ful of  the  splendid  force  that  had  left  Cuba; 
and  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  region  from 
which  he  could  see  no  escape.  A  deep  mel- 
ancholy took  the  place  of  the  stern  pride 
that  had  hithereto  marked  his  demeanor, 
and    his    heart    was    torn   by   a   conflict   of 


DISCOVERY   OF   THE   WESTERN    CONTINENT. 


emotions.    His  health  gave  way  rapidly,  and  1 
he  was  seized  with  a  violent  fever. 

When  informed  by  his  medical  attendant 
th-jt  his  end  was  at  hand,  he  expressed  his 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  at  the 
request  of  his  men  appointed  Louis  de 
Mocoso  his  successor,  and  advised  him  to 
continue  the  expedition.  He  died  on  the 
fifth  of  June,  1542.  In  order  to  conceal  his 
death  from  the  savages,  who  had  come  to 
regard  him  as  immortal,  his  body  was 
wrapped  in  a  mantle,  and  in  the  silence  of 
midnight  was  rowed  out  into  the  middle  of 
the  Mississippi.  There,  amid  the  darkness 
and  the  wailing  requiems  of  the  priests,  the 
mortal  remains  of  Fernando  de  Soto  were 
committed  to  the  great  river  he  had  dis- 
covered. 

Harrassed  by  the  Indians. 

The  Spaniards  at  once  prepared  to  disre- 
gard the  advice  of  their  dead  leader,  and 
resolved  to  set  out  across  the  country  for 
Mexico,  believing  it  less  dangerous  to  go  by 
land  than  by  sea.  They  roused  the  whole 
country  against  them  by  their  barbarous 
treatment  of  the  people,  and,  having  pro- 
ceeded upwards  of  three  hundred  miles  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  were  driven  back  to  that 
stream  by  the  savages.  It  now  became 
necessary  to  build  vessels  and  descend  the 
river.  Seven  of  these  were  constructed  with 
great  difficulty,  and  amidst  the  constant 
hostility  of  the  Indians.  They  were  frail 
barks,  without  decks,  and  in  order  to  con- 
struct them  the  Spaniards  were  obliged  to 
beat  their  weapons,  and  even  their  stirrups, 
spurs  and  bridles  into  saws,  axes  and  nails. 

During  this  period  they  suffered  greatly 
from  the  lack  of  clothing,  for  it  was  the 
winter  season.  They  obtained  provisions  by 
plundering  the  granaries  of  the  neighboring 
tribes,  and  thus  dooming  many  of  the  sav- 
ages to  death  by  starvation.     On  the  first  of 


July,  1543,  they  embarked  in  their  vessels, 
their  number  being  now  reduced  to  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  began  the  descent 
of  the  river.  Their  progress  was  harassed 
at  every  mile  by  the  Indians,  who  covered 
the  stream  with  their  canoes  and  kept  up  an 
almost  constant  assault  upon  the  fleet.  On 
the  eighteenth  of  July,  the  vessels  entered  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  by  the  tenth  of  Septem- 
ber the  Mexican  coast  was  reached.  The 
vessels  succeeded  in  gainingthe  Spanish  set- 
tlement of  Panuco,  where  the  survivors  were 
hospitably  received  by  their  countrymen. 

Ribault's  Expedition. 

The  failure  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto  pre- 
vented the  Spaniards  from  making  any 
further  attempt  for  many  years  to  colonize 
the  Florida  coast.  The  next  effort  to  found 
a  settlement  in  that  region  was  by  the  French. 
The  religious  wars  which  had  distracted 
France  for  so  many  years  made  the  great 
Huguenot  leader,  Coligny,  Admiral  of  France, 
anxious  to  provide  in  the  new  world  a  refuge 
to  which  his  persecuted  brethren  of  the  faith 
might  fly  in  times  of  danger,  and  be  free  to 
worship  God  after  the  dictates  of  their  own 
conscience.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining^ 
authority  for  this  undertaking  from  Charles 
I X.,  and  in  1 562  an  expedition  was  despatched 
to  America  under  the  command  of  Jean 
Ribault,  a  Protestant.  Ribault  was  instructed 
to  avoid  the  more  rigorous  climate  of  Cana- 
da, and  to  select  a  southern  location  for  the 
colony.  Land  was  made  in  May,  1562,  in 
the  vicinity  of  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  and 
the  fleet  anchored  in  Port  Royal  Harbor. 

Ribault  was  delighted  with  the  noble  har- 
bor, which  he  believed  to  be  the  outlet  of  a 
large  river,  and  with  the  beauty  and  richness 
of  the  country.  A  fort  was  built  on  an 
island  in  the  harbor,  and  called  Carolina^ 
which  name  was  also  applied  to  the  country 
in  honor  of  Charles  IX.  of  France.     A  force 


THE   SPANIARDS   IN   AMERICA. 


59 


of  twenty-five  men  was  left  to  garrison  the 
fort,  and  Ribault  returned  lo  France  to  report 
his  success  and  bring  out  reinforcements  for 
the  colony.  He  reached  France  in  the 
midst  of  the  civil  war,  which  prevented  any 
attention    being   paid    to    the  colony.     The 


In  1564  there  was  a  lull  in  the  struggle 
between  the  contending  parties  in  I'rancc, 
and  Coligny  took  advantage  of  it  to  renew 
his  efforts  to  colonize  America.  Three  ships 
were  furnished  by  the  king,  and  were  placed 
in  command  of  Laudonniere.who  had  accom- 


garrison  of  Fort  Carolina  waited  in  vain  for  panied  Ribault  in  the  first  expedition.  Emi- 
the  promised  reinforcements  and  supplies,  grants  volunteered  readily,  and  the  required 
and   at  last,  becoming   disheartened,  built  a  i  number  was   soon   completed.     In   order  to 


brigantine  and  set  sail  for  their  own  country. 
Their  provisions  soon  gave  out,  and  they 
began  to  suffer  the  horrors  of  famine.  When 
they  were  nearly  exhausted,  they  were  res- 
cued by  an  English  vessel,  which  set  the 
most  feeble  upon  the  coast  of  France,  but 
carried  the  remainder  to  England.  In 
both  countries  the  colonists  spread  their 
accounts  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of 
Carolina. 


obtain  reliable  information  concerning  the 
country,  Coligny  sent  out  with  the  expedi- 
tion a  skillful  painter,  James  le  Moyne,  called 
Des  Morgues,  with  orders  to  make  accurate 
colored  sketches  of  the  region.  The  fleet 
sailed  on  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1564, 
and  on  the  twenty-second  of  June  reached 
the  coast  of  Florida.  Avoiding  Port  Royal, 
the  site  of  the  first  colony,  the  colonists  chose 
a  location   in   Florida,  on  the  banks  of  the 


DISCOVERY   OF  Tri^    vVESTERN   COXTINENT. 

however,  and  supplied  them  with  provisions 
and  gave  them  one  of  his  own  ships.  They 
had  suffered  too  much  to  be  content  with 
this,  and  were  resolved  to  adandon  the  settle- 
ment. They  were  on  the  point  of  embark- 
ing in  the  ship  furnished  them  by  Sir  John, 
when  a  fleet  of  several  vessels  was  discovered 
standing  into  the  river.  It  was  the  squadron 
of  Ribault,  with  reinforcements  and  all  the 
supplies  necessary  for  founding  a  permanent 
settlement.  The  despair  of  the  colonists  was 
clianged  to  rejoicing,  and  all  were  now  will- 
ing to  remain  in  the  colony. 


St.  John's  then  called  the  River  May.  A 
fort  was  built,  and  called,  litcc  the  first,  Caro- 
lina. 

The  colony  was  begun  with  prayers  and 
songs  of  tlianksgiving,  but  the  bulk  of  the 
colonists  were  by  no  means  religious  men. 
Their  true  character  soon  began  to  appear. 
They  wasted  the  supplies  they  had  brought 
vvith  them,  as  well  as  those  they  succeeded 
in  extorting  from  the  Indians,  whom  they 
alienated  by  their  cruelties.  Mutinies  were 
frequent.  The  majority  of  the  men  had 
joined  the  enterprise  in  the  hope  of  acquiring 
sudden  wealth,  and,  finding  their  hopes  vain, 
resolved  to  abandon  the  colony.  They  com- 
pelled Laudonniere  to  sign  an  order  allowing 
-tliem  to  embark  for  New  Spain,  under  the 
pretext  of  wishing  to  avoid  a  famine,  and  at 
once  equipped  two  vessels  and  began  a  career 
of  piracy  against  the  Spaniards.  Their  ves- 
sels were  soon  captured,  and  the  pirates  were 
sold  as  slaves.  A  few  escaped  in  a  boat  and 
took  refuge  at  Fort  Carolina.  Laudonniere 
caused  them  to  be  hanged ;  but  their  out- 
rages had  already  drawn  upon  the  colony  the 
Ijitter  hostility  of  the  Spaniards. 

Beginning  of  the  Slave-Traffic. 
Famine  now  began  to  be  felt  by  the  lit- 
tle settlement,  and  as  month  after  month 
passed  by  the  sufferings  of  the  colonists  in- 
creased. The  natives,  who  were  at  first 
friendly,  had  been  rendered  hostile  by  the 
cruel  treatment  they  had  received  from  the 
Prench,  and  no  provisions  could  be  obtained 
from  them.  On  the  third  of  August,  1565, 
Sir  John  Hawkins,  an  English  commander, 
arrived  with  several  ships  from  the  West 
Indies,  where  he  had  just  sold  a  cargo  of 
negro  slaves  whom  he  had  kidnapped  in  their 
native  Africa.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  Englishman  who  engaged  in  this 
infamous  traffic.  He  proved  himself  a 
generous    friend  to  the    suffering    colonists, 


Thrilling  Events  in  Florida. 

When  the  news  of  the  planting  of  the 
French  colony  in  Florida  reached  Philip  II. 
of  Spain,  he  was  greatly  incensed.  Florida 
was  a  part  of  his  dominions,  and  he  not  only 
resented  the  intrusion  of  the  French,  but 
could  not  tolerate  the  idea  of  allowing  a 
Protestant  colony  to  enjoy  its  settlement  in 
peace.  He  determined  at  once  to  exterminate 
the  heretics,  and  for  this  purpose  employed 
Pedro  Melendez  de  Aviles,  an  officer  who 
had  rendered  himself  notorious  for  his  cruelty 
when  engaged  against  the  pirates  and  in  the 
wars  of  Spanish  America.  His  son  and  heir 
having  been  shipwrecked  among  the  Ber- 
mudas, Melendez  desired  to  return  to 
America  to  search  for  him. 

Philip,  who  knew  his  desperate  character, 
suggested  to  him  the  conquest  of  Florida,  and 
an  agreement  was  entered  into  between  the 
king  and  Melendez,  by  which  the  latter  was 
to  invade  and  conquer  Florida  within  three 
years,  and  establish  in  that  region  a  colony 
of  not  less  than  five  hundred  persons,  of 
whom  one  hundred  should  be  married  men, 
twelve  priests  of  the  Catholic  Church  and 
four  members  of  the  order  of  the  Jesuits. 
Melendez  also  agreed  to  transport  to  Florida 
all  kinds  of  domestic  animals,  and  five  Hun- 
dred negro  slaves.     All  this  was  to  be  done 


THE   SPANIARDS   IN   AMERICA. 


by  Melendez  at  his  own  cost,  and  he  was 
secured  by  the  king  in  the  government  of  the 
province  for  life  with  the  privilege  of  naming 
his  successor,  and  was  granted  large  estates 
in  the  province  and  a  comfortable  salary. 

Though  the  destruction  of  the  French 
colony  was  not  named  in  the  agreement, 
Philip  and  Melendez  understood  each  other 
on  that  point.  The  cry  was  at  once  raised 
in  Spain  that  the  heretics  must  be  extermin- 
ated, and  i\Ielandez  had  no  trouble  in  obtain- 
ing recruits.  Twenty-five  hundred  persons 
gathered  under  his  orders,  "  soldiers,  sailors, 
priests,  Jesuits,  married  men  with  their  fami- 
lies, laborers  and  mechanics,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  three  hundred  soldiers,  all  at  the 
cost  of  Melendez." 

Escape  of  the  French  Fleet. 

The  expedition  sailed  in  June,  1565,  but 
the  vessels  were  parted  b\-  a  storm,  and  Mel- 
endez reached  Porto  Rico  in  August  witli 
but  a  third  of  his  force.  Unwilling  to  lo^e 
time,  however,  he  sailed  at  once  to  the  main- 
land, and  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Florida  on 
the  twentj'-eighth  of  August.  On  the  second 
of  September,  he  discovered  a  fine  harbor  and 
river,  and  selected  this  place  as  the  site  of 
his  colony.  He  named  the  river  and  bay  in 
honor  of  St.  Augustine,  on  whose  festival  he 
had  arrived  off  the  Florida  coast.  Ascer- 
taining from  the  Indians  the  position  of  the 
French,  he  sailed  to  the  northward,  and  on 
the  fourth  of  September  arrived  off  Fort 
Carolina,  where  a  portion  of  Ribault's  fleet 
lay  anchored  in  the  roadstead. 

The  French  commander  derpanded  his  name 
and  the  object  of  his  visit.  He  was  answered  : 
"  I  am  Melendez  of  Spain,  sent  with  strict 
orders  from  my  king  to  gibbet  and  behead  all 
the  Protestants  in  these  regions.  The  French- 
man who  is  a  Catholic  I  will  spare  ;  every 
heretic  shall  d  e."  The  French  fleet  being 
unprepared    for   battle,    cut    its    cables    and 


stood  out  to  sea.  Melendez  gave  chase,  but 
failed  to  overtake  it.  Returning  to  the  har- 
bor of  St.  Augustine,  he  went  on  shore  ort 
the  eighth  of  September,  and  took  possession 
of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Phillip  II.  of 
Spain,  who  was  proclaimed  monarch  of  all 
North  America.  A  solemn  mass  was  said 
and  the  foundations  of  the  town  of  St.  Augus- 
tine  were  laid.  Thus  was  established  the 
first  permanent  town  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States.  This  task  accomplished, 
^Melendez  prepared  to  attack  Fort  Carolina 
by  land. 

Ribault  had  returned  with  his  ships  to 
Fort  Carolina  after  escaping  from  the  Span- 
iards. A  council  of  war  was  held,  and  it  was 
ilebated  among  the  French  whether  they 
sliould  strengthen  their  works  and  await  the 
approach  of  the  enemy,  or  proceed  to  St. 
Augustine  and  attack  them  with  the  fleet. 
Ribault  supposed  that  Melendez  would  attack 
the  fort  b\'  sea,  and  favored  the  latter  plan, 
but  his  officers  opposed  his  design.  Disre- 
garding their  advice,  Ribault  put  to  sea,  but 
had  scarcely  cleared  the  harbor  when  a 
violent  storm  wrecked  his  entire  fleet  on  the 
Florida  coast.  Nearly  all  the  men  reached 
the  shore  unharmed,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  south  of  Fort  Carolina. 

Terrible  Massacre. 
The  wreck  of  the  French  fleet  was  known 
to  Melendez,  and  he  resolved  to  strike  a 
blow  a  once  at  the  fort,  which  he  knew  to  be 
in  a  defenceless  state.  Leading  his  men 
through  the  forests  and  swamps,  which  lay 
between  the  two  settlements,  he  surprised 
and  captured  the  fort  on  the  twenty-first  of 
September.  Every  soul  within  the  walls 
including  the  aged,  the  women  and  children, 
was  put  to  death.  A  few  escaped  to  the 
woods  before  the  capture  of  the  fort,  among 
whom  were  Laudonniere,  Challus  and  Le 
Moyne.    Their  condition  was  pitiable.    They 


62 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN    CONTINENT. 


could  expect  no  mcrc\-  from  the  Spaniards, 
and  death  awaited  them  in  the  forest.  A 
few  gave  themselves  up  to  the  Spaniards,  and 
were  at  once  murdered  ;  the  remainder  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  the  sea-shore,  where  they 
Avcre  rescued  by  two  French  vessels  which 
had  remained  in  the  harbor  and  escaped  the 
storm.  These  immediately  sailed  for  France. 
The  number  of  persons  massacred  by  the 
Spaniards  at  Fort  Carolina  amounted  to 
nearly  two  hundred.  When  the  victims 
were  all  dead,  mass  was  said,  a  cross 
raised,  and  a  site  selected  for  a  church.  Then 
Melendez  set  out  to  find  the  survivors  of 
the  shipwrecked  fleet.  They  were  discovered 
in  a  helpless  condition,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
hunger  and  thirst.  Melendez  promised  to 
treat  them  with  kindness  if  they  would  sur- 
render to  him,  and  trusting  to  his  plighted 
word,  they  placed  themselves  in  his  hands. 
They  were  at  once  seized  and  bound,  and 
marched  towards  St.  Augustine.  As  they 
approached  the  settlement  a  signal  was  given, 
and  the  Spaniards  fell  upon  them  and  mas- 
sacred all  but  a  few  Catholics  and  some 
mechanics,  who  were  reserved  as  slaves. 
French  writers  place  the  number  of  those 
who  perished  in  the  two  massacres  at  nine 
hundred.  The  Spaniards  gave  a  smaller 
number.  On  the  scene  of  his  barbarity, 
Melendez  set  up  this  inscription  :  "  I  do  not 
this  as  unto  Frenchmen,  but  as  unto  Lu- 
therans." 

In  1566  Melendez  attempted  to  plant  a  col- 
ony on  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  but 
the  vessel  despatched  for  this  purpose  met 
such  contrary  winds  that  the  crew  abandoned 
the  effort  to  reach  the  bay,  and  sailed  for 
Spain.     Melendez,  the  next  year,  returned  to 


Spain,  having  spent  his  fortune  in  establish- 
ing the  colony  of  St.  Augustine,  from  which 
he  had  derived  no  benefit. 

The  massacre  of  the  French  and  the 
destruction  of  the  colony  at  Fort  Carolina 
excited  not  even  a  remonstrance  from  the 
French  court,  which  was  blinded  to  its  true 
interests  by  its  religious  bigotry.  The  Hu- 
guenots and  the  better  part  of  the  nation  felt 
keenly  the  wrong  the  country  had  suffered, 
and  Dominic  de  Gourges,  a  gallant  gentle- 
man of  Gascony,  determined  to  avenge  it. 
Selling  his  ancestral  estate,  he  equipped  three 
vessels,  and  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
sailed  for  Florida,  in  August,  1567.  He 
surprised  and  captured  a  Spanish  fort  near 
the  site  of  Fort  Carolina,  and  took  the  garri- 
son prisoners. 

He  spent  the  winter  here,  and  finding 
himself  too  weak  to  maintain  his  position, 
sailed  for  France  in  May,  1 56S.  Before  doing 
so,  however,  he  hanged  his  prisoners,  and 
set  up  over  them  the  inscription :  "  I  do  not 
this  as  unto  Spaniards  or  mariners,  but  as 
unto  traitors,  robbers  and  murderers."  His 
expedition  was  disavowed  by  the  French 
government,  and  he  was  obliged  to  conceal 
himself  to  escape  arrest  after  his  return  to 
France. 

France  now  abandoned  her  efforts  to  col- 
onize the  southern  part  of  North  America, 
and  relinquished  her  pretensions  to  Florida. 
Spain,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  more  attention 
to  this  region,  and  emigrants  from  her  domin- 
ions were  encouraged  to  settle,  and  new 
colonies  were  formed  within  its  limits.  In 
the  West  Indies,  and  in  Mexico,  Central  and 
South  America,  Spain,  during  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  was  supreme. 


CHAPTER  V 


The   First   English   Colony 


•The  English  Claim  to  America — Voyages  of  Frobisher — Exploits  of  Sir  Francis  Drake — Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert— In 
tends  to  Found  a  Colony  in  America — Is  Lost  at  Sea — Sir  Walter  Raleigh  Obtains  a  Patent  of  Colonization — Dis- 
coveries of  Amidas  and  Barlow — Raleigh  Sends  Out  a  Colony  to  Virginia— Settlement  on  Roanoke  Island — Its  Failure 
— Arrival  of  Grenville — Second  Effort  of  Raleigh  to  Colonize  Virginia — Roanoke  Island  Again  Settled — The  "Citj 
of  Raleigh" — Virginia  Dare — Fate  of  the  Colony — Death  of  Raleigh — Other  Voyages  of  the  English. 


THOUGH  England  had  made  no 
effort  to  colonize  America  during 
the  long  period  we  have  been  con- 
sidering, she  never  abandoned  her 
claims  to  that  region,  claims  which  were 
based  upon  the  discoveries  and  explorations 
of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot.  The  voy- 
ages of  her  fishermen  to  Newfoundland  kept 
the  country  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  sea- 
faring Englishmen,  and  from  time  to  time 
voyages  were  made  to  the  American  coast 
for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  savages. 
Under  Elizabeth,  who  pursued  the  w-ise  pol- 
icy of  fostering  her  navy,  a  race  of  hardy  and 
daring  sailors  grew  up  in  England,  and  car- 
ried the  flag  of  their  country  into  every  sea. 

In  this  reign  Martin  Frobisher  with  two 
small  ships  made  a  voyage  to  the  frozen 
regions  of  Labrador  in  search  of  the  north- 
west passage.  He  failed  to  find  it,  but  pene- 
trated farther  north  than  any  European  had 
yetgone,A.  D.  1576.  His  second  voyage  was 
made  the  next  year,  and  was  undertaken  in 
the  hope  of  finding  gold,  as  one  of  the  stones 
he  had  brought  home  on  his  first  cruise  had 
been  pronounced  by  the  refiners  of  London  to 
contain  the  precious  metal. 

The  fleet  did  not  advance  as  far  north  as 
Frobisher  had  done  on  his  first  attempt,  as  a 
63 


large  mass  of  yellow  earth  was  found  which 
was  believed  to  contain  gold.  The  ships 
were  loaded  with  this,  and  all  sail  was  made 
for  home,  only  to  find  on  reaching  England 
that  their  cargo  was  but  a  heap  of  worthless 
dirt.  A  third  voyage  with  fifteen  ships  was 
attempted  in  1578,  but  no  gold  was  found, 
and  the  extreme  northern  latitudes  were 
ascertained  to  be  too  bleak  for  colonization. 
Between  the  years  1577  and  1580  Sir 
Francis  Drake  sailed  to  the  Pacific,  and  by 
le\'y'ing  exactions  upon  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments on  the  western  coast  of  America 
acquired  an  immense  treasure.  As  Bancroft 
well  observes,  this  part  of  Drake's  career 
"was  but  a  splendid  piracy  against  a  nation 
with  which  his  sovereign  and  his  country 
professed  to  be  at  peace."  Having  acquired 
this  enormous  wealth  Drake  applied  himself 
to  the  more  useful  task  of  discovery.  Cross- 
ing the  equator  he  sailed  northward,  as  far 
as  the  southern  part  of  Oregon,  in  the  hope 
of  finding  a  northern  passage  between  the 
oceans.  The  cold  seemed  very  great  to  voy- 
agers just  from  the  tropics,  and  he  abandoned 
his  attempt  and  returned  southward  to  a 
harbor  on  the  coast  of  Mexico.  Here  he 
refitted  his  ship,  and  then  returned  to  Eng- 
land   through    the    seas    of    Asia,   having 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


circumnavigated  the  globe,  a  feat  which  had 
been  accomplished  only  by  the  ship  of 
Magellan. 

It  w-as  not  the  splendid  but  demoralizing 
achievements  of  Drake  which  led  the  way  to 


lieved  that  a  lucrative  trade  might  be  opened 
v/ith  the  new  world  by  the  planting  of  a  col- 
ony within  its  limits.  He  obtained  authority 
from  Queen  Elizabeth  to  establish  such  a 
colony  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fisheries. 


THE    RhNOWNEU    EXFLOKEK,    blR    MAKTI 


the  establishment  of  the  English  power  in 
America.  That  was  the  work  of  the  hum- 
ble fishermen  who  sailed  on  their  yearly 
voyages  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  The 
progress  of  this  valuable  industry  was  closely 
watched  by  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  who  be- 


In  1578  he  sailed  to  America  on  a  voy 
age  of  discovery,  and  in  August  of  that  year 
landed  at  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland  and  took 
formal  possession  of  the  country  for  England. 
He  then  sailed  to  the  southward,  exploring 
the  coast,  but  lost  his  largest  ship  with  all 


THE   FIRST   ENGLISH    COLONY. 


65 


v*ft  board.  This  made  it  necessary  for  him 
to  return  home,  as  the  two  vessels  which  re- 
mained to  him  were  too  small  to  attempt  a 
protracted  voyage.  One  of  them,  called  the 
"  Squirrel,"  was  a  mere  boat  of  ten  tons. 
U^nwilling  to  expose  his  men  to  a  danger 
which  he  would  not  face,  Sir  Humphre\-  took 
passage  in  the  "  Squirrel  "  instead  of  in  the 
larger  and  safer  vessel. 

Terrific    Storm. 

On  the  homeward  voyage  the  ships  en- 
countered a  terrific  storm.  In  the  midst  of 
the  gale  the  people  on  the  "  Hind,"  the  larger 
ship,  saw  Sir  Humphrey  sitting  at  the  stern 
of  his  little  vessel,  which  was  laboring  pain- 
fully in  the  heavy  seas.  He  was  calmly 
reading  a  book,  perhaps  that  sublime;!;  of 
books,  from  which  he  had  drawn  the  j.'ire 
principles  that  guided  his  whole  life.  As 
the  "  Hind "  passed  him  he  called  out  to 
those  on  board  of  her,  "  We  are  as  near  to 
heaven  by  sea  as  by  land."  That  night  the 
lights  of  the  "  Squirrel "  suddenly  disap- 
peared, and  the  good  Sir  Humphrey  was 
seen  no  more.  The  "  Hind  "  continued  her 
voyage,  and  reached  Falmouth  in  safety. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  Gilbert's  half  brother, 
had  been  interested  in  this  expedition,  but 
its  ill  success  did  not  dishearten  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  noblest  spirits  of  his  age,  and 
has  laid  the  world  under  heavy  obligations 
to  him  by  his  many  noble  ser\'ices  in  the 
cause  of  humanity.  He  had  served  in  the 
army  of  the  Huguenots  of  France  under 
Coligni,  and  had  heard  from  the  voyagers 
sent  out  by  that  leader  of  the  richness  and 
beauty  of  Carolina. 

Undaunted  by  the  sad  fite  of  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Gilbert,  Raleigh  determined  to  plant 
a  colony  in  the  region  from  which  the 
Huguenots  had  been  driven.  He  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  from  the  queen  a  pat- 
ent as  liberal  as  that  which  had  been  <rranted 


Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert.  He  was  given  ample 
powers  over  the  region  he  proposed  to  col- 
onize, as  its  feudal  lord,  and  was  bound  to 
maintain  the  authority  of  the  queen  and 
church  of  England  in  his  possessions. 

An  Inviting  Country. 
He  fitted  out  two  vessels,  commanded  re 
spectively  by  Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Bar 
low,  and  sent  them  to  explore  the  region 
granted  to  him,  and  to  obtain  accurate  infor- 
mation concerning  it.  They  reached  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina  at  Ocracock  Inlet, 
and  took  formal  possession  of  the  country. 
They  partially  explored  Albemarle  and  Pam- 
lico Sounds,  together  with  the  neighboring 


SIR    WALTER    RALEIGH. 

coast  and  islands.  It  was  the  month  of  July, 
and  the  climate  was  delightful,  the  sea  was 
calm,  the  atmosphere  clear,  and  the  heat  was 
tempered  by  the  delicious  sea-breeze.  The 
woods  abounded  with  birds  and  echoed  with 
their  carols,  and  wild  grapes  were  found  in 
the  greatest  profusion. 


66 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


The  explorers  were  enchanted  with  this 
delightful  region,  and  returning  to  England 
published  glowing  accounts  of  it.  They 
took  with  them  two  Indians,  named  Wan- 
chese  and  Manteo,  the  latter  of  whom  after- 
wards did  good  service  to  the  colonists  as  an 
interpreter.  Queen  Elizabeth  deemed  her 
reign  honored  bv  the  discoveries  of  Amidas 


mand  of  the  fleet,  and  Ralph  Lane,  who  was 
also  a  man  of  considerable  distinction,  was 
made  governor  of  the  colony. 

The  fleet  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the 
ninth  of  April,  1585,  and  after  a  long  and 
trying  voyage  reached  Ocracock  Inlet  in 
June.  Passing'through  the  inlet,  a  settle- 
ment   was  established    on   Roanoke  Island, 


and  Barlow,  and  gave  to  the  new  region  the 
name  of  Virginia  in  honor  of  England's  vir- 
gin queen. 

Raleigh  at  once  set  to  work  to  organize  a 
colony.  Emigrants  volunteered  readily,  and 
in  a  short  time  a  fleet  of  seven  vessels,  con- 
taining one  hundred  and  eight  persons,  apart 
from  the  crews,  was  in  readiness.  Sir  Rich- 
ard Grenville,  a  friend  of  Raleigh,  and  a  man 
of  tried  skill  and  bravery,  was  given  the  corn- 


lying  between  Albemarle  and  Pamlico  Sounds. 
Expeditions  were  sent  out  to  explore  the 
surrounding  countrj',  and  in  one  of  these  a 
silver  cup  was  stolen  by  an  Indian,  and  its 
restoration  was  delayed.  With  thoughtless 
I  cruelty  Grenville  punished  this  fault  by  the 
destruction  of  the  village  to  which  the  culprit 
belonged,  and  also  of  all  the  standing  corn. 
This  inconsiderate  revenge  made  the  Indians 
the  enemies  of  the  whites,  and  brought  great 


THE    FIRST   ENGLISH   COLONY. 


future  suffering  upon  the  colony.  A  li»-*-le 
later,  having  seen  the  colonists  successful  y 
established  on  Roanoke  Island,  Grenville 
returned  to  England  with  the  fleet,  captur- 


67 

the  inhabitants.  Many  of  the  plants  were 
strange  to  them.  Among  these  were  the 
Indian  corn,  tobacco  and  the  sweet  potato. 
Harlot,  "the  inventor  of  the  system  of  nota- 


OUEEX    ELIZABETH. 


ing    a  rich    Spanish   prize   on   the    voyage 
home. 

Left  to  thcmseflves  the  colonists  began  to 
explore  the  country,  and  to  observe  the 
productions  of  the  soil,  and  the  character  of 


tion  in  modern  algebra,  the  historian  of  the 
expedition,"  observed  these  plants  and  their 
culture  with  great  minuteness,  and  became  a 
firm  believer  in  the  healing  virtues  of 
tobacco.     He  has  left  an  interesting  account 


68 


DISCOVERY   OF 

country  and  their  man 


of  the  natives  of  th 
ners  and  customs. 

The  Indians,  alarmed  by  the  superiority  of 
the  whites,  began  to  plot  their  destruction, 
as  they  believed  their  entire  country  would 
be  overrun  by  the  new  comers.  Lane  on 
his  part  became  suspicious  of  the  savages, 
and  this  feeling  of  mutual  distrust  had  the 
most  unhappy  consequences.  Being  informed 
by  the  savages  that  there  was  a  splendid  city, 
whose  walls  glittered  with  gold  and  pearls, 
on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Roanoke,  Gov- 
ernor Lane  made  a  boat  voyage  up  that 
stream,  but  failed  to  find  anything.  He 
returned  to  the  colony  just  in  time  to  discon- 
cert the  plan  of  the  savages  for  attacking  the 
whites  during  the  absence  of  the  exploring 
partjr. 

Inhuman  Butchery. 
Lane  now  determined  to  outrival  the 
savages  in  perfidy.  He  visited  Wingina,  one 
of  the  most  active  of  the  neighboring  chiefs, 
and  professing  to  come  as  a  friend,  was 
received  with  confidence  by  the  Indians.  At 
a  given  signal  from  the  governor  the  whites 
fell  upon  the  chief  and  his  warriors,  and  put 
them  to  death.  Lane  proved  himself  utterly 
unfit  to  govern  such  a  colony,  and  his  people 
soon  lost  confidence  in  him.  Their  discon- 
tent was  increased  by  the  failure  of  their 
provisions,  and  they  began  to  entertain  the 
idea  of  abandoning  the  colony  and  returning 
home. 

On  the  eighth  of  June,  1586,  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  with  a  fleet  of  twenty-three  ships, 
anchored  in  the  roadstead  off  Roanoke 
Island.  He  had  been  cruising  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  had  called  on  his  homeward 
voyage  to  visit  the  plantation  of  his  friend 
Raleigh.  He  at  once  set  to  work  to  remedy 
the  wants  of  the  colony,  and  supplied  the 
settlers  with  such  things  as  they  needed. 
They  were  thoroughly  disheartened,  how- 
ever,   with    their    year's    e.Kperience,     and 


THE   WESTERN   CONTINENT. 

begged  Drake  so  earnestly  to  take  them 
back  to  England  that  he  received  them  on 
board  his  ships  and  put  to  sea. 

Thus  the  first  effort  of  the  English  to 
settle  America  resulted  in  failure.  Drake's 
fleet  had  scarcely  disappeared  when  a  ship 
loaded  with  supplies,  which  had  been  des- 
patched by  Raleigh,  reached  the  island. 
Finding  the  place  deserted,  the  commander 
returned  to  England.  A  fortnight  later, 
Grenville  arrived  with  three  ships.  Finding 
the  colonists  had  gone,  he  too  returned  ta 
England,  leaving  fifteen  men  to  hold  the 
island. 


Another  Colony  and  Its  Fate. 

Raleigh  w^as  greatly  disappointed  by  the 
failure  of  his  colony,  but  he  did  not  despair 
of  success;  for  notwithstanding  the  gloomy 
stories  of  Lane  and  his  followers,  the  con- 
clusive testimony  of  Harlot  convinced  him 
that  the  country  could  be  made  to  yield  a 
rich  return  for  the  trouble  and  expense  of 
its  settlement ;  and  he  set  to  work  to  form 
another  colony.  With  the  hope  of  giving 
the  settlers  a  permanent  interest  in  the  plan- 
tation, he  selected  emigrants  with  wives  and 
families,  who  should  regard  the  new  world 
as  their  future  home,  and  endeavor  to  found 
a  permanent  State  in  that  region.  Every- 
thing was  provided  which  could  contribute 
to  the  success  of  the  colony,  and  agricult- 
ural implements  were  furnished  for  the 
proper  cultivation  of  the  soil.  All  the 
expense  of  the  undertaking  was  borne  by 
Raleigh,  for  though  Queen  Elizabeth  greatly 
favored  the  venture,  she  declined  to  con- 
tribute anything  toward  it.  John  White 
was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony.  A 
fleet  of  transport  vessels  was  equipped,  also 
at  Raleigh's  expense,  and  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  April,  1587,  the  expedition  sailed 
from  England.  The  coast  of  North  Caro- 
lina was  reached  in  July. 


THE   FIKST  ENGLISH    COLONY. 


The  approach  to  Roanoke  Island  was  both 
difficult  and  dangerous,  and  Raleigh  ordered 
the  new  settlers  to  select  a  site  for  their  col- 
ony on  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 
The  expedition  proceeded  first,  however,  to 
Roanoke  Island  to  search  for  the  men  left 
there  by  Grenville.  They  could  not  be 
■found.  The  island  was  deserted,  the  fort 
was  in  ruins,  and  the  human  bones  which  lay 
scattered  over  the  field  told  plainly  that  the 
unfortunate  garrison  left  by  Grenville  had 
been  murdered  by  the  Indians.  Governor 
White  was  now  anxious  to  sail  to  the  Chesa- 
peake, but  Fernando,  the  commander  of  the 
fleet,  refused  to  proceed  any  farther,  as  he 
wished  to  go  to  the  West  Indies  for  purposes 
of  trade.  The  instructions  of  Raleigh  were 
thus  disregarded,  and  the  colonists  were  com- 
pelled to  go  ashore  on  Roanoke  Island. 

Dangers  of  the  First  Settlers. 

The  old  settlement  of  Governor  Lane  was 
rebuilt,  and  another  effort  was  made  to  estab- 
lish the  "  City  of  Raleigh."  The  Indians 
were  bitterly  hostile  to  the  settlers,  and  a 
friendly  tribe  was  offended  by  an  unfortunate 
attack  upon  them,  made  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  they  were  hostile  Indians.  The 
settlers  becoming  alarmed,  implored  the  gov- 
ernor to  return  to  England  and  exert  him- 
self to  hasten  the  sending  out  of  reinforce- 
ments and  supplies  to  them.  He  was  un- 
willing to  do  this,  as  he  deemed  it  his  duty 
to  remain  among  them,  but  at  length  yielded 
to  their  unanimous  appeal.  Just  before  his 
departure  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Dare,  the  wife 
of  one  of  his  lieutenants,  gave  birth  to  a 
daughter,  the  first  child  born  of  English 
parents  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  little  one  was  named  Virginia  from 
tlie  place  of  its  birth. 

White  sailed  for  England  in  August,  1587. 
He  found  the  mother  country  greatly  excited 
over  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  Spaniards. 


Raleigh,  who  was  energetically  engaged  in 
the  efforts  for  the  defence  of  the  country,  did 
not  neglect  his  colony.  He  fitted  out  two 
ships  with  the  needed  supplies,  and  dis- 
patched them  under  White's  orders  in  April, 
1588.  The  commanders,  instead  of  proceed- 
ing  direct  to  the  colony,  undertook  to  make 
prizes. 

No  Traces  of  the  Colony. 

At  last  one  erf  them  fell  in  with  a  man-of- 
war  from  Rochelle,  and  after  a  sharp  fight 
was  plundered  of  her  stores.  Both  ships 
were  obliged  to  return  to  England,  to  the 
anger  and  disgust  of  Raleigh.  The  approach 
of  the  Invincible  Armada  and  the  exertions 
demanded  of  the  nation  ror  'ts  defeat,  made 
it  impossible  for  anything  more  to  be  done 
for  the  colonists  at  Roanoke  until  after  the 
Spanish  fleet  had  been  destroyed.  Even 
then  Raleigh,  who  had  spent  over  forty  thou- 
sand pounds  without  return,  was  unable  to 
send  aid  at  once  to  the  colony,  and  a  year 
elapsed  before  a  vessel  could  be  sent  out  un- 
der White.  In  1590, the  governor  reached 
Roanoke,  but  no  trace  of  the  colony  could 
be  found.  The  settlers  had  either  died,  been 
massacred,  or  taken  prisoners. 

"  The  conjecture  has  been  hazarded,"  savs 
Bancroft, "  that  the  deserted  colony,  neglected 
by  their  own  countrymen,  were  hospitably 
adopted  into  the  tribe  of  Hatteras  Indians, 
and  became  amalgamated  with  the  sons  of 
the  forest.  This  was  the  tradition  of  the 
natives  at  a  later  day,  and  was  thought  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  physical  character  of  the 
tribe,  in  which  the  English  and  the  Indiar 
race  seemed  to  have  been  blended."  The 
generous  heart  of  Raleigh  could  not  bear  to 
leave  his  countrymen  unaided  while  a  single 
hope  of  finding  them  remained,  and  he  is 
said  to  have  sent  to  America  as  many  as  five 
expeditions  at  his  own  cost  to  search  foi 
them. 


MURUER   UF   WIUTK'S    ASSISTANT 


THE   FIRST   ENGLISH    COLONY. 


7» 


With  the  failure  of  the  settlement  at 
Roanoke  Raleigh  relinquished  his  hope  of 
colonizing  Virginia.  He  had  expended 
nearly  his  entire  fortune  in  the  undertaking, 
and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  un- 
der the  cloud  of  undeserved  misfortune.  His 
career  as  a  statesman  was  honorable  to  him- 
self and  to  his  countty,  and  he  proved  him- 
self in  all  his  acts  a  loyal  subject  and  a  de- 
voted patriot.  His  zeal  in  behalf  of  knowl- 
edge made  him  a  generous  friend  of  the 
learned,  and  he  merits  the  gratitude  of  the 
American  people,  not  only  for  his  efforts  to 
colonize  our  shores  with  his  countrymen, 
but  for  the  liberality  with  which  he  spread 
a  knowledge  of  America  throughout  Eng- 
land by  his  publication  of  the  reports  of 
Harlot  and  Hakluyt.  He  opened  the  way 
for  the  dominion  of  the  English  in  the  new 
world,  and  his  memory  is  preserved  in  the 
name  of  the  capital  city  of  the  great  State 
which  he  sought  to  make  the  seat  of  an  Eng- 
lish empire. 

Accused  of  High  Treason. 

Upon  the  accession  of  James  L,  Raleigh, 
broken  in  health  and  fortune,  but  still  the 
most  illustrious  Englishman  of  his  day,  was 
arraigned  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  of 
which  not  even  his  enemies  believed  him 
guilty,  and  was  sentenced  to  the  Tower,  as 
the  king  did  not  yet  dare  to  order  his  execu- 
tion. During  this  period  Sir  Walter  beguiled 
the  weariness  of  his  imprisonment  by  com- 
posing his  "  History  of  the  World."  He  re- 
mained a  prisoner  for  thirteen  years,  and  was 
then  released  on  condition  of  making  a  voy- 
age to  Guiana  in  search  of  gold.  His  failure 
to  accomplish  the  object  of  the  voyage  sealed 
his  doom,  and  on  his  return  to  England  he 
was  beheaded,  not  upon  any  fresh  charge, 
but  on  his  old  sentence.  His  real  fault  was 
that  he  was  too  true  an  Englisliman  to  sus- 
tain  the  sacriiice  of  the   national  honor  by 


King  James  to  the  demands  of  Spain,  and  he 
was  generally  regarded  by  the  nation  as  the 
victim  of  the  king's  cowardice.  He  met  his 
fate  with  the  calm  bravery  which  had  marked 
his  whole  life. 

Kidnapping  Indians. 

Until  now  the  voyage  from  England  to 
America  had  been  made  by  way  of  the 
Canary  Islands  and  the  West  Indies.  In 
1602,  Bartholomew  Gosnold  conceived  the 
idea  of  proceeding  direct  from  England  to 
Virginia,  as  the  whole  region  north  of  Flor- 
ida was  called  by  the  English.  Sailing 
directly  across  the  Atlantic  he  reached  Cape 
Elizabeth,  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  after  a  voy- 
age of  seven  weeks.  Proceeding  southward 
along  the  coast  he  reached  Cape  Cod,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  on  the  fifteenth  of 
May,  and  went  ashore  there.  He  was  thus 
the  first  Englishman  to  set  foot  in  New  Eng- 
land. He  continued  his  voyage  along  the 
coast  and  entered  Buzzard's  Bay. 

To  the  westernmost  of  the  islands  of  this 
stately  sound  he  gave  the  name  of  Eliza- 
beth— a  name  which  has  since  been  applied 
to  the  entire  group.  Loading  his  ship  with 
sassafras  root,  which  was  then  highly 
esteemed  for  its  medicinal  virtues,  Gosnold 
sailed  for  England,  and  arrived  home  safely 
after  a  voyage  of  less  than  four  weeks.  He 
gave  the  most  favorable  accounts  of  the 
region  he  had  visited,  and  other  adventurers 
were  induced  by  his  reports  to  undertake 
voyages  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the 
natives.  Among  these  was  George  Way- 
mouth,  who  reached  and  explored  the  coast 
of  Maine  in  1605.  On  his  return  voyage 
Waymouth  kidnapped  five  Indians  and  car 
ried  them  to  England,  "to  be  instructed  in 
English,  and  to  serve  as  guides  in  some 
future  expedition." 

The  voyages  of  Gosnold  and  Waymouth 
to  the  coast  of  New  England  \\ere  followed 


DISCOVERY   OF  THE  WESTERN   CONTINENT. 


by  those  of  numerous  other  English  adven- 
turers. In  1614,  Captain  John  Smith,  who 
had  already  distinguished  himself  by  his 
services  in  Virginia,  made  a  vo_\'age  to  Amer- 
ica with  two  ships,  furnished  at  the  expense 
of  himself  and  four  merchants  of  London. 
The  voyage  was  for  the  purpose  of  trading 
with  the  natives,  and  was  very  successful. 
Smith  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
explore  the  coast  from  Penobscot  to  Cape 
Cod.  He  prepared  a  map  of  the  coast,  and 
named  the  country  New  England — a  title 
which  was  confirmed  by  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
afterwards  Charles  I. 


After  Smith's  return  to  England,  Hunt 
the  commander  of  the  other  vessel,  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  twenty  of  the  natives. 
with  their  chief  Squanto,  to  visit  his  shij., 
and  as  soon  as  they  were  on  board  put  to 
sea.  He  sold  the  savages  as  slaves  in  Spain. 
A  few  of  them,  Squanto  among  the  number, 
were  purchased  by  some  kind-hearted  monks, 
who  instructed  them  in  the  Christian  faith  in 
order  to  send  them  back  to  their  own  people 
as  missionaries  of  the  cross.  Squanto  escaped 
to  England  in  1619,  and  there  learned  the 
language,  and  was  afterward  an  interpreter 
I  between  the  English  settlers  and  his  oeoplc 


'M^M^ 


BOOK    II 

Settlement  of  America 

CHAPTER   VI 
Captain  John  Smith  and  Pocahontas 

Formation  of  the  London  Company — Conciitions  of  its  Charter — Departure  of  the  First  Colony — Quarrels  During  tte 
Voyage — Arrival  in  the  Chesapeake — Settlement  of  Jamestown — Formation  of  the  Government — Character  of  Cap- 
tain John  Smith — Exploration  of  the  James  River — Newport  and  Smith  Visit  Powhatan — Smith  Admitted  to  the 
Government — Explores  the  Chickahominy — Is  Captured  and  Sentenced  to  Death — Is  Saved  by  Pocahontas — Gains  the 
Friendship  of  Powhatan  for  the  Colony — Returns  to  Jamestown — His  Decisive  Measures — Return  of  Newport — Smith 
Explores  the  Chesapeake  Bay — The  New  Emigrants — Smith  Compels  Them  to  Labor — Smith  is  Wounded  and  Com- 
pelled to  Return  to  England — Disasters  to  the  Colony — Arrival  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates — Jamestown  Abandoned — .Ar- 
rival of  Lord  Delaware — The  Return  to  Jamestown — A  Cnange  for  the  Better — New  Settlements — Sir  1 1iomas  Gates 
Amves  With  Reinforcements — Capture  of  Pocahontas  by  Captain  Argall — She  is  Baptized — Marries  John  Rolfe--Sir 
Thomas  Dale's  Administration — Yeardley  Governor — The  First  Legislative  Assembly — Representative  Government 
Established  in  America — The  Colonists  Obtain  Wives — Changes  in  the  Government. 


THE  favorable  reports  which  had  been 
brought  back  to  England  by  the 
voyagers  to  the  new  world  had  pre- 
vented the  interest  of  Englishmen 
in  America  from  entirely  dying  out,  and 
some  ardent  spirits  still  believed  it  possible 
to  make  that  continent  the  seat  of  a  pros- 
perous dominion  dependent  upon  England. 
The  former  assistants  of  Raleigh,  in  particu- 
lar, held  to  the  convictions  which  their  chief 
had  entertained  to  the  d?.y  of  his  death.  The 
selfish  and  timid  policy  of  King  James  hav- 
ing made  it  impossible  for  men  to  acquire 
distinction  by  naval  exploits,  as  in  the  days 
of  Elizabeth,  the  more  adventurous  classes 
lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  plans  for  colonizing 
America,  which  were  discussed  in  various 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  Bartholomew  Gos- 
nold,  who  had  explored  the  New  England 
coast,  was  especially  active  in  seeking  to 
induce  capitalists  to  send  out  a  colony 
to  it.  His  glowing  accounts  of  the  New 
World   awakened   a   good   deal    of   enthu- 


siasm, and  men  who  had  money  to  invest, 
and  were  somewhat  inclined  to  indulge  in 
speculation,  were  ready  to  aid  any  scheme 
that  promised  to  be  lucrative  and  advan- 
tageous to  themselves. 

Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges,  a  wealthy  gentle- 
man and  Governor  of  Plymouth,  had  been 
greatly  interested  in  America  by  the  accounts 
of  Waymouth,  who  had  given  him  two  of 
the  Indians  he  had  brought  to  England. 
These  succeeded  in  interesting  others  in  their 
plans,  and  the  result  was  that  early  in  the 
reign  of  King  James  two  companies  were 
formed  in  England  for  the  colonization  of 
America.  One  of  these  was  the  "  London 
Company,"  composed  chiefly  of  noblemen 
and  merchants  residing  in  London.  The 
other  was  the  "  Plymouth  Company,"  com- 
posed of  "  knights,  gentlemen  and  mer 
chants,"  residing  in  the  west  of  England 
King  James  divided  Virginia  into  two  parts 
To  the  London  Company  he  granted  "  South 
Virginia,"   extending    from    Cape    Fear,  io 

73 


74 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


North  Carolina,  to  the  Potomac.  To  the 
Plymouth  Company  he  gave  "  North  Vir- 
ginia," stretching  from  the  Hudson  to  New- 
foundland. The  region  between  the  Potomac 
and  the  Hudson  he  left  as  a  broad  belt  of 
neutral  land  to  keep  the  companies  from  en- 
croaching upon  each  other's  domains.  Either 
was  at  liberty  to  form  settlements  in  this 
region  within  fifty  miles  of  its  own  border. 

The  London  Company  was  the  first  to 
settle  the  country  assigned  it.  A  liberal 
charter  was  granted  the  company:  the  lands 
in  the  new  world  were  to  be  held  by  it  on  the 
simple  conditions  of  homage  and  the  pay- 
ment to  the  crown  of  one-fifth  of  the  gold 
and  silver  and  one-fifteenth  of  the  copper 
tliat  should  be  discovered.  A  general  coun- 
cil, residing  in  England,  was  to  have  author- 
ity over  the  whole  province,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  this  council  were  to  be  appointed  and 
removed  by  the  king  at  his  good  pleasure. 
Each  separate  colony  was  to  be  under  the 
control  of  a  colonial  council  residing  within 
its  own  limits,  and  the  king  retained  the  right 
to  direct  the  appointment  or  removal  of  the 
members  of  these  councils  at  his  pleasure. 

Laws  of  the  London  Company. 
The  king  also  reserved  the  supreme  legis- 
lative authority  over  the  colonies,  and  framed 
for  their  government  a  code  of  laws — "  an 
exercise  of  royal  legislation  which  has  been 
pronounced  in  itself  illegal."  The  colonists 
were  placed  by  this  code  under  the  rule  of 
the  superior  and  local  councils  wc  have 
named,  in  the  choice  of  which  they  had  no 
voice.  The  religion  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land was  established  as  that  of  the  colony, 
and  conformity  to  it  was  secured  by  severe 
penalties.  Death  was  the  punishment  for 
murder,  manslaughter,  adulter}-,  dangerous 
seditions  and  tumults.  In  all  cases  not 
affecting  life  and  limb  offenders  might  be 
tried  by  a  magistrate,  but  for  capital  offences 


trial  by  jury  was  secured.  In  the  former 
cases  the  punishment  of  the  offender  was  at 
the  discretion  of  the  president  and  council. 
The  Indians  were  to  be  treated  with  kind- 
ness, and  efforts  were  to  be  made  for  their 
conversion  to  Christianit>%  For  five  years 
at  least  the  afiairs  of  the  colonists  were  to  be 
conducted  in  a  joint  stock.  The  right  to 
impose  future  legislation  upon  the  province 
was  reser\'ed  by  the  king. 

The  Settlers  Oppressed. 

Such  was  the  form  of  government  first  pre- 
scribed for  Virginia  by  England,  in  which,  as 
Bancroft  truly  says,  there  was  "  not  an  ele- 
ment of  popular  liberty."  "To  the  emi- 
grants themselves  it  conceded  not  one  elect- 
ive franchise,  not  one  of  the  rights  of  self- 
government.  They  were  to  be  subjected  to 
the  ordinances  of  a  commercial  corporation, 
of  which  they  could  not  be  members;  to 
the  dominion  of  a  domestic  council,  in  ap- 
pointing which  they  had  no  voice ;  to  the 
control  of  a  superior  council  in  England, 
which  had  no  sympathy  with  their  rights ; 
and  finally,  to  the  arbitrary  legislation  of 
the  sovereign." 

Under  this  charter  the  London  Company 
prepared  to  send  out  a  colony  to  Virginia. 
It  was  to  be  a  commercial  settlement,  and 
the  emigrants  were  composed  altogether  of 
men.  One  hundred  and  five  persons,  exclu- 
sive of  the  crews  of  the  vessels,  joined  the 
expedition.  Of  these  not  twenty  were  farm- 
ers or  mechanics.  The  remainder  were 
"  gentlemen,"  or  men  who  had  ruined  them- 
selves at  home  by  idleness  and  dissipation. 
A  fleet  of  three  small  ships,  under  command 
of  Captain  Newport,  was  assembled,  and  on 
the  nineteenth  of  December,  1606,  sailed  for 
America. 

The  emigrants  sailed  without  having  per- 
fected any  organization.  The  king  had  fool- 
ishly placed  the  names  of  those  who  were  to 


CAPTAIN  JOHN   SMITH   AND   POCAHONTAS.  75 

named  the  James,  in  honor  of  the  English 
king.  The  country  was  explored  with  energy, 
and  though  one  small  tribe  of  Indians  was 
found  to  be  hostile,  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
friendship  was  made  with  another  at  Hamp- 
ton. The  fleet  ascended  the  river  and  ex- 
plored it  for  fifty  miles.  A  pleasant  penin- 
sula, on  the  left  bank  of  the  stream  was 
selected  as  the  site  of  the  colony,  and  on  the 
thirteenth  of  May,  1607,  the  settlement  was 
definitely  begun,  and  was  named  Jamestown, 
in  honor  of  the  king. 


constitute  the  government  in  a  sealed  box, 
which  the  adventurers  were  ordered  not  to 
open  until  they  had  selected  a  site  for  their 
settlement  and  were  ready  to  form  a  govern- 
ment. This  was  most  unfortunate,  for  during 
the  long  voyage  dissensions  arose,  and  there 
was  no  one  in  the  expedition  who  could 
control  the  unruly  spirits. 

These  quarrels  grew  more  intense  with 
the  lapse  of  time,  and  when  the  shores  of 
Virginia  were  reached  the  seeds  of  many  of 
the  evils  from  which  the  colony  afterwards 
suffered  severely  had  been  thoroughly  sown. 
There  were  among  the  number  several  who 
were  well  qualified  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the 
expedition,  but  they  were  w^ithout  the  proper 
authority  to  do  so,  and  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  voluntary  submission  to  be  seen 
among  the  adventurers.  The  merits  of  the 
deser\-ing  merely  excited  the  jealousy  of 
their  companions,  and  the  great  master 
spirit  of  the  enterprise  found  from  the  first 
his  disinterested  efforts  for  the  good  of  the 
expedition  met  by  a  jealous  opposition. 

Point  Comfort  Named. 
Newport  was  not  acquainted  with  the 
direct  route,  and  made  the  old  passage  by 
way  of  the  Canaries  and  the  West  Indies. 
He  thus  consumed  the  whole  of  the  winter, 
and  while  searching  for  the  island  of 
Roanoke,  the  scene  of  Raleigh's  colony,  his 
fleet  was  driven  northward  by  a  severe  storm, 
and  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  Chesapeake 
Bay  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  April,  1607.  He 
named  the  headlands  of  this  bay  Cape  Henry 
and  Cape  Charles,  in  honor  of  the  two  sons 
of  James  I.,  and  because  of  the  comfortable 
anchorage  which  he  obtained  in  the  splendid 
roadstead  which  enters  the  bay  opposite  its 
mouth,  he  gave  to  the  northern  point  the 
name  of  Point  Comfort,  which  it  has  since 
borne.  Passing  this,  a  noble  river  was  dis- 
covered coming  from  the  westward,  and  was 


Smith's  Daring  Deeds. 

The  leading  spirit  of  the  enterprise  was 
John  Smith,  one  of  the  truest  heroes  of  his- 
tory, who  has  been  deservedly  called  "  the 
father  of  Virginia."  He  was  still  a  young 
man,  being  but  thirty  years  of  age,  but  he 
was  old  in  experience  and  knightly  deeds. 
While  yet  a  youth  he  had  served  in  Holland 
in  the  ranks  of  the  army  of  freedom,  and  had 
travelled  through  France,  Egypt  and  Italy. 
Burning  to  distinguish  himself,  he  had  re- 
paired to  Hungar)-,  and  had  won  a  brilliant 
reputation  by  his  exploits  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Christian  army  engaged  in  the  defence  of 
that  country  against  the  Mohammedans. 
He  repeatedly  defeated  the  chosen  champions 
of  the  Turks  in  single  combat,  but  being  at 
length  captured  was  sent  to  Constantinople 
and  sold  as  a  slave.  The  wife  of  his  master, 
pitying  his  misfortunes,  sent  him  to  a  rela- 
tive in  the  Crimea,  with  a  request  to  treat 
him  with  kindness,  but  contrary  to  her 
wishes  he  was  subjected  to  the  greatest 
harshness. 

Rendered  desperate  by  this  experience,  he 
rose  against  his  task-master,  slew  him, 
and  seizing  his  horse  escaped  to  the  border 
of  the  Russian  territory,  where  he  was  kindly 
received.  He  wandered  across  the  country 
to  Transylvania,  and  rejoined  his  old  com- 
panions in  arms.    Then,  filled  with  a  longing 


76 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


to  see  his  "own  sweet  countn-"  once 
more,  he  returned  to  England.  He  arrived 
just  as  the  plans  for  the  colonization  of 
Virginia  were  being  matured.  He  readily 
engaged  in  the  expedition  organized  by  the 
London  Company,  and  exerted  himself  in  a 
marked  degree  to  make  it  a  success.  He 
was  in  all  respects  the  most  capable  man  in 
the  whole  colony,  for  his  natural  abilities 
were  fully  equal  to  his  experience.  He  had 
studied  human  nature  under  man\-  forms  in 


CAPTAIN   JOHN    SMITH. 

many  lands,  and  in  adversity  and  danger  had 
karned  patience  and  fortitude.  His  calm,  cool 
tourage,his  resolute  will,  and  his  intuitive  per- 
ception of  the  necessities  of  a  new  settlement, 
were  destined  to  make  him  the  main  stay  of  the 
colony  of  Virginia, but  as  yet  these  high  quali- 
ties had  only  excited  the  malicious  envj^  of  his 
associates,  and  the  efforts  he  had  made  to  heal 
the  dissensions  which  had  broken  out  during 
the  voyage  had  made  him  many  enemies. 


When  the  box  containing  the  names  of 
those  who  were  to  constitute  the  colonial 
government  was  opened,  it  was  found  that 
the  king  had  appointed  John  Smith  one  of 
the  council.  Smith  was  at  this  time  in  con- 
finement, having  been  arrested  on  the  voy- 
age upon  the  frivolous  charges  of  sedition  and 
treason  against  the  crown,  and  his  enemies, 
notwithstanding  the  royal  appointment,  ex- 
cluded him  from  the  council.  Edward 
Wingfield,  "  a  grovelling  merchant  of  the 
west  of  England,"  was  chosen  president 
of  the  council  and  governor  of  the 
colony.  The  ser\'ices  of  Smith  could  not 
be  dispensed  with,  however,  and  he  was 
released  from  his  confinement,  and  sent 
with  Newport  and  twent)'  others  to 
explore  the  river.  They  ascended  the 
James  to  the  falls,  where  the  city  of 
Richmond  now  stands,  and  visited 
Powhatan,  the  principal  chief  of  the 
Indian  nation  holding  the  country  into 
which  they  had  come.  He  was  then 
dwelling  at  his  favorite  seat  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  below 
the  falls.  Powhatan  received  them 
kindly,  and  silenced  the  remonstrances 
of  his  people  by  saying :  "  They  hurt 
you  not;  they  only  want  a  little  land." 
The  chief  was  a  man  of  powerful  sta- 
'  ture,  "  tall,  sour  and  athletic."  He 
was  sixty  years  of  age,  and  had  under 
him  a  population  of  six  or  eight 
thousand  souls,  two  thousand  being 
warriors.  Having  carefully  obsen'ed  the 
river.  Smith  and  Newport  returned  to 
Jamestown. 

Their  presence  there  was  needed,  for 
Wingfield  had  proved  himself  utterly  unfit 
to  govern  the  colony.  He  would  not  allow 
the  colonists  to  build  either  houses  for  them- 
selves or  a  fortification  for  the  common  de- 
fence against  the  savages.  While  they  were 
in  this  helpless  condition,  they  were  suddenly 


CAPTAIN   JOHN   SMITH   AND    POCAHONTAS. 


attacked  by  a  force  of  four  hundred  Indians, 
and  were  saved  from  destruction  only  by  tlie 
fire  of  the  shipping,  which  filled  the  savages 
with  terror  and  put  them  to  flight.  It  is 
believed  that  the  cause  of  Wingfield's 
singular  conduct  was  his  jealousy  of  Smith 
whose  talents  he  feared  would  attract  the 
support  of  the  settlers. 

Tried  and  Acquitted. 

The  fort  was  now  built  without  delay, 
cannon  were  mounted,  and  the  men  trained 
in  the  exercise  of  arms.  When  the  ships 
were  in  readiness  to  sail  to  England,  it  was 
intimated  to  Smith  that  he  would  consult  his 
own  interests  by  returning  in  them,  but  he 
refused  to  do  so,  and  boldly  demanded  a 
trial  upon  the  charges  which  had  been  pre- 
ferred against  him.  The  council  did  not 
dare  to  refuse  him  this  trial,  and  the  result 
was  his  triumphant  acquittal.  More  than 
this,  he  succeeded  so  well  in  exposing  the 
malice  of  his  enemies  that  the  president,  as 
the  originator  of  the  charges  against  him, 
was  compelled  to  pay  him  two  hundred 
pounds  damages,  which  sum  Smith  gener- 
ously applied  to  the  needs  of  the  colony. 
His  seat  in  the  council  could  no  longer  be 
denied  him,  and  he  took  his  place  at  the 
board  to  the  great  gain  of  the  colony. 

Newport  sailed  for  England  about  the 
middle  of  June,  leaving  the  settlement  in  a 
most  pitiable  condition.  The  provisions 
sent  out  from  England  had  been  spoiled  on 
the  voyage,  and  the  colonists  were  too  indo- 
lent to  cultivate  the  land,  or  to  seek  to  obtain 
supplies  from  the  Indians.  Sickness  broke 
out  among  them,  owing  to  the  malarious 
character  of  their  location,  and  by  the  begin- 
ning of  the  winter  more  than  half  theirnum- 
ber  had  died.  Among  these  was  Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold,  the  originator  of  the  London 
Company,  who  had  come  out  to  Virginia  to 
risk  his  life  in  the  effort  to  settle  the  country. 


77 

He  was  a  man  of  rare  merits,  and,  together 
with  Mr.  Hunt,  "  the  preacher,"  who  was 
also  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  company, 
had  contributed  successfully  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  harmony  in  the  colony.  In  the 
midst  of  these  sufferings  it  was  found  that 
Wingfield  was  preparing  to  load  the  pinnac< 
with  the  remainder  of  the  stores  and  escape 
to  the  West  Indies.  He  was  deposed  by  the 
council,  who  appointed  John  Ratcliffe  in  his 
place. 

The  new  president  was  not  much  betterthan 
his  predecessor.  He  was  incapable  ofdischarg- 
ing  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  was  perfectly 
satisfied  that  Smith  should  direct  the  affairs 
of  the  settlement  for  him.  From  this  time 
Smith  was  the  actual  head  of  the  govern- 
ment. Food  was  the  prime  necessity  of  the 
colony,  and  as  it  was  now  too  late  to  raise  it, 
Smith  exerted  himself  to  obtain  it  from  the 
Indians.  He  purchased  a  supply,  and  towards 
the  close  of  the  autumn  the  wild  fowl  which 
frequent  the  region  furnished  an  additional 
means  of  subsistence. 

Danger  of  Famine. 

The  danger  of  a  famine  thus  removed. 
Smith  proceeded  to  explore  the  country.  In 
one  of  these  expeditions  he  ascended  the 
Chickahominy  as  far  as  he  could  penetrate 
in  his  boat,  and  then  leaving  it  in  charge  of 
two  men,  struck  into  the  interior  with  an 
Indian  guide.  His  men  disobeyed  his  in- 
structions, and  were  surprised  and  put  to 
death  by  the  Indians.  Smith  himself  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  deeply  impressed  his 
captors  by  his  cool  courage  and  self-posses- 
sion. Instead  of  begging  for  his  life,  he  set 
to  work  to  convince  them  of  his  superiority 
over  them,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  they 
regarded  him  with  a  sort  of  awe.  He  aston- 
ished them  by  showing  them  his  pocket  com- 
pass and  explaining  to  them  its  uses,  and 
excited  their  admiration  by  writing  a  letter 


POCAHONTAS    INTERCEDIN'"^    FOR    THE    LIFE    OF    CAPTAIN    JOHN    SMITH. 


CAPTAIN  JOHN   SMITH   AND   POCAHONTAS 

to  his  friends  at  Jamestown  informing  them 
of  his  situation,  and  of  tlie  danger  to  wliicli 
they  were  exposed  from  a  contemplated 
attack  o(  tlie  Indians.  One  of  the  savages 
bore  the  letter  to  its  destination. 


79 


A  Grand  Reception. 

Smith  had  been  captured  by  Opechan- 
canough.a  powerful  chieftain  of  the  Pamun- 
key  Indians  :  but  as  the  curiosity  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  was  greatly  aroused  by 
his  presence,  he  was  led  in  triumph  from  the 
Chickahominy  to  the  villages  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock and  the  Potomac,  and  then  taken 
through  other  towns  to  the  residence  of 
Opechancanough,  on  the  Pamunkey.  Here 
the  medicine  men  of  the  tribe  held  a  three 
days'  incantation  over  him  to  ascertain  his 
character  and  design.  All  this  while  his  de- 
meanor was  calm  and  fearless,  as  if  he  enter- 
tained no  apprehension  for  his  safety.  He 
was  regarded  by  the  savages  as  a  superior 
being,  and  was  treated  with  kindness,  though 
kept  a  close  prisoner. 

His  fate  was  referred  to  Powhatan  for  de- 
cision, as  the  other  tribes  feared  to  bring  the 
blood  of  such  an  extraordinary  being  upon 
their  heads.  Powhatan  was  then  residing  at 
Werowocomoco,  which  lay  on  the  north 
side  of  Fork  River,  in  what  is  now  Gloucester 
County,  Virginia.  He  received  the  captive 
in  great  state,  surrounded  by  his  warriors. 
"  He;  wore,"  says  Smith,  "  such  a  grave  and 
majestical  countenance  as  drove  me  into 
admiration  to  see."  Brought  into  the 
presence  of  Powhatan,  Smith  was  received 
with  a  shout  from  the  assembled  warriors. 
A  handsome  young  squaw  brought  him 
water  to  wash  his  hands,  and  another  gave 
him  a  bunch  of  feathers  to  dry  them.  Food 
was  then  set  before  him,  and  while  he  applied 
himself  to  the  repast  a  consultation  was  held 
by  the  savages  as  to  his  fate.  Smith  watched 
the  proceedings  closely,  and  was  aware  from 


the  gestures  of  the  council  thai  nls  death 
had  been  determined  upon.  Two  great 
stones  were  then  brought  into  the  assembly 
and  laid  before  the  king. 

The  captive  was  seized  and  dragged  to  the 
stones,  forced  down,  and  his  head  laid  upon 
them.  Two  brawny  savages  stood  by  to 
beat  out  his  brains  v  ith  their  clubs.  During 
these  proceedings  Pocahontas,  a  child  often 
or  twelve  years,  "  dearly  loved  daughter  "  of 
Powhatan,  touched  with  pity  for  the  unfortu- 
nate stranger,  had  been  earnestly  pleading 
with  her  father  to  spare  his  life.  Failing  in 
this,  she  sprang  forward  at  the  moment  the 
executioners  were  about  to  despatch  their 
victim,  and  throwing  herself  by  his  side, 
clasped  her  arms  about  his  neck  and  laid  her 
head  upon  his  to  protect  him  from  the  im- 
pending stroke.  This  remarkable  action  in 
a  child  so  young  moved  the  savages  with 
profound  astonishment.  They  regarded  it 
as  a  manifestation  of  the  will  of  Heaven  in 
favor  of  the  captive,  and  it  was  determined 
to  spare  his  life  and  seek  his  friendship. 

The  Captive  Released. 

Smith  was  released  from  his  bonds,  and 
was  given  to  Pocahontas  to  make  beads  and 
bells  for  her,  and  to  weave  for  her  ornaments 
of  copper.  The  friendship  which  the  inno- 
cent child  of  the  forest  conceived  for  him 
grew  stronger  every  day,  and  ceased  only 
with  her  life.  Powhatan  took  him  into  his 
favor,  and  endeavored  to  induce  him  to 
abandon  the  English  and  cast  his  lot  with 
him.  He  even  sought  to  obtain  his  aid  in 
an  attack  upon  the  colony.  Smith  declined 
these  offers,  and  by  his  decision  of  character 
succeeded  in  averting  the  hostility  of  the 
savages  from  his  friends  at  Jamestown,  and 
in  winning  their  good-will  for  the  English. 
In  a  short  while  the  Indians  allowed  him  to 
return  to  Jamestown,  upon  his  promise  to 
send  to  King  Powhatan  two  cannon  and  a 


8o 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


grindstone.  Upon  arriving  at  Jamestown  he 
showed  the  Indians  who  had  accompanied 
him  two  of  the  largest  cannon,  and  aslced 
them  to  lift  them.  This  was  impossible; 
nor  could  they  succeed  any  better  with  the 
grindstone.  Smith  then  discharged  the 
cannon  in  their  presence,  which  so  frightened 
them  that  they  refused  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  them.  Having  evaded  his  promise 
in  this  manner,  Smith  bestowed  more  suit- 
■ible  presents  upon  his  guides,  and  sent  them 


POCAHONTAS. 

home  with  gifts  for  Powhatan  and  Poca- 
hontas. The  savage  king  was  doubtless 
ftrell  satisfied  to  let  the  "  great  guns  "  alone 
&fter  hearing  the  report  of  his  messengers 
concerning  them,  and  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  gifts  sent  him. 

Pocahontas  Brings  Food. 

Smith  found  the  colony  at  Jamestown  re- 
duced to  forty  men  and  affairs  in  great  con- 
fusion. His  companions  had  believed  that 
he  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  hostility  of  the 
Indians,  and  he  was  greeted  with  delight,  as 


the  need  of  his  firm  hand  had  been  sadly 
felt.  He  found  that  a  party  of  malcontents 
were  preparing  to  run  away  from  the  colony 
with  the  pinnace,  and  he  at  once  rallied  his 
supporters  and  trained  the  guns  of  the  fort 
upon  the  little  vessel,  and  avowed  his  de- 
termination to  fire  upon  the  mutineers  if 
they  sought  to  depart. 

His  firmness  put  an  end  to  this  danger^ 
and  the  friendly  relations  which  he  had 
managed  to  establish  with  the  Indians  now 
enabled  him  to  buy  from  the  savages  the  food 
necessary  to  sustain  the  colonists  through 
the  winter.  In  many  ways  his  captivity 
proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  settlement. 
He  had  not  only  e.xplored  the  country 
between  the  James  and  Potomac,  and  gained 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  language  and 
customs  of  the  natives,  but  had  disposed  the 
Indian  tribes  subject  to  Powhatan  to  regard 
the  colony  with  friendship  at  the  most  criti- 
cal period  of  its  existence.  Had  the  savages 
been  hostile  during  this  winter  the  James- 
town colony  must  have  perished  of  starva- 
tion; but  now,  every  few  days  throughout 
this  season,  Pocahontas  came  to  the  fort  ac- 
companied by  a  number  of  her  countrymen 
bearing  baskets  of  corn  for  the  whites. 

Exploring  Chesapeake  Bay. 
In  the  spring  of  1608,  Newport  arrived 
from  England,  bringing  with  him  a  reinforce- 
ment of  one  hundred  and  twenty  emigrants. 
The  newcomers  were  joyfully  welcomed  by 
the  colonists  but  they  proved  of  no  real  ad- 
vantage to  the  settlement.  They  were  either 
idlers  or  goldsmiths  who  had  come  out  to 
America  in  the  hope  of  finding  gold.  The 
refiners  of  the  party  believed  they  had  founa 
the  precious  metal  in  a  heap  of  glittering 
earth,  of  which  there  was  an  abundance  near 
Jamestown,  and  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances 
of  Smith,  would  do  nothing  but  dig  gold. 
Newport,  who  shared  the  delusion,  loaded 


CAPTAIN   JOHN   SMITH   AND    POCAHONTAS. 


his  ships  with  the  worthless  earth  and  sailed 
for  England  after  a  sojourn  in  the  colony  of 
fourteen  weeks. 

While  these  fruitless  labors  were  in  pro- 
gress, Smith,  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the 
folly  of  the  emigrants,  undertook  the  explora- 
tion of  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  spent  the 
summer  of  1608  in  visiting  the  shores  of  the 
bay  and  ascending  its  tributaries  in  an  open 
boat,  accompanied  by  a  few  men.  He  ex- 
plored the  Chesapeake  to  the  Susquehanna, 
ascended  the  Potomac  to  the  falls,  and 
explored  the  Patapsco.  This  voyage  em- 
braced a  total  distance  of  nearly  three  thou- 
sand miles,  and  resulted  not  only  in  the  gain- 
ing of  accurate  information  respecting  the 
country  bordering  the  Chesapeake,  but  also 
in  establishing  friendly  relations  with  the 
tribes  along  its  shores,  and  preparing  the 
way  for  future  friendly  intercourse  with  them. 
The  energetic  explorer  prepared  a  map  of 
the  Chesapeake  and  its  tributaries,  and  sent 
it  to  his  employers  in  England,  by  v.-hom  it 
was  published.  It  is  yet  in  existence,  and 
its  accuracy  and  minuteness  have  often  elic- 
ited the  praise  of  subsequent  topographers. 

Idlers  Must  Not  Eat. 

Smith  returned  to  Jamestown  on  the 
seventh  of  September,  and  three  days  later 
was  made  president  of  the  council.  The 
good  effects  of  his  administration  were  soon 
felt.  In  the  autumn,  however,  another  rein- 
forcement of  idle  and  useless  men  arrived. 
Smith,  indignant  at  the  continual  arrival  of 
such  worthless  persons,  wrote  to  the  com- 
pany: "  When  you  send  again,!  entreat  you 
rather  send  but  thirty  carpenters,  husband- 
men, gardeners,  fishermen,  blacksmiths,  ma- 
sons, and  diggers  up  of  trees'  roots,  well  pro- 
vided, than  a  thousand  cf  such  as  we  have." 

Upon  the  return  of  the  fleet  to  England 
the  governor  e.xerted  his  authority  to  compel 
the  idlers  ^d  go  to  work.     It  was  ordered 


that  si.K  hours  in  each  day  should  be  spent 
in  useful  labor  by  each  person,  and  that  "  he 
who  would  not  work  might  not  eat."  In  a 
short  while  the  settlement  began  to  assume 
the  appearance  of  a  regular  habitation ;  but 
still  so  little  land  had  been  cultivated — onl) 
about  thirty  or  forty  acres  in  all — that  during 
the  winter  of  i6o8-'g,  the  settlers  were  com- 
pelled to  depend  upon  the  Indians  for  food. 
Yet  the  prudent  management  of  Smith  kept 
the  colony  in  good  health. 

Infamous  Lav^s. 

In  the  spring  of  1609,  great  changes  were 
made  in  the  London  Company,  and  a  more 
earnest  interest  was  manifested  in  the  colony 
by  all  classes  of  the  English  people.  Sub- 
scriptions were  made  to  the  stock  of  the 
company  by  many  noblemen  as  well  as  mer- 
chants, and  a  new  charter  was  obtained.  By 
this  charter  the  stockholders  had  the  power 
to  appoint  the  supreme  council  in  England, 
and  to  this  council  were  confided  the  powers 
of  legislation  and  government,  which  were 
relinquished  by  the  king.  The  council  ap- 
pointed the  governor  of  the  colony,  who 
was  to  rule  the  settlement  with  absolute  au- 
thority according  to  the  instructions  of  the 
council.  He  was  made  master  of  the  lives 
and  liberties  of  the  settlers  by  being  author- 
ized to  declare  martial  law  whenever  in  his 
judgment  the  necessity  for  that  measure 
should  arise,  and  was  made  the  sole  execu- 
tive officer  in  its  administration. 

Thus  the  emigrants  were  deprived  of 
every  civil  right,  and  were  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  a  governor  appointed  by  a  corpo- 
ration whose  only  object  was  to  make 
money.  The  company,  however,  defeated 
this  object  by  the  manner  in  which  it  se- 
lected emigrants.  Instead  of  sending  out 
honest  and  industrious  laborers  who  were 
capable  of  building  up  a  state,  they  sent 
only  idlers  and  vagabonds,  men  who  were 


S2 


neither  willing  nor  fit  to  work.  The  com- 
mon stock  feature  was  maintained,  and  thus 
tlie  greatest  obstacle  to  industry  that  could 
be  devised  was  placed  in  the  way  of  the 
success  of  the  colony.  Still  there  were 
rnp.nv  who   were  willinij  to   seek    the   new 


SETTLExMENT   OF  AMERICA. 

a  nobleman,  whose  character  commanded 
the  confidence  of  his  countrymen,  was  made 
governor  of  the  colony  for  life.  As  he  was 
not  able  to  sail  with  the  expedition,  he  dele- 
gated his  authority  during  his  absence  to 
Newport,  who  was  admiral  of  the  fleet,  Sir 


HOLbC    IN    JAMESTOWN 


world  even  under  these  conditions,  and 
many  others  whose  friends  desired  to  get 
them  out  of  the  country. 

The  company  was  soon  able  to  equip  a 
fleet  of  nine  vessels  containing  more  than 
five  hundred  emigrants,  and  a  stock  of  do- 
mestic animals  and  fowls  was  included  in 
the  outfit  of  tlie  expedition.     Lord  Delaware, 


Thomas  Gates,  and  Sit 
George  Somers,  who 
Were  to  govern  the  col- 
onv  until  his  arrival. 
Tiie  fleet  sailed  in  the 
^pi  ing  of  1609,  but  when 
off  tlie  American  coast 
\\  \  i  overtaken  by  a  se- 
\  t  re  storm,  and  two  ves- 
sels— on  one  of  which 
the  admiral  and  the 
c  -immissioners  had  sailed 
— \\cre  wrecked  on  one 
of  the  Bermuda  islands. 
Seven  ships  reached 
\  irginia,  and  brought 
tile  worst  lot  of  emi- 
gi  -ints  that  had  yet  been 
sent  ort  to  the  colony. 
Smith  was  still  acting 
picsident,  and  as  the 
commissioners  had  not 
ai  rived,  was  determined 
to  hold  his  position  until 
lelieved  by  his  lawful 
successors.  The  new 
emigrants  at  first  refused 
to  recognize  his  author- 
it\  ,  but  he  compelled 
them  to  submit,  and  in 
order  to  lessen  the  evil  of  their  presence, 
divided  them  into  bodies  sufficiently  numer- 
ous for  safety,  and  sent  them  to  make  settle- 
ments in  other  parts  of  Virginia.  These 
settlements  proved  so  many  failures,  and, 
unfortunately  for  the  colony.  Smith  was  so 
severely  wounded  by  an  accidental  explosion 
of  gunpowder,  in  the  autumn  of  1609,  that 


CAPTAIN   JOHN   SMITH    AND   POCAHONTAS. 


83 


he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  the  government 
and  return  to  England  for  surgical  treatment. 
He  delegated  his  authority  to  George  Percy, 
and  sailed  for  England,  never  to  return  to 
Virginia  again.  It  was  to  him  alone  that  the 
success  of  the  colony  was  due,  but  he 
received  in  return  nothing  but  ingratitude. 

Pocahontas  Saves  the  Colony. 

The  departure  of  Smith  was  followed  by 
the  most  disastrous  consequences.  There 
was  no  longer  an  acknowledged  government 
^n  Virginia,  and  the  settlers  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  most  reckless  idleness.  Their  pro- 
visions were  quickly  consumed,  and  the  In- 
dians refused  to  furnish  them  with  anymore. 
The  friendship  of  the  savages  had  been  due 
to  their  personal  regard  for  Smith,  who  had 
compelled  the  colonists  to  respect  their 
rights  and  to  refrain  from  maltreating  them. 
Now  that  Smith  was  no  longer  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  the  Indians  regarded  the  settlers  with 
the  contempt  they  fully  merited,  and  hostili- 
ties soon  began.  Stragglers  from  the  town 
were  cut  off,  and  parties  who  went  out  to 
seek  food  among  the  savages  were  deliber- 
ately murdered. 

On  one  occasion  a  plan  was  laid  to  surprise 
the  town  and  massacre  the  colonists.  The 
danger  was  averted  by  Pocahontas,  who  stole 
from  her  father's  camp,  through  night  and 
storm,  to  give  warning  to  the  settlers.  Fail- 
ing in  this  effort  the  Indians  resolved  to 
starve  the  colony,  and  soon  the  whites  began 
to  experience  the  sufferings  of  a  famine. 
Thirty  of  them  seized  one  of  the  ships, 
escaped  to  sea,  and  began  a  course  of  piracy. 
In  six  months  the  four  hundred  and  ninety 
persons  left  by  Smith  in  the  colony  at  his 
departure  had  dwindled  down  to  sixty ;  and 
this  wretched  remnant  would  have  perished 
speedily  had  not  aid  reached  them. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  1610,  Sir 
Thomas  Gates  and  the  members  of  the  expe- 


dition who  had  been  wrecked  on  the  Ber- 
mudas reached  Jamestown  after  a  stay  of 
nine  months  on  those  islands,  during  which 
time  they  had  built  two  vessels  from  the 
wreck  of  their  ship  and  the  wood  found  on 
the  island.  In  these  they  managed  to  reach 
Virginia,  expecting  to  find  the  colony  in  a 
prosperous  condition.  They  found  instead 
the  sixty  men  already  mentioned,  so  feeble 
and  full  of  despair  as  to  be  helpless.  In  the 
general  despondency  it  was  determined  to 
abandon  the  colony,  sail  to  Newfoundland, 
and  join  the  fishing  vessels  which  came  an- 
nually from  England  to  that  island. 

A  Welcome  Arrival. 

Some  of  the  emigrants  wished  to  burn  the 
town,  but  this  was  prevented  by  the  resolute 
conduct  of  Sir  Thomas  Gates.  On  the 
seventh  of  June  the  settlers  embarked,  and 
that  night  dropped  down  the  James  with  the 
tide.  The  next  morning  they  were  aston- 
ished to  meet  a  fleet  of  vessels  entering  the 
river.  It  was  Lord  Delaware,  who  had 
arrived  with  fresh  emigrants  and  supplies. 
The  fugitives  hailed  the  arrival  of  the  gover- 
nor with  delight,  and  put  about  and  ascended 
the  stream  with  him.  A  fair  wind  enabled 
them  to  reach  Jamestown  the  same  night. 

On  the  tenth  of  June,  1610,  the  founda- 
tions of  the  colony  were  solemnly  relaid 
with  prayer  and  supplication  to  Almighty 
God  for  success  in  the  effort  to  establish  a 
state.  The  authority  of  Lord  Delaware 
silenced  all  dissensions,  and  his  equitable  but 
firm  administration  soon  placed  the  settle- 
ment on  a  more  successful  basis  than  it  had 
yet  occupied.  The  labors  of  each  day  were 
opened  with  prayer  in  the  little  church,  after 
which,  from  six  in  the  morning  till  ten,  and 
from  two  in  the  afternoon  until  four,  all 
engaged  in  the  tasks  demanded  of  them. 
The  good  effects  of  the  new  system  were  soon 
manifest     in    the     increased     comfort    and 


84 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


prosperity  of  the  colony.  In  about  a  year  the 
health  of  Lord  Delaware  gave  way,  and  he 
delegated  his  authority  to  George  Percy, 
whom  Smith  had  chosen  as  his  successor, 
and  returned  to  England. 

Fortunately  for  the  colony,  the  company, 
before  the  arrival  of  Lord  Delaware  in  Eng- 
land, had  sent  out  Sir  Thomas  Dale  with 
supplies.  He  reached  Jamestown  in  May, 
161I;  and  finding  Lord  Delaware  gone, 
assumed  the  government.  He  brought  with 
him  a  code  of  laws,  prepared  and  sent  out  by 
Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the  treasurer  of  the  com- 
pany, without  the  order  or  sanction  of  the 
council,  and  which  established  martial  law 
as  the  rule  of  the  colony.  Though  he  ruled 
with  such  a  stern  hand,  Dale  rendered  good 
service  to  Virginia  by  recommending  to  the 
company  to  maintain  the  settlement  at  all 
hazards  as  certain  of  yielding  them  a  rich 
reward  in  the  end. 

The  New  Settlers. 

This  energetic  appeal  so  greatly  encour- 
aged the  council,  which  had  been  consider- 
ably disheartened  by  Lord  Delaware's  return, 
that  in  the  summer  of  161 1  Sir  Thomas 
Gates  was  sent  out  to  Virginia  with  six  ships 
and  three  hundred  emigrants.  He  carried 
also  a  stock  of  cattle  and  abundant  supplies. 
The  emigrants  sent  out  with  him  were  of  a 
better  character  and  more  industrious  than 
any  that  had  yet  left  England  for  Virginia. 
Gates  assumed  the  government, and  matters 
began  to  prosper  again.  The  colony  now 
numbered  seven  hundred  persons,  and  was 
deemed  so  prosperous  that  Dale,  with  the 
approval  of  the  governor,  led  a  number  of 
the  men  to  the  vicinity  of  the  falls  of  the 
James,  and  there  established  another  settle- 
•  ment,  which  was  called  Henrico,  in  honor  o{ 
the  Prince  of  Wales. 

Among  the  changes  for  the  better  was  the 
assignment  to  each  settler  of  a  few  acres  of 


land  for  his  own  cultivation.  This  "  incipient 
establishment  of  private  property"  produced 
the  happiest  results,  and  from  this  time  there 
was  no  scarcity  of  provisions  in  the  colony, 
which  became  so  powerful  and  prosperous 
as  to  be  no  longer  exposed  to  the  mercy  ol 
the  savages.  The  Indians  themselves  were 
quick  to  notice  this  change,  and  some  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  by  formal  treaty  acknowl- 
edged themselves  subjects  of  King  James. 

The  whites,  however,  did  not  always 
respect  the  rights  of  the  Indians.  Late  in 
161 3,  Pocahontas  was  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  a  foraging  party  under  Captain 
Argall.  Argall  kept  her  a  prisoner,  and 
demanded  of  Powhatan  a  ransom.  For 
three  months  Powhatan  did  not  deign  to  re- 
ply to  this  demand,  but  prepared  for  war. 
In  the  meantime  Pocahontas  was  instructed 
in  the  faith  of  the  Christians,  and  at  length 
openly  embraced  it,  and  was  baptized.  Her 
conversion  was  hastened  by  a  powerful  senti- 
ment, which  had  taken  possession  of  her 
heart.  She  had  always  regarded  the  English 
as  superior  to  her  own  race,  and  now  her 
affections  were  won  by  a  young  Englishman 
of  good  character,  named  John  Rolfe. 

Marriage  of  Pocahontas. 

Rolfe,  with  the  approval  of  the  governor, 
asked  her  hand  of  her  father  in  marriage. 
Powhatan  consented  to  the  union,  but  re- 
fused to  be  present  at  the  marriage,  as  he 
was  too  shrewd  to  place  his  person  in  the 
hands  of  the  English.  He  sent  his  brother 
Opachisco  and  two  of  his  sons  to  witness  the 
marriage,  which  was  solemnized  in  the  little 
church  at  Jamestown,  in  the  presence  of  Sir 
Thomas  Dale,  the  acting  governor.  The 
marriage  conciliated  Powhatan  and  his  tribe, 
who  continued  their  peaceful  relations  with 
the  colony.  King  James,  however,  was 
greatly  displeased  at  what  he  deemed  the 
presumption    of   a    subject    in    wedding    a 


66 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


princess.  Pocahontas  was  .soon  after  taken 
to  England  by  her  husband,  and  was  re- 
ceived there  with  great  attention  and  kind- 
ness. She  remained  in  England  for  a  little 
more  than  a  year,  and  then  prepared  to  re- 
turn to  her  own  country.  As  she  was  about 
to  sail,  she  died,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
A.  D.  1616.  She  left  a  son,  who  subse- 
quently became  a  man  of  distinction  in 
Virginia,  and  the  ancestor  of  some  of  the 
proudest  families  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

Earliest  Land  Laws  of  Virginia. 

In  the  meantime  the  settlements  of  the 
French  on  the  coast  of  Maine  had  attracted 
the  attention  and  e.xcited  the  jealousy  of  the 
English.  In  161 3,  Captain  Samuel  Argall, 
who  was  cruising  on  the  banks  of  Newfound- 
land to  protect  the  English  fishermen,  dis- 
covered the  French  settlement  of  Saint 
Sauveur  on  the  island  of  Mount  Desert,  and 
captured  it.  He  treated  the  colonists  with 
inexcusable  harshness,  and  compelled  them 
to  leave  the  country.  In  the  same  year  he 
destroyed  the  fortifications  which  Des  Monts 
had  erected  on  the  isle  of  St.  Croi.x  and 
burned  the  deserted  settlement  of  Port 
Royal. 

At  Jamestown  and  the  other  settlements 
^.hat  had  been  formed  in  Virginia  private  in- 
dustry was  fast  placing  the  colony  on  an 
assured  basis  of  success.  "  The  condition  of 
private  property  in  lands,  among  the  colon- 
ists, depended,  in  some  measure,  on  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  they  had  emigrated. 
Some  had  been  sent  and  maintained  at  the 
exclusive  cost  of  the  company,  and  were  its 
servants.  One  month  of  their  time  and 
three  acres  of  land  were  set  apart  for  them, 
besides  a  small  allowance  of  two  bushels  of 
corn  from  the  public  store  ;  the  rest  of  their 
labor  belonged  to  their  employers.  This 
number  had  gradually  decreased ;  and  in 
16 1 7  there  were  of  them  all,  men,  women 


and  children,  but  fifty-four.  Others,  especi- 
ally  the  favorite  settlement  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Appomattox,  were  tenants,  paying  two 
and  a  half  bushels  of  corn  as  a  yearly  tribute 
to  the  store,  and  giving  to  the  public  service 
one  month's  labor,  which  was  to  be  required 
neither  at  seed  time  nor  harvest. 

He  who  came  himself,  or  had  sent  others 
at  his  own  expense,  had  been  entitled  to  a 
hundred  acres  of  land  for  each  person  :  now 
that  the  colony  was  well  established,  the 
bounty  on  emigration  was  fixed  at  fifty  acres, 
of  which  the  actual  occupation  and  culture 
gave  a  further  right  to  as  many  more,  to  be 
assigned  at  leisure.  Besides  this,  lands  were 
granted  as  rewards  of  merit ;  yet  not  more 
than  two  thousand  acres  could  be  so  appro- 
priated to  one  person.  A  payment  to  the 
company's  treasury  of  twelve  pounds  and 
ten  shillings  likewise  obtained  a  title  to  any 
hundred  acres  of  land  not  yet  granted  or 
possessed,  with  a  reserved  claim  to  as  much 
more.  Such  were  the  earliest  land  laws  of 
Virginia :  though  imperfect  and  unequal, 
they  gave  the  cultivator  the  means  of  becom- 
ing a  proprietor  of  the  soil.  These  valuable 
changes  were  established  by  Sir  Thomas 
Dale/'* 

Tobacco  Becomes  the  Currency. 

The  survivors  of  Raleigh's  colony  at 
Roanoke  had  introduced  into  England  the 
use  of  tobacco  which  they  had  'earned  from 
the  Indians,  and  there  was  now  a  steady  de- 
mand for  that  article  from  the  mother 
country.  Encouraged  by  this  demand,  and 
stimulated  by  the  acquisition  of  property  of 
their  own,  the  Virginia  colonists  devoted 
themselves  with  ardor  to  the  culture  of 
tobacco,  and  soon  all  the  available  land 
about  the  settlements,  and  even  the  streets 
and    public    squares    of  Jamestown,    were 


*  History  of  the  United  Slates.    By  Geo.  Bancroft,  vol.  i.,  p. 
150. 


CAPTAIN  JOHN   SMITH   AND   POCAHONTAS.  87 

yearly  once,  whereat  were  to  be  present  the 
governor  and  consell  with  two  burgesses 
from  each  plantation,  freely  to  be  elected  by 
the  inhabitantes  thereof,  this  assemblie  to 
have  power  to  make  and  ordaine  whatsoever 
lawes  and  orders  shoulde  by  them  be  thought 
good  and  profitable  for  their  subsistence." 


planted  with  it  Tobacco  soon  became  the 
currency  of  the  colony,  and  great  attention 
was  given  to  it,  even  to  the  exclusion  of 
other  agricultural  interests. 


A  New  Governor. 

In  1616,  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  who  had  been 
governor  of  the  colony  for  two  jears,  dele- 
gated his  authority  to  George  Yeardley,  and 
sailed  for  England.  Under  Yeardley's  ad- 
mirable administration  the  colony  continued 
to  increase  in  prosperity.  A  faction  of  the 
settlers,  however,  succeeded  in  removing 
him  from  his  position,  and  replaced  him  with 
Argall,  who  was  a  selfish  and  brutal  t^^rant. 
He  held  office  for  two  years,  and  goverjied 
according  to  the  most  rigid  forms  of  martial 
law.  He  swindled  the  company,  and  ex- 
torted their  hard  earnings  from  the  settlers, 
who  were  driven  to  desperation  by  his  brutal- 
ities. In  their  distress  they  appealed  to  the 
company  for  redress,  and,  as  Argall  had 
robbed  the  corporation  also,  their  prayer  was 
heard.  Argall  was  removed  from  office, 
and  the  bloody  code  of  Sir  Thomas  Smith 
was  abolished.  Sir  George  Yeardley  was 
appointed  governor,  Lord  Delaware  having 
died,  and  reached  Jamestown  in  April,  1619. 
He  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  Virginians, 
and  his  arrival  was  looked  upon  as  the  be- 
ginning of  new  life  for  the  province,  as  indeed 
it  was. 

Among  the  changes  which  Yeardley  was 
empowered  by  the  company  to  inaugurate 
was  one  which  exercised  the  greatest  influ- 
ince  upon  the  subsequent  history  of  Vir- 
ginia. After  years  of  blundering  and  arbi- 
trary rule,  the  London  Company  had  become 
convinced  that  the  best  way  to  promote  the 
Arelfare  of  Virginia  was  to  give  the  settlers  a 
<hare  in  the  management  of  their  own  affairs. 
'That  the  planters  might  have  a  hande  in 
the  governing  of  themselves,  yt  was  graunted 
that  a  generall  assemblie  shoulde  be  helde 


First  Representative  Assembly. 

In  accordance  with  this  authorization, 
Governor  Yeardley  issued  his  writs  for  the 
election  of  representatives  from  the  various 
colonies,  and  on  the  tenth  day  of  July,  1619, 
two  delegates  from  each  of  the  eleven  settle- 
ments of  the  colony  met  at  Jamestown,  and 
organized  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  the 
Colony  of  Virginia,  the  first  representative 
assembly  ever  convened  in  America.  In 
this  assembly  the  governor  and  council  sat 
with  the  burgesses,  and  engaged  in  the  de- 
bates and  motions.  John  Pory,  a  member 
of  the  council  and  secretary  of  the  colony, 
was  chosen  speaker,  although  he  was  not  a 
member  of  the  house.  Sensible  of  their  de- 
pendence upon  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
world,  the  burgesses  opened  their  delibera- 
tions with  prayer,  and  thus  established  the 
practice.  "  The  assembly  exercised  fully 
the  right  of  judging  of  the  proper  election 
of  its  members ;  and  they  would  not  suffer 
any  patent,  conceding  manorial  jurisdiction, 
to  bar  the  obligation  of  obedience  to  their 
decisions."  Laws  were  enacted  against  idle- 
ness and  vice,  and  for  the  encouragement  of 
industry  and  order.  He  who  refused  to  labor 
was  to  be  "  sold  to  a  master  for  wages  till  he 
shewe  apparent  signs  of  amendment." 

The  playing  of  dice  and  cards,  and 
drunkenness  and  profane  swearing  were  pro« 
hibited  under  severe  penalties.  Inducements 
were  held  out  to  increase  the  planting  of 
corn,  mulberry  trees,  hemp  and  the  vine. 
The  price  of  tobacco  was  fixed  by  law  at 
three  shillings  a  pound  for  the  best  grade 


8S 


SETTLEMENT 


and  half  that  price  for  the  inferior  grade. 
Provision  was  also  made  for  "  the  erecting  of 
a  university  and  college  "  for  the  proper  edu- 
cation of  the  children  who  should  be  born 
to  the  planters.  It  was  designed  to  extend 
to  tha  Indians  the  benefit  of  these  institutions, 
and  it  was  ordered  that  the  "  most  towardly 
(Indian)  boys  in  wit  and  graces  of  nature 
sliould  be  brought  up  in  the  first  elements 
of  literature,  and  sent  from  college  to  the 
work  of  converting  the  natives  to  Christian- 
ity." 

The  measures  of  the  assembly  were  put 
in  force  without  waiting  the  approval  of  the 
London  Company,  and  the  good  effects  of 
them  were  quickly  visible  in  the  colony. 
The  principles  of  free  government  having 
been  planted  in  the  community,  the  settlers, 
ivho  had  been  thereby  transformed  from  the 
mere  creatures  of  the  governor  into  free- 
born  Englishmen  once  more,  began  to  regard 
Virginia  as  their  permanent  home,  and  set  to 
work  with  a  will  to  build  houses  and  plant 
fields.  One  thing  only  was  lacking  to  give 
■the  settlers  homes  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word ;  and  to  supply  that  need  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys  induced  ninety  young  and  vir- 
tuous women  to  emigrate  to  America,  that 
the  colonists  might  be  able  to  marry  and 
form  domestic  ties  which  alone  could  perma- 
nently attach  them  to  America. 

Wives  Imported. 
The  young  women  were  sent  over  to  the 
colony  in  1619,  atthe  expense  of  the  com- 
pany, and  were  married  to  the  tenants  of  the 
corporation  or  to  men  who  were  well  enough 
to  do  to  support  them.  The  next  year  si.xty 
more  were  sent  over,  and  quickly  found 
husbands.  In  all  cases  the  husbands  were 
required  to  repay  to  the  company  the  cost  of 
the  passage  of  their  wives  from  England. 
This  was  paid  in  tobacco,  and  was  regarded 
as  a  debt  of  honor,  to  be  discharged  at  any 


OF  AMERICA. 

sacrifice.  In  order  to  aid  the  husbands  in 
these  payments,  as  well  as  in  their  general 
matters,  the  compan\',  in  employing  labor, 
gave  the  preference  to  the  married  men. 
The  colony  now  increased  in  a  marked 
degree,  emigrants  coming  out  so  rapidly  from 
England  that  by  1621  there  were  four  thou- 
sand persons  in  Virginia.  It  having  become 
understood  that  the  colony  had  passed  the 
stage  at  which  failure  was  possible,  and  had 
become  a  permanent  state,  the  new  emigrants 
were  largely  men  of  family,  who  brought 
their  households  with  them. 

Virginia's  Written  Constitution. 

In  July,  162 1,  the  London  Company,  which 
was  now  controlled  by  the  patriot  party  in 
England,  granted  to  Virginia  a  written  consti- 
tution, which  gave  to  the  colony  a  form  of 
government  similar  to  that  of  England  her- 
self. A  governor  and  permanent  council 
were  to  be  appointed  by  the  company.  The 
house  of  burgesses  was  to  have  the  power  of 
enacting  such  laws  as  should  be  needed  for 
the  general  good,  but  no  law  so  enacted  was 
to  be  valid  unless  approved  by  the  company. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  orders  of  the  court  in 
London  were  to  be  binding  in  Virginia  unless 
ratified  by  the  house  of  burgesses.  Courts 
of  justice  were  established  and  ordered  to  be 
administered  according  to  the  law  and  forms 
of  trial  in  use  in  England.  Thus  the  common 
law  of  England  was  firmly  established  in 
Virginia,  and  under  its  beneficent  protection 
the  colony  advanced  steadily  in  prosperity. 

The  colonists  were  to  be  no  longer  merely 
the  subjects  of  a  commercial  corporation,  and 
as  such  to  hold  their  liberties  andpropert}'  at 
the  pleasure  of  their  masters ;  but  were 
definitely  accorded  the  right  to  govern  them- 
selves, and  to  take  such  measures  for  their 
safety  and  prosperity  as  in  their  judgment 
should  seem  best.  Such  were  the  provisions 
of  the  constitution. 


CHAPTER  VII 
Progress  of  the  Virginia  Colony 

liitroduction  of  Negro  Slavery  Into  Virginia — Efforts  of  the  Assembly  to  Restrict  Slavery — The  Indians  Attempt  .in 
Destruction  of  the  Colony — Terrible  Sufferings  of  the  Whites— Aid  from  England — The  Indian  War  Begun — King 
James  Revokes  the  Charter  of  the  London  Company — Charles  I.  Desires  a  Monopoly  of  the  Tobacco  Trade — Action  of 
the  Assembly — Sir  William  Berkeley's  First  Administration — Severe  Measures  Against  Dissenters — Closeof  the  Indian 
War — Death  of  Opechancanough — Emigration  of  Royalists  to  Virginia — Virginia  and  the  Commonwealth — Treaty 
with  England — The  Assembly  Asserts  Its  Independence  of  the  Governor — The  Restoration — Berkeley  Chosen  Gov- 
ernor by  the  Assembly — His  Hypocrisy. 


IN  August,  1619,  a  few  months  after  the 
meeting  of  the  first  colonial  legislature, 
there  occurred  an  event  which  was  des- 
tined to  influence  the  history  of  Virginia 
and  of  America  for  remote  generations,  per- 
haps forever.  A  Dutch  vessel  of  war  entered 
the  James  River  and  offered  twenty  negroes 
for  sale  as  slaves.  These  were  purchased  by 
the  planters,  and  negro  slavery  was  thus  estab- 
lished in  Virginia.  Laborers  were  in  demand, 
and  the  necessit>'  for  them  blinded  the  planters 
to  the  evil  they  were  fastening  upon  the  colony. 
The  first  importation  was  followed  by  others, 
the  infamous  business  being  principally  in 
the  hands  of  the  Dutch  at  this  period.  Still 
the  blacks  increased  very  slowly.  The  legis- 
lature from  the  first  discouraged  the  traffic 
oy  a  heavy  tax  upon  female  slaves. 

Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  the  first  governor  ap- 
pointed under  the  new  constitution,  reached 
Virginia  in  162 1,  and  the  new  laws  were  soon 
in  successftil  operation.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
a  terrible  misfortune  befell  the  colony,  and 
almosr  caused  its  destruction.  For  some 
time  there  had  been  bad  blood  between  the 
whites  and  the  Indians.  Powhatan,  the 
friend  of  the  English,  was  dead,  and  Opechan- 
canough, the  veteran  chief,  who,  since  the 
death  of  Powhatan,  had  become  the  leader  of 
the  nation,  was  bitteily  hostile  to  the  English, 
and  not  without  reason.     The  savages  origi- 


nally held  the  best  lands  in  the  colony,  but  the 
whites,  when  these  lands  were  wanted,  took 
possession  of  them  without  regard  to  the 
rights  of  their  dusky  owners.  The  Indians, 
unable  to  contend  with  the  whites  in  open 
conflict,  saw  themselves  driven  steadily  away 
from  their  accustomed  homes,  and  menaced 
with  total  destruction  by  the  superior  race. 
Opechancanough,  though  outwardly  friendly 
to  the  colonists,  now  secreth'  resolved  upon 
their  destruction,  and  sought  to  accomplish 
this  by  treachery. 

There  were  about  five  thousand  Indians, 
of  whom  fifteen  hundred  were  warriors, 
within  sixty  miles  of  Jamestown,  and  the 
whites  in  the  same  region  numbered  in  all 
about  four  thousand.  These  were  scattered 
in  fancied  safety  along  both  sides  of  the 
James  and  for  some  distance  into  the  interior. 
A  plot  was  organized  by  the  Indian  leader 
for  the  extermination  of  every  settler  in 
the  colony.  At  noon  on  a  designated  day 
every  settlement  was  to  be  surprised  and 
all  the  inhabitants  murdered.  The  savages 
in  the  meantime  kept  up  their  pretence  o 
friendship.  Opechancanough  declared  with 
fervor,  "  Sooner  shall  the  sky  fall  than  my 
friendship  for  the  English  should  cease."  So 
unsuspicious  were  the  English  that  to  the 
very  last  moment  they  received  the  savagfs 
amongst  them  without  fear  of  harm,  and  in 


LEKS    BV    INDIANS. 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   VIRGINIA   COLONY. 


91 


many  places  the  latter  were  then  in  the  houses 
of  the  people  they  meant  to  destroy. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  March,  1622,  a 
geneial  attack  was  made  by  the  savages  upon 
all  the  settlements  of  the  colony.  On  the 
previous  night  the  plot  had  been  revealed  to 
a  converted  Indian  named  Chauco,  who  at 
once  hastened  to  Jamestown  and  gave  warn- 
ing of  the  danger.  The  alarm  spread  rapidly 
to  the  nearest  settlements,  but  those  at  a  dis- 
tance could  not  be  reached  in  time  to  avert 
their  fate.  Those  settlements  which  had 
been  warned  were  able  to  offer  a  successful 
resistance  to  their  assailants,  and  some  of 
those  which  were  surprised  beat  off  the 
Indians  ;  but  the  number  of  victims,  men 
women  and  children,  who  fell  this  day 
amounted  to  three  hundred  and  forty-seven. 
All  these  were  slain,  and  their  fate  would 
have  been  shared  by  the  whole  colony  but 
for  the  warning  of  the  friendly  Indian. 

Terrible   Destruction. 

The  effect  upon  the  colony  was  appalling. 
,The  distant  plantations  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  savages,  and  out  of  eighty  settlements 
eight  alone  survived.  These,  and  especially 
Jamestown,  were  crowded  beyond  their  ca- 
pacity with  fugitives  who  had  fled  to  them 
for  shelter.  Sickness  soon  began  to  prevail, 
the  public  works  were  discontinued,  and  pri- 
vate industry  was  greatly  diminished.  A 
gloom  rested  over  the  entire  colony,  and  the 
population  fell  off  At  the  end  of  two  years 
after  the  massacre,  the  number  of  inhabitants 
had  been  reduced  to  two  thousand.  Much 
sympathy  was  manifested  for  the  suffering 
colonists  by  the  people  of  England.  The 
city  of  London  sent  them  liberal  assistance, 
and  private  individuals  subscribed  to  their 
need.  King  James  was  aroused  into  an 
affectation  of  generous  sympathy,  and  sent 
over  to  the  colony  a  supply  of  muskets  which 
had  been  condemned  as  worthless  in  England. 


The  whites  recovered  from  their  gloorn, 
and  on  their  part  began  to  form  plans  for 
the  extermination  of  their  foes.  During  the 
next  ten  years  expeditions  were  sent  against 
the  Indians  at  frequent  intervals.  The  object 
kept  sternly  in  view  was  to  either  destroy 
the  savages  altogether,  or  force  them  back 
from  the  seaboard  into  the  interior.  As  late 
as  1630  it  was  ordered  by  the  general  assem- 
bly that  no  peace  should  be  made  with  the 
Indians. 

Virginia's  Charter   Revoked. 

An  important  change  now  occurred  in  the 
fortunes  of  the  colony.  The  London  Com- 
pany was  bankrupt,  and  its  stockholders 
having  abandoned  all  hope  of  gain  from  the 
colony,  held  on  to  their  shares  merely  as  a 
means  of  exercising  political  power.  The 
company  was  divided  between  two  parties. 
One  of  these  favored  the  direct  rule  of  the 
colony  by  the  sovereign,  the  other  maintained 
the  independent  government  of  the  province 
by  its  own  legislature  under  the  constitution 
granted  to  it.  The  debates  between  these 
factions  greatlyannoyed  the  king,  who  could 
never  tolerate  the  expression  of  an  independ- 
ent opinion  by  any  of  his  subjects.  He 
endeavored  in  various  ways  to  silence  these 
disputes,  and  to  regain  the  powers  he  had 
relinquished  to  the  company,  but  the  latter 
firmly  refused  to  surrender  their  charter,  and 
the  colonists,  who  feared  that  the  king  might 
seek  to  impose  his  own  arbitrary  will  upon 
them  in  the  place  of  their  constitution  and 
the  laws  of  England,  sustained  the  company 
in  its  refusal. 

In  spite  of  this  opposition,  however,  James 
carried  his  point.  The  charter  of  the  com- 
pany  was  revoked,  and  Virginia  was  made  a 
royal  province.  The  company  appealed  to 
the  courts,  but  these  being  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  crown  sustained  the  king.  Their 
decision  was  rendered  in  June,  1624.     James 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


did  not  interfere  with  any  of  the  liberties  or 
privileges  of  Virginia,  however.  Sir  Francis 
Wyatt  was  retained  in  his  office  of  governor, 


1i.- 


r-yfj^^A^^^t^ 


and  the  colony  was  left  under  the  laws  and 
in  possession  of  the  privileges  secured  to  it 
in  162 1.     James  announced  his  intention  to 


prepare  a  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of 
Virginia,  but  fortunately  for  that  province  he 
died  before  he  could  execute  his  design. 

Charles  I.  succeeded 
his  father  on  the  Eng- 
lish  throne  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of 
March,  1625.  He  was 
favorably  disposed 
toward  the  colony, 
for  he  did  not  suppose 
the  principles  of  civil 
liberty  had  taken  so 
deep  a  root  in  it,  and, 
moreover,  he  wished 
to  secure  for  the 
ciown  the  monopoly 
(.  f  the  tobacco  trade. 
He  carried  his  con- 
descension to  the  ex- 
I  tent  of  recognizing 
1  the  house  of  burgesses 
Ts  a  legislative  body 
Tnd  requesting  it  tc 
p  iss  a  bill  restricting 
the  sales  of  tobacco  to 
the  crown.  The  house 
answered  him  respect- 
fully, but  firmly,  that 
to  grant  his  majesty's 
request  would  be  to 
injure  the  trade  of  the 
colony.  Defeated  in 
this  effort  to  secure 
this  monopoly  the 
king  continued 
throughout  his  reign 
to  seek  to  get  the 
I  tobacco  trade  into  his 
hands.  He  declared 
London  to  be  the  sole 
market  for  the  sale  of  tobacco,  and  endeav- 
ored in  many  ways,  and  in  vain,  to  regulate 
the  trade. 


'iT  "^-^    — ■ 


INDIANS     \11IK    niE    MASbACKL 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   VIRGINIA   COLONY. 


93 


In  the  meantime  Sir  Francis  Wyatt  retired 
from  the  government  of  the  colony,  and  Sir 
George  Yeardley  was  appointed  his  successor 
in  1626.  The  latter  died  the  next  year,  and 
Francis  West  was  elected  governor  by  the 
council  until  the  pleasure  of  the  king  should 
be  known.  Upon  the  receipt  in  England  of 
the  news  of  Yeardley's  death,  Charles 
appointed  Sir  John  Har\-ey  governor  of 
Virginia.  At  the  same  time  he  granted  to 
the  council  in  Virginia  authority  to  fill  all 
vacancies  occurring  in  their  body.  Previous 
to  the  arrival  of  Harvey,  West  was  succeeded 
by  another  governor,  named  Pott,  elected  by 
the  council. 

An  Unpopular  Governor. 

Harvey  reached  \'irginia  late  in  the 
autumn  of  1629,  and  remained  in  office  until 
1639.  He  was  greatly  disliked,  and  his 
failure  to  enforce  the  claims  of  Virginia 
against  the  colony  of  Maryland,  which  was 
planted  in  1634  upon  territory  embraced 
within  the  original  grant  to  Virginia,  made 
him  still  more  unpopular.  In  1635  he  was 
removed  from  office  by  the  council,  and  an 
appeal  was  made  to  the  king  by  both  Harvey 
and  the  council.  Harvey  returned  to 
England  to  manage  his  case,  and  John  West 
was  appointed  governor  until  the  decision  of 
the  case  by  the  king.  Harvey  succeeded  in 
defeating  his  opponents,  who  were  not  even 
allowed  a  hearing  in  England,  and  returned 
to  Virginia  in  January,  1636,  and  resumed 
his  place  as  governor. 

The  complaints  against  him  were  so 
numerous,  that  in  1639  he  was  removed  by 
the  king,  who  appointed  Sir  Francis  Wyatt 
his  successor.  In  1641  Wyatt  was  succeeded 
by  Sir  William  Berkeley,  who  reached 
Jamestown  in  1642.  In  the  spring  of  this 
year,  an  effort  was  made  to  revive  the  London 
Company,  but  Virginia,  which  was  now  a 
royal   province,   opposed   the   measure,  and 


urged  the  king  to  allow  her  to  remain  in  the 
e.vercise  of  the  self-government  which  had 
contributed  in  so  marked  a  degree  to  her 
prosperity.  The  king,  impressed  with  the 
force  of  the  arguments  by  which  this  appeal 
was  sustained,  declared  his  intention  to  make 
no  change  in  the  colonial  government. 

The  Puritans    Banished. 

Berkeley,  during  his  first  administration, 
proved  in  the  main  a  good  governor,  and 
the  colony  continued  to  improve.  The 
courts  of  justice  were  brought  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  English  standard,  and  the 
titles  to  lands  were  arranged  upon  a  more 
satisfactory  basis  than  had  hitherto  been 
found  possible.  Taxes  were  assessed  accord- 
ing to  the  wealth  of  the  settlers,  and  a  treaty 
was  arranged  with  Maryland  by  which  the 
vexed  questions  between  the  two  colonies 
were  satisfactorily  adjusted.  The  Virginians, 
accustomed  to  freedom,  were  in  all  things, 
save  their  acknowledgment  of  the  king's 
supremacy,  a  practically  independent  nation, 
so  little  were  they  interfered  with  by  the 
sovereign.  The  colony  was  devoted  to  the 
established  church  of  England,  and  even  at 
this  early  day  there  were  severe  laws  for  the 
enforcement  of  conformity  to  its  rules,  and 
for  the  punishment  of  dissenters. 

When  Puritan  ministers  came  from  New 
England  into  the  colony  in  1643,  they  were 
banished  by  the  colonial  government,  not- 
withstanding they  had  been  in\ited  into 
Virginia  by  the  Puritan  settlements  in  that 
province.  The  majority  of  the  Virginians, 
with  the  governor  at  their  head,  were  royal- 
ists and  staunch  friends  of  the  king. 

The  Puritans  living  in  the  colony  were 
regarded  with  suspicion,  and  when  they  re- 
fused to  conform  to  the  established  church, 
it  was  ordered  that  they  should  be  banished. 
Many  of  them  passed  over  into  Maryland 
and    settled   there.     With   the   exception  of 


94 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


this  harmless  bigotry,  the  colony  took  no 
share  in  the  great  quarrel  which  was  rending 
the  mother  country  in  twain.  It  was  rather 
a  gainer  by  it,  as  the  troubles  which  encom- 
passed Charles  I.  compelled  him  to  cease  his 


efforts   to   interfere   with    the   trade   of  the 
olanters. 

The  chief  trouble  of  this  period  was  with 
the  Indians.  There  had  been  no  peace  with 
them  since  the  massacre   of  1622,  but  fre- 


quent expeditions  had  been  sent  against 
them.  In  1644,  the  savages,  led  by  their 
veteran  chieftain  Opechancanough,  resolved 
to  make  one  more  effort  to  exterminate  the 
whites,  forgetting  that  in  the  twenty  years 
that  elapsed  their 
enemies  had  grown 
stronger,  while  they 
had  grown  weaker. 
On  the  eighteenth  of 
April  the  frontier  set- 
tlements were  at- 
tacked, and  three  hun- 
dred of  the  settlers 
were  put  to  death. 
The  whites  at  once 
inaugurated  vigorous 
measures  for  their 
defence,  and  a  sharp 
warfare  was  waged 
upon  the  savages  until 
October,  1646. 

It  was  brought  to  a 
close  by  the  capture 
of  Opechancanough, 
who  was  so  decrepit 
that  he  was  unable  to 
walk,  and  was  carried 
iboutin  thearms  of  his 
ooople.  His  flesh  was 
(.maciated,  the  sinews 
■jO  relaxed,  and  his 
Lvelids  so  heavy  that 
whenever  he  desired 
to  see  they  were  lifted 
bv  his  attendants.  Yet 
still  the  vigor  of  his 
»i,tellect  remained  to 
him,  and  he  was  to  the 
last  both  feared  by  his  enemies  and  loved  by 
his  people.  Berkeley,  having  taken  him  pris- 
oner, exposed  him  to  the  rude  gaze  of  the 
colonists,  an  indignity  which  stung  the  proud 
monarch  of  the  forest  to  the  heart.     On  one 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   VIRGINIA   COLONY 


95 


occasion,  hearing  that  the  governor  was 
approaching,  he  caused  his  e}-ehds  to  be 
raised,  and  fixing  upon  his  captor  a  look  of 
stern  rebuke,  said  to  him,  "  If  Sir  William 
Berkeley  had  become  my  prisoner,  I  should 
not  thus  meanly  have  exposed  him  as  a  show 
to  my  people." 

A  Cowardly  Assassination. 

A  few  da}'s  later,  Opechancanough  was 
basely  assassinated  by  one  of  the  colonists 
charged  with  the  duty  of  guarding  him.  Thus 
perished  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  native 
chieftains  of  America.  In  October,  1646, 
Necotowance,  the  successor  of  Opechancan- 
ough, entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  colony, 
by  which  he  and  his  people  relinquished  to 
the  English  the  lands  that  had  been  the 
heritage  of  their  fathers,  and  withdrew  into 
the  interior.  Their  power  was  completely 
broken,  and  submission  was  all  that  was  left 
to  them. 

Virginia  was  now  on  the  high  road  to 
prosperity.  The  population  at  the  close  of 
the  year  1648  numbered  twenty  thousand, 
and  was  increasing  rapidly.  A  fair  trade  had 
been  built  up  with  other  countries,  and  at 
Christmas  of  this  year  "  there  were  trading 
in  Virginia  ten  ships  from  London,  two  from 
Bristol,  twelve  Hollanders,  and  seven  from 
New  England."  The  quarrels  of  the  mother 
country  had  not  affected  the  colony,  though 
a  thrill  of  horror  and  indignation  ran  through 
all  Virginia  when  the  news  was  received  of 
the  execution  of  Charles  I. 

Upon  the  fall  of  that  monarch  a  large 
number  of  the  royalist  party  in  England,  un- 
willing to  submit  to  or  make  any  compromise 
with  the  Parliament,  fled  to  Virginia,  and 
were  received  there  with  sympathizing  hospi- 
tality by  the  government  and  people.  Many 
of  them  made  the  colony  their  permanent 
home,  and  thus  began  the  pleasant  relations 
between  Virginia  and  England,  which  ha\e 


in  numerous  cases  remained  unbroken.  The 
\'irginians  regarded  Charles  II.,  then  an 
exile  at  Breda,  as  their  rightful  sovereign,  and 
it  was  seriously  proposed  to  him  to  come 
over  to  America  and  be  king  of  Virginia. 
Charles'  interests  obliged  him  to  remain  in 
Europe,  but  he  continued  to  regard  himself 
as  king  of  Virginia.  From  this  circum- 
stance Virginia  came  to  be  called  "The  Old 
Dominion." 

Arrival  of  a  Fleet. 

The  Parliament,  however,  did  not  long 
suffer  the  colony  to  maintain  this  attitude. 
Having  triumphed  over  all  its  enemies  in 
Europe  it  prepared  to  enforce  its  authority 
in  America.  In  1650  an  ordinance  was 
passed  forbidding  all  intercourse  with  the 
colonies  that  had  adhered  to  the  Stuarts, 
except  by  the  especial  permission  of  Parlia- 
ment or  the  Council  of  State.  In  the  spring 
of  1652  more  energetic  measures  were  put  in 
force,  and  a  fleet  was  dispatched  to  America 
to  compel  the  submission  of  the  colonies. 
The  fleet  arrived  off  Jamestown.  No  resist- 
ance was  attempted,  for  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  commonwealth  were  in- 
structed to  grant  terms  honorable  to  both 
parties.  The  Virginians  were  prepared  to 
resist  any  attempt  to  force  them  into  submis- 
sion, but  they  were  disarmed  by  the  liberal 
spirit  with  which  the  commonwealth  met 
them,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  between 
England  and  Virginia,  as  equal  treating  with 
equal.     It  was  stipulated  : 

"  First. — That  this  should  be  considered  a 
voluntary  act,  not  forced  or  constrained  by  a 
conquest  upon  the  country ;  and  that  the 
colony  should  have  and  enjoy  such  freedoms 
and  privileges  as  belong  to  the  freeborn 
people  of  England. 

"  Secondly. — That  the  grand  assembly,  as 
formerly,  should  convene  and  transact  the 
affairs  of  Virginia,  doing  nothing  contrary'  to 


96 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


the  government  of  the  commonwealth  or  laws 
of  England. 

"  Thirdly.— That  there  should  be  a  full 
and  total  remission  of  all  acts,  words,  or  writ- 
ings against  the  Parliament. 

Demand  for  a  New  Charter. 

"  Fourthly. — That  Virginia  should  have 
her  ancient  bounds  and  limits,  granted  by  the 
charters  of  the  former  kings,  and  that  a  new 
charter  was  to  be  sought  from  Parliament  to 
that  effect,  against  such  as  had  trespassed 
against  their  ancient  rights. 

"  Fifthly. — That  all  patents  of  land  under 
the  seal  of  the  colony,  granted  by  the  gover- 
nor, should  remain  in  full  force. 

"  Sixthly. — That  the  privilege  of  fifty  acres 
of  land  for  every  person  emigrating  to  the 
colony  should  remain  in  full  force. 

"  Seventhly. — That  the  people  of  Virginia 
have  free  trade,  as  the  people  of  England 
enjoy,  with  all  places  and  nations,  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  commonwealth  ;  and  that 
Virginiashould  enjoyequal  privileges, inevery 
respect,  with  any  other  colony  in  America. 

"  Eighthly. — That  Virginia  should  be  free 
from  all  ta.xes,  customs,  and  impositions  what- 
soever; and  that  none  should  be  imposed 
upon  them  without  the  consent  of  their  grand 
assembly  ;  and  no  forts  or  castles  be  erected, 
or  garrison  maintained,  without  their  consent. 

"  Ninthly. — That  no  charge  should  be  re- 
quired from  the  country  on  account  of  the 
expense  incurred  in  the  present  fleet. 

"  Tenthly. — That  this  agreement  should 
be  tendered  to  all  persons,  and  that  such  as 
should  refuse  to  subscribe  to  it  should  have 
a  year's  time  to  remove  themselves  and 
effects  from  Virginia,  and  in  the  meantime 
enjoy  equal  justice." 

"  These  terms,"  says  Bancroft,  "  so  favor- 
able to  liberty,  and  almost  conceding  inde- 
pendence, were  faithfully  observed  until  the 
restoration.     Historians  have,  indeed,  drawn 


gloomy  pictures  of  the  discontent  which  per- 
vaded the  colony,  and  have  represented  the 
discontent  as  heightened  by  commercial  op- 
pression. The  statement  is  a  fiction.  The 
colony  of  Virginia  enjoyed  liberties  as 
large  as  the  favored  New  England ;  dis- 
played an  equal  degree  of  fondness  for  pop- 
ular sovereignty,  and  fearlessly  exercised 
political  independence." 

"  Old    Ironsides." 

Richard  Bennett,  one  of  the  commission- 
ers, wa?  chosen  governor  in  the  place  of 
Berkeley.  Until  now  it  had  been  customary 
for  the  governor  and  council  to  sit  in  the 
assembly,  and  take  part  in  the  debates.  Ob- 
jection was  now  made  to  their  presence,  and 
the  matter  was  compromised  by  obliging 
them  to  take  the  oath  required  of  the  bur- 
gesses. During  the  protectorate  Cromwell 
wisely  let  the  colony  alone.  He  appointed 
none  of  the  governors,  and  never  interfered 
with  the  management  of  its  affairs.  In  1658, 
Samuel  Mathews  being  governor,  the  assem- 
bly, on  the  first  of  April,  passed  alaw  exclud- 
ing the  governor  and  council  from  their 
sessions,  and  thus  secured  to  themselves  a 
free  and  uninterrupted  discussion  of  their 
measures.  The  governor  and  council  in  re- 
turn declared  the  assembly  dissolved,  but 
that  body  vindicated  its  authority  and  inde- 
pendence by  removing  the  governor  and 
council  and  compelled  them  to  submit 
They  were  then  re-elected  to  their  respective 
positions.  Thus  did  the  spirit  of  popular 
liberty  establish  all  its  claims. 

Upon  the  death  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  the 
burgesses  met  in  secret  session  and  decided 
to  recognize  Richard  Cromwell  as  protector. 
"  It  was  a  more  interesting  question  whether 
the  change  of  protector  in  England  would 
endanger  liberty  in  Virginia.  The  letter 
from  the  council  had  left  the  government  to 
be  administered  according  to  former  usage 


PROGRESS   OF  THE   VIRGINIA   COLONY 


97 


The  assembly  declared  itself  satisfied  with  I 
the  language.  But  that  there  might  be  no 
reason  to  question  the  existing  usage,  the 
governor  was  summoned  to  come  to  the 
house,  where  he  appeared  in  person,  deliber- 
ately acknowledged  the  supreme  power  of 
electing  officers  to  be,  by  the  present  laws, 
resident  in  the  assembly,  and  pledged  himself 
to  join  in  addressing  the  new  protector  for 
special  confirmation  of  all  existing  privileges. 
The  reason  for  this  extraordinary  proceeding 
is  assigned,  'that  what  was  their  privilege 
now,  might  be  the  privilege  of  their  pos- 
terity.' The  frame  of  the  Virginia  govern- 
ment was  deemed  worthy  of  being  transmit- 
ted to  remote  generations."  * 

Governor  Mathews  died  in  March,  1660, 
about  the  time  of  the  resignation  of  Richard 
Cromwell  in  England.  Both  the  mother 
country  and  the  colony  were  thus  left  without 
a  government.  In  this  emergency  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  Virginia  resolved  "  that  the 


supreme  government  of  this  country  shall 
be  resident  in  the  assembly,  and  all  writs 
shall  issue  in  its  name,  until  there  shall  arrive 
from  England  a  commission,  which  the  assem- 
bly itself  shall  adjudge  to  be  lawful." 

The  assembly  had  no  thought  of  asserting 
its  independence  of  England,  but  as  it  cher- 
ished the  earnest  hope  that  the  king  would 
be  restored  to  his  rights,  it  proceeded  to  fill 
the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Governor  Mathews  by  electing  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  the  devoted  partisan  of  the  Stuarts, 
governor  of  Virginia.  Berkeley  accepted 
the  office,  acknowledged  the  validity  of  the 
acts  of  the  assembly,  and  expressed  his  con- 
viction that  he  could  in  no  event  dissolve 
that  body.  "  I  am,"  said  he,  "  but  the  ser- 
vant of  the  assembly."  We  shall  see  in  the 
course  of  this  narrative  how  he  regarded  this 
promise  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events. 


*  History  of  the  United  States.     By  Geo.  Bancroft,  voL 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Vireinia  After  the  Restoration 


Characteristics  of  the  Virginians — Causes  of  the  Success  of  the  Royalists — Growth  of  the  Aristocratic  Class — ^Berkeley  De 
cides  Against  the  People — The  Aristocratic  iVssembly  Claims  the  Right  to  Sit  Perpetually — Deprives  the  Common  People 
of  Their  Liberties — Revival  of  the  NaWgation  Act  by  Charles  II. — The  King  Bestov^s  Virginia  as  a  Gift  Upon  His 
Favorites — Protests  of  the  Assembly — Growing  Hostility  of  the  Virginians  to  the  Colonial  Government — The  Indian 

War ^The  Governor  Refuses  to  Allow  the  Colonists  to  Defend  Themselves — Nathaniel  Bacon — He  Slarches  Against 

the  Indians — Rebellion  of  the  People  Against  Berkeley  and  the  Assembly — The  Convention — Repeal  of  the  Obnoxious 
Laws — Berkele)-'E  Duplicity — The  People  Take  Up  Arms — Flight  of  Berkeley — Destruction  of  Jamestoim — Death  of 
Bacon — Causes  of  the  Failure  of  the  Rebellion — Berkeley's  Triumph — Execution  of  the  Patriot  Leaders — Berkeley's 
Course  Condemned  by  the  King — Death  of  Berkeley — The  Unjust  Laws  Re-enacted — Lord  Culpepper  Govemor — His 
Extortions — ^James  II.  and  Virginia — Effects  Upon  Virginia  of  the  Revolution  of  l6S8 — William  and  Mary  College 
Founded. 


ON  the  eighth  of  May,  1660,  Charles 
II.  was  proclaimed  king  in  Eng- 
land, and  on  the  twenty-ninth 
made  his  entry  into  London.  The 
rebellion  and  the  commonwealth  had  pro- 
duced but  little  effect  upon  Virginia.  The 
restoration  was  productive  of  the  most  mo- 
mentous consequences  in  the  colony.  During 
the  long  period  of  the  commonwealth  Vir- 
ginia had  been  practically  independent.  The 
people  had  acquired  political  rights,  and  had 
exercised  them  with  prudence. 

The  colony  had  prospered  in  a  marked 
degree  under  the  blessings  of  popular  gov- 
ernment, and  the  rights  of  the  people  were 
jealously  guarded  by  their  legislators.  "  No 
trace  of  established  privilege  appeared  in  its 
code  or  its  government :  in  its  forms  and  in 
its  legislation  Virginia  was  a  representative 
democracy;  so  jealous  of  a  landed  aris- 
tocracy that  it  insisted  on  universality  of  suf- 
frage ;  so  hostile  to  the  influence  of  com- 
mercial wealth,  that  it  would  not  tolerate  the 
'  mercenary  '  ministers  of  the  law  ;  so  con- 
siderate for  religious  freedom,  that  each 
parish  was  left  to  take  care  of  Itself.  Every 
ofiicer  was,  directly  or  indirectly,  chosen  by 


the  people."*  The  restoration  was  to  change 
all  this. 

The  society  of  Virginia  was  oeculiar.  The 
colony  had  been  settled  by  adventurers  un- 
der circumstances  which  compelled  equality 
among  all  classes  of  its  people.  Thus  there 
had  grown  up  a  strong  population  born  to 
the  enjoyment  of  this  equalit}%  and  devoted 
to  its  maintenance.  They  constituted  the 
bulk  of  the  inhabitants.  By  degrees  there 
had  sprung  up  a  colonial  aristocracy  com- 
posed of  the  large  landholders.  These  were 
persons  of  culture,  many  of  whom  had  been 
men  of  position  and  education  in  England. 
The  laws  favored  the  accumulation  of  large 
estates,  and  the  possession  of  them  awakened 
feelings  of  family  pride. 

The  large  emigration  of  men  of  rank  and 
culture  at  the  overthrow  of  Charles  I.  greatly 
increased  this  class.  The  existence  of  an 
established  church  gave  it  another  element 
of  strength,  since  the  interests  of  the  state 
church  and  the  aristocracy  are  always  identi- 
cal. Education  was  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  landholding  class,  and  with  this  never- 


■o//'s  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  p. 


VIRGINIA   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


99 


failing  weapon  in  their  grasp  they  soon  ob- 
tained the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the 
colony,  and  retained  it.  Unfortunately  for 
Virginia,  the  mass  of  the  people  had  no 
means  of  acquiring  knowledge.  There  were 
no  common  schools  in  the  colony.  In  167 1 , 
Sir  William  Berkeley  wrote :  "  Every  man 
instructs  his  children  according  to  his 
ability."  He  added:  "I  thank  God  there 
are  no  free  schools  nor  printing,  and  I  hope 
we  shall  not  have  these  hundred  years  ;  for 
learning  has  brought  disobedience  and  heresy 
and  sects  into  the  world,  and  printing  has 
divulged  them  and  libels  against  the  best 
government.  God  keep  us  from  both ! " 
Thus  were  the  common  people  doomed  to 
hopeless  ignorance,  and  left  helpless  and  at 
the  mercy  of  the  smaller  but  educated  class. 
There  was  no  printing  press  in  Virginia,  and 
the  colony  remained  without  one  until  nearly 
a  centur)'  after  New  England  had  enjoyed 
its  benefits. 

An  Element  of  Weakness. 

Bitterly  did  the  people  of  Virginia  atone 
for  their  neglect  of  their  best  interests.  They 
had  shown  at  the  first  the  power  of  creating 
free  institutions  ;  but  these  institutions  cannot 
be  preser\-ed  among  an  ignorant  people. 
Freedom  and  intelligence  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  institution  of  negro  slavery  was  another 
element  of  weakness  and  degradation.  Labor 
was  debased  in  the  eyes  of  the  whites  by 
being  made  the  task  of  a  slave,  when  it  should 
have  been  the  glory  of  a  freeman.  The  in- 
stitution served  to  confirm  the  power  of  the 
landed  aristocracy,  while  it  sank  the  common 
people  deeper  into  ignorance. 

Thus  when  Sir  William  Berkeley  entered 
upon  his  second  term  of  office,  at  the  period 
of  the  restoration,  there  were  two  elements, 
by  nature  hostile  to  each  other,  contending 
for  the  control  of  the  colony — a  people  eager 
for  the  enjoyment  of  popular  liberty,  but 


sinking  deeper  into  ignorance  and  helpless- 
ness, and  a  rising  aristocracy,  composed  of 
men  of  wealth  and  education,  and  united  by 
a  common  interest.  Unhappily  for  the 
people,  the  governor  was  a  natural  aristocrat. 
In  spite  of  his  professions  of  loyalty  to  the 
assembly,  he  regarded  the  people  with  con- 
tempt, and  could  never  tolerate  the  exercise 
of  the  least  of  their  rights. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rejoicings  in  Virginia 
which  hailed  the  return  of  Charles  II.  to  the 


KING   CHARLES   11. 

throne  of  his  fathers,  Berkeley  took  a  decisive 
stand,  and  boldly  declared  that  he  was 
governor  of  Virginia,  not  by  the  election  of 
the  assembly,  but  by  virtue  of  his  commission 
from  the  king.  At  the  same  time  he  issued 
writs  for  the  election  of  a  new  assembly  in 
the  name  of  King  Charles.  Popular  sover- 
eignty was  struck  dead  in  Virginia.  The 
new  assembly  met  in  March,  1661.     It  was 


lOo  SETTLEMENT 

composed  exclusively  of  landholdeis.  Until 
now  the  assembly  had  been  elected  for  but  a 
single  year,  and  its  members  were  chosen  by 
the  people.  This  first  aristocratic  assembly, 
true  to  its  instincts,  at  a  blow  deprived  the 
people  of  the  right  of  choosing  their  repre- 
sentatives, by  assuming  to  itself  the  power  to 
sit  perpetually. 

Sustained  by  the  governor,  the  burgesses 
were  enabled  to  continue  their  usurpation 
for  fourteen  years,  and  only  yielded  to  an  in- 
surrection. The  salaries  of  the  members 
were  paid  by  tiieir  respective  counties,  and 
the  house,  in  1662.  passed  a  law  regulating 
the  pay  and  allowances  of  its  members.  The 
compensation  was  fixed  at  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  of  tobacco  per  day,  or  about 
nine  dollars-^-a  rate  deemed  enormous  in 
these  days  of  abundant  wealth,  and  utterly 
unsuited  to  the  period  of  poverty  and  struggle 
we  are  considering.  In  order  to  perpetuate 
its  power,  the  assembly  repealed  the  laws 
giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to  every  citizen, 
and  confined  it  to  freeholders  and  house- 
keepers. 

Laws  Against  the  Quakers. 

Nor  did  the  assembly  neglect  to  provide 
for  the  church.  Conformity  was  required 
by  severe  laws.  Every  inhabitant  of  the 
colony  was  compelled  to  attend  its  services 
and  to  contribute  a  fixed  sum  to  its  support. 
The  assessment  of  parish  taxes  was  intrusted 
to  twelve  vestrymen  in  each  parish,  who  had 
power  to  fill  all  vacancies  in  their  number. 
They  thus  became  practically  a  close  corpo- 
ration, responsible  to  no  one  for  their  acts. 
Rigorous  laws  were  directed  against  the 
Quakers.  They  were  forbidden  to  hold  their 
own  religious  assemblies,  and  their  absence 
from  church  was  punished  by  a  heavy  fine. 
In  September,  1663,  the  house  expelled  one 
of  its  members  "  because  he  was  well 
affected  to  the  Quakers." 


OF   AMERICA.. 

•'  The  organization  of  the  judiciary  plac^'l 
thai  department  of  the  government  almost 
beyond  the  control  of  the  people.  The  gov- 
ernor and  council  were  the  highest  ordinary 
tribunal,  and  these  were  all  appointed,  directly 
or  indirectly,  by  the  crown.  Besides  this, 
there  were  in  each  county  eight  unpaid 
justices  of  the  peace,  commissioned  by  the 
governor  during  his  pleasure.  These  justices 
held  monthly  courts  in  their  respective  coun- 
ties. Thus  the  administration  of  justice  in 
the  counties  was  in  the  hands  of  persons 
holding  their  offices  at  the  good  will  of  the 
governor;  while  the  governor  himself  and 
his  executive  council  constituted  the  general 
court,  and  had  cognizance  of  all  sorts  of  causes. 

Religious  Liberty  Destroyed. 

"  Was  an  appeal  made  to  chancery  it  was 
but  for  another  hearing  before  the  same  men  ; 
and  it  was  only  for  a  few  years  longer  that 
appeals  were  permitted  from  the  general 
court  to  the  assembly.  The  place  of  sheriff 
in  each  county  was  conferred  on  one  of  the 
justices  for  that  county,  and  so  devolved  to 
everycommissioner  in  course.  *  *  =»=  But 
the  county  courts,  thus  independent  of  the 
people,  possessed  and  exercised  the  arbitrary 
power  of  levying  county  taxes,  which,  in 
their  amount,  usually  exceeded  the  public 
levy.  This  system  proceeded  so  far  that  the 
commissioners,  of  themselves,  levied  taxes  to 
meet  their  own  expenses.  In  like  manner, 
the  self-perpetuating  vestries  made  out  their 
lists  of  tithablcs,  and  assessed  taxes  without 
regard  to  the  consent  of  the  parish.  These 
private  levies  were  unequal  and  oppressive, 
were  seldom — it  is  said,  never — brought  to 
audit,  and  were,  in  some  cases,  managed  by 
men  who  combined  to  defraud  the  public."  * 

These  were  the  effects  upon  Virginia  of 
the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne 


*History        the    United  States.     By  George  Bancroft, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.,  204« 


VIRGINIA   AFTER   THE    RESTORATION. 


of  England.  The  guarantee  which  a  frequent 
renewal  of  the  assembly  secured  to  the  rights 
cf  the  people  was  removed  by  the  peifpetu- 
ation  of  that  body.  The  right  of  suffrage — 
the  sole  protection  of  the  liberties  of  a  free 
people — was  taken  from  a  majority  of  the 
^habitants  of  the  province.  Religious  lib- 
erty, which  it  was  fondly  believed  had  been 
established,  was  struck  down  at  a  single 
blow.  A  system  of  arbitrary  taxation  by 
irresponsible  magistrates  was  set  up  in  the 
place  of  the  carefully  scrutinized  levies  of 
the  representatives  of  the  people.  Education 
was  discouraged  and  the  press  regarded  with 
hostility.  Ignorance,  with  all  its  accompany- 
ing evils,  was  fastened  upon  the  colony.  Ten 
years  sufficed  to  accomplish  these  changes; 
but  it  took  more  than  a  centurj'-  for  the  people 
of  Virginia  to  recover  their  lost  rights. 

An  Infamous  Law. 

Charles  II.  remembered  the  loyalty  of 
Virginia  only  in  his  adversity.  One  of  his 
first  acts  was  to  revive  in  a  more  odious  form 
the  navigation  act,  which  had  originated  in  the 
Long  Parliament  as  a  measure  for  compelling 
the  submission  of  the  colonies  to  the  authority 
of  the  commonwealth.  In  1660,  a  new  and 
enlarged  navigation  act  was  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment. It  forbade  foreign  vessels  to  trade  with 
the  colonies,  and  required  colonists  to  ship 
certain  "  enumerated  articles,  such  as  sugar, 
tobacco,  cotton,  wool,  ginger  or  dyewoods  " 
produced  in  the  colony,  to  England  alone. 

This  act  bore  very  hard  upon  Virginia,  as 
it  gave  to  the  English  merchants  the  monop- 
oly of  her  tobacco  trade.  The  merchants 
were  thus  enabled  to  regulate  the  price  of 
the  commodity,  and  to  supply  the  wants  of 
the  colonists  in  return  upon  their  own  terms. 
Efforts  were  made  to  evade  this  iniquitous 
law,  but  it  remained  fastened  upon  the  colo- 
nies, and  was  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  out- 
rages. 


Charles  was  not  satisfied  with  crippling 
the  industry  of  the  colony  that  had  remained 
faithful  to  him  in  his  adversity.  In  order 
to  please  his  worthless  favorites  at  home  he 
consented  to  plunder  the  Virginians  of  their 
property.  In  1649,  a  patent  was  granted  to  a 
company  of  cavaliers  for  the  region  lying  be- 
tween the  Rappahannock  and  the  Potomac, 
and  known  in  Virginia  as  the  Northern  Neck. 
It  was  intended  to  make  this  region  a  refuge 
for  their  partisans,  but  the  design  was  never 
carried  out.  Other  settlers  located  them- 
selves there,  and  in  1669  it  contained  a  num- 
ber of  thriving  plantations.  In  the  latter  year 
Lord  Culpepper,  one  of  the  most  avaricious 
men  in  England,  obtained  from  the  king  a  pat- 
ent for  the  Northern  Neck,  having  previously 
acquired  all  the  shares  of  the  company  to 
whom  the  grant  of  1649  had  been  made. 
This  patent  was  in  direct  violation  of  the 
rights  of  the  actual  settlers,  and  boie  very 
hard  upon  them.  But  it  was  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  next  gift  of  the  king.  Id 
1673,  he  bestowed,  as  a  free  gift,  upon  Lord 
Culpepper  and  the  Earl  of  Arlington,  "  all  the 
dominion  of  land  and  water  called  Virginia," 
for  a  term  of  thirty-one  years. 

Firm   Remonstrance. 

Even  the  aristocratic  assembly  was  startled 
by  this  summary  disposal  of  the  colony  and 
commissioners  were  sent  to  England  to  re- 
monstrate with  the  king.  "We  are  unwill- 
ing," the  assembly  declared,  "  and  conceive 
that  we  ought  not  to  submit  to  those  to  whom 
his  majesty,  upon  misinformation,  hath 
granted  the  dominion  over  us,  who  do  most 
contentedly  pay  to  his  majesty  more  than  we 
have  ourcelves  for  our  labor.  Whilst  we 
labor  for  the  advantage  of  the  crown,  and  do 
wish  we  could  be  more  advantageous  to  the 
king  and  nation,  we  humbly  request  not  to 
be  subjected  to  our  fellow-subjects,  but,  for 
the  future,  to  be   secured   from  our  fears  of- 


102  SETTLEMENT 

being  enslaved."  The  commissioners  were 
granted  no  satisfaction  in  England,  and  the 
efforts  of  the  colony  to  obtain  jastice  at  the 
hands  of  the  king  failed. 

General  Discontent. 

Virginia  at  this  time  was  a  sparsely  settled 
province.  Jamestown  was  the  only  town 
deserving  the  name  within  the  limits  of  the 
colony.  The  inhabitants  were  scattered  over 
the  country,  separated  from  each  other. 
They  dwelt  on  their  farms  and  plantations, 
coming  together  rarely  except  on  Sundays, 
on  court-days,  and  at  elections.  This  soli- 
tary life  taught  them  independence  and  self- 
reliance.  They  were  proud  of  their  personal 
liberty,  and  so  long  as  this  was  not  taken 
from  them  they  were  willing  to  submit  to 
almost  any  form  of  government  that  might 
be  imposed  upon  them.  The  truth  is  that 
until  the  restoration  the  Virginians  were  not 
accustomed  to  being  governed  much.  The 
measures  of  the  royalist  governor  and  assem- 
bly greatly  curtailed  the  freedom  which  the 
people  had  enjoyed  under  their  former 
governments,  and  the  imposition  of  new  bur- 
dens upon  them  aroused  a  general  discon- 
tent. 

Men  began  to  come  together  to  discuss 
their  wrongs,  and  the  hostility  to  the  aristo- 
cratic party  and  the  governor  increased 
rapidly,  so  rapidly,  indeed,  that  the  people 
were  ripe  for  insurrection  in  1674,  and  would 
have  risen  in  revolt  had  not  some  of  the 
cooler  heads  induced  them  to  try  more 
peaceful  measures  of  redress.  Still  the  taxes 
were  continued  at  such  a  rate  that  the  col- 
onists were  driven  to  desperation.  They 
complained,  with  justice,  that  they  were  de- 
prived of  all  the  fruits  of  their  labors  by  the 
iniquitous  levies  made  upon  them,  and  their 
complaints,  instead  of  producing  a  change 
for  the  better,  merely  brought  an  increase  of 
their  burdens.     At  length  their  patience  was 


OF   AMERICA. 

exhausted,  and  they  only  lacked  an  excuse 
for  taking  up  arms.  The  opportunity  soon 
came.  In  the  meantime  the  governor  and 
the  assembly,  with  characteristic  contempt 
for  the  commons,  went  on  e.xtorting  money 
from  the  people  by  unjust  taxes  principally 
for  their  own  benefit,  and  put  in  successive 
operation  the  measures  we  have  already 
described  for  strengthening  their  own  power 
and  reducing  the  people  to  subjection  to 
them. 

Six  Chiefs  Murdered. 

The  people  of  Maryland  had  become  in- 
volved in  a  war  with  the  Susquehannah 
Indians  and  their  confederates,  and  the 
struggle  was  so  serious  that  the  savages  ex- 
tended their  depredations  to  the  Potomac, 
and  even  to  the  limits  of  Virginia.  To  guard 
against  this  danger  the  border  militia  were 
set  to  watch  the  line  of  the  river,  and  in  1675 
a  body  of  them,  under  Colonel  John  Wash- 
ington, crossed  over  into  Maryland  to  help 
the  people  of  that  colony.  This  John 
Washington  had  emigrated  from  the  north 
of  England  about  eighteen  years  before,  and 
had  settled  in  Westmoreland  County.  He 
became  the  great-grandfather  of  George 
Washington.  The  war  was  conducted  with 
great  fury  on  both  sides.  Six  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  Susquehannah  tribe  at  length  came 
into  the  camp  of  the  Virginians  to  treat  for 
peace,  and  were  treacherously  murdered. 

This  barbarous  act  aroused  the  indignation 
of  Governor  Berkeley.  "  If  they  had  killed 
my  father  and  my  mother,  and  all  my 
friends,"  said  he,  "  yet  if  they  had  come  to 
treat  of  peace,  they  ought  to  have  gone  in 
peace."  The  massacre  was  bloodily  avenged 
by  the  Indians.  The  Susquehannahs  im- 
mediately crossed  the  Potomac  and  waged  a 
relentless  warfare  along  the  borders  of  Vir- 
ginia until  they  had  slain  ten  whites  for  each 
one  of  their   chiefs,  a   sacrifice   required  of 


I  mi 


^adLl 


103 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


them  by  the  customs  of  their  tribe,  in  order 
that  the  spirits  of  their  braves  might  rest  in 
peace.  The  people  appealed  to  the  governor 
for  protection,  but  Berkeley  refused  to  grant 
them  aid.  It  is  said  that  he  was  too  deeply 
interested  in  the  fur  trade  to  be  willing  to 
offend  the  Indians  by  aiding  his  people. 
The  colonists  then  demanded  permission  to 
defend  themselves,  to  invade  the  Indian 
country,  and  drive  the  savages  farther  into 
the  interior.  This  was  also  refused,  and 
during  all  this  time  the  frontier  was  suffering 
fearfully  from  the  outrages  of  Berkeley's  In- 
dian friends. 

A  Patriotic  Leader. 

At  last  the  patience  of  the  people  was  e.x- 
hausted.  A  leader  was  at  hand  in  the  person 
of  Nathaniel  Bacon.  He  was  a  young 
planter  of  the  county  of  Henrico,  a  native  of 
England,  and  a  lawyer  by  profession.  He 
was  ardent  in  temper,  eloquent  and  per- 
suasive in  speech,  winning  in  manner,  a  true 
patriot,  and  possessed  of  the  firmness  and 
decision  necessary  in  a  leader  of  a  popular 
movement.  He  had  been  reared  in  England 
amid  the  struggles  which  ushered  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  commonwealth,  and  had 
learned  the  lesson  of  freedom  too  well  to 
forget  it  in  a  home  where  every  incident  of 
his  daily  life  required  the  exercise  of  the  best 
qualities  of  his  nature.  His  love  of  repub- 
licanism had  gained  him  the  dislike  of 
Governor  Berkeley,  who  hated  any  man  that 
dared  to  criticise  his  tyranny.  The  same 
principles  which  made  him  obnoxious  to  the 
governor  won  him  the  affectionate  confidence 
of  the  people  of  Virginia,  who  were  quick  to 
recognize  their  true  friend. 

When  volunteers  began  to  offer  them- 
selves for  the  war  against  the  Indians  they 
petitioned  the  governor  to  commission  Bacon 
their  commander-in-chief  This  Berkeley 
refused,  declaring  that  he  would  not  counte- 


nance such  presumption  on  the  part  of  the 
"  common  people."  In  the  meantime  the 
murders  continued,  and  Bacon,  who  shared 
the  indignation  of  the  people,  determined 
that  if  another  man  was  slain  he  would 
march  the  militia  against  the  Indians  without 
a  commission.  Almost  immediately  several 
of  his  own  men  were  murdered  on  his  own 
plantation  near  the  falls  of  the  James.  He 
at  once  gave  the  signal.  Five  hundred  men 
were  soon  under  arms,  and  Bacon  was  made 
their  leader.  About  the  twentieth  of  April, 
1676,  he  set  out  on  his  march  against  the 
savages,  whom  he  chastised  and  drove  back 
into  the  interior. 

The  people  were  in  arms,  and  they  were 
not  disposed  to  lay  down  their  weapons  until 
their  grievances  were  redressed.  The  quarrel 
was  not  with  the  Indians,  but  with  the 
government.  As  soon  as  Bacon  had  begun 
his  march  into  the  Indian  country,  Berkeley 
denounced  him  as  a  traitor,  and  his  followers 
as  rebels,  and  ordered  them  to  disperse.  He 
was  obeyed  by  some  who  feared  the  loss  of 
their  property,  but  the  populous  counties 
bordering  the  bay  answered  him  by  joining 
the  insurrection. 

The  Assembly  Dissolved. 

The  people  of  the  colony  with  one  voice 
demanded  the  dissolution  of  the  assembly, 
which  had  unlawfully  maintained  its  exist- 
ence for  fourteen  years.  Opposed  by  the 
entire  people  the  governor  was  compelled  to 
yield.  The  assembly  had  fairly  earned  the 
universal  hatred  with  which  it  was  regarded 
by  its  selfishness  and  its  hostility  to  popular 
liberty.  It  was  dissolved,  and  writs  were 
issued  for  a  new  election.  Among  the  new 
members  elected  was  Bacon,  who  was  re- 
turned from  the  county  of  Henrico. 

The  new  assembly  was  naturally  favorable 
to  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  it  at  once 
proceeded    to    rectify   many  of    the  abuses 


VIRGINIA   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


I  OS 


which  had  produced  the  insurrection.  Taxes 
were  adjusted  more  equitably;  the  right  of 
sutfi  iji-  was  rcstoied  to  the  pcoplt. ,  the 
ni   u    >  '         '    fb      1  1    f    1  It    m   which  it 


vestries  was  broken  by  hmiting  their  term  of 
office  to  three  years,  and  giving  the  election 
of  th^se  officnK  to  tht,  fieemen  of  tlic  parish, 

1  j;mi       I     n    >   -.t\  vT^nif    In      Mi    ul  past 


was  believed  the  governor  was  deeply  inter- 
ested, was  suspended  ;  many  of  the  evils  con- 
nected with  the  expenditure  of  the  public 
funds  were  corrected  ;  the  power  of  the  parish 


offences;  and  Bacon,  amid  the  rejoicings 
of  the  people,  was  elected  commander  of 
the  army  destined  to  act  against  the 
Indians. 


io6 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


These  measures  were  utterly  distasteful  to 
the  haught}'  old  governor.  He  refused  to 
give  them  his  sanction,  or  to  sign  the  com- 
mission ordered  for  Bacon  by  the  assembly. 
Fearful  of  treachery  Bacon  withdrew  from 
the  capital.  The  people  quickly  rallied  to 
his  support,  and  in  a  few  days  he  entered 
Jamestown  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men. 
Berkeley,  who  was  as  courageous  as  he  was 
obstinate,  met  him,  and  baring  his  breast 
said,  haughtily,  "  A  fair  mark ;  shoot !  " 
Bacon  answered  him  calmly,  "  I  will  not 
hurt  a  hair  of  your  head,  or  of  any  man's  ; 
we  are  come  for  the  commission  to  save  our 
lives  from  the  Indians."  The  governor  was 
at  length  obliged  to  yield.  The  commission 
was  issued,  the  acts  of  the  assembly  were 
ratified,  and  Berkeley  joined  the  assembly 
and  council  in  sending  to  England  an  in- 
dorsement of  the  loyalt}%  patriotism,  and 
energy  of  Bacon.  This  consent  was  given 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  or,  according 
to  the  new  style  of  calculation,  on  the  fourth 
of  July,  1676,  just  one  hundred  years  before 
the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Hunted  Like  a  Wolf. 
Bacon  at  once  marched  against  the  In- 
dians, and  in  a  brilliant  and  successful  cam- 
paign broke  their  power,  and  gave  peace  and 
security  to  the  frontier.  In  the  midst  of  these 
honorable  labors  he  was  again  assailed  by 
Berkeley,  who  Lad  only  consented  to  the 
reconciliation  to  gain  time.  The  governor 
withdrew  from  Jamestown  to  Gloucester, 
which  was  the  most  populous  and  the  most 
loyal  county  of  Virginia,  He  summoned  a 
convention  of  the  inhabitants,  and  renewed 
his  efforts  against  Bacon.  The  people  of 
Gloucester,  justly  regarding  Bacon  as  the 
defender  of  the  colony,  opposed  the  gov- 
ernor's proposals,  but  he  persisted  in  spite  of 
their  advice,  and  again  proclaimed  Bacon  a 
traitor. 


This  inexcusable  pursuit  of  a  man  who 
had  rendered  nothing  but  good  service  to 
the  colony  aroused  the  indignation  of  the 
troops.  "  It  vexes  me  to  the  heart,"  said 
Bacon,  "  that  while  I  am  hunting  the  wolves 
and  tigers  that  destroy  our  lambs  I  should 
myself  be  pursued  as  a  savage.  Shall  per- 
sons wholly  devoted  to  their  king  and 
country — men  hazarding  their  lives  against 
the  public  enemy — deserve  the  appellation 
of  rebels  and  traitors  ?  The  whole  country 
is  witness  to  our  peaceable  behavior.  But 
those  in  authority,  how  have  they  obtained 
their  estates  ?  Have  they  not  devoured  the 
common  treasury  ?  What  arts,  what  sciences, 
what  schools  of  learning,  have  they  pro- 
moted ?  I  appeal  to  the  king  and  Parlia- 
ment, where  the  cause  of  the  people  will  be 
heard  impartially." 

Bacon  appealed  to  the  people  of  Virginia 
to  unite  for  the  defence  of  their  liberties 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  governor.  They 
responded  to  this  call  with  enthusiasm,  and 
a  convention  of  the  most  eminent  men  in 
the  colony  assembled  at  Middle  Plantations, 
now  Williamsburg,  on  the  third  of  August, 
1676.  It  was  resolved  by  the  convention  to 
sustain  Bacon  with  the  whole  power  of  the 
colony  in  the  campaign  against  the  Indians.  If 
the  governor  persisted  in  his  attempt  to  hunt 
him  as  a  traitor,  the  members  of  the  convention 
pledged  themselves  to  defend  Bacon  with 
arms,  even  against  the  royal  troops,  until  an 
appeal  could  be  made  to  the  king  in  person. 
The  people  of  Virginia  were  fully  resolved 
to  protect  themselves  against  the  tyranny  of 
Berkeley,  and  Bacon,  strengthened  by  their 
indorsement  of  his  course,  finished  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Indians.  Governor  Berke- 
ley withdrew  across  the  bay  to  the  eastern 
shore,  and  there  collected  a  force  of  sailors 
belonging  to  some  English  vessels  and  a  band 
of  worthless  Indians.  With  this  force, 
"  men  of  a  base  and  cowardly  disposition, 


VIRGINIA   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


107 


allured  by  the  passion  for  plunder,"  he  pre- 
pared to  return  to  Jamestown. 

The  people  decided  to  regard  the  retreat 
of  the  governor  as  an  abdication  on  his  part 
of  his  office.  The  ten  years  for  which  he 
had  been  appointed  had  expired,  and  the 
colonial  records  afforded  a  precedent  for  his 
removal.  Bacon  and  four  others,  who  had 
been  members  of  the  council,  issued  writs 
for  the  election  of  a  representative  conven- 
tion to  which  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  colony  was  to  be  committed. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  royalists  the 
whole  people  of  Virginia  indorsed  the  move- 
ment ;  the  women  were  enthusiastic,  and 
urged  their  husbands  to  risk  everything,  even 
life,  in  defence  of  their  liberties. 

Early  in  September  Sir  William  Berkeley 
reached  Jamestown  with  the  rabble  which  he 
called  his  army.  He  took  possession  of  the 
town  without  resistance,  and  was  joined  by  a 
number  of  royalists.  He  offered  freedom  to 
the  slaves  of  the  Virginians  who  were  opposed 
to  him  on  the  condition  of  their  joining  his 
ranks.  Bacon  and  his  party  were  again  pro- 
claimed traitors  and  rebels. 

The  People  Fly  to  Arms. 
The  people  at  once  flew  to  arms,  and 
Bacon  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
little  army  that  had  been  so  successful  against 
the  Indians.  Without  delay  they  marched 
to  Jamestown.  The  resistance  attempted  by 
Berkeley's  cowardly  followers  was  feeble, 
and  the  whole  force,  including  their  leader, 
retreated  to  their  ships,  and  dropped  down 
the  river  by  night.  The  next  morning  the 
army  of  the  people  entered  Jamestown.  It 
was  rumored  that  a  party  of  royalists  was 
marching  from  the  northern  counties  to  the 
support  of  Berkeley,  and  a  council  was  held 
^to  decide  upon  the  fate  of  the  capital.  It 
was  agreed  that  it  should  be  burned  to  pre- 
vent it  from  being  used  as  a  stronghold  for 


their  enemies.  The  torch  was  applied ; 
Drummond  and  Lawrence,  leaders  of  the 
popular  party,  set  fire  to  their  dwellings  with 
their  own  hands  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  only  a 
heap  of  smouldering  ruins  marked  the  site  of 
the  first  capital  of  Virginia.  Its  destruction 
left  the  colony  without  a  single  town  within 
its  limits. 

From  the  ruins  of  Jamestown  Bacon 
marched  promptly  to  meet  the  royalist  force 
advancing  from  the  Rappahannock  region. 
The  latter  in  a  body  joined  the  army  of  the 
people,  and  even  the  county  of  Gloucester, 
the  stronghold  of  royalty,  gave  its  adhesion 
to  the  patriotic  movement.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  eastern  shore  the  entire  colony 
was  united  in  support  of  the  cause  of  popular 
liberty. 

Untimely  Death  of  Bacon. 

Unhappily,  at  this  critical  juncture,  Bacon 
was  seized  with  a  fatal  fever,  of  which 
he  died  on  the  first  of  October,  1676.  His 
followers  grieved  for  him  with  passionate 
sorrow,  and  with  good  cause.  It  has  been 
the  good  fortune  of  Virginia  to  give  many 
great  names  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  but  in 
all  the  immortal  roll  there  are  none  who  sur- 
passed Nathaniel  Bacon  in  pure  and  disin- 
terested patriotism.  Others  were  permitted 
to  accomplish  more,  but  none  cherished 
loftier  aims  or  desired  more  earnestly  the 
good  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  death  of  Bacon  left  the  popular  party 
without  a  head ;  and  now  began  to  be  seen 
for  the  first  time  in  Virginia  the  evils  which 
the  neglect  of  education  must  produce  in  a 
community.  The  Virginians  were  not  lack- 
ing in  courage,  determination,  or  devotion  to 
their  liberties,  and  their  cause  was  one  cal- 
culated to  succeed  without  leaders.  In  an 
educated  community  there  would  have  been 
no  lack  of  union  or  perseverance  because  of 
the  death  of  one  man,  and  the  people  would 


loS 


SETTLICMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


have  found  the  means  to  continue  their 
struggle  until  successful.  In  the  uneducated 
Virginian  community  of  1676  the  presence 
of  a  bold,  capable,  and  resolute  leader  was  a 
necessity,  and  his  sudden  removal  left  the 
popular  party  helpless.  The  grand  struggle 
degenerated  into  a  series  of  petty  insurrec- 
lons  ;  the  royalists  took  heart,  and  Robert 
Beverley,  their  most  competent  leader,  was 
able  to  destroy  in  detail  the  resistance  of  the 
patriots  and  to  restore  the  supremacy  of 
Berkeley. 

A  Woman's  Self-Sacrifice. 

The  governor  now  proceeded  to  take  a 
summary  vengeance  upon  the  patriots,  and 
more  than  twenty  of  the  best  men  of  the 
colony  gave  their  lives  on  the  scaffold  for 
ihe  liberties  of  their  country.  The  first  of 
these  martyrs  for  freedom — the  first  Ameri- 
can to  die  for  the  right  of  the  people  to  govern 
themselves — was  Thomas  Hansford,  a  Vir- 
ginian born,  and  a  noble  specimen  of  the 
chivalrous  sons  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

The  wife  of  Edmund  jChcesman,  upon  the 
capture  of  her  husband,  flung  herself  at  the 
governor's  feet,  and  declaring  that  her  ex- 
hortations had  induced  her  husband  to  join 
Bacon,  begged  to  be  allowed  to  die  in  his 
place.  The  brutal  Berkeley  repelled  the 
heroic  woman  with  a  gross  insult.  When 
Drummond  was  taken  and  brought  before 
him  the  governor  received  him  with  mock 
courtesy.  "  I  am  more  glad  to  see  you,"  he 
said,  "than  any  man  in  Virginia;  you  shall 
be  hanged  in  half  an  hour."  The  royalist 
assembly,  horrified  at  the  cruelty  of  the  gov- 
•■rnor,  appealed  to  him  to  "  spill  no  more 
blood."  The  property  of  the  victims  was 
confiscated,  and  their  helpless  families  were 
turned  out  upon  the  charities  of  the  people 
for  whom  the  martyrs  had  died.  Not  con- 
tent with  these  cruelties  Berkeley  attempted 
to  silence  the  people,  and  prevent  them  from 


either  censuring  him  or  vindicating  the 
memory  of  their  dead  heroes.  Whoever 
should  speak  ill  of  Berkeley  or  his  friends 
was  to  be  whipped. 

At  last  the  end  came,  and  Berkeley  re- 
turned to  England.  His  departure  was 
celebrated  with  rejoicings  throughout  the 
colony;  bells  were  rung,  guns  were  fired, 
and  bonfires  blazed.  Berkeley  hoped  to  be 
able  to  justify  his  conduct  in  England,  but 
upon  his  arrival  in  that  country  he  found  his 
course  sternly  condemned  by  the  voice  of 
public  opinion.  Even  Charles  II.  censured 
him  with  all  the  energy  that  soulless  monarch 
was  master  of  "  The  old  fool,"  said  the 
king,  "has  taken  away  more  lives  in  that- 
naked  land  than  I  for  the  murder  of  my 
father."  His  disappointment  and  mortifica- 
tion were  too  much  for  the  proud  man,  and 
he  died  soon  after  his  arrival  in  England. 

Revival  of  Abuses. 

The  failure  of  Bacon's  rebellion  brought 
many  serious  misfortunes  to  Virginia.  The 
insurrection  was  made  the  excuse  by  the 
king  for  refusing  a  liberal  charter,  and  the 
colony  was  made  dependent  for  its  rights 
and  privileges  entirely  upon  the  royal  will. 
The  assembly  was  composed  almost  ex- 
clusively of  royalists,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  undo  the  work  of  the  popular  party.  All 
the  laws  of  Bacon's  assembly  were  repealed; 
the  right  of  suffrage  was  restricted  to  free- 
holders, and  the  iniquitous  taxes  were  re- 
imposed.  All  the  abuses  that  had  led  to  the 
rebellion  were  revived. 

In  1677  Lord  Culpepper,  one  of  the  favor- 
ites to  whom  Charles  II.  had  granted  Vir- 
ginia, was  appointed  governor  of  the  colony 
for  life.  The  new  governor  regarded  his 
office  as  a  sinecure,  and  while  receiving  its 
emoluments  desired  to  remain  in  England  to 
enjoy  them.  In  16S0,  however,  the  king 
compelh  d  him  to  rciiair  to  his  eovernment 


VIRGINIA   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


109. 


in  person.  He  brought  with  him  authority  I 
from  the  sovereign  to  settle  all  past  griev- 
ances, but  he  used  this  power  for  his  own 
profit.  He  extorted  money  from  all  parties, 
and  when  he  had  acquired  a  considerable 
sum  returned  to  England,  having  spent  less 
than  a  year  in  Virginia.  He  left  the  colony 
in  the  greatest  distress.  The  Virginians, 
robbed  of  the  profits  of  their  labors  for  the 
enrichment  of  their  rulers,  were  reduced  to 
despair.  Riots  took  place  in  various  places, 
-  and  the  whole  colony  was  on  the  verge  of 
insurrection. 

A  Plunderer. 
Rumors  of  these  disturbances  having 
reached  England  the  king  ordered  Culpepper 
to  return  and  reduce  the  colony  to  obedience. 
He  did  so,  and  caused  several  influential  men 
to  be  hanged  as  traitors,  and  used  the  power 
intrusted  to  him  to  wrest  from  the  council 
the  last  remnant  of  its  authority  to  control 
his  outrages  upon  the  people.  This  accom- 
plished, he  proceeded  to  force  the  settlers  of 
the  Northern  Neck  to  surrender  their  planta-  1 
tions  to  him,  or  pay  him  the  sums  he  de- 
manded for  the  privilege  of  retaining  them. 

He  found  his  residence  among  a  people  he 
had  come  to  plunder  very  disagreeable,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  returned  to 
England  amid  the  bitter  curses  of  the  Vir- 
ginians. The  council  reported  the  distress 
of  the  province  to  the  king,  and  appealed  to 
him  to  recall  the  grant  to  Culpepper  and 
Arlington.  Arlington  surrendered  his  rights 
to  Culpepper,  whose  patent  was  rendered 
void  by  a  process  of  law,  and  in  July,  1684, 
Virginia  became  once  more  a  royal  province. 
Lord  Howard,  of  Effingham,  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Culpepper,  but  he  was  a  poorer 
and  more  grasping  man  than  his  predecessor, 
and  the  change  afforded  no  relief  to  Virginia. 
In  1685  James  II.  came  to  the  throne  of 
England,  and  in  the  same  year  occurred  the 
insurrection    in    England   known  as   Mon- 


mouth's rebellion.  A  number  of  prisoners 
were  taken  in  this  struggle  by  the  royal 
forces,  and  many  of  these  were  sent  out  to 
the  colonies  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  to  be 
sold  as  servants  for  a  term  of  ten  years. 
Many  of  them  were  men  of  education  and 
family.  The  general  assembly  of  Virgin!;; 
refused  to  sanction  this  infamous  measure, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  King 
James,  passed  a  law  declaring  all  such  per- 
sons free.  Indeed  at  this  time  the  practice 
of  selling  white  servants  in  America  had  be- 
come so  profitable  that  quite  a  thriving 
business  was  carried  on  between  the  west  of 
England  and  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

Not  only  persons  condemned  for  crime, 
but  innocent  people  were  kidnapped  and 
sold  in  the  colonies  for  a  term  of  years  for 
money.  "  At  Bristol,"  says  Bancroft,  "  the 
mayor  and  justices  would  intimidate  small 
rogues  and  pilferers,  who,  under  the  terror 
of  being  hanged,  prayed  for  transportation 
as  the  only  avenue  to  safety,  and  were  then 
divided  among  the  members  of  the  court. 
The  trade  was  exceedingly  profitable — far 
more  so  than  the  slave  trade — and  had  been 
conducted  for  years." 

Uprising  for  Freedom. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  Charles  II.  with 
reference  to  Virginia  was  to  forbid  the  set- 
ting up  of  a  printing  press  within  the  limits 
of  the  colony;  James  II.  continued  this  pro- 
hibition. Effingham  endeavored  to  take 
from  the  colony  the  few  privileges  left  to  it. 
The  result  was  that  the  party  of  freedom 
increased  rapidly.  Many  of  the  aristocratic 
party  seeing  that  the  king  and  the  governor 
menaced  every  right  and  privilege  they  pos- 
sessed went  over  to  the  popular  side.  The 
assembly  began  to  assert  the  popular  demand 
for  self-government,  and  became  so  unman- 
ageable that  in  November,  16S6,  it  was  dis- 
solved by  royal  proclamation. 


A  new  assembly  was  convened,  which 
met  in  April,  1688,  a  few  months  before  the 
British  revolution.  The  governor  and  coun- 
cil found  this  body  more  indisposed  to  submit 
to  the  aggressions  of  the  crown  than  its  pre- 
decessor had  been.  The  people  sustained 
their  delegates,  and  a  new  insurrection  was 
areatened.  Eiifingham  was  in  the  midst  of 
a  hostile  population,  without  troops  to 
enforce  his  will,  and  was  obliged  to  conduct 
himself  with  moderation.  The  royal  authority 
was  never  stronger  in  Virginia  than  during 
this  reign,  but  it  was  found  impossible  to 
establish  it  upon  the  ruins  of  the  liberties  of 
the  colony.  The  result  of  all  the  long  years 
of  oppression  we  have  been  considering  was 
simply  to  confirm  the  Virginians  in  their 
-attachment  to  their  liberties,  and  in  their 
determination  to  rhaintain  them  at  any  cost. 
Virginia  remained  to  the  end  an  aristocratic 
colony,  but  it  was  none  the  less  "  a  land  of 
liberty." 

Founding  a   College. 

I  The  revolution  of  1688  in  England  did 
not  change  affairs  in  Virginia  materially  as 
regarded  the  forms  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ment. The  liberties  of  the  colony  were 
established  by  law  too  securely  to  be  any 
longer  at  the  mercy  of  an  individual,  but  the 
power  of  the  governor  was  still  very  great. 
Every  department  of  the  colonial  administra- 
tion, the  finances,  and  even  the  management 
of  the  church,  was  made  subject  to  his  con- 
trol. He  had  the  power  to  dissolve  the 
assembly  at  pleasure,  and  was  sure  to  exer- 
cise it  if  that  body  manifested  too  great  a 
spirit  of  independence.  He  also  appointed 
he  clerk  of  the  assembly,  who  was  for  this 


SETTLExMEN'T   OE  AMERICA. 

reason  a  check  upon  its  freedom  of  debate. 


The  only  means  of  resistance  to  the  meas- 
ures of  the  government  which  the  assembly 
retained  was  to  refuse  to  vote  supplies  in 
e.Kcess  of  the  permanent  revenue.  This  right 
was  sometimes  exercised,  and  the  governor 
was  prevented  from  carrying  out  unpopular 
measures  by  the  lack  of  the  necessary 
funds. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  William  and 
Mary  to  the  throne  an  effort  was  made  to 
establish  a  college  in  Virginia,  although  the 
printing  press  was  still  forbidden.  Donations 
were  made  by  a  number  of  persons  in 
England,  and  the  king  bestowed  several 
liberal  grants  upon  the  proposed  institution. 
The  measure  was  carried  through  to  success 
by  the  energy  of  the  Rev.  James  Blair,  who 
was  sent  out  by  the  Bishop  of  London  as 
commissary,  "  to  supply  the  office  and  juris- 
diction of  the  bishop  in  the  outplaces  of  the 
diocese."  The  college  was  established  in 
1691,  and  was  named  William  and  Mary,  in 
honor  of  the  king  and  queen.  Mr.  Blair 
was  its  first  president,  and  held  that  office  for 
fifty  years. 

The  ministry  did  not  approve  the  action 
of  the  king  in  granting  even  the  very  moderate 
endowments  which  he  bestowed  upon  the 
college.  They  regarded  Virginia  merely  as 
a  place  in  which  to  raise  tobacco  for  the 
English  market,  and  cared  nothing  for  the 
interests  of  the  people.  They  treated  the 
colony  with  injustice  and  neglect  in  every- 
thing. The  planters  could  sell  their  tobacco 
only  to  an  English  purchaser,  who  regulated 
the  price  to  suit  himself,  and  supplied  the 
planters  in  return  with  the  wares  they  needed 
at  his  own  prices. 


CHAPTER  IX 


The  Colonization  of  Maryland 


item  of  the  Territory^  of  Virginia — Claybome's  Trading  Posts  Establisiied — Sir  George  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore- -Be^ 
conies  Interested  in  American  Colo[iization — Obtains  a  Grant  of  Marj-land — Terms  of  the  Charter — A  Colony  Sent 
Out — Arrival  in  the  Chesapeake — St.  Mary's  Founded — Character  of  the  Colony — Friendly  Relations  Established  with 
the  Indians — First  Legislature  of  Maryland — Trouble  with  Claybome — Rapid  Growth  of  tlie  Colony — Progress  ot 
Popular  Liberty — Policy  Respecting  the  Treatment  of  the  Indians — Claybome's  Rebellion — Law  Granting  Religious 
Toleration  Enacted — Condition  of  Maryland  Under  the  Commonwealth — The  People  Declared  Supreme— Lord  Baltimore 
Recovers  His  Proprietary  Rights — Characteristics  of  the  Colony — Rapid  Increase  in  Population — Charles  Calvert, 
Governor — Death  of  the  Second  Lord  Baltimore — Roman  Catholics  Disfranchised — Maryland  Becomes  a  Royal 
Province — Triumph  of  the  Protestants — Annapolis  Made  the  Seat  of  Government — Restoration  of  the  Proprietary 
Government — Continued  Prosperity  of  Mar)-land. 


THE    second     charter     of     Virginia  j 
granted  to  that  province  the  country  j 
north  of  the  Potomac  as  far  as  the  | 
headwaters  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 
This  grant   included    the    territory    of    the 
present  State  of  Maryland.     The  discoveries 
of  Captain   John   Smith   had   brought   the 
region  along  the  head  of  the  bay  into  notice, 
and  other  explorers  had  confirmed  his  state- 
ments as  to  its  value. 

A  very  profitable  trade  was  established 
with  the  Indians  of  this  section,  and,  in  order 
to  develop  its  advantages,  William  Clayborne, 
a  man  of  great  resolution  and  of  no  fnean 
abilities,  a  surveyor  by  profession,  was 
employed  by  the  Governor  of  Virginia  to 
explore  the  region  of  the  upper  Chesapeake. 
His  report  was  so  favorable  that  a  company 
was  formed  in  England  for  the  purpose  of 
trading  with  the  Indians.  Under  authority 
from  this  company,  Clayborne  obtained  a 
license  from  the  colonial  government  of 
Virginia,  and  established  two  trading  stations 
on  the  bay ;  one  on  Kent  Island,  opposite  the 
present  city  of  Annapolis,  and  one  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Susquehanna.  These  posts 
were  established  in  the  spring  of  163 1. 

In  the  meantime  efforts  were  being  made 
in  England  to  secure  the  settlement  of  the 


same  region.  Sir  George  Calvert,  a  man  ot 
noble  character,  liberal  educati<jn  and  great 
political  experience,  had  become  at  an  early 
day  deeply  interested  in  the  question  of 
colonizing  America.  Having  embraced  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith,  he  relinquished  his 
office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  made  a  pub- 
lic acknowledgment  of  his  conversion.  His 
noble  character  commanded  the  confidence  of 
King  James,  and  he  was  retained  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Privy  Council,  and  was  made  Lord 
Baltimore  in  the  Irish  peerage.  He  was 
anxious  to  found  a  colony  in  America,  which 
might  serve  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  persons 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  obtained  a  patent 
for  the  southern .  part  of  Newfoundland. 
That  region  was  toe  bleak  and  rugged  to 
admit  of  the  succes.^;  rf  the  enterprise,  and 
the  attempt  to  settle  it  was  soon  abandoned. 
Lord  Baltimore  next  contemplated  a  set- 
tlement in  some  portion  of  Virginia,  and  in 
October,  1629,  visited  that  colony  with  a 
view  to  making  arrangements  for  his  planta- 
tion. The  laws  of  Virginia  against  Rom.an 
Catholics  were  very  severe,  and  immediately 
upon  the  arrival  of  so  distinguished  a  Cath- 
olic the  assembly  ordered  the  oaths  of 
allegiance  and  supremacy  to  be  tendered 
him.  Lord  Baltimore  proposed  a  form 
III 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


which  he  was  willing  to  subscribe,  but  the 
colonial  government  insisted  upon  that 
which  had  been  ordered  by  the  English  Par- 
liament, and  which  was  of  such  a  character 
that  no  Catholic  could  accept  it.  There 
was  nothing  left  for  Calvert  but  to  withdraw 
from  Virginia,  and  his  reception  there  con- 
vinced him  that  that  province  was  not  the 
place  for  the  plantation  he  wished  to  estab- 
lish. 

Large  Grant  to  Lord  Baltimore. 

The  region  north  of  the  Potomac  was  still 
uninhabited,  and  seemed  to  promise  advan- 
tages equal  to  Virginia.  Calvert  applied  to 
Charles  L  for  a  patent  for  this  region,  and 
was  given  a  territory  corresponding  very 
nearly  to  the  present  State  of  Maryland  in 
extent.  The  king  granted  him  a  liberal 
charter,  which,  while  it  provided  for  his 
interests  as  proprietor,  secured  the  liberties 
of  the  colonists.  In  this  it  was  simply  the 
expression  of  the  wishes  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
who  desired  to  establish  a  settlement  of 
freemen.  The  country  embraced  in  the 
grant  was  given  to  Lord  Baltimore,  his 
heirs  and  assigns,  in  absolute  possession. 
They  were  required  to  pay  an  annual  tribute 
to  the  crown  of  two  Indian  arrows  and  one- 
fifth  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  which  might 
be  found. 

The  colonists  were  to  have  a  voice  in 
making  their  own  laws,  and  they  were  to  be 
entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
Englishmen.  No  taxes  were  to  be  imposed 
upon  them  without  their  consent,  nor  was 
the  authority  of  the  proprietor  to  extend  to 
their  lives  or  property.  It  was  enjoined  that 
the  exercise  of  the  faith  and  worship  of  the 
established  Church  of  England  should  be 
protected  in  the  colony,  but  no  uniform 
standard  of  faith  or  worship  was  imposed  by 
the  charter.  The  new  province  was  carefully 
separated  from  Virginia  and  made  independ- 


ent of  it.  The  colony  was  left  free  from  the 
supervision  of  the  crown,  and  the  propri- 
etor was  not  obliged  to  obtain  the  royal 
assent  to  the  appointments  or  legislation  of 
his  province.  The  king  also  renounced  for 
himself,  his  heirs  and  his  successors,  the 
right  to  tax  the  colony,  thus  leaving  i( 
entirely  free  from  English  taxation. 

These  were  vast  powers  to  intrust  to  one 
man ;  but  they  were  placed  in  safe  hands. 
The  first  Lord  Baltimore  was  a  man  who 
hated  tyranny  of  all  kinds,  and  who  had 
carefully  observed  the  effects  of  intolerance 
and  arbitrary  rule  upon  the  efforts  that  had 
already  been  made  to  establish  successful 
colonies  in  America.  He  designed  his  col- 
ony as  an  asylum  in  which  men  of  ail  creeds 
could  meet  upon  a  common  basis  of  a  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  conviction  that  relig- 
ious freedom  is  necessary  to  the  success  of  a 
state  confirmed  in  him  his  attachment  to  the 
principles  of  .civil  liberty. 

Practical  Charity. 

He  invited  both  Protestants  and  Catholics 
to  join  him  in  his  enterprise,  and  adopted  a 
form  of  government,  based  upon  popular 
representation,  well  calculated  to  secure  them 
in  the  possession  of  all  their  privileges.  In 
honor  of  the  queen  of  Charles  I.,  he  named 
the  region  granted  to  him  Marj^land.  Before 
the  patent  was  issued.  Lord  Baltimore  died 
on  the  fifteenth  of  April,  1632,  leaving  h 
son,  Cecil,  heir  to  his  designs  as  well  as  I 
his  title.  The  charter  granted  to  his  fathe- 
was  issued  to  him,  and  he  proceeded  at  once 
to  collect  a  colony  for  the  settlement  cf 
Maryland. 

Lord  Baltimore  delegated  the  task  of  con- 
ducting the  emigrants  to  Maryland  to  his 
brother,  Leonard  Calvert.  On  Friday,  No- 
vember 22,  1632,  a  company  of  two  hun- 
dred, chiefly  Roman  Catholics  of  good  birth, 
with  their  families  and  servants,  sailed  from 


THE   COLONIZATION    OF   MARYLAND.  113 

relations  with  the  settlers.  The  Indian 
women  taught  their  EngUsh  sisters  how  to 
make  bread  from  the  meal  of  the  Indian 
corn,  and  the  warriors  instructed  the  Eng- 
lishmen in  the  simple  arts  of  the  chase.  The 
colonists  obtained  provisions  and  cattle  for.i 
while  from  Virginia ;  but,  as  they  went  to 


England  in  the  "  Ark  "  and  the  "  Dove,"  the 
former  a  ship  of  large  burthen,  the  latter  a 
small  pinnace.     The  voyage  was    made  by 
way  of  the  West  Indies,  and  the  Chesapeake 
was  not  reached  until  the  twent>'-fourth  of 
February,    1634.       The  ships    anchored  off 
Old  Point  Comfort,  and  were  visited  by  Sir 
John  Harvey,  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  had  been  commanded 
by  the  king  to  welcome  the  new 
colony  with  kindness. 

Resting  in  Hampton  roads 
for  a  few  days  the  emigrants 
ascended  the  bay  and  entered 
the  stately  Potomac.  Deeming 
it  unsafe  to  plant  his  first  settle- 
ment high  up  the  river,  Calvert 
chose  a  site  on  a  small  tributary 
of  the  Potomac,  not  far  from  its 
mouth.  This  stream,  now  known 
as  the  St.  Mary's,  he  named  the 
St.  George's.  An  Indian  village, 
called  Yoacomoco,  was  selected 
as  the  site  of  the  colony.  The 
place  was  being  deserted  bj 
the  natives,  who  had  suffered 
severeTy  from  the  superior  power 
of  the  Susequehannahs,  and  were 
removing  farther  into  the  interior 
for  greater  security.  They  readily 
sold  their  town  and  the  surround- 
ing lands  to  the  English, and  made 
with  them  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
friendship ;  and  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  March,  1634,  the  col- 
onists landed  and  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  town  of  St.  Mary's. 

A  few  days  later.  Sir  John  Harvey  arrived 
from  Virginia  on  a  friendly  visit.  His  orders 
from  the  king  were  to  treat  the  settlers  with 
friendship,  and  to  aid  them  as  far  as  lay  in 
his  power.  About  the  same  time  the  native 
chiefs  came  in  to  visit  the  colony,  and  were 
so  well  received  that  they  established  friendly 


CECIL,    .'SECOND    LORD    E.ALTIMORE. 

work  at  once  and  with  energy  to  cultivate 
their  land,  the  first  year's  harvest  gave  them 
an  abundance  of  supplies. 

The  proprietor  sent  out  from  England 
such  things  as  were  necessary  to  the  success 
and  comfort  of  the  colony,  treating  the  new 
settlement  with  a  wise  liberalitv.    Thus  were 


H4 

the  foundations  of  Maryland  laid  amid  peace 
and  prosperity.  The  colony  was  successful 
from  the  first.  Roman  Catholic  settlers  fol- 
lowed the  first  emigrants  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  even  Protestants  sought  the 
shores  of  Maryland,  which  the  liberality  of 
Lord  Baltimore  had  made  a  refuge  to  them 
from  the  persecutions  of  their  own  brethren. 
New  settlements  were  formed,  and  within  six 
months  the  colony  "  had  advanced  more 
than  Virginia  had  done  in  as  many  years." 

Piracy  and  Murder. 

In  February,  1635,  the  first  legislative 
assembly  of  Maryland  met.  Legislation 
had  become  necessary  by  this  time.  Clay- 
borne,  who  had  established  trading  posts  in 
the  upper  Chesapeake,  had  met  the  first  set- 
tlers under  Leonard  Calvert  at  their  anchor- 
age at  Old  Point  Comfort,  and  had  endeav- 
ored to  dissuade  them  from  settling  along 
the  bay  by  exaggerating  the  dangers  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  hostility  of  the  Li- 
dians.  Failing  in  this  effort,  he  became  the 
evil  genius  of  Maryland,  as  the  grant  to  Lord 
Baltimore  made  void  his  license  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  along  the  bay.  He  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  proprietor  of  Marj-land,  and  attempted 
to  retain  his  trading  post  by  firce  of  arms. 

Within  a  year  or  two  after  the  settlement 
of  the  colony,  a  bloody  skirmish  occurred 
in  one  of  the  rivers  of  the  eastern  shore,  in 
which  Clayborne's  men  were  defeated.  In 
1638,  Leonard  Calvert  took  forcible  posses- 
sion of  Kent  Island,  and  hanged  one  or  two 
of  Clayborne's  people  on  a  charge  of  piracy 
and  murder.  Clayborne  was  in  England  at 
the  time  prosecuting  his  claims  before  the 
king.  Governor  Harvey  of  Virginia  had 
given  the  weight  of  his  influence  in  this 
contest  to  the  cause  of  Lord  Baltimore,  but 
the  people  of  Virginia,  who  resented  the 
grant  of  Maryland   as  an    invasion   of  their 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


rights,  sympathized  with  Clayborne,  and 
caused  Harvey  to  be  impeached  and  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  The  English  courts  de- 
cided that  Clayborne's  license  was  not  valid 
against  the  charter  granted  to  Lord  Balti- 
more, and  Harvey  was  sent  back  to  Virginia 
as  governor  in  April,  1639. 

In  the  meantime  the  colony  continued  to 
grow  and  prosper.  The  assembly,  while 
acknowledging  the  allegiance  of  the  people 
of  Maryland  to  the  king,  and  making 
ample  provisions  for  the  rights  of  Lord 
Baltimore  as  proprietor,  took  care  to  secure 
the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  claimed  for 
itself  the  exercise  in  the  province  of  all  the 
powers  belonging  to  the  British  House  of  ' 
Commons.  Representative  government  was 
definitely  established,  and  the  colonists  were 
secured  in  all  the  liberties  granted  to  the 
people  of  England  by  the  common  law  of 
that  country.  Tobacco  became,  as  in  Vir- 
ginia, the   staple  of  the  colony. 

Maryland  Contented. 

In  1642,  in  gratitude  for  the  great  ex- 
pense which  Lord  Baltimore  had  volun- 
tarily incurred  for  them,  the  people  of 
Maryland  granted  him  "  such  a  subsidy  as 
the  young  and  poor  estate  of  the  colony 
could  bear."  As  far  as  the  people  themselves 
were  concerned,  the  condition  of  Maryland 
was  one  of  marked  happiness  and  content- 
ment. Harmony  prevailed  between  all 
classes  of  the  people  and  the  government ; 
the  settlers  were  blessed  with  complete  toler- 
ation in  religion ;  emigration  was  rapidly 
increasing,  and  the  commerce  of  the  colony 
was  growing  in  extent  and  value. 

Maryland  had  its  troubles,  however.  The 
Indians,  alarmed  by  its  rapid  growth,  began 
in  1642  a  series  of  aggressions  which  led  to 
a  frontier  war.  This  struggle  continued  for 
some  time,  but  was  productive  of  no  decisive 
results,  and  in  1644  peace  was  restored.  The 


THE   COLONIZATION    OF    MARYLAND. 


Indians  promised  submission,  and  the  whites, 
on  their  part,  agreed  to  treat  them  with 
friendship  and  justice.  Laws  were  enacted 
compelling  the  settlers  to  refrain  from  in- 
justice toward  the  savages,  and  humanity 
to  the  red  man  was  made  the  policy  of 
he  colony. 

The  kidnapping  of  an  Indian  was  punish- 
able with  death,  and  the  sale  of  arms  to  the 
savages  was  constituted  a  felony.  Efforts 
were  also  made  to  convert  the  natives  to 
Christianity.  Four  missions  were  established 
among  them  by  the  priests  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  the  effects  of  their  devoted  la- 
bors were  soon  manifest.  A  chief,  named 
Tayac,  and  his  wife  were  baptized,  he  tak- 
ing the  name  of  Charles  and  she  that  of 
Mary.  About  one  hundred  and  thirty  other 
converts  were  afterwards  added  to  the  Chris- 
tian fold  among  the  Indians,  and  many  of 
these  sent  their  children  to  receive  instruction 
at  the  hands  of  the  priests.  Though  the  ef- 
fort to  Christianize  the  savages  failed,  as  it 
has  ever  done,  the  good  effects  of  these  en- 
deavors were  not  lost,  as  the  friendship  for 
the  whites  aroused  by  them  continued  to 
influence  these  tribes  in  their  policy  toward 
the  colony, 

Clayborne's  Rebellion. 
Clayborne,  who  had  certainly  cause  for 
thinking  himself  wronged  in  being  deprived 
of  his  property  without  just  compensation, 
returned  to  Maryland  to  revenge  himself 
upon  the  colonists.  The  civil  war  in  Eng- 
land furnished  him  with  an  admirable  oppor- 
tunity for  his  attempt.  He  was  able  to  se- 
cure a  number  of  followers  in  Maryland,  and 
in  1644  began  an  insurrection.  The  next 
year  the  governor  was  driven  out  of  the  col- 
ony and  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Virginia, 
and  Clayborne  was  triumphant.  For  more 
than  a  year  the  rebels  held  possession  of  the 
government,  and  this  whole  time  was  a 
period  of  disorder  and  misrule,  during  which 


the  greater  part  of  the  colonial  records  were 
lost  or  stolen.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  the 
better  classes  of  the  people  of  Mar>-land 
drove  out  the  rebels,  and  recalled  the  pro- 
prietary government.  A  general  amnesty 
was  proclaimed  to  all  offenders,  and  peace 
was  restored  to  the  colony. 

The  year  1649  was  marked  in  England  by 
the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  and  the  complete 


yl'^ 


N4 


r 


*  /. 


A    CIVILIZED    INDIAN. 

establishment  of  the  authority  of  the  Parlia- 
ment. It  seemed  to  the  people  of  Maryland 
that  this  triumph  of  the  popular  party  was  to 
usher  in  a  new  war  upon  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith,  which  was  professed  by  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  colonists.  Dreading  a  war  of 
religion  as  the  greatest  of  evils,  they  deter- 
mined to  secure  the  colony  from  it,  by  pla- 
cing the  freedom  of  conscience  within  their 
limits  upon  as  secure  a  basis  as  possible.  In 
doing  this  they  gave  expression  to  the  popular 
will,  and  aimed  to  secure  their  future  welfare. 
On  the  twenty-first  of  April,  1 649,  the. 
assembly  of  Maryland  adopted  the  followinif 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


act:  "And,  whereas,  the  enforcing  of  con- 
science in  matters  of  reh'gion  hath  frequently 
fallen  out  to  be  of  dangerous  consequence  in 
those  commonwealths  where  it  has  been 
practiced,  and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peace- 


Christ,  shall  be  anyways  troubled,  molested,, 
or  discountenanced  for  his  or  her  religion,  or 
in  the  free  exercise  thereof,  or  be  compelled 
to  the  belief  or  practice  of  any  other  religion 
ag-ainst  their  consent." 


OLIVER    CROMWELL. 


'  able  government  of  this  province,  and  the 
better  to  preserve  mutual  love  and  amity 
among  the  inhabitants,  no  person  within  this 
province,    professing     to  believe    in    Jesus 


This  statute,  noble  as  it  was,  applied  only 
to  Christians.  It  was  provided  that "  What- 
soever person  shall  blaspheme  God,  or  shall 
deny  or  reproach   the   Holy  Trinity,  or  any 


THE   COLONIZATION   OF   MARYLAND. 


■of  the  three  persons  thereof,  shall  be  pun- 
ished with  death."  Marj-Iand  had  taken  a 
great  stride  in  advance  in  making  her  soil  a 
sanctuary  for  Christians  of  all  beliefs,  but  she 
had  not  yet  accorded  to  her  people  a  tolera- 
tion equal  to  that  of  Rhode  Island,  which 
colony,  in  1647,  granted  liberty  to  all 
opinions,  infidel  as  well  as  Christian. 

Cromwell's  Blunt  Order. 

During  the  existence  of  the  common- 
wealth, the  colony  was  troubled  with  an 
unsettled  government.  It  submitted  to  the 
authority  of  Cromwell,  and  the  Puritans, 
regardless  of  the  example  of  their  brethren 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  attempted  by  an  act  of 
assembly,  in  1654,  to  disfranchise  the  whole 
Roman  Catholic  population  on  the  ground 
of  their  religious  belief  Cromwell  disap- 
proved this  action,  and  bluntly  ordered  his 
commissioners  "  not  to  busy  themselves 
about  religion,  but  to  settle  the  civil  govern- 
ment." In  1660,  without  waiting  to  hear 
the  issue  of  matters  in  England,  the  assembly 
repudiated  the  authority  of  both  the  com- 
monwealth and  the  proprietor,  and  asserted 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people  as  the  supreme 
authority  in  Maryland. 

Upon  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  Lord 
Baltimore  made  his  peace  with  the  king  for 
having  yielded  to  the  power  of  Cromwell, 
and  received  back  all  the  rights  he  had 
enjoyed  in  Maryland.  He  at  once  proceeded 
to  re-establish  his  authority  in  the  province, 
but  being  a  man  of  humanity  and  of  liberal 
views,  he  made  a  generous  use  of  his  power. 
A  general  pardon  was  grantee'  ^o  all 
offenders  against  him,  his  rule  \v,  jnce 
nore  submitted  to,  and  for  thirty  years  the 
colony  was  at  peace. 

"  Like  Virginia,  Maryland  was  a  colony 
of  planters  ;  its  staple  was  tobacco,  and  its 
prosperity  was  equally  checked  by  the 
pressure    of    the    navigation     acts.       Like 


Virginia,  it  possessed  no  considerable  village ; 
its  inhabitants  were  scattered  among  the 
woods  and  along  the  rivers  ;  each  plantation 
was  a  little  world  within  itself,  and  legislation 
vainly  attempted  the  creation  of  towns  by 
statute.  Like  Virginia,  its  laborers  were  in 
part  indentured  servants,  whose  term  of 
service  was  limited  bypersevering  legiskition; 
in  part  negro  slaves,  who  were  employed  in 
the  colony  from  an  early  period,  and  whose 
importation  was  favored  both  by  English 
cupidity  and  provincial  statutes." 

"  As  in  Virginia,  the  appointing  power  to 
nearly  every  office  in  the  counties  as  well  as 
in  the  province  was  not  with  the  people ;  and 
the  judiciary  was  placed  beyond  their 
control.  As  in  Virginia,  the  party  of  the 
proprietary,  which  possessed  the  government, 
was  animated  by  a  jealous  regard  for  preroga- 
tive, and  by  the  royalist  principles,  which 
derive  the  sanction  of  authority  from  the  will 
of  Heaven.  As  in  Virginia,  the  taxes  levied 
by  the  county  officers  were  not  conceded  by 
the  direrl  vote  of  the  people,  and  were, 
therefore,  burdensome  alike  from  their 
excessive  amount  and  the  manner  of  their 
levy.  But  though  the  administration  of 
Maryland  did  not  favor  the  increasing  spirit 
of  popular  liberty,  it  was  marked  by  con- 
ciliation and  humanity.  To  foster  industry, 
to  promote  union,  to  cherish  religious  peace, 
******  these  were  the  honest  pur- 
poses of  Lord  Baltimore  during  his  long 
supremacy."  * 

Arrival  of  Immigrants. 

Yet  the  colony  continued  to  prosper. 
Emigrants  came  to  it  from  almost  every 
country  of  western  Europe,  and  even  from 
Sweden  and  Finland.  The  only  persons 
who  had  cause  for  complaint  in  Maryland 
were   the    Quakers,  who   were  treated  with 


*  History  of  the  United  States.    By  George  Bancroft, 
P-  2jS- 


Ii8 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


considerable  harshness  for  their  refusal  to 
perform  military  dut}- ;  but  no  effort  was 
made  to  interfere  with  the  exercise  of  their 
religion. 

In  1662,  Charles  Calvert,  the  son  and  heir 
of  Lord    Baltimore,    came  to    reside  in   the 


thousand  dollars.  By  numerous  acts  of 
compromise  between  Lord  Baltimore  and  the 
assembly  the  question  of  taxation  was  ad- 
justed upon  a  satisfactory  basis.  The  people 
assumed  the  expense  of  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment, and  agreed  to  the  imposition  of  ar 


WILLIAM    III 


colony.  Money  was  coined  at  a  colonial 
mint,  a  tonnage  duty  was  imposed  upon  all 
vessels  trading  with  the  colony,  and  a  state 
hou.se  was  built  in  1674,  at  a  cost  of  forty 
thousand   pounds  of  tobacco,  or  about  five 


export  duty  of  two  shillings  per  hogsheaa 
upon  all  the  tobacco  sent  out  of  the  colony. 
One-half  of  this  duty  was  appropriated  to 
the  support  of  the  government,  and  the  re- 
mainder was  assigned  unconditionally  to  the 


THE   COLONIZATION   OF   MARYLAND 
rati- 


[I9 


uses  of  Lord  Baltimore,  as  "  an  act  of  _ 
tude  "  for  his  care  of  the  colony. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  November,  1675,  Cecil 
Calvert,  second  Lord  Baltimore,  died.  He 
had  been  for  fourteen  years  the  earnest  and 
devoted  friend,  as  well  as  the  generous  lord 
of  the  province,  and  had  lived  long  enough 
to  enjoy  the  gratitude  with  which  the  colony 
sought  to  repay  his  judicious  care.  His 
memory  is  perpetuated  by  the  chief  city  of 
Maryland,  which  bears  his  name,  and  which 
is  already  the  largest  city  on  the  Atlantic 
coast,  south  of  the  Susequehanna,  and  the 
seventh  in  population  in  the  United  States. 
Charles  Calvert,  who  had  been  for  fourteen 
years  governor  of  Maryland,  succeeded  to 
his  father's  titles  and  possessions,  and  in  1676 
returned  to  England.  Previous  to  his  de- 
parture from  Maryland  he  gave  his  sanction 
to  the  colonial  code  of  laws,  which  had  been 
thoroughly  revised.  One  of  these- laws  pro- 
hibited the  "importation  of  convicted  per- 
sons" into  the  colony  without  regard  to  the 
will  of  the  king  or  Parliament  of  England. 

Roman  Catholics  Disfranchised. 

Notwithstanding  the  mild  and  equitable 
government  of  the  third  Lord  Baltimore, 
the  spirit  of  popular  liberty  was  becoming 
too  strong  in  the  colony  for  the  rule  of  the 
proprietor  to  be  cheerfully  acquiesced  in 
much  longer.  The  rebellion  of  Bacon  in 
Virginia  affected  the  Maryland  colony  pro- 
foundly, and  when  Lord  Baltimore  returned 
to  the  province  in  168 1,  he  found  a  large 
part  of  the  people  hostile  to  him.  An  at- 
tempt at  insurrection  was  suppressed,  but 
the  seeds  of  trouble  were  too  deeply  sown 
not  to  spring  up  again. 

The  increase  of  the  population  had  left 
the  Roman  Catholics  in  a  small  minority,  so 
ihat  Maryland  was  now  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  Protestant  colony.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the    reign   of  Charles  II.  the 


Protestants,  regardless  of  the  wise  policy  of 
toleration  which  had  hitherto  marked  the 
history  of  the  province,  endeavored  to  secure 
the  establishment  by  law  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  Maryland.  Lord  Baltimore 
steadfastly  resisted  this  unwise  course,  and 
maintained  the  freedom  of  conscience  as  the 
right  of  the  people.  He  thus  added  to  the 
existing  opposition  to  his  proprietary  rule 
the  hostility  of  the  Protestant  bigots.  A 
little  later,  the  English  ministry  struck  the 
first  blow  at  his  proprietary  rights  and  at  the 
religious  freedom  of  Maryland  by  ordering 
that  all  the  offices  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ment should  be  bestowed  upon  Protestants 
alone.  "  Roman  Catholics  were  disfranchised 
in  the  province  which  they  had  planted." 

An  Insurrection. 

Lord  Baltimore  hoped  that  the  succession 
of  James  II.,  a  Catholic  sovereign,  would 
restore  him  the  rights  of  which  he  had  been 
deprived  in  his  province ;  but  he  was  soon 
undeceived,  for  the  king,  who  intended  to 
bring  all  the  American  colonies  directly 
under  the  control  of  the  crown,  would  make 
no  exception  in  favor  of  Maryland,  and 
measures  were  put  in  force  for  the  abolition 
of  the  proprietary  government.  The  revolu- 
tion which  placed  William  and  Mary  on 
the  throne  prevented  the  execution  of  these 
plans. 

The  troubles  of  Lord  Baltimore  were  in- 
creased by  the  failure  of  the  deputy-governor, 
whom  he  had  left  in  Maryland,  to  acknowl- 
edge William  and  Mary  promptly.  In 
August,  1689,  occurred  an  insurrection  led 
by  "  The  association  in  arms  for  the  defence 
of  the  Protestant  religion."  The  deputy- 
governor  was  driven  from  office,  the  pro- 
prietary government  was  overturned,  and 
William  and  Mary  were  proclaimed  sov- 
ereigns of  Maryland.  The  party  in  power 
appealed  to  the  king  to  annul  the  proprietary 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


charter,  and  governed  the  colony  by  means 
of  a  convention  until  the  royal  pleasure 
should  be  known.  Lord  Baltimore  endeav- 
ored to  defend  his  rights  in  spite  of  his 
struggles,  William  III.,  in  June,  1691, 
annulled  the  charter  of  Maryland,  and  by  the 
exercise  of  his  own  power  constituted  that 
colony  a  royal  province. 

I  In  1692,  the  king  appointed  .Sir  Lionel 
Copley  Governor  of  Maryland.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  the  colony  he  dissolved  the  con- 
vention and  assumed  the  government.  He 
at  once  summoned  an  assembly,  which, 
recognizing  William  and  Mary  as  the  lawful 
sovereigns  of  Maryland,  established  the 
Church  of  England  as  the  religion  of  the 
colony,  and  imposed  taxes  for  its  support. 
The  capital  was  removed  from  St.  !\Iary's  to 
Annapolis,  both  because  the  old  seat  of  gov- 
ernment had  become  inconvenient  and 
because  it  was  desired  to  remove  the  govern- 
ment to  the  centre  ot  Protestant  influence. 
The  disfranchisement  of  the  Catholics  ad- 
vanced step  by  step.  At  first  the  dissenters 
from'  the  established  church  were  granted 
toleration  and  protection,  but  in  1704  the 
triumph  of  bigotry  was  complete.  All  the 
dissenting  bodies  were  tolerated,  but  Roman 
Catholics  were  forbidden  the  exercise  of  their 
faith.  Mass  was  not  allowed  to  be  said  in 
public,  nor  was  any  bishop  or  clergyman  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  to  be  permitted 
to  seek  to  make  converts  for  his  faith. 
Other  severe  measures  were  enacted,  and  in 
the  land  which  Catholics  had  settled,  the 
members  of  that  communion  alone  were  de- 
nied the  rights  which   in  the  day  of  their 


power  they  had  offered  to  others.  Nor  di<S 
the  royalist  assembly  manifest  any  care  for 
the  true  interests  of  the  province.  Education 
was  neglected  ;  the  establishment  of  printing 
was  prohibited  :  and  the  domestic  manufac- 
tures which  the  necessities  of  the  colony  had 
brought  into  existence  were  discouraged. 
In  17 10  the  population  numbered  over 
30,000,  free  and  slave. 

In  17 1 5  Benedict  Charles  Calvert,  the 
fourth  Lord  Baltimore,  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing the  restoration  of  his  rights  in  Maryland, 
and  the  province  passed  into  his  hands.  The 
people  had  been  so  disgusted  with  the  rule 
of  the  royal  governors  that  no  opposition 
was  made  to  this  change.  The  new  Lord 
Baltimore,  unlike  the  rest  of  his  family,  was 
a  Protestant,  which  was  the  cause  of  his 
restoration  to  his  hereditary  rights.  After 
his  restoration  the  colony  increased  with 
still  greater  rapidity.  The  establishment  of 
a  post  route  in  1695,  between  the  Potomac 
and  Philadelphia,  had  brought  it  into  com- 
munication with  the  Northern  colonics.  In 
1729  the  town  of  Baltimore  was  founded. 
Frederick  City  was  settled  in  1745,  and  in 
175 1  was  followed  by  Georgetown,  now  in 
the  District  of  Columbia.  In  1756  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  colony  had  increased  to 
154,188  souls,  of  whom  over  40,000  were 
negroes.  The  increase  in  material  prosperity 
was  equally  marked.  By  the  last-mentioned 
year  the  annual  export  of  tobacco  was 
30,000  hogsheads,  and,  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  the  home  go\'ernmcnt  to  prevent  it,  there 
were  eight  furnaces  and  nine  forges  for 
smelting  copper  m  operation  in  the  province^ 


CHAPTER  X 

The   Pilo-rim   Fathers 


e  of  the  Puritans — ITieir  Increase  in  England — They  Are  Tersecuted  by  the  EngHsh  Church  and  Government— 
nduct  of  James  I.— His  Hatred  of  Puritanism— Puritans  Take  Refuge  in  Holland— The  Congregation  of  John 
ivobinson — They  Escape  to  Holland — The  Pilgrims— Their  Sojourn  at  Leyden — They  AVish  to  Emigrate  to  Virginia 
— Failure  of  Their  Negotiations  with  the  London  Company — They  Form  a  Partnership  in  England — A  Hard  Bargain 
— Departure  of  the  Pilgrims  from  Holland — Voyage  of  the  "Mayflower" — -Arrival  in  New  England — The  Agreement 
on  Board  the  "  Mayflower" — Cari-er  Chosen  Governor — Settlement  of  Plymouth — The  First  Winter  in  New  England 
—Sufferings  of  the  Pilgrims — Arrival  of  New  Emigrants — Continued  Suflering — Assignment  of  Lands — Friendly  In- 
tercourse with  Indians — Samoset  and  Squanto — ^■isit  of  Massasoit — A  Threat  of  War — Bradford's  Defiance — West- 
on's Men — A  NaiTOW  Escape — The  Colonists  Purchase  the  InteresU  of  Their  English  Partners — Lands  Assigned  in 
Fee  Simple — The  Colony  Benefited  by  the  Change — Government  of   Plymouth — Steady  Growth  of  the  Colony. 


THE  persecutions  with  which  Queen 
Mary  afflicted  the  reformers  of 
England  in  her  bloody  effort  to  re- 
store the  Roman  Catholic  faith  in 
that  country  caused  many  of  the  most  emi- 
nent men  of  the  English  church  to  seek 
safety  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  Upon 
the  accession  of  Elizabeth  the  Church  of 
England  became  once  more  the  religion  of 
the  state,  and  the  reformers  were  free  to  re- 
turn to  their  own  country.  They  came  back 
with  broader  and  more  liberal  views  than 
they  had  carried  away  with  them,  and  there 
sprang  up  in  the  English  church  a  party 
which  demanded  a  purer  and  more  spiritual 
form  of  worship  than  that  of  the  church. 
These  persons  were  called  in  derision  Puri- 
tans. They  adopted  the  name  without  hesi- 
tation, and  soon  inade  it  an  honorable  dis- 
tinction. 

The  queen,  however,  was  determined  to 
compel  her  subjects  to  conform  ro  the  estab- 
lished church,  and  was  especially  resolved  to 
make  them  acknowledge  her  supremacy  over 
the  church.  To  the  Puritan  the  worship  of 
the  Church  of  England  was  only  less  sinful 
than  that  of  Rome,  and  to  acknowledge  the 
queen  as  the  head  of  the  church  was  to  com- 
mit blasphemy.      He  claimed  that  the  queen 


had  no  control  over  him  in  matters  of  relig- 
ion, and  that  it  was  his  right  to  worship  God 
in  his  own  way,  without  interference.  The 
Puritans  gradually  came  to  embrace  in  their 
number  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  Eng- 
lish church.  These  sincerely  deprecated  a 
separation  from  the  church,  and  earnestly 
desired  to  carry  the  reformation  to  the  extent 
of  remedying  the  abuses  of  which  they 
complained,  and  to  remain  in  communion 
with  the  church.  One  of  the  reforms  which 
they  wished  to  inaugurate  was  the  abolition 
of  Episcopacy.  Failing  in  their  efforts,  they 
desired  to  be  let  alone  to  form  their  own  or- 
ganizations and  to  worship  God  according  to 
their  own  ideas,  without  the  pale  of  the 
Church  of  England. 

The  queen  and  the  bishops  were  not  con- 
tent to  allow  them  this  freedom.  England 
had  not  yet  learned  the  lesson  of  toleration, 
and  severe  measures  were  inaugurated  to 
compel  the  dissenters  to  conform  to  the 
established  church.  All  persons  in  the 
kingdom  were  required  to  conform  to  the 
ceremonies  of  the  church.  A  refusal  to  do 
so  was  punished  with  banishment.  Should 
any  person  so  banished  return  to  the  king- 
dom without  permission  he  was  to  be  put  to 
death.      Accused   persons  were  obliged  to 


122  SETTLEMENT 

dnswer  upon  oath  all  questions  concerning 
themselves  and  their  acquaintance,  respect- 
ing their  attendance  upon  public  worship. 

Ministers  refusing  to  conform  to  the  estab- 
{ished  usage  were  deprived  of  their  parishes; 
and  if  they  persisted  in  preaching  to  their 
congregations,  or  if  the  congregations  \vere 
detected  in  listening  to  their  deposed  pastors, 
the  offenders  were  fined  or  subjected  to  some 
severe  punishment.  Absence  from  the  ser- 
vices of  ;he  church  for  a  certain  length  of 
lime  wai  also  punished.  The  persecution 
thus  inaugurated  drove  many  of  the  noncon- 
formists, as  they  were  termed,  into  exile  from 
Enjla-Ju      They  fled  to   Holland  and  Swit- 


1.  -• 


^\\ 


%i-  ~T*^  ''w 


CHAINED  BIBLE,  TIME  Of  JAMES  I. 

zerland,  where  alone  they  fot-.nd  "  freedom  to 
worship  God."  In  spite  of  vhe  severe  meas- 
ures and  determined  efforts  of  Elizabeth,  the 
Puritans  increased  steadily  in  numbers  and 
importance  in  England.  Persecution  only 
ser\'ed  to  multiply  them. 


OF   AMERICA. 

They  were  hopeful  that  James  I.  would 
prove  a  more  lenient  sovereign  to  them  than 
Elizabeth  had  been,  and  they  had  good 
ground  for  this  hope.  The  real  character  of 
James  was  unknown  in  England,  and  while 
King  of  Scotland  he  had  shown  great  fevoi 
to  the  Presbyterians  of  that  kingdom,  whom 
it  was  his  interest  to  conciliate.  He  had 
once  publicly  thanked  God  "  that  he  was 
king  of  such  a  kirk—the  purest  kirk  in  all 
the  world.  As  for  the  Kirk  of  England," 
he  added,  "  its  service  is  an  evil-said  mass." 
This  most  contemptible  of  monarchs  had 
scarcely  become  King  of  England  when  he 
uttered  the  famous  maxim,  "  No  bishop,  no 
king  ! "  Interest  had  made  him  the  foe  of 
Episcopacy  in  Scotland  ;  the  same  motive 
made  him  its  champion  in  England. 

A  Royal  Demagogue. 

Upon  his  entrance  into  his  new  kingdom, 
the  Puritans  met  him  with  an  humble  peti- 
tion for  a  redress  of  their  grievances.  James 
quickly  saw  that  the  majority  of  the  English 
people  favored  a  support  of  the  church  as  it 
was,  and  had  no  sympathy  with  the  Puri- 
tans, and  he  at  once  constituted  himself  the 
enemy  of  the  petitioners.  Still,  in  order  to 
cover  his  desertion  of  the  party  to  which  he 
had  belonged  in  Scotland,  he  appointed  a 
conference  at  Hampton  Court. 

The  conference  was  held  in  January,  1604, 
and  the  king,  silencing  all  real  debate,  made 
the  meeting  merely  the  occasion  of  display- 
ing what  he  regarded  as  his  talents  for  theo- 
logical controversy,  and  for  announcing  the 
decision  he  had  resolved  upon  from  the  first 
He  demanded  entire  obedience  to  the  church 
in  matters  of  faith  and  worship.  "I  will 
have  none  of  that  liberty  as  to  ceremonies," 
he  declared.  "  I  will  have  one  doctrine, 
one  discipline,  one  religion  in  substance 
and  in  ceremony.  Never  speak  more  as  to 
how  far  you  are  bound  to  obey." 


THE   PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


123 


The  Puritans  then  demanded  permission 
to  hold  occasional  ceremonies  of  their  own, 
with  the  right  of  free  discussions  in  them ; 
but  James,  who  could  never  tolerate  the  ex- 
pression of  any  opinion  adverse  to  his  own, 
replied  :  "  You  are  aiming  at  a  Scot's  presby- 
tery, which  agrees  with  monarchy  as  well  as 
God  and  the  devil.  Then  Jack  and  Tom 
:nd  Will  and  Dick  shall  meet,  and  at  their 
pleasure  censure  me  and  my  council  and  all 
our  proceedings.  Then  Will  shall  stand  up 
and  say.  It  must  be  thus.  Then  Dick  shall 
reply  and  say,  Nay,  marry,  but  we  will  have 
it  thus.  And,  therefore,  here  I  must  once 
more  reiterate  my  former  speech,  and  say, 
The  king  forbids."  Then  turning  to  the 
bishops,  he  added  :  "  I  will  make  them  con- 
form, or  I  will  harry  them  out  of  the  land, 
or  else  worse  ;  only  hang  them  ;  that's  all." 

Champions  of    Popular  Liberty. 

The  king  kept  his  word.  The  severe  laws 
against  the  nonconformists  were  enforced 
that  year  with  such  energy  that  three  hun- 
dred Puritan  ministers  are  said  to  have  been 
silenced,  imprisoned  or  exiled.  The  church 
party  proceeded  in  the  next  few  years  to  still 
more  rigorous  measures,  and  were  willing 
even  to  place  the  liberties  of  the  nation  at 
the  mercy  of  the  crown  in  order  to  compel 
the  submission  of  the  Puritans.  The  intro- 
duction of  foreign  publications  into  the  king- 
dom was  greatly  restricted,  and  the  press 
was  placed  under  a  severe  censorship.  The 
Puritans  were  thus  forced  to  become  the 
champions  of  popular  liberty  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  crown  and  the  ecclesiastical 
party. 

There  was  a  congregation  of  Puritans  in 
the  north  of  England,  composed  of  people 
of  Lincolnshire  and  Nottinghamshire,  with 
some  from  Yorkshire.  The  pastor  was  John 
Robinson,  "  a  man  not  easily  to  be  parallel- 
ed," who  possessed  in  an  unusual  degree  the 


love  and  confidence  of  his  people.  They 
were  greatly  harassed  by  the  agents  of  the 
king  and  the  bishops,  and  were  subjected  to 
such  serious  annoyances  that  it  was  with  dif 
ficulty  that  they  could  hold  their  meetings 
Finding  it  impossible  to  live  in  peace  at 
home  without  doing  violence  to  their  con- 
sciences, they  determined  to  leave  England 
and  seek  refuge  from  persecution  in  Holland. 
That  country  was  friendly  to  the  English, 
and  the  Dutch  had  learned  from  their  own 
sufferings  to  respect  the  rights  of  conscience 
in  others. 

It  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  leave  Eng- 
land, however,  for  it  was  held  by  the  govern- 
ment to  be  almost  a  crime  to  attempt  to 
escape  from  persecution.  A  vessel  was 
hired  to  convey  the  refugees  to  Holland; 
but  the  royal  officers  were  informed  of  the- 
intended  voyage,  and  seized  the  whole  com- 
pany as  they  were  about  to  embark.  Their 
persons  were  searched,  their  small  posses- 
sions seized,  and  the  whole  church — men. 
women,  and  children — thrown  into  prison. 
In  a  short  while  all  but  seven  were  released. 
These  were  brought  to  trial,  but  it  was  found- 
impossible  to  prove  any  crime  against  them, 
and  they  also  were  discharged. 

A  Boat  Stranded. 
This  action  of  the  government,  so  far  from 
intimidating  the  sufferers,  but  increased  their 
resolve  to  leave  England,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1608  the  effort  was  renevved.  A  Dutch 
captain  consented  to  convey  them  to  Hol- 
land, and  it  was  agreed  that  the  refugees 
should  assemble  upon  a  lonely  heath  in 
Lincolnshire,  near  the  mouth  of  the  H  umber 
and  be  taken  on  board  by  the  Dutch  skipper. 
The  men  of  the  party  went  to  the  rendezvous 
by  land,  and  got  safely  on  board  the  ship; 
but  the  boat  conveying  the  women  and 
children  was  stranded  and  captured  by  a 
party  of  horsemen  sent  in  pursuit. 


rilE    PURITANS  IX  COXKERENCE  WaXH    TAMES   I. 


'HE   PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


[25 


The  Dutch  skipper,  fearful  of  becoming  in- 
volved in  trouble  with  the  English  author- 
ities, at  once  put  to  sea,  and  the  exiles  were 
separated  from  their  families,  who  were  left 
helpless  in  the  hands  of  their  oppressors. 
The  women  and  children  were  treated  with 
great  harshness  by  their  captors,  and  were 
taken  before  the  magistrates,  who  found  it 
impossible  to  punish  them  for  an  attempt  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  their  husbands  and 
fathers.  They  were  at  loss  to  know  what  to 
do  with  the  prisoners,  who  no  longer  had 
homes  in  England,  and  at  last  released  them 
unconditionally,  and  permitted  them  to  rejoin 
their  natural  protectors  in  Holland. 

The  Pilgrims  Discontented. 

The  exiles  reached  Amsterdam  in  the 
spring  of  1 608.  They  were  well  pleased  to 
be  safe  in  this  peaceful  refuge,  but  they  did 
not  deceive  themselves  with  the  hope  that  it 
could  ever  be  a  home  to  them.  "  They 
knew  they  were  Pilgrims,  and  looked  not 
much  on  those  things,  but  lifted  up  their 
eyes  to  Heaven,  their  dearest  country,  and 
quieted  their  spirits."  They  found  it  hard 
to  earn  a  support  in  Amsterdam,  and  in  1609 
removed  to  Leyden,  where,  by  their  industry 
and  frugality,  they  managed  to  live  in  com- 
parative comfort.  Their  piet\^  and  exemplary 
conduct  won  for  them  the  respect  of  the 
Dutch,  who  would  have  openly  shown  them 
marked  favor  but  for  their  fear  of  offending 
the  king  of  England.  The  magistrates  of 
Leyden  bore  ready  witness  to  their  purity  of 
life.  "  Never,"  said  they,  "  did  we  have 
any  suit  or  accusation  against  any  of  them.'- 

In  the  course  of  time  the  Pilgrims  were 
joined  by  a  number  of  their  brethren  from 
England.  They  were  nearly  all  accustomed 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  in  Holland  they 
were  obliged  to  earn  their  bread  by  mechan- 
ical labors.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  they 
could  do  this,  ani  they   never   formed   any 


attachment  to  the  place  of  their  exile.  They 
preserved,  through  all  their  trials,  their  affec- 
tion for  their  native  land,  and  cherished  the 
hope  that  they  might  continue  Englishmen 
to  the  close  of  their  lives.  They  viewed  with 
alarm  the  prospect  of  raising  their  children 
in  Holland,  where  they  would  necessarily  be  ^ 
thrown  in  constant  contact  with,  and  be  in- 
fluenced by,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
country. 

Abo\e  all  they  dreaded  the  effect  upon 
their  children  of  the  dissolute  example  of  the 
disbanded  soldiers  and  sailors  who  filled  the 
country.  These  and  other  things  made 
them  unwilling  to  look  upon  Holland  as 
their  permanent  home.  But  whither  should 
they  go  in  case  of  their  departure  from  Hol- 
land? Their  own  country  was  closed 
against  them, and  the  nations  of  continental 
Europe  could  offer  them  no  asylum.  As 
their  conviction,  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
seek  some  other  home,  deepened,  their 
thoughts  became  more  irresistibly  directed 
towards  the  new  world.  In  the  vast  soli- 
tudes of  the  American  continent,  and  there 
alone,  they  could  establish  a  home  in  which 
they  could  worship  God  without  fear  or 
molestation,  and  rear  their  children  in  the 
ways  that  seemed  to  them  good.  Thither 
would  they  go. 

Seeking  a  New  Home. 

They  were  an.xious  to  make  their  venture 
under  the  protection  of  England,  and  de- 
clined the  offers  made  them  by  the  Dutclf, 
who  wished  them  to  establish  their  colony 
as  a  dependency  of  Holland.  They  had 
heard  of  the  excellent  climate  and  fertile  soil 
of  Virginia,  and  it  seemed  best  to  them  to  • 
choose  that  promising  region  as  the  scene  of 
their  experiment.  It  was  necessary  to  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  London  Company  to  their 
settlement,  as  Virginia  had  been  granted  to 
that  body  by  the  king  of  England  ;  and  in 


=   -^iX**-!*^ 


^y--:.. 


3  ^-^ 


' 


~^?'V^'^ 


126 


THE   PILGRIMS   AT   PLYMOUTH. 


THE   PILGRIM   FATHERS. 


127 


161 7  two  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
congregation — John  Carver  and  Robert 
Cushman — went  to  England  to  lay  their  ap- 
plication before  the  company. 

They  were  kindly  recci\ed  by  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys,  the  secretary  of  the  company.  They 
laid  before  the  directors  the  request  for  per- 
mission to  form  a  settlement  in  Virginia,  with 
which  they  had  been  charged  by  their  breth- 
ren. The  application  was  signed  by  the 
greater  part  of  the  congregation,  and  con- 
tained a  statement  of  their  principles,  and 
their  reasons  for  desiring  to  emigrate  to 
America.  "  We  verily  believe  that  God  is 
with  "Js,"  said  the  petitioners,  "  and  will  pros- 
per us-  in  our  endeavors;  we  are  weaned 
from  our  mother  country,  and  have  learned 
patience  in  a  hard  and  strange  land.  We 
are  industrious  and  frugal ;  we  are  bound 
together  by  a  sacred  bond  of  the  Lord, 
whereof  we  make  great  conscience,  holding 
ourselves  to  each  other's  good.  W^e  do  not 
wish  ourselves  home  again  ;  we  have  nothing 
to  hopi  from  England  or  Holland ;  we  are 
men  who  will  not  be  easily  discouraged." 

Efforts  to  Reach  America. 

The  appeal  of  the  Pilgrims  was  received 
with  such  favor  by  the  London  Company 
that  Carver  and  Cushman  ventured  to  peti- 
tion the  king  to  grant  them  liberty  to  exer- 
cise their  religion  unmolested  in  the  wilds  of 
America.  The  most  that  James  would  con- 
sent to  grant  them,  however,  was  a  half 
promise  to  pay  no  attention  to  them  in  their 
new  home.  The  London  Company  agreed 
to  grant  them  permission  to  settle  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  the  dissensions  of  that  body  pre- 
vented anything  from  being  done  in  their 
behalf. 

The  Pilgrims  were  too  poor  to  defray  the 
jCOSt  of  their  emigration,  and  they  set  to  work 
to  find  persons  of  means  willing  to  assist 
them.     At  length  they  were  successful,  and 


a  company  was  formed  consisting  of  them- 
selves and  several  merchants  of  London. 
The  latter  were  to  advance  the  funds  neces- 
sary for  the  enterprise,  while  the  former  were 
to  contribute  their  entire  services  for  a  period 
of  seven  years  as  their  share  of  the  stock  of 
the  company.  At  the  end  of  seven  years 
the  profits  of  the  enterprise  were  to  be 
divided  according  to  the  amount  of  each 
one's  investment ;  and  it  was  agreed  that 
a  contribution  of  ten  pounds  in  money 
by  a  merchant  should  be  entitled  to  as  great 
a  share  of  the  profits  as  seven  years  of  labor 
on  the  part  of  the  emigrant. 

Departure  for  the  New  \A^orld. 

These  were  hard  terms  for  the  Pilgrims, but 
they  were  the  best  they  could  obtain,  and 
they  were  accepted,  as  the  exiles  were  will- 
ing to  suffer  any  sacrifice  in  order  to  be  able 
to  found  a  community  of  their  own  in  which 
they  could  bring  up  their  children  in  the  fear 
of  God.  The  main  thing  with  therri  was  to 
reach  the  shores  of  America.  Once  there 
these  men  who  had  learned  the  lessons  of 
self-denial  and  endurance  did  not  doubt  their 
ability  to  succeed  even  in  the  face  of  the 
heavy  disadvantages  they  were  obliged  to 
assume. 

With  the  funds  thus  obtained  the  Pilgrims 
began  to  prepare  for  their  departure.  A 
ship  of  sixty  tons,  called  the  "  Speedwell," 
was  purchased,  and  another,  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  tons,  called  the  "  Maj-flower," 
was  chartered.  These,  however,  could  trans- 
port but  a  part  of  the  congregation,  and  it 
was  resolved  to  send  out  at  first  only  "  such 
of  the  youngest  and  strongest  as  freely 
offered  themselves."  The  pastor,  Robinson, 
and  the  aged  and  infirm  were  to  remain  at 
Leyden  until  their  brethren  could  send  for 
them,  and  the  colony  was  placed  under  the 
guidance  of  William  Brewster,  the  governing 
elder,  who    was   an  able  teacher  and   much 


128 


SETTLEMENT   OF 
ble  char 


AMERICA. 


respected  and  beloved   for  hi 
acter. 

When  all  was  in  readiness,  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer  was  held,  in  order  that  at  the 
very  beginning  of  their  enterprise  the  Pilgrims 
might  invoke  the  guidance  and  protection  of 
God.     "  Let  us  seek  of  God,"  they  said,  "  a 


■■  I  charge  you  before  God  and  his  blessed 
angels,"  he  said,  in  tones  of  deep  emotion, 
"  that  you  follow  me  no  further  than  you 
have  seen  me  follow  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  If 
God  reveal  anything  to  you,  be  ready  to  re- 
ceive it ;  for  I  am  verily  persuaded  that  the 
Lord  lias  more  truth  yet  to  break  out  of  nis 
holy  word.    I  beseech 


:^fy%^JfM 


right  way  for  us,  and  for  our  little  ones,  and 
for  all  of  our  substance."  The  venerable 
pastor  made  this  solemn  season  the  occasion 
of  delivering  a  tender  farewell  to  the  mem- 
bers of  his  charge  who  were  about  to  depart, 
and  of  appealing  to  them  to  be  true  to.  the 
principles  of  their  religion  in  their  new  home. 


you,  remember  that  it 
is  an  article  of  your 
church  covenant,  that 
you  be  ready  to  re- 
ceive whatever  truth 
shall  be  made  known 
to  you  from  the  writ- 
ten word  of  Go(i  Take 
heed  what  ye  receive 
as  truth  ;  examine  it, 
consider  it,  anr'.  com- 
pare it  v.Ich  other 
scriptures  of  truth  be- 
fore you  receive  it; 
the  Christian  world 
has  not  yet  come  to 
the  perfection  of 
knowledge." 

From  Leyden  a 
number  of  the  breth- 
ren accompanied  the 
emigrants  to  Delft 
Haven,  from  which 
port  they  were  to  sail. 
The  night  before  their 
departure,  they  all  as- 
sembled in  prayer  and 
religious  exercises, 
which  were  continued 
hen  they  prepared  to 
ship.  Arrived  at  the 
shore,  they  knelt  again,  and  the  pastor. 
Robinson,  led  them  in  prayer — the  emigrants 
listening  to  his  voice  for  the  last  time  on 
earth.  "And  so,"  says  Edward  Winslow, 
"  lifting   up   our   hands   to   each    other,  and 


until    the    dawn,    ■ 
go    on    board    the 


our  hearts   to   the   Lord  our    God,   we    de- 
parted." 

Southampton  was  soon  reached,  and  the 
voyagers  were  transferred  to  the  "  May- 
flower "  and  the  "  Speedwell."  On  the  fifth 
of  August,  1620,  those  vessels  sailed  from 
Southampton  for  America.  Soon  after  get- 
ting to  sea,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
"  Speedwell  "  was  in  need  of  repairs,  and  that 
they  must  return  to  England.  They  put 
about  and  reached  the  port  of  Dartmouth, 
where  the  smaller  vessel  was  repaired. 
Eight  days  were  consumed  in  this  undertak- 
ing, and  the  voyage  was  resumed. 

One  Ship  Abandoned. 

They  were  scarcely  out  of  sight  of  land 
when  the  commander  of  the  "  Speedwell," 
alarmed  by  the  dangers  cf  the  voyage,  de- 
clared that  his  ship  was  not  strong  enough 
to  cross  the  ocean.  The  vessels  at  once  put 
back  to  Plymouth,  where  the  smaller  ship 
was  discharged.  At  the  same  time  those 
who  had  grown  faint-hearted  were  permitted 
to  withdraw  from  the  expedition.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  company,  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  and  one,  sailed  from  Plymouth 
in  the  "  Mayflower,"  on  the  sixth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1620.  Some  of  these  were  women  well 
advanced  in  pregnancy,  and  some  were 
children.  Their  little  vessel  was  but  a  frail 
barque  compared  with  the  ships  that  now 
navigate  the  sea;  but  a  band  of  braver  and 
more  resolute  souls  never  trusted  themselves 
to  the  mercies  of  the  stormy  Atlantic. 

The  leading  man  in  the  little  band  of 
Pilgrims  was  the  ruling  elder,  William  Brew- 
ster, who  was  to  be  their  preacher  until  the 
arrival  of  a  regularly  chosen  pastor.  He 
was  a  man  of  fine  education,  refined  and 
scholarly  tastes,  and  of  pure  and  lofty  Chris- 
tian character.  "  He  laid  his  hand,"  says 
Elliott, "to  the  daily  tasks  of  life,  as  well  as 
spent  his  sou!  in  trying  to  benefit  his  fellows 
9 


THE   PILGRIM    FATHERS. 

— so  bringing  himself  as  near 


129 


possible  to 

the  early  Christian  practices  ;  he  was  worthy 
of  being  the  first  minister  of  New  England." 
He  was  well  advanced  in  life,  and  vas 
looked  up  to  with  affectionate  regard  by  his 
associates. 

Another  was  John  Carver,  also  a  man  of 
years  and  ripe  experience,  who  had  sacrificed 
his  fortune  to  the  cause,  and  whose  dignified 
and  benevolent  character  won  him  the  honor 
of  being  chosen  the  first  chief  magistrate  of 
the  colony. 


y^sf'~ 


GOVERNOR  BREWSTER  S  CHAIR. 

Prominent  among  the  leaders  was  William 
Bradford.  He  was  only  thirty-two,  but  was 
a  man  of  earnest  and  resolute  character,  firm 
and  true,  "a  man  of  nerve  and  public  .spirit." 
He  had  begun  life  as  a  farmer's  boy  in  Eng- 
land, and  in  Holland  had  supported  himself 
by  practising  tlie  art  of  dyeing;  but.  in  spite 
of  his  constant  labors,  he  had  educated  him- 
self and  had  managed  to  accumulate  books  of 
his  own.     He  systematically  devoted  a  large 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


part  of  his  time  to  study,  and  thus  carefully- 
trained  his  great  natural  abilities. 

Edward  Winslow,  a  man  of  sweet  and 
amiable  disposition,  was  twenty-six  years  old. 
He  was  a  gentleman  by  birth,  and  had  been 
well  educated,  and  had  acquired  consider- 
able information  and  experience  by  travel. 

Miles  Standish  had  attained  the  manly 
age  of  thirty-six,  and  was  a  veteran  soldier. 
He  had  seen  service  in  the  wars  of  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  and  had  gained  an  honor- 
able distinction  in  them.  He  was  not  a 
member  of  the  church,  but  was  strongly  at- 
tached to  its  institutions. 

"  With  the  people  of  God  he  had  chosen  to  suffer 
affliction ; 

In  return  for  his  zeal,  they  made  him  Captain  of 
Plymouth ; 

He  was  a  man  of  honor,  of  noble  and  generous  na- 
ture ; 

Though  he  was  rough,  he  was  kindly  .... 

Somewhat  hasty  and  hot  ....  and  headstrong. 

Stern  as  a  soldier  might  be,  but  hearty  and  placable 
always, 

Not  to  be  laughed  at  and  scorned,  because  he  was 
little  of  stature ; 

For  he  was  great  of  heart,  magnanimous,  courtly, 
courageous." 

Tempestuous  Voyage. 
The  voyaL;c  of  the  "  Mayflower  "  was  long 
and  stormy.  The  Pilgrims  had  selected  the 
country  near  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  as  the 
best  region  for  their  settlement,  but  a  severe 
storm  drove  them  northward  to  the  coast  of 
New  England.  Si.xty-three  days  were  con- 
sumed in  the  passage,  during  which,  one  of 
their  number  had  died,  and  at  length  land 
was  made,  and  two  days  later,  the  "  May- 
•  flower  "  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Cape 
Cod. 

The  Pilgrims  had  come  to  America  at 
their  own  risk  and  without  the  sanction  of, 
oi  a  charter  from,  the  king  or  any  lawful 
or  ganization  in  England.  They  were  thrown 
upon  their  own  resources,  and  could  look  to 


no  quarter  for  protection  or  support.  Appre- 
ciating the  necessity  of  an  organized  govern- 
ment, their  first  acts  after  anchoring  in  Cape 
Cod  bay  were  to  organize  themselves  into  a 
body  politic  and  to  form  a  government. 

The   First  Compact. 

The  following  compact  was  drawn  up  m 
the  cabin  of  the  "  Mayflower,"  and  was 
signed  by  all  the  men  of  the  colony,  to  the 
number  of  forty-one :  "  In  the  name  of  God, 
amen ;  we  whose  names  are  underwritten, 
the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign 
King  James,  having  undertaken,  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  advancement  of  the  Christian 
faith,  and  honor  of  our  king  and  country,  a 
voyage  to  plant-  the  first  colony  in  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by  these  presents, 
solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of 
God  and  of  one  another,  covenant  and  com- 
bine ourselves  together,  in  a  civil  body 
politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preserva- 
tion, and  furtherance  of  the  ends  aforesaid ; 
and  by  virtue  hereof,  to  enact,  constitute  and 
frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances, 
acts,  constitutions  and  offices,  from  time  to 
time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  convenient 
for  the  general  good  af  the  colony,  unto 
which  we  protnise  all  due  submission  and 
obedience." 

This  was  the  first  constitution  of  New 
England,  democratic  in  form,  and  resting 
upon  the  consent  of  the  governed.  It  at 
once  established  the  new  commonwealth 
upon  the  basis  of  constitutional  libertj',  and 
secured  to  the  people  "just  and  equal  laws  " 
for  the  "  general  good."  In  virtue  of  the 
compact,  John  Carver  was  chosen  governor 
of  the  colony  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  prospect  which  presented  itself  to  the 
Pilgrims  upon  their  arrival  at  Cape  Cod 
might  well  have  daunted  even  their  resolute 
souls.  It  was  the  opening  of  the  winter,  and 
thev  had  come  to  a  barren  and  rugged  coast. 


THE   PILGRIM    P/^i-RERb. 


131 


The  climate  was  severe,  and  the  land  was  a 
wilderness.  The  English  colony  in  Virginia 
was  five  hundred  miles  distant,  and  to  the 
north  of  them  the  nearest  white  settlement 
was  the  French  colony  at  Port  Royal.  The 
"  Mayflower  "  was  only  chartered  to  convey 
them  to  America,  and  must  return  to  Eng- 
land as  soon  as  they  had  chosen  a  site  and 
established  a  settlement.  Yet  no  one  fal- 
tered. The  new  land  was  reached,  the  diffi- 
culties and  dangers  were  such  as  could  be 
overcome  by  patience  and  fortitude,  and  the 
Pilgrims  without  hesitation  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  task  before  them. 

Planting  the  Colony. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  explore 
the  coast  and  choose  a  site  for  the  colony, 
for  it  was  important  to  begin  their  settlement 
before  the  severity  of  the  winter  should  ren- 
der such  an  effort  impossible.  The  shallop 
was  gotten  out,  but  unfortunately  it  was 
found  to  need  repairs.  The  ship's  carpenter 
worked  so  slowly  that  nearly  three  weeks 
were  spent  in  this  task.  This  delay  was  a 
great  misfortune  at  this  advanced  season  of 
the  year,  and,  some  of  the  party  becoming 
impatient,  it  was  resolved  to  go  ashore  in  the 
ship's  boat  and  explore  the  country  by  land. 
A  party  of  sixteen  men  was  detailed  for  this 
purpose,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Miles  Standish.  William  Bradford, 
Stephen  Hopkins  and  Edward  Tilly  were 
included  in  the  party  as  a  council  of  war. 
The  explorers  were  given  numerous  instruc- 
tions, and  were  rather  permitted  than  ordered 
to  go  upon  their  journey,  which  was 
regarded  as  perilous,  and  the  time  of  their 
absence  was  limited  to  two  da)s. 

Upon  reaching  the  shore  they  followed  it 
for  about  a  mile,  when  they  discovered  sev- 
eral Indians  watching  them  from  a  distance. 
The  savages  fled  as  soon  as  they  saw  they 
were    observed,  and  the  whites   followed  in 


pursuit.  They  struck  the  trail  of  the  retreat- 
ing Indians,  and  followed  it  until  nightfall, 
but  being  encumbered  by  the  weight  of  their 
armoi  and  impeded  by  the  tangled  thickets 
through  which  they  had  to  pass,  they  were 
unable  to  overtake  the  Indians.  Tho 
explorers   bivouacked  that   night  by  a  clear 


L.A.XDING    OF   THE    PILGRIMS. 

spring,  whose  waters  refreshed  them  after 
their  fatiguing  march.  They  made  few  dis- 
coveries, but  the  expedition  was  not  entirely 
unprofitable. 

An  Indian  Graveyard. 
In  one  place  they  found  a  deer-trap,  made 
by  bending  a  young  tree  to  the  earth,  with  a 
noose  underground  covered  with  acorns. 
Mr.  Bradford  was  caught  by  the  foot  in  this 
snare,  whic'^    occasioned   m'""h    merriment. 


13^ 

An  Indian  graveyard  was  discovered  in 
another  p!ace,and  in  one  of  the  graves  there 
\vas  an  earthen  pot,  a  mortar,  a  bow  and 
some  arrows,  and  other  rude  implements. 
These  were  carefully  replaced  by  the  whites, 
who  respected  the  resting-place  of  the  dead. 
The  most  important  discovery  was  the  find- 
ing of  a  cellar  or  pit  carefully  lined  with 
bark,  and  covered  over  with  a  heap  of  sand, 
and  containing  about  four  bushels  of  seed 
corn  in  ears.  As  much  of  this  as  the  men 
could  carry  was  secured,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  pay  the  owners  of  the  corn  for  it  as 
soon  as  they  could  be  found. 


Searching  the  Neighborhood. 

The  shallop  being  finished  at  length,  a 
part}',  consisting  of  Carver,  Bradford,  Wins- 
low,  Standish  and  others,  with  eight  or  ten 
seamen,  was  sent  out  on  a  second  expedition 
on  the  sixth  of  December.  The  weather 
was  very  cold,  and  their  clothing,  drenched 
with  spray,  froze  as  stiff  as  iron  armor.  They 
reached  the  bottom  of  Cape  Cod  bay  that 
day,  and  landed,  instructing  the  people  in  the 
shallop  to  follow  them  along  the  shore.  The 
next  day  they  divided,  and  searched  the 
neighborhood.  They  found  a  number  of 
Indian  graves,  and  some  deserted  wigwams, 
but  saw  no  signs  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country.  That  night  they  encamped  near 
Namtasket,  or  Great  Meadow  Creek.  On  the 
morning  of  the  eighth  of  December,  just  as 
they  had  finished  their  prayers,  the  explorers 
were  startled  by  a  war-whoop  and  a  flight  of 
jirrows.  The  Indians,  who  were  of  the  tribe 
of  the  Nausites,  were  put  to  flight  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  few  guns.  Some  of  their  people 
had  been  kidnapped  by  the  English  a  few 
years  before,  and  hence  they  regarded  the 
new-comers  as  bent  on  the  same  errand. 

The  day  was  spent  in  searching  for  a  safe 
harbor  for  the  ship,  and  at  nightfall  a  violent 
storm  of  rain  and  snow  drove  them  through 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 

the  breakers  into  a  small  cove  sheltered 
from  the  gale  by  a  hill.  They  were  so  wet 
and  chilled  that  they  landed  at  once,  and. 
regardless  of  the  danger  of  drawing  the  sav- 
ages upon  them,  built  a  fire  with  great  diffi- 
cult}', in  order  to  keep  from  perishing  with 
the  cold.  When  the  morning  dawned  they 
found  that  they  were  on  an  island  at  the 
entrance  to  a  harbor.  The  day  WJS  spent  in 
rest  and  preparations. 

The  next  day,  December  lOth,  was  the 
Sabbath,  and,  notwithstanding  the  need  of 
prompt  action,  they  spent  it  in  rest  and 
religious  exercises.  The  next  day,  Decem- 
ber II,  1620,  old  style,  or  December  22d, 
according  to  our  present  system,  the  explor- 
ing party  of  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  the  head 
of  the  harbor  they  had  discovered.  The  rock 
upon  which  their  footsteps  were  first  planted 
is  still  preserved  by  their  descendants.  The 
place  was  explored  and  chosen  as  the  site  of 
the  settlement,  and  was  named  Plymouth,  in 
memory  of  the  last  English  town  from  which 
the  Pilgrims  had  sailed. 


Anchored  at  Plymouth. 

The  adventurers  hastened  back  to  the  ship, 
which  stood  across  the  bay,  and  four  days 
later  cast  anchor  in  Plymouth  harbor.  No 
time  was  to  be  lost ;  the  "  Mayflower  "  must 
soon  return  to  England,  and  the  emigrants 
must  have  some  shelter  over  their  heads  be- 
fore her  departure.  To  save  time  each  man 
was  allowed  to  build  his  own  house.  This 
was  a  most  arduous  task.  Many  of  the 
men  were  almost  broken  down  by  their  ex- 
posure to  the  cold,  and  some  had  already 
contracted  the  fatal  diseases  which  were  to 
carry  them  to  the  grave  before  the  close  f  I 
the  winter.  Still  they  persevered,  working 
bravely  when  the  absence  of  rain  and  snow 
would  permit  them  to  do  so. 

As  the  winter  deepened,  the  sickness  and 
mortality  of  the  colony  increased.     At  one 


THE   PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


133 


time  there  were  but  seven  well  men  in  the 
company.  More  than  forty  of  the  settlers 
died  during  the  winter.  John  Carver,  the 
good  governor  of  the  colony,  buried  his  son, 
and  himself  soon  succumbed  to  the  hardships 
from  which  he  had  never  shrunk,  though 
never  able  to  endure  them.  He  was  followed 
by  his  heart-broken  widow.  The  wives  of 
Bradford  and  Winslow,  and  Rose  Standish, 
the  sweet  young  bride  of  "the  Captain  of 
Plymouth"  were  also  among  the  victims. 
They  were  all  buried  on  the  shore  near  the 
rock  on  which  they 
had  landed,  and  lest 
their  graves  should 
tell  the  Indians  of  the 
sufferings  and  we  ik- 
ness  of  the  settlemt  nt, 
their  resting-place  A\  is 
levelled  and  sown  w  ith 
grass.  William  Br  .  1 
ford  was  chosen  gov- 
ernor in  the  plac(  of 
Carver,  and  the  woik 
went  on  with  fii  m- 
ness  and  without  re- 
pining. 

At  last  the  long  win- 
ter drew  to  a  close,  and 
the  balmy  spring  came 
to  cheer  the  settler-, 
with  its  bright  skies 
and  warm  bree/es 
The  sick  began  to  recover,  and  the  building 
of  the  settlement  was  completed.  In  course 
of  time  a  large  shed  was  erected  for  the 
public  stores,  and  a  small  hospital  for  the 
sick.  A  church  was  also  built.  It  was 
made  stronger  than  the  other  buildings,  as  it 
xvas  to  serve  as  a  fortress  as  well  as  a  place 
<f  worship,  and  four  cannon  were  mounted 
on  top  of  it  for  defence  against  the  savages. 
Here  they  assembled  on  the  Sabbath  for 
religious   worship,  and  to  hear   the  word  of 


God  from  the  lips  of  their  pastor,  the  good 
Elder  Brewster.  In  the  spring  the  ground 
was  prepared  for  cultixation,  but  until  the 
harvest  was  grown  the  colonists  lived  by 
fishing  and  hunting. 

No  Wish  to  Leave  the  Wilderness. 

In  March,  162 1,  the  "  Mayflower  "  sailed 
for  England.  Not  one  of  the  Pilgrims 
wished  to  return  in  her.  They  had  their 
trials,  and  these  were  sore  and  heavy,  but 
they  had  also  made  a  home  and  a  govern- 


IN    NEW    FNOLi^Nn 


ment  for  themselves,  where  they  could  enjoy 
the  benefits  and  protection  of  their  own  laws, 
and  worship  God  in  safety  and  in  peace. 
They  did  not  doubt  that  they  would  some 
day  triumph  over  their  difficulties,  and  that 
God  would  in  His  own  good  time  crown  their 
labors  and  their  patience  with  success. 

In  the  autumn  of  162 1,  a  reinforcement  of 
new  emigrants  arrived.  They  brought  no 
provisions,  and  were  dependent  upon  the 
scanty  stock  of  the  colony,  and  the  increased 


'34 


SETTLEMENT    OF   AMERICA. 


demand  upon  this  soon  brought  the  settlers 
face  to  face  with  the  danger  of  famine.  For 
six  months  no  one  received  more  than  half 
allowance,  and  this  was  frequently  reduced. 
"  I  have  seen  men,"  says  Winslow,  "  stagger 
by  reason  of  faintness  for  want  of  food." 
On  one  occasion  the  whole  company 
would  have  perished  but  for  the  kindness 
of  some  fishermen,  who  relieved  their 
wants. 

Every  Man   for  Himself. 

This  scarcity  of  provisions  continued  for 
several  years,  and  it  was  not  until  the  end  of 
the  fourth  year  of  the  settlement  that  the 
colonists  had  anything  like  a  proper  supply 
of  food.  In  that  year  neat  cattle  were  intro- 
duced into  Plymouth.  None  of  the  colonies 
were  called  upon  to  endure  such  privations 
as  were  suffered  by  the  Pilgrims.  Yet  they 
bore  them  with  unshaken  fortitude,  still 
trusting  that  God  would  give  tliem  a  pleas- 
anter  lot  in  the  end. 

The  conditions  of  the  contract  with  the 
English  merchants  had  required  the  labor  of 
the  colonists  to  be  thrown  into  the  common 
stock.  This  was  found  to  be  an  unprofitable 
arrangement,  and  in  1623  it  was  agreed  that 
each  settler  should  plant  for  himself,  and  each 
family  was  assigned  a  parcel  of  land  in  pro- 
portion to  its  numbers,  to  cultivate,  but  "  not 
for  an  inheritance."  This  arrangement  gave 
great  satisfaction  and  the  colonists  went  to 
work  with  such  a  will  that  after  this  season 
there  was  no  scarcity  of  food.  In  the  spring 
of  1624  each  colonist  was  given  a  little  land  in 
fee.  The  very  existence  of  the  colony  de- 
manded this  departure  from  the  hard  bargain 
with  the  English  merchants,  and  the  result 
justified  the  measure.  Abundant  harvests 
rewarded  the  labors  of  the  settlers,  and  corn 
soon  became  so  plentiful  that  the  colonist's 
\vere  able  to  supply  the  sa\ages  with  it. 
These,  preferring  the   chase  to  the  labor  of 


the   field,   brought    in    game   and    skins  to 
Plymouth  and  received  corn  in  return. 

In  the  meantime  a  friendly  intercourse  had 
sprung  up  between  the  settlers  and  the 
Indians.  In  the  first  year  of  the  settlement 
the  red  men  were  seen  hovering  upon  the 
outskirts  of  the  village,  but  they  fled  upon  the 
approach  of  the  whites.  Distant  columns  of 
smoke,  rising  beyond  the  woods,  told  that  the 
savages  were  close  at  hand,  and  it  was 
deemed  best  to  organize  the  settlers  into  a 
military  company,  the  command  of  which 
was  given  to  Miles  Standish.  One  day, in 
March,  1621,  the  whole  village  was  startled 
by  the  appearance  of  an  Indian,  who  boldly 
entered  the  settlement,  and  greeted  the  whites 
with  the  friendly  words,  "  Welcome,  English- 
men !     Welcome,  Englishmen  !  " 

A  Romantic  History. 

He  was  kindly  received,  and  it  was  found 
that  he  was  Samoset,  and  had  learned  a 
little  English  of  the  fishermen  at  Penobscot. 
He  belonged  to  the  Wampanoags,  a  tribe  oc- 
cupying the  country  north  of  Narragansett 
Bay  and  between  the  rivers  of  Providence  and 
Taunton.  He  told  them  that  they  might 
possess  the  lands  they  had  taken  in  peace,  as. 
the  tribe  to  which  they  had  belonged  had 
been  swept  away  by  a  pestilence  the  year  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrims.  He  re- 
mained one  night  with  the  settlers,  who  gave 
him  a  knife,  a  ring,  and  a  bracelet,  and  then 
went  back  to  his  people,  promising  to  return 
soon  and  bring  other  Indians  to  trade  with 
them.  In  a  few  days  he  came  back,  bring- 
ing with  him  Squanto,  the  Indian  who  had 
been  kidnapped  by  Hunt  and  sold  in  Spain. 

From  that  country  Squanto  had  escap  d 
to  England,  where  he  had  learned  the  lan- 
guage. He  had  managed  to  return  to  his 
own  country,  and  now  appeared  to  act  as 
interpreter  to  the  English  in  their  inter- 
course with   his   people.     They  announced 


THE   PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


135 


that  Massasoit,  the  sachem  of  the  Wampa- 
noags,  desired  to  visit  the  colony  Tiie 
chieftain  was  received  with  all  the  ceremony 
the  little  settlement  could  afford.  Squanto 
acted  as  interpreter,  and  a  treaty  of  friendship 
was  arranLjed  between  Massasoit  on  behalf  of 
his  people  and  the  English. 

Friendly  Agreement. 
The  parties  to  the  agreement  promised  to 
treat  each  other  with  kindness  and  justice,  to 
deliver  up  offenders,  and  to  assist  each  other 
when  attacked  by  their  enemies.  This  treaty 
was  faithfully  observ- 
ed by  both  parties  for 
fifty  years.  The  Pil- 
grims expressed  their 
willingness  to  pay  for 
the  baskets  of  corn 
that  had  been  taken 
by  their  first  explor- 
ing party,  and  this 
they  did  six  months 
later,  when  the  right- 
ful owners  presented 
themselves.  A  trade 
with  the  Indians  was 
established  and  furs 
were  brought  into 
Plymouth  by  them 
and  sold  for  articles 
of    European    manu- 

1  lit      1  KE.  Ill       1   t  1 

fact  u  re. 

Squanto  was  the  faithful  friend  of  the  col- 
ony to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  was  regarded 
by  the  Pilgrims  as  "  a  special  instrument  sent 
of  God  for  their  good  beyond  their  expecta- 
tion." He  taught  them  the  Indian  method  of 
planting  corn  and  putting  fish  with  it  to  fer- 
a'ize  the  ground,  and  where  to  find  and  how 
to  catch  fish  and  game.  He  showed  them 
his  friendship  in  many  ways,  and  was  during 
his  lifetime  the  interpreter  of  the  colony. 
The  Pilgrims  on  their  part  were  not  ungrate- 
ful to  him. 


On  one  occasion  it  was  rumored  in  Ply- 
mouth that  Squanto  had  b  en  seized  by  the 
Narragansetts,  and  had  been  put  to  death. 
A  party  of  ten  men  at  once  marched  into 
the  forest,  and  surprised  the  hut  where  the 
chief  of  the  Narragansetts  was.  Although 
the  tribe  could  bring  five  thousand  war- 
riors into  the  field,  the  chief  was  overawed 
by  the  determined  action  of  the  English, 
whose  firearms  gave  them  a  great  superi- 
ority, and  Squanto  was  released  unharmed. 
On    his  death-bed  Squanto,  who   had   been 


carefully  nursed  by  his  white  friends,  asked 
the  governor  to  pray  that  he  miL;ht  go  to 
"the  Englishman's  God  in  Heaven."  His 
death  was  regarded  as  a  serious  misfortune 
to  the  colony. 

The  Great  Chief  Massasoit. 

Massasoit,  whose  tribe  had  been  greatly 
reduced  by  pestilence,  desired  the  alliance  of 
the  English  as  a  protection  against  the  Nar- 
ragansetts, who  had  escaped  the  scourge,  and 
whose  chief,  Canonicus,  was  hostile  to  him. 


136 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


The  Narragansetts  lived  upon  the  shores  of 
the  beautiful  bay  to  which  they  have  given 
their  name,  and  were  a  powerful  and  warlike 
race.  Canonicus  regarded  the  English  with 
hostility,  and  in  1622  sent  thorn  as  a  defiance 
-.  bundle  of  arrows  wrapped  in  the  skin  of  a 
<  attlesnake. 

Governor  Bradford  received  the  challenge 
from  the  hands  of  the  chieftain's  messenger, 
and  stuffing  the  skin  with  powder  and  ball  re- 
turned it  to  him,  and  sternly  bade  him  bear 
it  back  to  his  master.  The  Indians  regarded 
the  mysterious  contents  of  the  skin  with  ter- 
ror and  dread,  and  passed  it  from  tribe  to 
tribe.  None  dared  either  keep  or  destroy  it, 
as  it  was  regarded  as  possessed  of  some  mys- 
terious but  powerful  influence  for  harm.  It 
was  finally  returned  to  the  colony,  and  in  a 
short  while  Canonicus,  who  had  been  cowed 
by  the  spirited  answer  of  Bradford,  offered  to 
make  a  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  with  the 
colony. 

The  Pilgrims  endeavored  to  treat  the 
Indians  with  justice.  Severe  penalties -were 
denounced  against  those  who  should  deprive 
the  savages  of  their  property  without  paying 
for  it,  or  should  treat  them  with  violence. 
Yet  the  colonists  were  to  have  trouble  with 
the  red  men,  and  that  through  no  fault  of 
their  own.     It  happened  on  this  wise. 

A  Timely  Warning. 
Among  the  merchants  of  London  who  had 
invested  money  in  the  planting  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  was  Thomas  Weston.  Envi- 
ous of  the  advance  made  by  the  colony  in 
the  fur  trade,  he  desired  to  secure  all  the 
profits  of  that  traffic  by  establishing  a  trading- 
post  of  his  own.  He  obtained  a  patent  for  a 
small  tract  on  Boston  harbor,  near  Wey- 
mouth, and  settled  there  a  colony  of  sixty 
men,  the  greater  number  of  whom  were  in- 
dentured servants.  These  men,  disregarding 
the  warnings  of  the  people  of  Plymouth,  gave 


themselves  up  to  a  dissolute  life,  and  drew 
upon  themselves  the  wrath  of  the  Indians  by 
maltreating  them,  and  stealing  their  corn. 
The  Indians,  unable  to  distinguish  between 
the  guilty  and  the  innocent,  resolved  to 
avenge  the  misconduct  of  Weston's  men  by 
a  massacre  of  every  white  settler  in  the  coun- 
try. 

Before  the  plot  could  be  put  in  execution 
Massasoit  fell  sick.  Winslow  visited  him, 
and  found  his  lodge  full  of  medicine-men  and 
jugglers,  who  were  killing  him  with  the 
noise  they  made  to  drive  away  the  disease. 
The  kind-hearted  Englishman  turned  the 
Indian  doctors  out  of  the  lodge,  and  by  giv- 
ing Massasoit  rest,  and  administering  such 
remedies  as  his  case  required,  restored  him  to 
health.  The  grateful  chief  revealed  the  plot 
of  his  people  for  the  extermination  of  the 
English.  The  Plymouth  settlers  were  greatly 
alarmed,  and  measures  were  promptly  taken 
to  avert  the  danger. 

Nine  White  Braves. 

Standish,  with  eight  armed  men,  was  sent 
to  the  assistance  of  the  settlement  at  Wey- 
mouth. They  arrived  in  time  to  prevent  the 
attack.  The  Indians,  who  had  begun  to 
collect  for  the  massacre,  were  surprised  and 
defeated  in  a  brief  engagement,  and  the  chief, 
who  was  the  leader  of  the  conspiracy,  was 
slain,  with  a  number  of  his  men.  This 
gallant  exploit  established  the  supremacy  of 
the  English  in  New  England,  and  many  of 
the  native  tribes  sought  their  friendship  and 
alliance.  The  Weymouth  men  were  unwill- 
ing to  continue  their  colony  after  their  nar- 
row escape.  Some  went  to  Plymouth  where 
they  became  a  source  of  trouble,  and  others 
returned  to  England.  The  spring  of  1623 
saw  the  last  of  this  settlement. 

In  the  autumn  of  1623  the  best  harvest 
was  gathered  in  that  had  yet  blessed  the 
labors  of  the  Pilgrims.     It  was  an  abundant 


THE    PILGRIM    FATHERS. 


137 


ield,  and  put  an  end  to  all  fears  of  a    re-     of  the  colony,  they  managed  in  1627,  at  con- 


>' 

newal  of  the  danger  of  famine.  When  the 
labors  of  the  harvest  were  over  Governor 
Bradford  sent  out  men  to  collect  game,  in 
order  that  the  people  might  enjoy  a  thanks- 
giving feast.  On  the  appointed  day  the 
people  "  met  together  and  thanked  God  with 
all  their  hearts  for  the  good  world  and  the 
good  things  in  it."  Thus  was  established 
the  custom  of  an  annual  thanksgiving  to 
God  for  the  blessings  of  the  year,  which 
though  at  first  a  celebration  peculiar  to  New 
England  has  at  length  become  a  national 
festival. 

Each  Settler  a  Land  Owner. 

The  colonists  themselves  were  satisfied 
with  the  progress  they  had  made,  but  their 
merchant  partners  in  England  were  greatly 
displeased  with  the  smallness  of  the  profits 
they  had  received  from  their  investments, 
and  in  many  ways  made  the  colony  feel  their 
dissatisfaction.  Robinson  and  his  congrega- 
tion at  Leyden  were  anxious  to  join  their 
friends  in  America,  but  the  merchant  partners 
refused  to  send  them  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
not  content  with  this  endeavored  to  force 
upon  the  Plymouth  people  a  pastor  friendly 
to  the  Church  of  England.  They  soon  got 
rid  of  this  individual,  however,  whose  con- 
duct quickly  enabled  them  to  expel  him  from 
Plymouth  as  an  evil  liver.  The  merchants 
also  sent  a  vessel  to  New  England  to  oppose 
the  colonists  in  the  fur  trade  ;  and  demanded 
exorbitant  prices  for  the  goods  they  sold  the 
settlers,  charging  them  the  enormous  profit 
of  seventy  per  cent. 

It  was  not  possible,  however,  to  destroy 
the  results  of  the  industry  and  self-denial  of 
the  Pilgrims.  Seeing  that  their  association 
with  their  English  partners  would  continue  to 
operate  merely  as  a  drag  upon  the  advance 


;iderable  sacrifice,  to  purchase  the  entire 
interest  of  their  partners.  The  stock  and 
the  land  of  the  colony  were  then  divided 
equitably  among  the  settlers,  and  the  share 
of  each  man  became  his  own  private  prop- 
erty. Each  settler  was  thus  made  the  owner 
of  a  piece  of  land  which  it  was  to  his  in- 
terest to  improve  to  the  highest  degree  pos- 
sible. Freed  from  the  burdens  under  which 
it  had  labored  for  so  long,  the  colony  began 
to  increase  in  prosperity  and  in  population. 

The  government  of  the  Pilgrims  was  sim- 
ple, but  effective.  They  had  no  charter,  and 
were  from  the  first  driven  upon  their  own 
resources.  They  had  a  governor  who  was 
chosen  by  the  votes  of  all  the  settlers.  In 
1624  a  council  of  five  was  given  him,  and  in 
1633  this  number  was  increased  to  seven. 
The  council  assisted  the  governor  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  duties,  and  imposed  a  check 
upon  his  authority,  as  in  its  meetings  he  had 
merely  a  double  vote.  The  whole  number  of 
male  settlers  for  eighteen  years  constituted 
the  legislative  body.  They  met  at  stated 
times,  and  enacted  such  laws  as  were  neces- 
sary for  the  welfare  of  the  colony.  The 
people  were  frequently  convened  by  the  gov- 
ernor, in  the  earlier  years  of  the  settlement, 
to  aid  him  with  their  advice  upon  difficult 
questions  brought  before  them.  When  the 
colony  increased  in  population,  and  a  number 
of  towns  were  included  within  its  limits,  each 
town  sent  representatives  to  a  general  court 
at  Plymouth. 

If  the  colony  grew  slowly,  it  grew  steadily, 
and  at  length  the  Pilgrims  had  their  reward 
in  seeing  their  little  settlement  expand  into  a 
flourishing  province,  in  which  the  principles 
of  civil  freedom  were  cherished,  religion 
honored,  and  industry  and  economy  made 
the  basis  of  the  wealth  of  the  little  state. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Settlement  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island 

gettlement  of  New  Hampshire— The  English  Puritans  Determine  to  Form  a  New  Colony  in  America— The  Plymoutfc 
Council— A  Colony  Sent  Out  to  Salem  under  Endicott— Colonization  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Begun— A  Charter  Obtained 
—Concessions  of  tlie  King— Progress  of  the  Salem  Colony— The  Charter  and  Government  of  the  Colony  Removed  to 
New  England— Arrival  of  Governor  Winlhrop— Settlement  of  Boston— Sufferings  of  the  Colonists— Roger  Williams 
—His  Opinions  Give  Offence  to  the  Authorities— The  Success  of  the  Bay  Colony  Established— Growth  of  Popular 
Liberty— The  Ballot  Box— Banishment  of  Roger  Williams— He  Goes  into  the  Wilderness— Founds  Providence- 
Growth  of  Williams'  Colony— Continued  Growth  ofMassachusetts— Arrival  of  Sir  Henry  Vane— Is  Elected  Governor 

Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson — The  Antinomian  Controversy — Mrs.  Hutchinson  Banished — Settlement  of  Rhode  Island — 

Murder  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson. 


THE  success  of  the  Pilgrims  in  es- 
tablishing the  Plymouth  colony 
aroused  a  feeling  of  deep  interest 
in  England,  and  some  of  those  who 
had  watched  the  effort  were  encouraged  to 
attempt  ventures  of  their  own.  Sir  Ferdi- 
nand Gorges,  who  had  taken  a  deep  interest 
in  the  schemes  to  settle  the  new  world,  and 
John  Mason,  the  secretary  of  the  council  of 
Plymouth,  obtained  a  patent  for  the  region 
called  Laconia,  which  comprised  the  whole 
country  between  the  sea,  the  St.  Lawrence, 
the  Merrimac  and  the  Kennebec,  and  now 
embraced  partly  in  Maine  and  partly  in  New 
Hampshire.  A  company  of  English  mer- 
chants was  formed,  and  in  1623  permanent 
colonies  were  established  at  Portsmouth, 
Dover  and  one  or  two  other  places  near  the 
mouth  cf  the  Piscataqtia.  These  were  small, 
feeble  settlements,  and  were  more  trading- 
posts  than  towns. 

For  many  years  their  growth  was  slow, 
and  it  was  not  until  other  parts  of  New 
England  were  well  peopled  and  advanced 
far  beyond  their  early  trials  that  they  began 
to  show  signs  of  prosperity.  In  1653,  thirty 
years  after  its  settlement,  Portsmouth  con- 
tained only  "between  fifty  and  si.xty  families." 
The  settlers  of  these  towns  were  not  all 
13S 


Puritans,  and  their  colonies  had  not  the  re- 
ligious character  of  those  of  the  rest  of  New 
England.  In  1641,  they  were  annexed  at 
their  own  request  to  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  general  court  having  agreed  not 
to  require  the  freemen  and  deputies  to  be 
church  members. 

In  the  meantime  the  news  of  the  successful 
planting  of  Plymouth  was  producing  other 
and  more  important  results  in  England. 
The  persecutions  of  the  Non-conformists, 
which  marked  the  entire  reign  of  James  I., 
were  continued  through  that  of  his  son  and 
successor,  Charles  I.  The  Puritans,  sorely 
distressed  by  the  tyranny  to  which  they  were 
subjected,  listened  with  eagerness  to  the  ac- 
counts of  America  which  were  sent  over  by 
the  members  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  and 
published  from  time  to  time  in  England. 
The  descriptions  of  the  Pilgrims  were  not 
exaggerated.  They  did  not  promise  either 
fame  or  sudden  wealth  to  settlers  in  their 
province,  but  clearly  set  forth  the  cares  and 
labors  which  were  to  be  the  price  of  success 
in  America. 

They  dwelt  with  especial  emphasis,  how- 
ever, upon  that  which  was  in  their  eyes  the 
chief  reward  of  all  their  toil  and  suffering — 
the  ability  to  exercise  their  religion  without 


SETTLEMENT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   AND    RHODE   ISLAND. 


139 


restraint.  Their  brethren  in  England  heard 
their  accounts  with  a  longing  to  be  with 
them  to  enjoy  the  freedom  with  which  they 
were  blessed,  and  it  was  not  long  before  a 
number  of  English  Non-conformists  began 
to  concert  measures  for  making  New  Eng- 
land a  place  of  refuge  for  the  persecuted 
members  of  their  faith.  The  leading  spirit 
in  these  enterprises  was  the 
Rev.  !Mr.  White,  a  minister 
of  Dorsetshire,  a  Puritan, 
but  not  a  Separatist.  Re- 
garding the  vicinity  of  the 
present  town  of  Salem  as 
the  most  suitable  place  for 
colonization,  he  exerted 
himself  with  energy  to  se- 
cure it  for  his  brethren. 

In  the  meantime  the 
Plymouth  Company  had 
ceased  to  exist,  and  its 
place  had  been  taken  by 
the  council  of  Plymouth. 
That  body  cared  for  New 
England  only  as  a  source 
of  profit,  and  sold  the  ter- 
ritory of  that  region  to 
a  number  of  purchasers, 
assigning  the  same  district 
to  different  people,  and  thus 
paving  the  way  for  vexa- 
tious litigation.  In  1628, 
it  sold  to  a  company  of 
gentlemen  of  Dorchester, 
which  White's  energy  had 
succeeded  in  bringing  into 
existence,  a  district  extending  from  three 
miles  south  of  Massachusetts  Bay  to  three 
miles  north  of  the  Merrimac  River.  As 
was  usual  in  all  grants  of  the  day,  the 
Pacific  was  made  the  western  boundary  of 
this  region. 

This  company  was  at  once  prepared  to 
send  out  a  colony,  and  in  the  early  summer 


of  that  year  one  hundred  persons  under 
John  Endicott,  as  governor,  were  despatched 
to  New  England.  Endicott  took  his  family 
with  him,  and  in  September,  1628,  reached 
New  England,  and  established  the  settlement 
of  Salem,  the  site  of  which  was  already  occ-- 
pied  by  a  few  men  whom  White  had  place 
there  to  hold  it.     Endicott,  who  was  a  mail 


JOHN  ENDICOTT. 

of  undaunted  courage  and  acknowledged  in- 
tegrity of  character,  soon  established  his 
authority  over  the  few  settlements  that  had 
sprung  up  along  the  shores  of  the  bay.  At 
this  time  the  site  of  Charlestown  was  occupied 
by  an  Englishman  named  Thomas  Walford, 
a  blacksmith,  who  had  fortified  his  cabin 
with  a  palisade.     The  only   dweller  on  the 


[40 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


tri-mountain  peninsula  of  Shawmut  was  the 
Rev.  William  Blackstone,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England;  the  island  now  known 
as  East  Boston  was  occupied  by  Samuel 
Maverick.  At  Nantasket  and  a  few  places 
farther  south  some  Englishmen  had  located 
tliemselves,  and  lived  by  fishing  and  trading 
lii  skins  :  and  on  the  site  of  Quincy  was  the 
wreck  of  a  colony  which  had  nearly  perished 
in  consequence  of  its  evils  ways.  These, 
with  the  settlement  at  Salem,  constituted  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Arrivals  at    Salem. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  Endicott's 
colony  from  England,  the  company,  acting 
upon  the  advice  of  their  counsel,  obtained 
from  the  king  a  confiaiation  of  their  grant. 
In  March,  1629,  the  king  granted  to  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  a  charter 
uiuier  which  it  conducted  its  affairs  for  more 
t  'lan  fifty  years.  By  the  terms  of  this  charter 
t  ae  governor  was  to  be  elected  by  the  free- 
men for  the  term  of  one  year,  provision  was 
made  for  the  assembling  at  stated  times  of  a 
1,'encral  court,  which  was  to  have  the  power 
to  make  ail  the  needed  laws  for  the  colony, 
and  it  was  not  necessary  that  these  laws  should 
receive  the  royal  signature  in  order  to  be 
\alid.  This  was  conceding  practical  inde- 
pendence to  the  colony. 

In  the  spring  of  1629,  a  second  company 
of  emigrants  sailed  from  England  for  Massa- 
chusetts. They  were,  like  the  first,  all  Puri- 
tans, and  took  with  them,  as  their  minister, 
the  Rev.  Francis  Higginson,  formerly  of 
Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  deep  piety.  The  colonists  were 
•nstructed  to  do  no  violence  to  the  Indians. 
"  If  any  of  the  salvages,"  so  read  the  com- 
pany's orders,  "  pretend  right  of  inheritance 
to  all  or  any  part  of  the  lands  granted  in  our 
patent,  endeavor  to  purchase  their  tytle,  that 
we  may  avoid  the  least  scruple  of  intrusion." 


Six  shipwrights  were  sent  over  for  the  use 
of  the  colony,  an  experienced  engineer  to 
lay  out  a  fortified  town,  and  a  master  gun- 
ner, who  was  to  teach  the  men  of  the  colony 
the  use  of  arms  and  military  exercises. 
Cattle  and  horses  and  goats  were  sent  out 
also. 

The  voyage  was  prosperous,  and  the  new 
settlers  reached  Salem  about  the  last  of  June. 
They  found  the  settlement  in  a  feeble  con- 
dition, and  greatly  in  need  of  their  assistance. 
The  old  and  the  new  colonists  numbered 
about  three  hundred.  The  majority  of  these 
remained  at  Salem,  and  the  rest  were  sent 
by  Endicott  to  establish  a  colony  at  Charles- 
town,  in  order  to  secure  that  place  from 
occupation  by  the  partisans  of  Sir  Ferdi- 
nand Gorges,  who  claimed  the  region.  The 
emigrants  were  scrupulous  to  acquire  from 
the  Indians  the  right  to  the  lands  they  occu- 
pied. The  twelfth  of  July  was  observed 
as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  "for  the 
choice  of  a  pastor  and  teacher  at  Salem." 
No  one  advanced  any  claim  founded  on  his 
ordination  in  England  ;  personal  fitness  was 
the  only  qualification  recognized  by  the 
Puritans.  Samuel  Skelton  was  chosen  oastor, 
and  Francis  Higginson  teacher. 

The  Brownes  Cast  Out. 

Three  or  four  of  the  gravest  members  of 
the  church  laid  their  hands  upon  the 
heads  of  these  men,  with  prayer,  and  solemn- 
ly appointed  them  to  their  respective  offices. 
"Thus  the  church,  like  that  of  Plymouth, 
was  self-constituted,  on  the  principle  of  the 
independence  of  each  religious  community. 
It  did  not  ask  the  assent  of  the  king,  or 
recognize  him  as  its  head;  its  officers  were 
set  apart  and  ordained  among  themselves; 
it  used  no  liturgy ;  it  rejected  unnecessary 
ceremonies,  and  reduced  the  simplicity  of 
Calvin  to  a  still  plainer  standard.  The 
motives  which  controlled  its  decisions  were 


SETTLEMENT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   AND    RHODE   ISLAND. 


141 


so  deeply  seated  that  its  practices  were 
repeated  spontaneously  by  Puritan  New 
England."  An  opposition  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  was  attempted  by  a  party 
led  by  John  and  Samuel  Browne,  men  of 
ability ;  but  this  was  treated  as  a  mutiny  and 
put  down,  and  the  Brownes  were  sent  back 
to  England. 

The  charter  of  Massachusetts,  though  it 
made  liberal  concessions  to  the  colony, 
contained  no  provision  for  the  rights  of  the 
people,  who  were  left  at  the  mercy  of  the 
company.  For  the  proper  government 
of  the  colony,  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
move the  charter  to  Massachusetts,  and 
such  a  removal  was  advisable  on  another 
ground.  The  charter  contained  no  guar- 
antee for  the  reglious  freedom  of  the  co- 
lony, and  the  king  might  at  any  moment 
seek  to  interfere  with  this,  the  most  pre- 
cious right  of  the  Puritans.  The  only 
way  to  escape  the  evils  which  the  com- 
pany had  reason  to  dread  was  for  the 
governing  council  to  change  its  place 
of  meeting  from  England  to  Massachu- 
setts, which  the  provisions  of  the  charter 
gave  it  authority  to  do. 

An  Independent  Colony. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  1629, 
John  Winthrop,  Isaac  Johnson,  Thomas 
Dudley,  Richard  Saltonstall  and  eight 
others,  men  of  fortune  and  education, 
met  at  Cambridge  and  bound  them- 
selves by  a  solemn  agreement  to  settle  in 
New  England  if  the  whole  government  of 
the  colony,  together  with  the  patent,  should 
be  legally  transferred  to  that  region  before 
the  end  of  September.  On  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  the  month,  the  court  took  the  de- 
cisive step  and  ordered  that  "  the  govern- 
ment and  patent  should  be  settled  iii  New 
England."  This  was  a  bold  step,  but  its 
legality  was  not  contested  by  any  one,  and  it 


made  the  government  of  the  colony  independ- 
ent of  control  by  any  power  in  England. 

The  officers  of  the  colony  were  to  be  a 
governor  and  eighteen  assistants.  On  the 
twentieth  of  October,  a  meeting  of  the  court 
was  held  to  choose  them,  and  John  Winthrop 
was  elected  governor  for  one  year.  It  was  a 
fortunate  selection,  for  Winthrop  proved 
himself  for  many  years  the  very  mainstay  of 
the  colony,  sustaining  his  companions  by  his. 
calm  courage,  and  setting  them  a  noble  ex- 


JOHN    WINTHROP. 

ample  in  his  patience,  his  quiet  heroism  and 
his  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  others.  He 
seemed  to  find  his  greatest  pleasure  in  doing 
good,  and  his  liberality  acted  as  a  check 
upon  the  bigotry  of  his  associates  and  kept 
them  in  paths  of  greater  moderation. 

Efforts  were  made  to  send  over  new  settlers 
to  Massachusetts,  and  about  a  thousand 
emigrants,  with  cattle,  horses  and  go. its,  were 
transported    thither    in  the  season   of   1630.. 


142 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


Early  in  April,  Governor  Winthrop  and 
about  seven  hundred  emigrants  sailed  from 
England  in  a  fleet  of  eleven  ships.  Many  of 
them  were  "  men  of  high  endowments  and 
large  fortune;  scholars,  well  versed  in  the 
learning  of  the  times ;  clergymen  who  ranked 
among  the  best  educated  and  most  pious  in 
the  realm." 

Death  Among  the  Settlers. 

They  reached  Salem  on  the  twelfth  of 
June,  after  a  vo}-age  of  sixty-one  days,  and 
were  gladly  welcomed  by  the  settlers,  whom 
they  found  In  great  distress  from  sickness 
and  a  scarcity  of  provisions.  About  eighty 
had  died  during  the  winter,  and  many  were 
sick.  There  was  scarcely  a  fortnight's  sup- 
ply of  food  in  the  settlement,  and  it  was  nec- 
essary to  send  one  of  the  ships  back  to  Eng- 
land at  once  for  a  supply  of  provisions. 

Salem  did  not  please  the  new-comers,  and 
settlements  were  made  at  Lynn,  Charles- 
town,  Newtown,  Dorchester,  Roxbury,  Mai- 
den and  Watertown.  The  governor  and  a 
large  part  of  the  emigrants  settled  first  at 
Charlestown.but  at  length,  in  order  to  obtain 
better  water,  crossed  over  and  occupied  the 
little  tri-mountain  peninsula  of  Shawmut. 
To  this  settlement  was  gi\en  the  name  of 
Boston,  in  honor  of  the  town  in  Lincolnshire 
in  England,  which  had  been  the  home  of  the 
Rev.  John  Wilson,  who  became  the  pastor  of 
the  first  church  of  Boston.  The  location 
was  central  to  the  whole  province,  and  Bos- 
ton became  the  seat  of  government.  When 
the  year  for  which  the  first  colonial  officers 
had  been  chosen  expired  a  new  election  was 
held,  and  Governor  Winthrop  and  all  the  old 
officials  were  re-elected. 

Terrible  Sufferings. 
■  The  colonists  now  began  to  feci  the  effects 
of  their  new  life.  The  change  of  climate  was 
very  trying  to  them,  and  many  of  them  fell 
victims  to  its  rigors,  and  to  the  hardships  of 
their  position.     A  large  number  ofthem  had 


been  brought  up  in  ease  and  refinement,  and 
were  unaccustomed  to  privation  or  exposure. 
They  sank  beneath  the  severe  trials  to  which 
they  were  subjected.  By  December,  1630, 
at  least  two  hundred  had  died.  Among 
these  were  the  Lady  Arbella  Johnson  and 
her  husband,  among  the  most  liberal  and  de- 
voted supporters  of  the  colony,  and  a  son  oi 
Governor  Winthrop,  who  left  a  widow  and 
children  in  England.  Others  became  dis- 
heartened, and  more  than  a  hundred  returned 
to  England,  where  they  endeavored  to  ex- 
cuse their  desertion  of  their  companions  by 
grossly  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  hard- 
ships of  the  colony. 

Patient  Endurance. 

Yet  among  the  colonists  themselves  there 
was  no  repining.  They  exhibited  in  their 
deep  distress  a  fortitude  and  heroism  worthy 
of  thefr  lofty  character.  "  Honor  is  due," 
says  Bancroft, "  not  less  to  those  who  per- 
ished than  to  those  who  survived ;  to  the 
martyrs  the  hour  of  death  was  the  hour  of 
triumph  ;  such  as  is  never  witnessed  in  more 
tranquil  seasons.  *****  Even  children 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  place  ;  awaited  the 
impending  change  in  the  tranquil  confidence 
of  faith,  and  went  to  the  grave  full  of  immor- 
tality. The  survivors  bore  all  things  meekly, 
'  remembering  the  end  of  their  coming 
hither.'"  Winthrop  wrote  to  his  wife, who 
had  been  detained  in  England  by  sickness : 
"  We  enjoy  here  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  and 
is  not  this  enough.?  I  thank  God  I  like  so 
well  to  be  here,  as  I  do  not  repent  my  com- 
ing. I  would  not  have  altered  my  course 
though  I  had  foreseen  all  these  afflictions. 
I  never  had  more  content  of  mind." 

Another  danger  which  threatened  the 
colony  arose  from  the  scarcity  of  provisions, 
but  this  was  removed  on  the  fifth  of  February, 
i63iiby  the  timely  arrival  of  the  "Lyon" 
from  England,  laden  with  provisions.  This 
i  relief  was  greeted  v.-ith  public  thanksgivings 


SETTLEMENT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   AND    RHODE   ISLAND. 


■43 


in  all  the  settlements.  The  "  Lyon,"  how- 
ever, brought  only  twenty  passengers,  and  in 
163 1  only  ninety  persons  came  out  from 
England.  The  number  of  arrivals  in  1632 
as  only  two  hundred  and  fifty.  Thus  the 
■  lony  grew  very  slowly.  By  the  close  of 
AC  latter  year  the  total  population  of  Massa- 
:husetts  was  only  a  little  over  one  thousand 
souls. 

Sketch  of  Roger  'Williams. 

Among  the  passengers  of  the  "Lyon" 
was  a  young  minister,  described  in  the  old 
records  as  "  lovely  in  his  carriage,  godly  and 
zealous,  having  precious  gifts,"  Roger 
Williams  by  name.  He  had  been  a  favorite 
pupil  of  the  great  Sir  Edward  Coke,  and  had 
learned  from  him  precious  lessons  of  liberty 
and  toleration.  He  had  been  carefully  edu- 
cated at  Pembroke  College,  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  and  had  entered  the  ministry. 
His  opposition  to  the  laws  requiring  con- 
formity to  the  established  church  had 
drawn  upon  him  the  wrath  of  Archbishop 
Laud,  and  he  had  been  driven  out  of 
England. 

The  great  doctrine  which  he  had  em- 
braced as  the  result  of  his  studies  and  ex- 
perience was  the  freedom  of  conscience  from 
secular  control.  "  The  civil  magistrate 
should  restrain  crime,  but  never  control 
opinion;  should  punish  guilt,  but  never  violate 
inward  freedom."  He  would  place  all  forms 
of  religion  upon  an  equality,  and  would 
refuse  to  the  government  the  power  to  com- 
pel conformity  to,  or  attendance  upon,  any 
of  them,  leaving  such  matters  to  the  con- 
science of  the  individual.  He  also  favored 
the  abolition  of  tithes,  and  the  enforced  con- 
tribution to  the  support  of  the  church. 

Such  views  were  far  in  advance  of  the  age, 
and  when  Williams  landed  in  Boston  he 
found  himself  unable  to  join  the  church  in 
that  place,  because  of  its  adoption   of  prin- 


ciples the  opposite  of  his  own.  Upon  his 
arrival  the  church  had  intended  engaging 
him  to  fill  Mr.  Wilson's  place,  while  that 
minister  returned  to  England  to  bring  over 
his  wife,  but  upon  learning  his  views  the 
idea  was  abandoned.  A  little  later  the 
church  in  Salem,  which  had  been  deprived 
of  its  teacher  by  the  death  of  the  Rev. 
Francis  Higginson,  called  Williams  to  be  his 
successor.  Williams  accepted  the  call ;  but 
Governor  Winthrop  and  the  assistants 
warned  the  people  of  Salem  to  beware  how 
they  placed  in  so  important  a  position  a  man 
already  at  such  variance  with  the  established 
order  of  things.  The  warning  had  the  de- 
sired effect  upon  the  people  of  Salem,  who 
withdrew  their  invitation.  Williams  then 
went  to  Plymouth,  where  he  lived  for  two 
years  in  peace. 

An  Oath  of  Fidelity. 

But  though  unwilling  to  accord  to  Williams 
the  liberty  he  desired,  the  colonial  govern- 
ment was  careful  to  take  every  precaution 
against  the  anticipated  efforts  of  the  Church 
of  England  to  extend  its  authoritj'  over 
]\Iassachusetts.  A  general  court  held  in 
May,  163 1,  ordered  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  be 
tendered  to  the  freemen  of  the  colony,  which 
bound  them  "  to  be  obedient  and  conform- 
able to  the  laws  and  constitutions  of  this 
commonwealth,  to  advance  its  peace,  and 
not  to  suffer  any  attempt  at  making  any 
change  or  alteration  of  the  government  con- 
trary to  its  laws."  The  same  general  court 
took  a  still  more  decided  stand  by  the 
adoption  of  a  law  which  limited  the  citizen- 
ship of  the  colony  to  "  such  as  are  members 
of  some  of  the  churches  within  the  limits  of 
the  same."  This  was  practically  making  the 
state  a  theocracy. 

Yet  the  people  were  not  prepared  to  sur- 
render their  political  rights,  even  when 
alarmed    by  the    danger    which    seemed  to 


144  SETTLEMENT 

threaten  their  religious  establishment.  Until 
now  the  assistants  could  hold  office  for  life 
and  they  also  possessed  the  power  of  elect- 
ing the  governor.  They  were  thus  inde- 
pendent of  the  people.  The  right  of  the 
freemen  to  choose  their  magistrates  was  now 
distinctly  asserted,  and  in  May,  1632,  was 
conceded.  The  governor  and  assistants  were 
to  be  elected  annually,  and  by  the  votes  of 
the  freemen;  none  but  church  members 
being  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  freemen. 
Another  important  change  was  brought 
about  at  the  same  time  by  the  hostility  of 
the  people  to  levying  of  taxes  by  the  board 
of  assistants.  Each  town  was  ordered  to 
send  two  of  its  best  men  to  represent  it  at  a 
general  court  "  to  concert  a  plan  for  a  public 
treasurj'." 

Friendly  Mohegan  Chief. 

The  colonists  had  faithfully  obeyed  their 
instructions  to  treat  the  Indians  with  fair- 
ness, and  to  seek  to  cultivate  their  friend- 
ship. Many  of  the  native  tribes  sought  their 
alliance,  and  the  sachem  of  the  Mohegans 
came  from  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  to 
make  a  treaty  with  the  colony,  and  to  urge 
the  English  to  settle  in  his  countrjr,  which  he 
described  as  exceedingly  fertile  and  inviting. 
In  the  autumn  of  1632  a  pleasant  intercourse 
was  opened  with  the  Plymouth  colony ;  and  in 
the  same  year  a  trade  in  corn  was  begun 
with  Virginia,  and  commercial  relations 
were  established  with  the  Dutch,  who  had 
settled  along  the  Hudson  River.  The  colony 
of  Massachusetts  Bay  was  slowly  entering 
upon  a  more  prosperous  period. 

Emigrants  now  began  to  come  over  in 
greater  numbers,  and  among  them  were  John 
Haynes, "  the  acute  and  subtile  Cotton,"  and 
Thomas  Hooker,  who  have  been  called  the 
"Light  of  the  Western  Churches."  The 
freemen  by  the  middle  of  the  year  1634. 
numbered  between  three  and  four    hundred, 


OF  AMERICA. 

and  these  were  bent  upon  establishing  theit 
political  power  in  the  state.  Great  advances 
were  made  in  the  direction  of  representative 
government,  and  the  ballot-box  was  intro- 
duced in  elections,  which  had  been  formerly 
conducted  by  an  erection  of  hands.  As 
a  guard  against  arbitrary  taxation  by  magis- 
trates it  was  enacted  that  none  but  the 
properly  chosen  representatives  of  the  people 
might  dispose  of  lands,  or  raise  money. 

A  Long  Controversy. 
In  the  spring  of  1635  the  people  went  a 
step  further,  and  demanded  a  written  con- 
stitution for  the  purpose  of  still  more  per- 
fectly securing  their  liberties.  This  demand 
opened  a  controversy  which  continued  for 
ten  years.  The  general  court  was  com- 
posed of  assistants  and  deputies.  The  first 
were  elected  by  the  people  of  the  whole 
colony ;  the  latter  by  the  towns.  The  two 
bodies  acted  together  in  meetings  of  the 
assembly,  but  the  assistants  claimed  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  meeting  and  exercising 
a  separate  negative  upon  the  proceedings  of 
the  court.  This  claim  was  energetically 
denied  by  the  deputies,  who  were  sustained 
by  the  body  of  the  people;  while  the 
magistrates  and  the  ministers  upheld  the 
pretensions  of  the  assistants. 

In  1644  the  matter  was  compromised  by 
the  division  of  the  general  court  into  two 
branches,  each  of  which  was  given  a  negative 
upon  the  proceedings  of  the  other.  All 
parties  were  agreed,  however,  in  the  work  of 
connecting  the  religion  and  the  government 
of  the  colony  so  closely  that  they  should 
mutually  sustain  each  other  against  the 
attacks  of  the  Church  of  England. 

While  these  measures  were  in  course  of 
adjustment  other  matters  were  engaging  the 
attention  of  the  colony.     After  Roger  Will- 
iams had  been  a  little  more  than  two  years 
;  in  Plymouth,  he  was  called  again   to  Salem, 


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ROGER    WILLIAMS    SEEKING    REFUGE    AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


146 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


and  accepted  the  invitation.  This  gave 
offence  to  many  persons,  and  in  January, 
1634,  complaints  were  made  against  Williams 
because  of  a  paper  he  had  written  while  at 
Plymouth,  denying  that  the  king  had  any 
power  to  grant  lands  in  America  to  his  sub- 
jects, since  the  lands  were  the  property  of 
the  Indians.  In  this  Williams  was  wrong,  as 
the  settlers  in  New  England  had  been  care- 
ful to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  nativ-es  to 
their  occupation  of  the  lands  they  had  pos- 
sessed. He  made  a  proper  explanation  of 
his  paper,  when  he  understood  the  true 
state  of  the  case,  and  consented  that  it 
should  be  burned. 

Williams   will  not  Retract. 

Still  the  jealousy  and  dislike  of  the  Puri- 
tans was  aroused  by  the  radical  opposition 
of  Williams  to  their  system,  although  he 
conducted  himself  with  a  forbearance  and 
amiablencss  that  should  have  won  him  the 
love  of  those  with  whom  he  was  thrown. 
Williams  strongly  condemned  the  law  enforc- 
ing the  attendance  of  the  people  upon  reli- 
gious services,  declaring  that  a  man  had  a 
right  to  stay  away  if  he  wished  to  do  so.  He 
also  censured  the  practice  of  selecting  the 
colonial  officials  exclusively  from  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  said  that  a  physician 
or  a  pilot  might  with  equal  propriety  be 
chosen  because  of  his  piet)-,  his  skill  in 
theology,  or  his  standing  in  the  church. 
These  and  other  similar  views  were  drawn 
from  him  in  a  series  of  controversies,  held 
with  him  by  a  committee  of  ministers,  for 
the  purpose  of  inducing  him  to  retract  his 
radical  sentiments.  He  remained  firm  in 
them,  however,  and  his  opponents  declared 
that  his  principles  were  calculated  not  only 
to  destroy  religion,  but  also  to  subvert  all 
forms  of  civil  government. 

It  was  resolved  to  banish  him  from  the 
colony,  and  as  the  people  of  Salem  \varmly 


supported  Williams,  they  were  admonished 
by  the  court,  and  a  tract  of  land,  which  was 
rightfully  theirs,  was  withheld  from  them  as 
a  punishment.  Williams  and  the  church  at 
Salem  appealed  to  the  people  against  the  in- 
justice of  the  magistrates,  and  asked  the 
other  churches  of  the  colony  to  "  admonish 
the  magistrates  of  their  injustice."  This  was 
regarded  as  treason  by  the  colonial  govern- 
ment, and  at  the  next  general  court  Salem 
was  disfranchised  until  the  town  should 
make  ample  apology  for  its  offence.  Will- 
iams was  summoned  before  the  general 
court  in  October,  1635,  and  maintained  his 
opinions  with  firmness,  though  with  mod- 
eration. He  was  sentenced  to  banishment 
from  the  colony,  not,  as  it  was  declared, 
because  of  his  religious  views,  but  because 
the  magistrates  averred  his  principles,  if 
carried  out,  would  destroy  all  civil  govern- 
ment. 

A  Fugitive  in  the  Wilderness. 

The  season  was  so  far  advanced  that  it 
would  have  been  barbarous  to  drive  any  one 
out  of  the  colony  at  that  time,  and  Williams 
obtained  leave  to  remain  in  the  province 
until  the  spring,  when  he  intended  forming 
a  settlement  on  Narragansett  Bay.  The 
affection  of  his  people  at  Salem,  which  had 
seemed  to  grow  cold  when  the  town  began 
to  feel  the  weight  of  the  punishment  inflicted 
by  the  general  court,  now  revived,  and  they 
thronged  to  his  house  in  great  numbers  to 
hear  him,  and  his  opinions  spread  rapidly. 
The  magistrates  were  alarmed,  and  it  was 
resolved  to  send  him  at  once  to  England 
in  a  ship  that  was  just  about  to  sail  from 
Boston.  He  was  ordered  to  come  to  Boston 
and  embark  there,  but  refused  to  obey  the 
summons.  A  boat's  crew  was  then  sent  to 
arrest  him  and  bring  him  to  Boston  by  force ; 
but  when  the  officers  reached  Salem  he  had 
disappeared. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS  AND    RHODE   ISLAND.         147 

and  would  render  any  niisundorstandins^  be- 
tween t!ie  Plymouth  and  Bay  colonies  on 
his  account  impossible  "  I  took  his  prudent 
motion,"  says  Williams,  "  as  a  voice  from 
God." 

Providence  Founded. 
Being  joined  by  five  companions,  Williams 
embarked  in  a  canoe  in  June,  1635, and  pass- 
ing over  to  the  west  arm  of  Narragansett 
Bay,  landed  at  an  attractive  spot,  where  he 
found  a  spring  of  pure  water.  He  chose  the 
place  as  the  site  of  a  new  settlement,  and  in 
gratitude  for  his  deliverance  from  the  many 


Three  days  before  their  arrival  Roger 
Williams  had  left  Salem,  a  wanderer  for  con- 
science sake.  It  was  the  depth  of  winter, 
the  snow  lay  thickly  over  the  countr)-,  and 
the  weather  was  cold  and  inclement.  For 
fourteen  weeks,  he  says,  he  "  was  sorely  tost 
in  a  bitter  season,  not  knowing  what  bread 
or  bed  did  mean."  Banished  from  the  set- 
tlements of  his  own  race  the  e.xile  went  out 
into  the  wilderness,  and  sought  the  country 
of  the  Indians,  whose  friendship  he  had  won 
during  his  stay  in  the  colony.  He  had  ac- 
quired their  language  during  his  residence  at 
Plymouth,  and  could 
speak  it  fluently. 

He  went  from  lodge 
to  lodge,  kindly  ^\el 
corned  by  the  sav- 
ages, and  lodging 
sometimes  in  a  hol- 
low tree,  until  he 
reached  Mount  Hope, 
the  residence  of  Mas- 
sasoit,  who  was  his 
friend.  Canonicus,the 
great  chieftain  of  the 
Narragansetts,  loved 
him  with  a  strong  af- 
fection, which  ceased 
only  with  his  life , 
and  in  the  country  of 
these  friendly  chiefs 
Williams  passed  the  winter  in  peace  and 
safety.  He  never  ceased  to  be  grateful 
for  their  aid  in  his  distress,  and  during  his 
whole  life  he  was  the  especial  friend  and 
champion  of  the  Indians  in  New  England. 

It  was  the  intention  of  W'illiams  to  settle 
at  Seekonk, on  the  Pawtucket  River;  but 
that  place  was  found  to  be  within  the  limits 
of  the  Plymouth  colony.  Governor  Winslo  w 
wrote  to  Williams  advising  him  to  remove 
to  the  region  of  Narragansett  Bay,  which 
was  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  English, 


KuVIUENCE. 


dangers  through  which  he  had  passed,  named 
it  Providence.  He  sought  to  purchase 
enough  land  for  a  settlement,  but  Canonicus 
refused  to  sell  the  land,  and  gave  it  to  his 
friend  "  to  enjoy  forever."  This  grant  was 
made  to  Williams  alone,  and  constituted  him 
absolute  owner  of  the  lands  included  in  it. 
He  might  have  sold  them  to  settlers  on  terms 
advantageous  to  himself;  but  he  declined  to 
do  so. 

In  the  next  two  years  he  was  joined  by  a 
number  of  his  old  followers  from  Massachu- 


I4S 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


setts,  and  by  others  who  fled  to  h's  asylum. 
He  gave  a  share  of  land  to  all  who  came  to 
settle,  and  admitted  them  to  an  equality  with 
himself  in  the  political  administration  of  the 
colony.  The  government  was  administered 
by  the  whole  people.  The  voice  of  the 
majority  decided  all  public  measures  ;  but  in 
matters  of  conscience  every  man  was  left  an- 
swerable to  God  alone.  All  forms  of  relig- 
ious belief  were  tolerated  and  protected. 
Even  infidelity  was  safe  here  from  punish- 
ment by  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical  power. 

Praiseworthy  Charity, 

Williams  was  anxious  to  establish  friendly 
relations  with  the  Massachusetts  colony  •  for 
though  he  felt  keenly  the  injustice  of  his  per- 
secutors, he  cherished  no  bitterness  or  resent- 
ment towards  them.  He  condemned  only 
what  he  considered  the  delusions  of  the 
magistrates  of  Massachusetts,  but  never  at- 
tacked his  persecutors.  "1  did  ever  from 
my  soul,"  he  wrote  with  simple  magnanimity, 
"  honor  and  love  them,  even  when  their  judg- 
ment led  them  to  afflict  me."  Winslow, 
touched  with  his  true  Christian  forbearance, 
came  from  Plymouth  to  visit  him,  and  left 
with  his  wilt  some  money  for  their  support; 
and  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  Bay  colony 
began  to  bear  tardy  witness  to  his  virtues. 
The  settlement  at  Providence  continued  to 
grow  slowly,  and  was  blessed  with  peace  and 
an  increasing  prosperity. 

Massachusetts  in  the  meantime  continued 
to  receive  numerous  additions  to  her  popula- 
tion by  emigration  from  England.  In  the 
autumn  of  1635,  twelve  families  left  Boston, 
and  journeying  into  the  interior,  founded  the 
town  of  Concord.  They  had  a  hard  struggle 
to  establish  their  little  settlement,  but  per- 
severed, and  at  length  their  labors  were 
crowned  with  success.  Three  thousand 
people  came  over  to  Massachusetts  this  year. 
Among  them   were  Hugh  Peters,  a  man  of 


great  eloquence  and  ability  and  a  devoted 
republican,  who  had  been  pastor  to  a  church 
of  exiles  at  Rotterdam,  and  Henry  Vane  the 
younger,  "a  man  of  the  purest  mind;  a 
statesman  ot  spotless  integrity ;  whose  name 
the  progress  of  intelligence  and  liberty  will 
erase  from  the  rubic  of  fanatics  and  traitors, 
and  insert  high  among  the  aspirants  after 
truth  and  the  martyrs  for  liberty."  * 

In  the  iollowing  spring  (1636)  Vane  was 
elected  governor  of  the  colony.  The  people 
were  dazzled  by  his  high  birth  and  pleasing 
qualities,  and  committed  an  error  in  choos- 
ing him,  for  neither  his  age  nor  his  experi- 
ence fitted  him  for  the  distinguished  position 
conferred  upon  him.  The  arrival  of  Vane 
seemed  to  promise  an  emigration  of  a  num- 
ber of  the  English  nobility,  and  an  effort  was 
made  by  several  of  them  in  England  to  pro- 
cure the  division  of  the  general  court  into 
two  branches,  and  the  establishment  of  an 
hereditary  nobility  in  the  colony  which 
should  possess  a  right  to  seats  in  the  upper 
branch  of  the  court.  The  magistrates  of  the 
colony  were  anxious  to  conciliate  these  val- 
uable friends,  but  they  firmly  refused  to 
establish  hereditary  nobility  in  their  new 
state. 

Trouble  in  the  Church. 

Religious  discussions  formed  a  large  part 
of  the  life  of  the  colony.  Meetings  were 
held  by  the  men,  and  passages  of  Scripture 
were  discussed,  and  the  sermons  of  the  min- 
isters made  the  subject  of  searching  criticism. 
The  women  might  attend  these  meetings,  but 
were  not  allowed  to  take  part  in  the  discus- 
sions. Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson,  a  woman  of 
talent  and  eloquence,  claimed  for  her  sex  the 
right  to  participate  equally  with  the  men  in 
these  meetings  ;  but  as  this  was  not  possible, 
she  began  to  hold  meetings  for  the  benefit  of 
the  women  at  her  own  house.     At  these. 


Bancroft. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   AND    RHODE   ISLAND. 


149 


religious  doctrines  were  discussed  and  advo- 
cated, which  were  at  variance  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  magistrates. 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  followers  held 
that  the  authority  of  private  judgment  was 
superior  to  that  of  the  church,  and  con- 
demned the  efforts  of  the  colony  to  enforce 
conformity  to  the  established  system  as  viola- 
tive of  the  inherent  rights  of  Christians. 
She  was  encouraged  by  John  Wheelwright, 
a  silenced  minister,  who  had  married  her 
sister,  and  by  Governor  Vane,  and  her 
opinions  were  adopted  by  a  large  number  of 
the  people,  and  by  members  of  the  general 
court  and  some  of  the  magistrates. 

The  ministers  saw  their  authority  menaced 
by  the  new  belief,  and  made  common  cause 
against  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  protector. 
Governor  Vane.  The  colony  was  divided 
into  two  parties,  and  the  religious  question 
became  a  matter  of  great  political  import- 
ance. Under  the  established  s\-stem  the 
ministers  formed  almost  a  distinct  estate 
of  the  government,  and  political  privileges 
were  entirely  dependent  upon  theological 
conformity. 

Feeling  sure  that  they  would  not  receive 
justice  at  the  hands  of  their  opponents,  the 
friends  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson  declared  their 
intention  to  appeal  to  the  king.  This  aroused 
a  storm  of  indignation  in  the  colony,  and 
"  it  was  accounted  perjury  and  treason  to 
speak  of  appeals  to  the  king."  This  threat 
changed  the  whole  character  of  the  question, 
and  was  fatal  to  the  party  which  made  it. 
The  Puritans  had  come  to  Massachusetts  to 
escape  the  interference  of  the  crown  with  their 
religious  belief,  and  to  appeal  to  the  king  in 
this  case  would  be  simply  to  place  the  liber- 
ties of  the  colony  at  his  mercy.  When  the 
elections  were  held,  in  the  spring  of  1637, 
Governor  Winthrop  and  the  old  magistrates 
we."e  chosen  by  a  large  majority.  Vane  soon 
after  returned  to  England. 


The  church  party  being  now  in  power 
resolved  to  silence  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  She 
was  admonished  to  cease  her  teachings,  and 
upon  her  refusal  to  obey  this  order,  she  and 
her  followers  were  exiled  from  the  colony. 
Wheelwright  and  a  number  of  his  friends 
went  to  New  Hampshire,  and  founded  the 
town  of  E.Kcter,  at  the  head  of  tide-water  on 
the  Piscataqua.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  the 
majority  of  her  followers  removed,  in  the 
spring  of  1638,  to  the  southward,  intending 
to  settle  on  Long  Island  or  on  the  Delaware. 
Roger  Williams  induced  them  to  remain 
near  his  plantation,  and  obtained  for  them 
from  Miantonomoh,  the  chief  of  the  Narra- 
gansett  tribe,  the  gift  of  the  beautiful  island 
in  the  lower  part  of  Narragansett  Bay,  which 
they  called  the  island  of  Rhodes,  or  Rhode 
Island. 

Sad  Fate  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson. 

The  number  of  settlers  was  scarcely  more 
than  twenty,  but  they  proceeded  to  form  a 
government  upon  a  plan  agreeable  to  the 
principles  they  professed.  It  was  a  pure 
democracy,  founded  upon  the  universal 
consent  of  the  people,  who  signed  a  social 
compact  pledging  themselves  to  obey  the 
laws  made  by  the  majority,  and  to  respect 
the  rights  of  conscience.  William  Codding- 
ton,  who  had  been  a  magistrate  in  the  Bay 
colony,  was  elected  judge  or  ruler,  and  three 
elders  were  chosen  as  his  assistants.  The 
settlement  grew  rapidly,  and  by  1641  the 
population  had  become  so  numerous  as  tc 
require  a  written  constitution. 

Mrs.  Hutchinson  remained  in  Rhode 
Island  for  several  years ;  but  fearing  that 
the  hostility  of  the  magistrates  of  Massa- 
chusetts would  reach  her  even  there,  removed 
beyond  New  Haven  into  the  territory  of  the 
Dutch,  where,  in  1643,  she  and  all  her  family 
who  were  with  her,  except  one  child,  who 
was  taken  prisoner,  were  murdered  by  the 
Indians. 


CHAPTER  XII 
Colonization   of   Connecticut 

tfce  Dutch  aaim  the  Connecticut  Valley— They  Build  a  Fort  at  Hartford— Governor  Winslow  Makes  a  Lodgment  k 
Connecticut  for  the  English— Withdrawal  of  the  Dutch— The  First  EtTorts  of  the  English  to  Settle  Connecticut— Emi- 
gration of  Hooker  and  His  Congregation— They  Settle  at  Hartford— Winthrop  Builds  a  Fort  at  Saybrooke— Hostility  ol 

the  Indians \isit  ol  Roger  Williams  to  Miantonomoh— A  Brave  Deed— The  Pequod  War— Capture  of  the  Indian 

Fort— Destraction  of  the  Pequod  Tribe— Effect  of  This  War  Upon  the  Other  Tribes— Connecticut  Adopts  a  Constitu- 
tion-Its Peculiar  Features— Settlement  of  New  Haven. 


THE  fertile  region  of  the  Connecticut 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
English  at  an  early  day ;  but  before 
they  could  make  any  effort  to 
occupy  it  the  Dutch  sent  an  exploring  party 
from  Manhattan  Island,  in  1614,  and  exam- 
ined the  river  and  the  country  through 
which  it  flowed.  They  built  and  fortified  a 
trading-post  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Hartford,  but  soon  excited  the  ill-will  of  the 
Indi?ns  by  their  cruel  treatment  of  them. 
The  Dutch  found  themselves  unable  to 
occupy  the  country,  and,  being  unwilling  to 
lose  it,  endeavored,  but  without  success,  to 
induce  the  Pilgrims  to  remove  from 
Plymouth  to  the  Connecticut,  and  settle  in 
that  region  under  their  protection. 

In  1630  the  council  of  Plymouth  granted 
the  Connecticut  region  to  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, who,  in  163 1,  assigned  his  claim  to 
Lords  Say  and  Brooke,  John  Hampden,  and 
others.  As  soon  as  this  grant  was  known 
to  the  Dutch  they  sent  a  party  to  the  site  of 
Hartford  and  re-established  their  trading- 
post,  and  began  a  profitable  trade  with  the 
Indians.  They  mounted  two  cannon  on 
their  fort  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the 
English  from  ascending  the  river.  Towards 
the  latter  part  of  th'j  year  1633,  Governor 
VVinslow,  of  Plymouth,  in  order  to  secure  a 
foothold  for  the  English  in  this  valuable 
region,  sent  Captain  William  Holmes  to  the 
ISO 


Connecticut  with  a  sloop  and  a  number  of. 
men  to  make  a  settlement.  Upon  ascending 
the  river  to  the  site  of  Hartford,  Holmes 
found  his  progress  barred  by  the  Dutch  fort, 
the  commander  of  which  threatened  to  fire 
upon  him  if  he  attempted  to  continue  his 
voyage.  Undaunted  by  this  threat,  Holmes 
passed  by  the  fort  without  harm,  and 
ascended  the  stream  to  Windsor,  where  he 
erected  a  fortified  post.  In  1634,  the  Dutch 
made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  drive  him 
away.  Failing  in  this,  and  seeing  that  it  was 
the  deliberate  purpose  of  the  English  to 
occupy  the  Connecticut  valley,  the  Dutch 
relinquished  all  claim  to  that  region,  and  a 
boundary  line  was  arranged  between  their 
possessions  and  those  of  the  English,  cor- 
responding very  nearly  to  that  between  the 
states  of  Connecticut  and  New  York. 

In  163  j,  the  Pilgrims  determined  to  make 
settlements  in  this  inviting  region,  and  late 
in  the  fall  of  that  year  a  coitipany  of  sixty 
persons,  men,  women  and  children,  set  out 
from  Plymouth  by  land,  sending  a  sloop 
laden  with  provisions  and  their  household 
goods  around  by  sea,  with  orders  to  join 
them  upon  the  Connecticut  River.  They 
began  their  journey  too  late  in  the  season, 
and  their  sufferings  were  very  great  in  con- 
sequence. Upon  reaching  the  river  they 
found  the  ground  covered  with  snow,  and 
their  sloop  was  delayed  by  storms  and  ice.. 


COLONIZATION    OF    CONNECTICUT. 


Their  cattle  died  from  cold  and  exposure, 
and  but  for  a  little  corn  which  they  obtained 
from  the  Indians,  and  such  acorns  as  they 
could  gather,  the  whole  company  must  have 
starved  to  death.  Many  of  them  abandoned 
their  new  home  and  returned  by  land  to  the 
settlements  on  the  coast. 

The  Puritans  were  resolved  to  continue 
the  effort  to  settle  Connecticut,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1636  se\-eral  com- 
panies emigrated  to  that  re- 
gion. The  principal  part\ 
set  out  in  June,  led  by  th. 
Rev.  Thomas  Hooker.  It 
comprised  about  one  hundred 
persons,  and  consisted  prin- 
cipally of  Hooker's  congrega- 
tion, who  followed  their  pastoi 
with  enthusiasm.  Theydio\L 
before  them  a  consideiabk 
number  of  cattle,  which  fui- 
nished  them  with  milk  on  th. 
march. 

The  emigrants  were  largely 
made  up  of  persons  of  refine- 
ment and  culture,  and  com- 
prised many  of  the  oldest  and 
most  valued  citizens  of  the 
Bay  colony.  They  were  at- 
tracted to  the  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  by  the  superior 
advantages  which  it  offered 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  fur 
trade,  and  by  the  great  fertil- 
ity of  its  soil.  They  had 
no  guide  but  a  compass, 
and  their  route  lay  through 
an  unbroken   wilderness.     The  journey  was 


reached  by  the  first  of  July.  The  greater 
number  remained  there;  some  went  higher 
up  the  river  and  founded  Springfield,  and 
the  rest  went  to  Wethersfield,  where  there 
was  already  a  sn:all  settlement. 

In  the  same  year  the  younger  John  Win- 
throp  arrived  from  England,  with  orders  from 
Lords  Say  and  Brooke  to  establish  a  fort  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  River.     Thi.' 


JOH> 


he  accomplished,  naming  the  new  settlement 

long  and  fatiguing.     The  emigrants  accom-  Saybrooke,    in    honor    of    the    proprietors, 

plished  scarcely  more  than  ten  miles  a  day.  The  settlements  in  Connecticut  grew  rapidly, 

carrying  their  sick  on    litters,  and   making  the  excellent  soil  and  pleasant  climate  attract- 

ihe  forests  ring  with  their  holy  hymns.    At  ing  many  emigrants  to  them, 
lengththesiteof  Hartford,  whe:e  it  was  pro-  The    existence    of  these  settlements   was 

posed    to     establish     the     settlement,    was  precarious,  however.     The   region  in  which 


IS2 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


they  had  been  planted  was  the  country  of  the 
Pequod-J,  who  inhabited  it  in  large  numbers. 
They  were  the  most  powerful  and  warlike 
tribe  in  New  England,  and  could  bring  nearly 
two  thousand  warriors  into  the  field.  They 
occupied  the  southwestern  part  of  Connect- 
icut, and  their  territory  extended  almost  to 
the  Hudson  on  the  west,  where  it  joined  that 
of  the  Mohegans.  On  the  east  their  territory 
bordered  that  of  the  Narragansetts.  Both  of 
these  tribes  were  the  enemies  of  thePequods 
and  the  friends  of  the  English.  This  friend- 
ship was  resented  by  the  Pequods,  who  were 
already  jealous  of  the  English  because  of  their 
occupation  of  the  lands  along  the  Connecticut. 
The  tribe  bore  a  bad  name,  and  had  already 
manifested  their  hostility  by  murdering,  a  few 
years  before,  a  Virginia  trader  named  Stone, 
together  with  the  crew  of  his  vessel,  who 
(vere  engaged  in  a  trading  expedition  on  the 
Connecticut  River. 

Blood  Shed  on   Both  Sides. 

Somewhat  later  Captain  Oldham  and  his 
crew,  while  e.xploring  the  river,  were  also 
murdered  by  Indians  living  on  Block  Island. 
The  Pequods  justified  the  murder  of  Stone 
by  alleging  that  he  had  attacked  them. 
Wishing  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  English, 
they  sent  their  chiefs  to  Boston  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  promised — as  the  magistrates 
understood  them — to  deliver  up  the  two  men 
who  had  killed  Stone.  Captain  John  Endicott 
was  sent  with  a  vessel,  in  1636,  to  punish  the 
'^lock  Island  Indians  for  the  murder  of  Old- 
ham, and  was  ordered  to  call  on  his  return  at 
the  Pequod  town,  and  demand  the  surrender 
of  the  murderers  of  Stone.  The  Pequods 
declined  to  surrender  these  men,  but  offered 
to  ransom  them.  This  was  in  accordance 
with  their  customs.  But  Endicott  refused  to 
accept  any  compensation  for  the  crime  that 
had  been  committed,  and  to  punish  the 
Indians  destroyed  their  corn  and  burned  two 


vof  their  villages.  This  made  open  hostilities 
inevitable.  The  Pequods  began  to  hang 
around  the  Connecticut  settlements  and  cut 
off"  stragglers  from  them.  By  the  close  of 
the  winter  more  than  thirty  persons  had 
fallen  victims  to  their  vengeance. 

A  Dangerous  Mission. 

The  setdements  in  the  Connecticut  valley 
were  now  greatly  alarmed.  They  could  not 
muster  over  two  hundred  fighting  men,  and 
the  Indians  in  their  immediate  vicinity  could 
bring  into  the  field  at  least  seven  hundred 
warriors.  War  was  certain,  and  it  was  not 
known  at  what  moment  the  savages  would 
attack  the  settlements  in  overwhelming 
force.  Connecticut  called  upon  Massachu- 
setts for  aid,  but  only  twenty  men  under 
Captain  Underbill,  were  sent  to  their  aid. 
The  energies  and  attention  of  the  Bay 
colony  were  engrossed  by  the  Hutchinson 
quarrel. 

The  Pequods,  notwithstanding  their  im- 
mense numerical  superiority,  were  unwilling 
to  make  war  upon  the  English  without  the 
support  of  another  tribe.  They  accordingly 
sent  envoys  to  Miantonomoh,  the  chief  of 
the  Narragansetts,  to  endeavor  to  engage 
that  tribe  in  the  effort  against  the  whites. 
Such  a  union  would  have  menaced  all  New 
England,  and  as  soon  as  the  news  of  the 
negotiation  reached  Boston  the  government 
of  the  Bay  colony  prepared  to  prevent  the 
alliance.  Governor  Vane  at  once  wrote  to 
Roger  Williams,  the  friend  of  Miantonomoh, 
urging  him  to  seek  that  chieftain  and  prevent 
him  from  joining  the  Pequods. 

It  was  a  dangerous  mission,  and  certainly 
a  great  service  for  the  magistrates  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  ask  of  the  man  whom  they  had 
driven  into  exile.  They  did  not  ask  in  vain, 
however.  All  of  Williams'  generous  nature 
was  aroused  by  the  danger  which  threatened 
his   brethren,  and    he  embarked    in    a   frail 


COLONIZATION   OF   CONNECTICUT. 


153 


canoe,  and  braving  the  danger  of  a  severe 
gale,  souglit  the  quarters  of  Aliantonomoh. 
He  found  the  Pequod  chiefs  already  there, 
and  the  Narragansetts  wavering.  Knowing 
the  errand  on  which 
he  had  come,  the 
hostile  chieftains 
were  ready  at  any 
moment  to  des- 
patch him,  and 
had  Miantonomoh 
shown  the  least  fa- 
vor to  the  project, 
Williams  would 
have  paid  for  his 
boldness  with  his 
life.  He  spent  three 
days  and  nights  in 
the  company  of  the 
savages,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing 
Miantonomoh  not 
only  to  refuse  to 
join  the  war  against 
the  English,  but  to 
promise  the  colo- 
nists his  assistance 
against  the  Pe- 
quods.  In  the 
meantime  he  sent  a 
messenger  to  Bos- 
ton to  inform  the 
governor  of  the  de- 
signs of  the  In- 
dians. 

The     Pequods, 
left  to  continue  the  _ 

struggle  alone,  flat-  "^ ^.^t^ 

tered  themselves 
that    their    superi- 
ority in  numbers  would  give  them  the  vic- 
tory, and  continued  their  aggressions  upon 
the  Connecticut  settlements  to  such  an  extent 
that  in  May,  1637,  the  general  court  of  that 


province  resolved  to  begin  the  war  at  once. 
A  force  of  eighty  men,  including  those  sent 
from  Massachusetts,  was  assembled  at  Hart- 
ford, and   the  command  was   conferred  oy 


A    GROUP    OF    INDIANS. 

Hooker  upon  Captain  John  Mason,  The 
night  previous  to  their  departure  was  spent 
in  prayer,  and  on  the  twentieth  of  May  the 
little  force  embarked  in  boats  and  descended 


154 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


the  river  to  the  sound,  and  passed  around  to 
Narragansett  Bay,  intending  to  approach  the 
Pequod  town  from  that  quarter.  As  the 
boats  sailed  by  the  mouth  of  the  Thames, 
the  savages  supposed  the  English  were 
abandoning  the  Connecticut  valley. 

The  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  English 
in  Narragansett  Bay  was  the  Sabbath, 
and  was  scrupulously  observed.  On  the 
following  day  they  repaired  to  the  quarters 
of  Canonicus,  the  old  chief  and  principal 
ruler  of  the  Narragansett  tribe,  and  asked 
his  assistance  against  the  Pequods.  Mian- 
tonomoh,  the  nephew  and  prospective  suc- 
cessor of  Canonicus,  hesitated  to  join  in  the 
doubtful  enterprise,  but  two  hundred  w-ar- 
riors  agreed  to  accompany  the  English,  who 
could  not,  however,  count  upon  the  fidelity 
of  these  reinforcements.  Seventy  Mohe- 
gans,  under  Uncas,  their  chief,  also  joined 
Mason.  With  this  force  the  English  com- 
mander marched  across  the  country  toward 
the  Pequod  towns  on  the  Thames,  and  halted 
on  the  night  of  the  twent\--fifth  of  May 
within  hearing  of  them. 

A  Sudden  Attack. 

In  the  meantime  the  Pequods,  convinced 
that  the  English  had  fled  from  the  Connecti- 
cut region,  and  never  dreading  an  attack  in 
their  fort,  which  they  considered  impreg- 
nable, had  given  themselves  up  to  rejoicing. 
The  night,  passed  by  the  English  in  waiting 
the  signal  for  the  attack,  was  spent  by  the 
Pequods  in  revelry  and  songs,  which  could 
be  plainly  heard  in  the  English  camp.  Two 
hours  before  dawn,  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-sixth  of  May,  the  order  was  given  to 
the  little  band  under  Mason  to  advance. 
They  knew  they  would  have  to  decide  the 
battle  by  their  own  efforts,  and  were  by  no 
means  certain  that  their  Indian  allies  would 
not  turn  against  them. 

The  Pequods  were  posted  in  two  strong 
forts  made  of  palisades  driven  into  the  ground 


and  strengthened  with  rush-work,  an  excel- 
lent defence  against  a  foe  of  their  own  race, 
but  worthless  when  assailed  by  Europeans. 
The  principal  fort  stood  on  the  summit  of  a 
considerable  hill,  and  was  regarded  by  Sassa- 
cus,  the  Pequod  chief,  as  impregnable.  The 
tramp  of  the  advancing  force  aroused  a  dog, 
whose  fierce  bark  awoke  the  Indian  sentinel. 
The  keen  eye  of  the  savage  detected  the 
enemy  in  the  gloom  of  the  morning,  and  he 
rushed  into  the  fort,  shouting, "  The  English ! 
The  English  !  " 

The  next  moment  the  English  were 
through  the  palisades.  On  all  sides  they 
beheld  the  Indians  pouring  out  of  their 
lodges  to  take  part  in  the  hand-to-hand  fight. 
The  odds  were  too  great.  "  We  must  burn 
them,"  cried  Mason,  and,  suiting  the  action 
to  the  word,  he  applied  a  torch  to  a  wigwam 
constructed  of  dry  reeds.  The  flames  sprang 
up  instantly,  and  spread  with  the  rapidity  of 
lightning.  The  Indians  vainly  endeavored 
to  extinguish  the  fire,  and  the  English,  with- 
drawing to  a  greater  distance,  began  to  pick 
off  the  savages,  who  were  doubly  exposed 
by  the  light  of  the  blazing  fort.  Wherever 
a  Pequod  appeared,  he  was  shot  down.  The 
Narragansetts  and  Mohegans  now  joined  in 
the  conflict,  and  the  victory  was  complete. 
More  than  six  hundred  Pequods,  men, 
women  and  children,  perished,  the  majority 
of  them  in  the  flames.  The  English  lost 
only  two  men  ;  and  the  battle  was  over  in 
an  hour. 

Indians  in  a  Raga. 

As  the  sun  rose,  a  body  of  three  hundred 
Pequod  warriors  were  seen  advancing  from 
their  second  fort.  They  came  expecting  to 
rejoice  with  their  comrades  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  English.  When  they  beheld  the 
ruined  fort  and  the  remains  of  its  defenders, 
they  screamed,  stamped  on  the  ground  and 
tore  their  hair  with  rage  and  despair.  Mason 
held  them  in  check  with  twenty  men,  while 


COLONIZATION    OF   CONNECTICUT. 


155 


the  rest  of  the  English  embarked  in  their 
boats,  which  had  come  round  from  Narra- 
gansett  Bay,  and  hastened  home  to  protect 
the  settlements  against  a  sudden  attack. 
Mason,  with  the  party  mentioned,  marched 
across  the  country  to  the  fort  at  Saybrooke, 
where  he  was  received  with  the  honors  due 
to  his  successful  exploit. 

In  a  few  days  a  body  of  one  hundred  men 
arrived  from  Massachusetts,  under  Captain 
Stoughton,  and  the  cam- 
paign against  the  Pe- 
quods  was  resumed. 
Their  pride  was  crushed, 
and  they  made  but  a 
feeble  resistance.  They 
fled  to  the  west,  closely 
pursued  by  the  English, 
who  destroyed  their 
cornfields,  burned  their 
villages  and  put  their 
women  and  children  to 
death  without  mercy. 
They  made  a  last  des- 
perate effort  at  resist- 
ance in  the  fastnesses  of 
a  swamp,  but  were  de- 
feated with  great  slaugh- 
ter. Sassacus,  their  chief, 
with  a  few  of  his  men 
took  refuge  with  the 
Mohawks,  where  he  was 
soon  after  put  to  death 
by  one  of  his  own  people. 
The  remainder  of  the  tribe,  about  two  hundred 
in  number,  surrendered  to  the  English,  and 
were  reduced  to  slavery.  Some  were  given 
to  their  enemies,  the  Narragansetts  and  Mo- 
hegans  ;  others  were  sent  to  the  West  Indies 
and  sold  as  slaves.  The  Pequod  nation  was 
utterly  destroyed. 

The  thoroughness  and  rcmorselessness  of 
the  work  struck  terror  to  the  neighboring 
tribes.     If  the  Pequods,  the  most  powerful 


iUE- 


of  all  their  race,  had  been  exterminated  by  a 
mere  handful  of  Englishmen,  what  could  they 
expect  in  a  contest  with  them  but  a  similar 
fate  ?  For  forty  years  the  horror  of  this 
dreadful  deed  remained  fresh  in  the  savage 
mind,  and  protected  the  young  settlements 
more  effectually  than  the  most  vigilant 
watchfulness  on  the  part  of  the  whites  could 
have  done. 

Relieved  from  the  fear  of  the  Indians,  the 


people  of  Connecticut  prepared  to  establish  a 
civil  government  for  the  colony,  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1639,  a  constitution  was  adopted.  It 
was  more  liberal,  and  therefor?  more  lasting, 
than  that  framed  by  any  of  the  other  colo- 
nies. It  provided  for  the  government  of  the 
colony  by  a  governor,  a  legislature  and  the 
usual  magistrates  of  an  English  province, 
who  were  to  be  chosen  annually  by  ballot. 
Every  settler  who  should  take  the  oath  of 


iS6 

allegiance  to  the  commonwealth  was  to  have 
the  right  of  suffrage.  The  members  of  tiie 
legislature  were  apportioned  among  the 
towns  according  to  the  population.  The 
colony  was  held  to  be  supreme  within  its 
own  limits,  and  no  recognition  was  made  of 
the  sovereignty  of  the  king  or  Parliament. 
When  Connecticut  took  her  place  among  the 
states  of  the  American  Union,  at  the  opening 
of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  her  constitution 
needed  no  change  to  adapt  her  to  her  new 
position.  It  remained  in  force  for  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years. 

The  Celebrated  John  Davenport. 

In  the  year  of  the  Pequod  war  (1637), 
John  Davenport,  a  celebrated  clergyman  of 
London,  and  Theophilus  Eaton,  a  merchant 
of  wealth,  and  a  number  of  their  associates, 
who  had  been  exiled  from  England  for  their 
religious  opinions,  reached  Boston.  They 
were  warmly  welcomed,  and  were  urged  to 
stay  in  the  Bay  colony,  but  the  theological 
disputes  were  so  high  there  that  they  pre- 
ferred to  go  into  the  wilderness  and  found  a 
settlement  where  they  could  be  at  peace. 
Eaton  with  a  few  men  was  sent  to  explore 


SETTLEMENr   OF  AMERICA. 


the  region  west  of  the  Connecticut,  which 
had  been  discovered  b)-  the  pursuers  of  the 
Pequods.  He  examined  the  coast  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  and  spent  the  winter  at  a  place 
which  he  selected  as  a  settlement.  In  April, 
1638,  Davenport  and  the  rest  of  the  company 
sailed  from  Boston  and  established  a  settle- 
ment on  the  spot  chosen  by  Eaton.  The 
settlers  obtained  a  title  to  their  lands  from 
the  natives,  and  agreed  in  return  to  protect 
them  against  the  Mohawks. 

They  named  their  settlement  New  Haven. 
In  1639  a  form  of  government  was  adopted, 
and  Eaton  was  elected  governor.  He  was 
annually  chosen  to  this  position  until  his 
death,  twenty  years  later.  The  colonists 
pledged  themselves  "  to  be  governed  in  all 
things  by  the  rules  which  the  Scriptures  held 
forth  to  them."  The  right  of  suffrage  was 
restricted  to  church  members.  "  Thus  New 
Haven  made  the  Bible  its  statute  book,  and 
the  elect  its  freemen."  In  the  next  ten  years 
settlements  spread  along  the  sound  and  ex- 
tended to  the  opposite  shores  of  Long  Island. 
The  colony  was  distinct  from  and  independ- 
ent of  the  Connecticut  colony,  with  which 
friendly  relations  were  soon  established. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


The  Union   of  the  New 


England 


Col 


Feeling  of  the  Colonies  Towards  England — Hostility  of  the  English  Government  to  New  England — Efforts  to  Intrc 
duce  Episcopacy — Massachusetts  Threatens  Resistance — The  Revolution  in  England — Establishment  of  Free  Schools 
in  New  England— Harvard  College— The  Printing  Press— The  Long  Parliament  Friendly  to  New  England— The 
United  Colonies  of  New  England — Rhode  Island  Obtains  a  Charter — Maine  Annexed  to  Massachusetts — The 
Quakers  are  Persecuted — Efforts  to  Christianize  the  Indians — John  Eliot,  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians. 


THE  sentiments  with  which  the  people 
of  the  New  England  colonies 
regarded  the  mother  country  may- 
be briefly  stated.  They  were  proud 
of  the  name  of  Englishmen,  and  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  old  home. 
They  regarded  the  British  constitution  as  the 
supreme  law  of  theirnew  states, and  claimed 
to  be  true  and  loyal  subjects  of  the  King  of 
England.  Nevertheless,  they  looked  upon 
the  success  of  their  colonies  as  their  own 
work,  accomplished  by  their  own  patience 
and  heroism,  and  they  were  fully  aware  that 
they  owed  nothing  to  the  mother  country. 

They  had  been  driven  forth  from  her  shores 
by  persecution,  and  left  in  neglect  to  struggle 
up  to  the  successful  position  they  now  occu- 
pied. They  owed  nothing  to  England ;  in 
their  deepest  distress  they  had  never  asked 
aid  of  her,  and  they  were  willing  to  undergo 
any  hardship  rather  than  do  so.  They  had 
made  laws  and  established  institutions  under 
which  they  had  surmounted  their  early  trials, 
and  they  regarded  their  paramount  allegiance 
as  due  to  their  respective  provinces.  They 
acknowledged  the  right  of  no  power  beyond 
the  Atlantic  to  interfere  with  or  change  their 
work.  They  would  acknowledge  their  alle- 
giance to  the  king  as  long  as  he  respected  the 
system  they  had  built  up  at  such  great  cost, 
and  without  assistance  from  him,  but  would 
resist  any  effort  from  him,  or  any  one  else,  to 
interfere  with  it.     They  had  made  New  Eng- 


land what  she  was,  and  they  meant  to  retain 
the  possession  and  control  of  their  new  home 
at  any  cost.  They  had  made  themselves  a 
free  people,  and  they  meant  to  preserve  their 
liberties  as  a  precious  heritage  for  their 
children. 

This  was  the  general  sentiment  of  New 
England.  There  were  some  discontented 
persons,  however,  in  the  midst  of  these  deter- 
mined people.  They  had  found  the  stern 
discipline  of  the  Massachusetts  colony  too 
oppressive,  and  some  had  been  severely  pun- 
ished by  the  fiery  Endicott.  Upon  returning 
to  England  they  endeavored  to  induce  the 
king  to  exert  his  power  and  remedy  what 
they  termed  the  distraction  and  disorder  of 
the  province  of  Massachusetts.  Their  com- 
plaints were  echoed  by  a  strong  party  in 
England.  Burdett  wrote  to  Archbishop  Laud 
that  "  The  colonists  aimed  not  at  a  new  dis- 
cipline, but  at  sovereignty ;  that  it  was 
accounted  treason  in  their  general  court  to 
speak  of  appeals  to  the  king;"  in  which 
assertion  he  was  right. 

The  English  archbishop  began  to  regard 
the  departure  of  so  many  "  faithful  and  free 
born  Englishmen  and  good  Christians ''  tc 
join  a  new  communion  as  a  serious  matter 
and  impediments  were  thrown  in  the  way  of 
emigration.  In  February,  1634,  a  requisi- 
tion was  addressed  to  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts ordering  the  colonial  officials  to 
produce  the  patent  of  the  company  in 
i'S7 


1 58  SETTLEMENT 

England.  The  colony  took  no  notice  of  this 
demand.  A  little  later  the  king  appointed 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  some 
others  a  special  commission,  with  full  power 
over  the  American  colonies.  They  were 
authorized  to  make  such  changes  in  church 
and  state  as  they  deemed  necessary;  to 
enforce  them  with  heavy  penalties  ;  and  even 
to  revoke  all  charters  that  contained  privi- 
leges inconsistent  with  the  royal  prerogative. 

Massachusetts  Indignant. 
The  news  of  the  appointment  of  this  com 
mission  reached  Boston  in  September,  1634, 
and  it  was  also  rumored  that  a  governor- 
general  for  the  colonies  had  been  appointed 
and  had  sailed  from  England.  All  Massa- 
chusetts burned  with  indignation,  and  the 
-colony  resolved  to  resist  the  attempt  upon 
its  liberties.  It  was  very  poor,  but  in  a  short 
space  of  time  the  large  sum  of  six  hundred 
pounds  was  raised  for  the  public  defence,  and 
fortifications  were  begun  and  pushed  forward 
with  energy.  In  January,  1635,  the  ministers 
were  assembled  at  Boston  and  their  opinion 
was  asked  upon  the  question  whether  the 
colony  should  receive  a  governor-general. 
They  answered  boldly :  "  We  ought  to 
defend  our  lawful  possessions  if  we  are  able ; 
if  not,  to  avoid  and  protract." 

In  April,  1638,  the  privy  council  demanded 
the  surrender  of  the  charter  of  Massachu- 
setts, threatening  in  case  of  refusal  that  the 
king  would  take  the  management  of  the 
colony  into  his  own  hands.  The  colonial 
authorities  were  firmly  resolved  to  give 
the  king  no  pretext  for  interference  with 
their  affairs,  and  instead  of  complying 
with  the  order  of  the  privy  council,  they 
addressed  a  remonstrance  to  that  body 
against  the  surrender  required  of  them,  thus 
seeking  to  gain  time.  They  were  fully 
determined  not  to  give  up  their  charter  ;  but 
before  their  remonstrance  could  reach  Eng- 


OF   AMERICA. 

land  the  troubles  which  encompassed  Charles 
at  home  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  carry 
out  his  designs  against  Massachusetts. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  in  Eng- 
land put  a  stop  to  the  emigration  to  New 
England.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  1 640  the 
population  of  New  England  numbered  twenty 
thousand.  Some  fifty  towns  and  between 
thirty  and  forty  churches  had  been  built,  and 
the  most  desponding  could  no  longer  doubt 
the  ultimate  success  and  prosperity  of  the 
country.  The  wretched  cabins  of  the  firsi 
settlers  were  rapidly  giving  way  to  fair  and 
comfortable  houses,  and  the  coloni.sts  were 
beginning  to  gather  about  them  many  of  the 
comforts  and  much  of  the  refinement  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  in  England. 
The  Puritans. 

Nor  were  the  Puritans  mindful  of  material 
success  only.  Many  of  them  were  persons 
of  education,  and  they  were  anxious  that 
their  children  should  have  the  opportunity 
of  enjoying  the  blessings  of  knowledge  in 
their  new  homes.  In  1636  the  general  court 
made  provision  for  the  establishment  at  New- 
town of  a  high  school.  The  name  of  the 
town  was  changed  to  Cambridge  as  a  token 
that  the  people  meant  that  it  should  yet  be 
the  seat  of  a  university. 

In  1637  the  school  was  formally  opened. 
The  next  year  the  Rev.  John  Harvard,  of 
Charlestown,  bequeathed  to  the  infant  insti- 
tution his  library  and  the  half  of  his  fortune, 
and  in  gratitude  for  this  assistance  the  school 
took  the  name  of  "Harvard  College."  In  1647 
the  general  court  ordered  that  in  every  town 
or  district  of  fifty  families  there  should  be  a 
common  school ;  and  that  in  every  town  or 
district  of  one  hundred  families  there  should 
be  a  grammar  school,  conducted  by  teachers 
competent  to  prepare  young  men  for  college. 
This  system  rapidly  found  its  way  into  the 
other  New  England  colonies,  with  the  excep' 
tion  of  Rhode  Island. 


THE  UNION  OF  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES. 


IS9 


Thus  was  founded  the  American  system  of 
common  schools.  Until  now  education  had 
been  the  task  of  the  church,  or  had  been 
confided  to  private  individuals;  but  now,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the 
state  took  the  task  of  educating  its  young 
citizens  into  its  own  hands,  and  established 
the  schools  in  which  it  was  to  be  conducted. 
Henceforth  knowledge  was  to  be  restricted 
to  no  favored  class  ;  education  was  made  free 


more  for  posterity  than  this,  they  would  still 
deserve  to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
as  the  founders  of  our  public  schools.  Gen- 
erations yet  unborn  shall  rise  up  to  call  them 
blessed,  and  to  acknowledge  the  truth  of 
their  conviction  that  ignorant  men  cannot 
make  good  citizens. 

In  1639  a  printing  press,  presented  to  the 
colony  by  some  friends  in  Holland,  was  set 
up  in  Massachusetts.    Stephen  Daye  was  the 


to  every  child,  and  every  parent  being  taxed 
for  the  support  of  the  public  schools  was 
made  to  feel  interested  in  their  proper  con- 
duct. 

From  the  little  beginning  thus  made  a  vast 
and  noble  system  has  been  developed,  the 
beneficial  results  of  which  must  be  felt  to  the 
latest  period  of  our  national  existence.  Had 
the  fathers  of  New  England   done   nothing 


printer,  and  in  that  year  printed  an  almanac 
calculated  for  New  England,  and  in  1640  a 
metrical  version  of  the  Psalms,  made  "  by 
Thomas  Welde  and  John  Eliot,  ministers  of 
Roxbury,  assisted  by  Richard  Mather,  min- 
ister of  Dorchester."  It  was  the  first  book 
printed  in  the  English  language  in  America, 
and  continued  to  be  used  for  a  long  time  in 
the  worship  of  the  New  England  churches. 


(6o 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


Many  of  the  settlers  went  back  to  England 
at  the  outset  of  the  civil  war  to  take  part  in 
the  struggle,  among  whom  were  Governor 
Henry  Vane  and  Hugh  Peters,  and  very  few 
emigrants  arrived  in  New  England  during 
the  existence  of  tlie  commonwealth.  Yet 
the  colonies  continued  to  prosper.  Ship- 
building, which  had  been  introduced  by  the 
first  settlers  of  Salem,  was  carried  on  with 
activity,  and  vessels  of  four  hundred  tons 
were  constructed.  A  little  later  the  manu- 
facture of  woollen  and  linen  cloth  was  begun 
by  order  of  the  general  court. 

The  colonial  churches  were  invited  to  send 
their  representatives  to  the  assembly  of 
divines  at  Westminster,  but  they  wisely 
neglected  to  do  so,  judging  it  better  to  remain 
in  their  obscurity  than  to  give  the  English 
people  a  pretext  for  future  interference  by 
joining  in  their  affairs. 

Religious  Liberty. 

The  Long  Parliament  was  friendly  to  New 
England,  and  granted  to  the  colonies  an 
exemption  from  all  duties  upon  their  com- 
merce "  until  the  House  of  Commons  should 
take  order  to  the  contrary."  Massachusetts 
took  advantage  of  the  security  afforded  by 
the  friendship  of  the  Long  Parliament  to 
establish  a  written  constitution,  or  "  body  of 
liberties,"  which  placed  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  her  people  upon  a  more  stable  basis. 
It  contained  some  of  the  severest  laws  of  the 
Mosaic  code,  such  as  those  against  witch- 
craft, blasphemy,  and  sins  against  nature,  but 
secured  the  freedom  of  the  citizen,  the  right 
of  representative  government,  and  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  state  and  the  municipality.  The 
rights  ofproperty,  the  freedom  of  inheritance, 
and  the  independence  of  each  church  from 
control  by  the  others  were  also  placed  beyond 
dispute.  "  This  constitution,"  says  Bancroft, 
"  for  its  liberality  and  comprehensiveness, 
may  vie  with  any  similar  record  from  the 
days  of  Magna  Charta." 


m  April,  1642,  the  towns  on  the  Piscata- 
qua,  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the 
state  of  New  Hampshire,  were  annexed  at 
their  own  request  to  Massachusetts.  As  the 
people  of  this  region  were  not  Puritans,  and 
many  of  them  were  attached  to  the  forms 
and  faith  of  the  Church  of  England,  the  gen- 
eral court  in  September  adopted  a  measure 
providing  that  neither  the  freemen  nor  the 
deputies  of  New  Hampshire  should  be 
required  to  be  church  members.  This  act 
of  justice  removed  all  danger  of  political  dis- 
cord. In  the  same  year  Massachusetts  made 
a  less  creditable  and  an  unsuccessful  effort 
to  annex  Rhode  Island  to  her  dominions. 

The  United  Colonies. 

Though  relieved  of  the  interference  of  the 
mother  country,  the  dangers  of  New  Eng- 
land were  not  j'et  at  an  end.  The  Indians 
were  still  powerful  upon  their  narrow  border, 
the  French  were  beginning  to  threaten  them 
from  the  direction  of  Canada,  and  the  Dutch 
from  the  Hudson.  The  colonies  had  so  many 
interests  in  common  that  it  was  of  vital  im- 
portance that  they  should  act  in  concert  for 
their  defence.  Aftei-  several  ineffectual 
attempts,  a  league  was  formed  in  1643 
between  the  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Ply- 
mouth, Connecticut,  and  New  Haven,  under 
the  title  of  "  The  United  Colonies  of  New 
Engla)id."  Each  colony  was  to  retain  its 
freedom  in  the  management  of  its  own  affairs  ; 
the  authority  of  the  union,  which  was 
intrusted  to  a  commission  of  two  members 
from  each  province,  being  limited  to  objects 
which  concerned  the  general  welfare  of  the 
colonies.  Provision  was  made  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  purity  of  the  gospel,  the  com- 
missioners were  required  to  be  church  mem- 
bers, and  the  expenses  of  the  confederacy 
were  to  be  assessed  upon  the  colonies 
according  to  population.  This  union  lasted 
for  forty  years. 


THE  UNION  OF  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIES. 


i6i 


The  colony  of  Rhode  Island  desired  to  be 
admitted  into  the  union,  but  its  petition  was 
refused,  as  it  would  not  acknowledge  the 
jurisdiction  of  Plymouth.  The  people  of  the 
two  settlements  on  Narragansett  Bay,  dread- 
ing an  attempt  to  absorb  them  into  some  of 
the  other  colonies,  now  determined  to  apply 
to  t^arliament  for  an  independent  charter. 
Roger  Williams  was  despatched  to  England 
for  that  purpose  in  1643, and  reached  that 
country  soon  after  the  death  of  Hampden. 
The  fame  of  his  labors  among  the  Indians 
secured  for  him  a  cordial  welcome. 

The  Charter  Confirnr.  ^d 
Assisted  by  Sir  Henry  Vane,  a  charter 
was  obtained  in  March,  1 644,  organizing  the 
settlements  on  Narragansett  Bay  as  an  inde- 
pendent colony  under  the  name  of  "The 
Providence  Plantations,"  "  with  full  power 
and  authority  to  rule  themselves."  The  ex- 
ecutive council  of  state  in  England,  in  165 1, 
made  some  grants  to  Coddington  which 
would  have  dismembered  the  little  state,  and 
Williams  was  obliged  to  make  a  second  voy- 
age to  England  to  have  these  grants  vacated. 
He  succeeded  in  his  efforts,  and  the  charter 
was  confirmed.  He  received  in  this,  as  in 
his  former  mission,  the  cordial  co-operation 
of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  whose  name  should  be 
ever  dear  to  the  people  of  Rhode  Island, 
since  but  for  him  her  territory  would  have 
been  divided  among  the  neighboring  col- 
onies. In  the  interval  between  his  first  and 
second  voyages  Roger  Williams  became  a 
Baptist,  and  founded  the  first  church  of  that 
denomination  in  America. 

The  country  between  tlie  Piscataqua  and 
ihe  Kennebec  was  assigned  to  Sir  Ferdinand 
Gorges,  wlio,  in  1639,  was  confirmed  in  his 
possession  by  a  formal  charter  from  Charles 
I.,  who  called  the  territory  the  Province  of 
Maine.  In  1640,  Gorges  sent  his  son 
Thomas  to  IMaine  as  his  representative. 
II 


Thomas  Gorges  took  up  his  residence  at  the 
settlement  of  Agamenticus,  now  the  town  of 
York,  and  in  1642  changed  the  name  of  the 
lace  to  Gorgeana. 

Maine  Comes  Into  the  Union. 

Since  the  settlement  of  the  colony  the 
French  had  claimed  the  region  between  the 
St.  Croix  and  the  Penobscot,  which  they  had 
settled  under  the  name  of  Acadia,  as  has 
been  stated  elsewhere.  After  the  death  of 
Sir  Ferdinand  Gorges  Maine  was  divided 
among  his  heirs.  These  cut  it  up  into  four 
weak  communities,  whose  helplessness  laid 
them  open  to  the  encroachments  of  the 
French  in  Canada.  Apprehensive  of  the: 
results  of  this,  Massachusetts,  to  whom 
many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province  had 
appealed  to  take  such  a  course,  in  1651 
claimed  the  province  of  Maine  as  a  part  of 
the  territory  which  had  been  granted  to  the 
colony  by  the  original  charter  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Commissioners  were  sent  to  establish  the 
authority  of  the  Bay  colony  over  the  prov- 
ince, but  the  magistrates  of  Maine  resisted 
them,  and  appealed  to  the  English  govern- 
ment for  protection.  The  people  of  Maine 
were  the  adherents  of  the  king  and  the  estab- 
lished church,  and  England  was  now  ruled 
by  the  Puritans  ;  consequently  Massachusetts 
won  her  cause,  and  Maine  was  declared  a 
part  of  that  province.  Massachusetts  made  a 
generous  use  of  her  power,  and  allowed  the 
towns  of  Maine  very  much  the  same  govern- 
ment and  privileges  they  now  enjoy,  and  in 
religious  matters  treated  them  with  the  same 
leniency  she  had  shown  to  New  Hampshire. 

In  1646,  a  dispute  in  the  Bay  colony  in- 
duced one  of  the  panties  to  it  to  apjy.^al  to 
Parliament  to  sustain  his  claims,  and  an  order 
was  sent  out  to  Boston  in  his  behalf"  couched 
in  terms  which  involved  the  right  of  Parlia- 
ment to  reverse  the  decisions  and  control  the 


^^    .  '  ■^-^k:?^^:::,^!^.    ^^7  ,v 


X> 


162 


JOHN    ELIOT    PREACHING    TO    THE    INDIANS. 


THE   UNION   OF   THE   NEW   ENGLAND    COLONIES. 


iG3 


government  of  Massachusetts."  In  plainer 
terms.  Parliament  claimed  the  right  to  revoke 
the  charter  of  the  colony,  as  the  king  had 
done  at  the  outset  of  the  civil  war.  The 
danger  was  great,  and  Massachusetts  met  it 
with  firmness.  The  general  court  met  on 
the  fourth  of  November,  and  sat  with  closed 
doors  to  discuss  the  claim  of  the  English 
government.  It  was  resolved  "  that  Massa- 
chusetts owed  to  England  the  same  allegi- 
ance as  the  free  Hanse  towns  had  rendered 
to  the  empire  ;  as  Normandy,  when  its  dukes 
were  kings  of  England,  paid  to  the  monarchs 
of  France." 

Parliament  Must  Keep  Hands  Off. 

The  court  also  refused  to  accept  a  new 
charter  from  Parliament,  as  that  action  might 
imply  a  surrender  of  the  original  instrument, 
or  to  allow  Parliament  to  control  in  any  way 
the  independence  of  the  colony.  Great  as 
this  claim  was,  it  was  admitted  by  the  Eng- 
lish Parliament,  in  which  the  rights  of  the 
colony  were  stoutly  maintained  by  Sir  Henry 
Vane  and  others  ;  and  in  reply  to  a  respectful 
address  of  the  general  court  setting  forth  the 
views  of  that  body,  a  committee  of  Parlia- 
ment declared  :  "  We  encourage  no  appeals 
from  your  justice.  We  leave  you  with  all 
the  freedom  and  latitude  that  may,  in  any 
respect,  be  duly  claimed  by  you."  Later  on, 
upon  the  establishment  of  the  common- 
wealth, Parliament  invited  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  to  receive  a  new  patent  from 
that  body  ;  but  the  colonial  authorities  wisely 
declined  to  do  this,  or  to  allow  the  home 
government  any  hold  upon  the  administra- 
tion of  the  affairs  of  the  province. 

In  165 1.  Cromwell,  who  had  subdued 
Ireland,  offered  that  island  to  the  Puritans  of 
New  England  as  a  new  home;  but  they 
declined  to  leave  America.  Cromwell  proved 
himself  in  many  ways  a  judicious  friend  of 
New  England,  and  the  people  of  that  country 


treasured  his  memory  with  the  gratitude  and 
respect  it  so  richly  deserved. 

Though  sc  successful  in  asserting  her  own 
liberties,  Massachusetts  had  not  yet  learned 
the  lesson  of  religious  tolerance.  When 
the  Baptists  began  to  appear  in  the  colony, 
severe  measures  were  inaugurated  to  crush 
them,  and  one  of  their  number — Holmes — a 
resident  of  Lynn,  was  whipped  unmercifully. 
Still  greater  were  the  severities  practised 
towards  the  Quakers.  This  sect  had  grown 
out  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  con- 
stituted at  this  day  the  most  advanced 
thiiikers  upon  religious  matters  to  be  found 
in  England.  They  claimed  a  perfect  freedom 
in  matters  of  faith  and  worship,  and  regarded 
all  laws  for  enforcing  religious  systems  as 
works  of  the  devil.  They  were  persons  of 
pure  lives,  and  even  their  most  inveterate 
enemies  could  not  charge  them  with  wrong- 
doing. Previous  to  their  appearance  in 
Massachusetts  exaggerated  reports  reached 
the  colony  concerning  them.  Tliey  were 
represented  as  making  war  upon  all  forms  of 
religion  and  government. 

Intolerance  Toward  Quakers. 

The  first  of  this  creed  who  came  to  New 
England  were  Mary  Fisher  and  Ann  Austin, 
who  reached  Boston  in  July,  1656.  In  the 
absence  of  a  special  law  against  Quakers, 
they  were  arrested  under  the  provisions  of 
the  general  statute  against  heresy;  their 
trunks  were  searched  and  their  books  burned 
by  the  hangman.  Their  persons  were  e.xam- 
ined  for  marks  of  witchcraft,  but  nothing 
could  be  found  against  them,  and  after  being 
kept  close  prisoners  for  five  weeks,  they  were 
sent  back  to  England.  . 

During  the  year  eight  others  were  also  sent 
back  to  England.  Laws  which  were  a  dis- 
grace to  an  enlightened  community  were 
now  passed  prohibiting  the  Quakers  from 
entering  the  colony.      Such  as  came  -R-ere 


1 64 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


imprisoned,  cruelly  whipped,  and  sent  away. 
In  1657  a  woman  was  whipped  with  twenty 
stripes  for  this  offence.  In  165S  a  law  was 
enacted  that  if  any  Quaker  should  return 
after  being  banished,  his  or  her  offence 
should  be  punished  with  death.  It  was  hoped 
that  this  barbarous  measure  would  rid  the 
colony  of  their  presence  ;  but  they  came  in 
still  greater  numbers,  to  reprove  the  magis- 
trates for  their  persecuting  spirit,  and  to  call 


\       ^\'¥^>       ^ 


INDIAN  MEUICINE-MAN. 

them  to  repentance.  In  1659  Marmaduke 
Stephenson,  William  Robinson,  Mary  Dyar 
and  William  Leddro  were  hanged  on  Boston 
Common  for  returning  to  the  colony  after 
being  banished. 

These  cruelties  were  regarded  with  great 
discontent  by  the  people  of  the  colony,  whose 
humanity  was  shocked  by  the  barbarity  of 
the  magistrates.  Their  opposition  grew 
stronger  every  day,  .-^nd  at  last  it  became  evi- 
dent to  the  magistrates  themselves  that  their 


severities  were  of  no  avail.  When  William 
Leddro  was  being  sentenced  to  death,  the 
magistrates  were  startled  by  the  entrance  into 
the  court-room  of  Wenlock  Christison,  a 
Quaker  who  had  been  banished  and  forbid- 
den to  return  on  pain  of  death.  Christison 
was  arrested,  but  the  complaints  of  the 
people  became  so  loud  that  the  magistrates- 
were  obliged  to  pause  in  their  bloody  work. 
Christison  and  twenty-seven  of  his  com- 
panions were  released  from  custody,  the 
persecution  of  the  Quakers  was  discon- 
tinued, and  the  general  court,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  the  people,  repealed  the 
barbarous  laws  against  that  sect. 

The  Apostle  to  the  Indians. 
In  pleasing  contrast  with  these  sever- 
ities were  the  efforts  of  the  Puritans  to 
spread  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel  among 
the  savages.   Chief  among  those  engaged 
in  the  good  work  was  John  Eliot,  the  min- 
ister of  Roxbury,  whose  labors  won  him 
the  name  of  "  the  apostle  Eliot."  He  went 
among  the  red  men  in  the  forests,  and  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  their  language  that 
he  might  preach  to  them  in  their  own 
tongue.      When    he  had    become    suffi- 
ciently proficient  in  it,  he  translated  the 
Bible  into  the    Indian   language.     This 
translation  was  printed  at  Cambridge,  and 
a  part  of  the  type  was  set  by  an  Indian 
compositor.    He  spent  many  }-ears  in  the 
preparation  of  his  Bible,  and  made  a  good 
use  of  it  during  his  life;  but  it  is  now  valu- 
able only  as  a  literary  curiosity  and  as  the 
evidence  of  the  devotion  of  the  translator  to 
his  noble  work.     The  destruction  of  the  race 
for   which    it   was  intended    has   made  it  a 
sealed  book. 

Eliot  gathered  his  savage  converts  into  a 
settlement  at  Natick,  and  taught  the  men  the 
art  of  agriculture  and  the  women  to  spin  and 
to  weave   cloth.     He  had  to  encounter  the 


THE   UNIOM   OF   THE   NEW   ENGLAND    COLONIES. 


opposition  of  the  chiefs  »rd  medicine  men 
or  priests,  who  resented  his  efforts  to  win 
iheir  people  from  the  worship  and  habits 
of  their  ancestors,  b>^t  he  persevered.  He 
ivas  greatly  beloved  by  his  disciples,  and 
continued  his  J=ibors  among  them  far  into 
old  age,  and  to  a  limited  extent  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  which  took  place 
when  he  had  attained  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty -six  years.  "  My  memory,  my  utter- 
ance fails  me,"  he  said  near  the  close  of  his 
life ;  "  but  I  thank  God  my  charity  holds  out 
still."  When  Walton,  a  brother  minister, 
visited  him  on  his  death-bed,  he  greeted  him 


with  the  words ;  "  Brother,  you  are  welcome ; 
but  retire  to  your  study  and  pray  that  I  may 
be  gone."  His  last  words  on  earth  wera 
the  triumphal  shout  with  which  he  catered 
upon  his  reward :  "  Welcome  joy !  " 

Many  of  the  Quakers,  after  the  persecu- 
tion against  them  was  over,  joined  Eliot  in 
his  labors.  He  had  other  fellow-workers. 
The  two  Mayhews,  father  and  son,  Cotton, 
and  Brainerd  thought  it  a  privilege  to  labor 
for  the  souls  of  the  poor  savages.  Native 
preachers  were  ordained,  and  at  last  there 
were  thirty  churches  of  "  praying  Indians  " 
under  such  preachers. 


CHAPTER   XIV 
New  Eno^land  after  the  Restoration 


ftfriTal  of  the  News  of  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II. — The  Regicides  in  New  England — They  are  Protected — RevivaJ 
of  the  Navigation  Acts — Effect  of  this  Measure  upon  the  New  England  Colonies — Massachusetts  Delays  the  Proclama 
tion  of  the  King — Connecticut  Obtains  a  Charter — Union  of  New  Haven  with  the  Connecticut  Colony — Rhode  Island 
Given  a  New  Charter — Massachusetts  Settles  her  Difficulties  with  the  Crown — Changes  in  the  Government — High- 
handed Acts  of  the  Royal  Commissioners — Troubles  with  the  Indians — Injustice  of  the  Whites — King  Philip's  War — A 
Forest  Hero — An  Incident  in  the  Attack  upon  Hadley — Sufferings  of  the  Colonies — Destruction  of  the  Narragansetts — 
Death  of  Philip^Close  of  the  War — England  Asserts  her  Right  to  Tax  the  Colonies — Massachusetts  buys  Gorges'  claims 
to  Maine — New  Hampshire  Made  a  Separate  Province — James  II.  Revokes  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts — Dudley  and 
Randolph  in  New  England — Andros  Appointed  Governor-General — His  TjTanny — He  Demands  the  Charter  of  Con- 
necticut— It  is  Carried  Away  and  Hidden — The  Charter  Oak — Fall  of  James  II. — ^The  People  of  Massachusetts  take 
up  Arms — Andros  Arrested — Effects  of  the  Revolution  upon  New  England. 


THE  news  of  the  restoration  of  Charles 
II.  to  the  English  throne  was 
brought  to  Boston  by  Etdward 
Whalley  and  William  Goffe,  two 
of  the  j'udges  of  Charles  I.  They  came  to 
seek  refuge  from  the  vengeance  of  the  king, 
having  offended  him  beyond  forgiveness  by 
their  share  in  the  death  of  his  father.  They 
remained  about  a  year  in  Massachusetts, 
protected  by  the  people,  and  preaching  to 
them.  A  few  months  after  their  arrival, 
warrants  for  their  arrest  and  transportation 
to  England  for  trial  arrived  from  the  king, 
and  to  escape  this  danger  they  took  refuge  in 
New  Haven. 

The  royal  officers  instituted  a  diligent 
search  for  them,  and  they  were  obliged  to 
change  their  place  of  concealment  frequently. 
Great  rewards  were  offered  for  their  betrayal, 
and  even  the  Indians  were  urged  to  search 
the  woods  for  their  hiding-places.  The  peo- 
ple whom  they  trusted  protected  them,  and 
aided  them  to  escape  the  royal  officers  until 
the  vigor  of  the  search  was  exhausted.  They 
then  conducted  them  to  a  secure  refuge  in 
the  vicinity  of  Hadlej',  where  they  remained 
in  seclusion  and  peace  until  the  close  of  their 
lives. 
i66 


News  was  constantly  arriving  in  the  colo- 
nies of  the  execution  of  the  men  who  had 
been  the  friends  of  America  in  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  a  general  sadness  was  cast  over 
the  settlements  by  the  tidings  of  the  death  of 
Hugh  Peters  and  the  noble  Sir  Henr}'  Vane. 
From  the  first  the  people  of  New  England 
saw  plainly  that  they  had  little  reason  to 
expect  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  royal  gov- 
ernment, and  there  was  little  rej'oicing  in  that 
region  at  the  return  of  the  king  to  "  his  own 
again." 

One  of  Charles's  first  acts  was  to  revive  in 
a  more  odious  form  the  navigation  act  of  the 
Long  Parliament.  We  have  spoken  of  the 
effect  of  this  measure  upon  the  colonies  of 
Virginia  and  Marv'land.  This  act  closed  the 
harbors  of  America  against  the  vessels  of 
every  European  nation  save  England,  and 
forbade  the  exportation  of  certain  American 
productions  to  any  country  but  England  ot 
her  possessions.  This  was  a  very  serious 
blow  to  New  England,  and  was  intended  as 
such.  The  colonies  of  that  region  had 
already  built  up  a  growing  commerce,  and 
this,  together  with  their  activity  in  ship- 
building, excited  the  envy  and  the  hostility 
of  the   British   merchants,  who   hoped,  by 


NEW   ENGLAND   AFTER  THE   RESTORATION. 


167 


inducing  the  king  to  place  these  restrictions 
upon  the  colonies,  to  compel  the  Americans 
to  depend  upon  them  for  trie  supply  of  all 
their  wants. 

loiter  on,  America  was  forbidden  not  only 
to  manufacture  any  articles  which  might 
compete  with  EngMsh  manufactures  in  foreign 
markets,  but  to  sup-'ply  her  own  wants  with 
her  own  manufactures.  At  the  same  time 
Parliament  endeavored  to  destroy  the  trade 
that  had  grown  up  between  New  England 
and  the  southern  colonies  by  imposing  upon 
the  articles  exported  from  one  colony  to 
another  a  duty  equal  to  that  imposed  upon 
the  consumption  of  these  articles  in  England. 

Foul   Injustice. 

Thus  did  Great  Britain  lay  the  foundation 
of  that  system  of  commercial  inj  ustice  toward 
her  colonies  which  eventually  deprived  her 
of  them,  and  which  her  greatest  writer  on 
political  economy  declared  to  be  "  a  manifest 
violation  of  the  rights  of  mankind."  The 
policy  thus  established  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
II.  was  never  departed  from.  Each  succeed- 
ing administration  remained  true  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  navigation  act,  and  consistently 
declined  to  admit  the  claim  of  the  colonies 
to  just  and  honorable  treatment  at  the  hands 
of  the  mother  country, 

Charles  II.  was  promptly  proclaimed  in 
the  colonies  of  Plymouth,  Connecticut,  New 
Haven  and  Rhode  Island,  and  those  provinces 
were  administered  in  his  name.  Massachu- 
setts, distrusting  his  purposes  towards  her, 
held  back,  and  waited  until  he  should  show 
his  intentions  more  plainly. 

Connecticut  had  purchased  the  claims  of 
the  assigns  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick  to  the 
region  occupied  by  her,  and  had  bought  the 
territory  of  the  Mohegans  from  Uncas,  their 
sachem.  The  colony  sent  the  younger  Win- 
throp  to  England  in  1661  to  obtain  a  charter 
from  the  king.     The  noble  character  of  Gov- 


ernor Winthrop  was  well  known  in  England, 
and  impressed  even  the  profligate  Charles. 
His  reception  was  cordial  and  his  mission 
entirely  .successful.  In  1662,  the  king  granted 
to  the  colony  a  charter  incorporating  Hart- 
ford and  New  Haven  in  one  province  under 
the  name  of  Connecticut,  and  extending  its 
limits  from  Long  Island  Sound  westward  ta 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  thus  bestowing  upon  the 
colony  those  rich  western  lands  which  were 
subsequently  made  the  basis  of  the  magnifi- 
cent school  fund  of  Connecticut.  The  charter 
was  substantially  the  same  in  its  provisions 
as  the  constitution  adopted  by  the  Hartford 
colony.  By  it  the  king  conferred  upon  the 
colonists  the  right  to  elect  their  owa  officers 
and  to  make  and  administer  their  own  laws 
without  interference  from  England  in  any 
event  whatever.  Connecticut  was  made 
independent  in  all  but  name,  and  the  charter 
continued  in  force  as  the  constitution  of  the 
state  after  the  period  of  independence  until 


Good  Fortune  of  Connecticut. 

The  colony  of  New  Haven  was  much 
opposed  to  the  union  with  Connecticut,  and 
it  required  all  Governor  Winthrop's  efforts 
to  induce  the  people  of  that  colony  to  accept 
it.  The  matter  was  adjusted  in  1665,  when 
the  union  was  finally  accomplished.  The 
labors  of  Governor  Winthrop  were  rewarded 
by  his  annual  election  as  governor  of  Con- 
necticut for  fourteen  years.  Connecticut  was 
a  fortunate  colony.  Its  government  was  ably 
and  honestly  administered  ;  no  persecutions 
marred  its  peace,  and  its  course  was  uniformly 
prosperous  and  happy.  It  was  always  one 
of  the  most  peaceful  and  orderly  colonies  oi 
Now  England,  and  for  a  century  its  popula- 
tion  doubled  once  in  twenty  years,  notwith- 
standing frequent  emigrations  of  its  people 
to  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  colony 
at  an  early  day  matie  a  liberal  provision  for 


1 68 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


education,  and  in  1700  Yale  College  was 
founded.  It  was  originally  located  at  Say- 
brookc,  but  in  17 18  was  removed  to  New 
Haven. 

Rhode  Island  was  equally  fortunate. 
Through  its  resident  agent  at  London,  John 
Clarke,  it  made  application  to  the  king  for  a 
new  charter,  and  after  some  delay,  caused  by 
the  difficulty  of  arranging  satisfactorily 
the  limits  of  the  province,  a  charter  was 
granted  in  1663,  formerly  establishing  the 
colony  of  "  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations  "  This  charter  continued  to  be 
the  sole  constitution  of  Rhode  Island  until 
the  year  1842.  By  its  provisions  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  was  to  consist  of  a  gov- 
ernor, deputy-governor,  ten  assistants,  and 
representatives  from  the  towns. 

Equal  Rights  to  All. 

The  laws  were  to  be  agreeable  to  those  of 
England,  but  no  oath  of  allegiance  was 
required  of  the  colony,  and  in  matters  of 
religion  the  charter  declared  that  "  no  person 
within  the  said  colony,  at  any  time  hereafter, 
shall  be  anywise  molested,  punished,  dis- 
quieted, or  called  in  any  question  for  any 
difference  in  opinion  in  matters  of  religion ; 
every  person  may  at  all  times  freely  and 
fully  enjoy  his  own  judgment  and  conscience 
in  matters  of  religious  concernments."  Free- 
dom of  conscience  was  not  restricted  to 
Christians ;  it  was  extended  by  the  charter 
to  infidels  and  pagans  as  well.  This  charter 
made  the  little  colony  secure  against  the 
attempts  of  Massachusetts  to  absorb  her,  and 
its  reception  by  the  people  was  joyful  and 
enthusiastic. 

At  this  period  the  population  of  Rhode 
Island  was  about  twenty-five  hundred.  It 
increased  rapidly  and  steadily;  the  excellent 
harbors  of  the  province  encouraged  com- 
merce, and  the  little  state  soon  began  to 
rival  her  larger  associates  in  prosperity. 


Massachusetts  was  from  the  first  regarded 
with  disfavor  by  the  ro\al  government.  It 
delayed  its  acknowledgment  of  Charles  II. 
for  over  a  year,  and  the  king  was  not  pro- 
claimed at  Boston  until  the  seventh  of 
August,  1661.  Even  then  the  general  court 
forbade  all  manifestations  of  juy.  These 
signs  of  the  independent  spirit  of  the  people 
had  been  observed  in  England,  and  the  col- 
ony had  been  watched  by  the  government 
with  anything  but  favor.  The  enemies  of 
the  young  state  hurried  their  complaints  be- 
fore the  king,  and  Massachusets  at  length 
found  it  to  her  interest  to  send  commission- 
ers to  London,  as,  indeed,  the  express  orders 
of  the  king  required  her  to  do.  Among  the 
agents  sent  over  were  John  Norton  and 
Simon  Bradstreet,  men  of  ability  and  mod- 
eration, who  commanded  the  confidence  of 
all  classes  of  the  colonists.  Their  instruc- 
tions were  to  assure  the  king  of  the  loyalty 
of  Massachusetts,  to  engage  his  favor  for 
the  colony ;  but  to  agree  to  "  nothing  preju- 
dicial to  their  present  standing  according  to 
their  patent,  and  to  endeavor  the  establish- 
ment of  the  rights  and  privileges  thea 
enjoyed." 

Two  Parties  in  Massachusetts. 

The  commissioners  reached  London  in 
January,  1662,  and  were  graciously  received 
oy  the  king,  who  confirmed  the  charter,  and 
granted  a  complete  amnesty  for  all  past 
offences  against  his  majesty.  He  required, 
however,  that  all  laws  derogatory  to  his 
authority  should  be  repealed  ;  that  the  col- 
onists should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
him  ;  that  justice  should  be  administered  in 
his  name:  that  the  right  of  suffrage  should 
be  thrown  open  to  all  freeholders  of  com- 
petent estates  ;  and  that  all  who  wished  to  do 
so  should  be  free  to  use  "  the  book  of  com- 
mon prayer,  and  perform  their  devotion  in 
the  manner  established  in  England." 


NEW    ENGLAND   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


169 


Tliese  were  better  terms  than  the  commis- 
sioners had  reason  to  expect,  and  were  not 
in  themselves  objectionable,  as  Massachu- 
setts was  growing  beyond  its  early  preju- 
dices ;  but  the  acceptance  of  them  would 
have  implied  an  acknowledgment  by  the 
colony  of  the  king's  right  to  change  its  fun- 
damental law,  and  to  interfere  with  its  affairs 
at  pleasure.  Massachusetts  was  at  once 
divided  into  two  parties,  the  larger  of  which 
maintained  the  independence  of  the  colony 
of  royal  control;  the  smaller  party  supported 
the  claims  of  the  king.  Under  other  circum- 
stances no  opposition  would  have  been  made 
to  the  toleration  of  the  practices  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  colony;  but  now 
that  it  seemed  that  episcopacy  was  to  be  in- 
troduced as  the  ally  of  the  royal  power,  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  resolved  to  prevent 
it  from  obtaining  a  foothold  in  their  midsL 
The  general  court  resolved  to  maintain  their 
political  independence,  and  their  religious 
establishment  as  well.  As  a  measure  of  pre- 
caution, the  charter  was  secretly  intrusted 
for  safe-keeping  to  a  committee  of  four,  ap- 
pointed by  the  general  court ;  and  it  was 
ordered  that  only  small  bodies  of  officers  and 
men  should  be  allowed  to  land  from  ships, 
and  should  be  required  to  yield  a  strict 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  province  while 
on  shore. 

Contempt  for   Puritan   Customs. 

These  last  measures  were  adopted  because 
of  the  appointment  by  the  king  of  commis- 
sioners to  regulate  the  affairs  of  New  Eng- 
land. The  commissioners  reached  Boston 
in  July,  1664,  escorted  by  the  fleet  sent  out 
from  England  for  the  reduction  of  New 
Amsterdam.  They  were  ordered  to  investi- 
gate the  manner  in  which  the  charters  of  the 
New  England  colonies  had  been  exercised, 
and  had  "  full  authority  to  provide  for  the 
peace  of  the  country,  according  to  the  royal 


instructions,  and  their  own  discretion" — a. 
power  which  Massachusetts  was  justified  in 
regarding  as  dangerous  to  her  liberties. 

The  People  Redress  their  'Wrongs. 

The  commissioners  cared  very  little  foi 
the  prejudices  of  the  people  of  Massachu* 
setts,  and  from  the  first  proceeded  to  outrag€ 
their  feelings.  They  introduced  the  services 
of  the  Church  of  England  into  Boston  to  the 
great  disgust  of  the  people.  The  Puritans 
had  alwaj's  observed  the  old  Jewish  custom 
of  beginning  their  Sabbath  at  sunset.  The 
commissioners  contemptuously  disregarded 
this  custom,  and  spent  Saturday  evening  in 
merry-making.  They  soon  gave  cause  for 
more  serious  alarm  by  exercising  the  powers 
with  which  they  had  been  intrusted,  and  pro- 
ceeding to  redress  the  grievances  of  the 
people.  All  persons  who  had  complaints 
against  Massachusetts  were  called  upon  to 
lay  them  before  the  commissioners,  and 
Rhode  Island  and  the  Narragansett  chiefs 
promptly  availed  themselves  of  the  invita- 
tion. The  general  court  now  cut  the  matter 
short  by  a  decisive  step,  and  sternly  ordered 
the  commissioners  to  discontinue  their  pro- 
ceedings, as  contrary  to  the  charter.  The 
commissioners  obeyed  theorder,  and  though 
the  firmness  of  the  colony  aroused  the  indig- 
nation of  the  king,  he  was  not  able  to  shake 
the  determination  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  opposition  shown 
by  New  England  to  the  injustice  of  the 
mother  countr>'.  The  navigation  acts  were 
generally  disregarded;  they  could  not  be 
enforced;  and  Boston  and  the  other  New 
England  ports  continued  to  enjoy  their  grow- 
ing commerce  as  freely  as  before  the  passage 
of  these  infamous  acts.  Vessels  from  all  the 
other  colonies,  and  from  France,  Spain,  Hol- 
land and  Italy,  as  well  as  from  England, 
were  to  be  seen  at  all  seasons  in  the  port  of 
Boston. 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


Massachusetts  owned  the  greater  number 
of  vessels  built  and  operated  in  America, 
and  was  the  principal  carrier  for  the  other 
colonies.  Its  ships  sailed  to  the  most  dis- 
tant lands  beyond  the  sea,  and  the  commerce 
of  the  colony  was  rapidly  becoming  a  source 
of  great  wealth.  So  marked  indeed  was  the 
prosperity  of  New  England,  that  upon  the 
receipt  of  the  news  of  the  great  fire  in  Lon- 
don the  colonists  were  able  to  send  large 
sums  to  the  assistance  of  the  sufferers.     The 


14,000;  Massachusetts,  about  22,000;  Maine, 
about  4,000 ;  New  Hampshire,  about  4,000 ; 
Rhode  Island,  about  4,000.  The  settlements 
lay  principally  along  the  coast,  from  New 
Haven  to  the  northeastern  border  of  Maine. 
Little  progress  had  been  made  towards  pene 
trating  the  interior.  Haverhill,  Deerfield, 
Northfielc  and  Westfield  were  towns  on  the 
remote  frontier. 

This   rapid   growth  alarmed  the  Indians, 
who  had  already  begun  to  regard  the  whites 


THEIR    NATIVE    FORESTS. 


people  of  New  England  were  industrious 
and  frugal.  Villages  multiplied  rapidly,  and 
wherever  a  village  sprang  up  a  common 
school  accompanied  it.  The  villages  began 
to  assume  a  more  tasteful  and  pleasing  ap- 
pearance, and  men  gave  more  care  to  the 
adornment  and  beautifying  of  their  homes. 

The  population  of  New  England  in  1675 
has  been  estimated  at  about  55,000  souls, 
divided  among  the  colonies  as  follows : 
Pl\-inouth,  about  7,000;  Connecticut,  about 


as  enemies  bent  on  their  destruction.  Though 
there  had  been  peace  for  forty  years  in  New- 
England,  the  savages  saw  that  the  policy 
pursued  by  the  settlers  was  meant  to  force 
them  back  from  the  lands  of  their  fathers. 
The  whites  had  gradually  absorbed  the  best 
lands  in  New  England,  and  the  red  men  had 
been  as  gradually  crowded  down  upon  the 
narrow  necks  and  bays  of  the  southern 
shores  of  the  Plymouth  and  Rhode  Island 
colonics.     This  had  been  done  in  pursuance 


NEW   ENGLAND   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


171 


of  a  settled  policy,  as  the  savages  could  be 
more  carefully  watched,  and  more  easily 
managed  in  these  localities  than  if  left  to 
roam  at  will  over  the  country.  The  Indians 
on  their  part  sullenly  resented  the  course  of 
the  whites,  and  they  had  cause  for  complaint. 
They  were  ignorant  of  the  art  of  cultivating 
the  soil,  and  unwilling  to  practice  it,  and  in 
their  restricted  limits  it  was  difficult  for  them 
to  obtain  the  means  of  supporting  life.  The 
game  had  been  almost  entirely  driven  from 
the  forests,  and  the  savages  were  forced  to 
depend  upon  fish  for  their  food ;  and  these 
were  obtained  in  scanty  and  uncertain  quan- 
tities. Thus  the  very  success  of  New  Eng- 
land was  about  to  bring  upon  it  the  most 
serious  misfortunes  it  had  yet  sustained. 

The  Chief  Entrapped. 

Massasoit,  who  had  been  the  early  friend 
of  the  English,  left  two  sons  at  his  death, 
Wamsuttaand  Metacom,  who  had  long  been 
reckoned  among  the  friends  of  the  Plymouth 
colony.  They  were  frequent  visitors  at 
Plymouth,  and  had  received  from  the  English 
the  names  of  Alexander  and  Philip.  At  the 
death  of  Massasoit,  Wamsutta,  or  Alexander, 
became  chief  of  the  Wampanoags.  He  and 
his  brother  Philip  were  men  of  more  than 
ordinary  abilities,  and  felt  deeply  the  wrongs 
which  were  beginning  to  fall  thickly  upon 
their  race.  Uncas,  the  chief  of  the  Mohe- 
gans,  the  determined  enemy  of  Wamsutta, 
e.xerted  himself,  with  success,  to  fill  the 
minds  of  the  English  with  suspicions  of  the 
intentions  of  the  Wampanoag  chieftain,  and 
it  was  resolved  to  arrest  him  and  bring  him 
to  Plymouth. 

Winslow  was  sent  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
force,  and  succeeded  in  surprising  the  chief 
in  his  hunting-lodge,  together  with  eighty  of 
his  followers.  The  proud  spirit  of  Wamsutta 
ch.ifcd  with  such  fury  at  the  indignity  thus 
■Jut  upon  him  that  he  was  seized  with  a  dan- 


gerous fever,  and  the  English  were  obliged 
to  permit  him  to  return  home.  "  He  died  on 
his  way,"  says  Elliott.  "  He  was  carried 
home  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  and  borne  to 
his  silent  grave  near  Mount  Hope,  in  the 
evening  of  the  day,  and  in  the  prime  of  his 
life,  between  lines  of  sad,  quick-minded 
Indians,  who  well  believed  him  the  victim  of 
injustice  and  ingratitude  ;  for  his  father  had 
been  the  ally,  not  the  subject,  of  England, 
and  so  was  he,  and  the  like  indignity  had  net 
before  been  put  upon  any  sachem." 

By  the  death  of  his  brother,  Metacom,  or 
Philip,  became  chief  of  the  Wampanoags. 
He  kept  his  own  council,  but  the  whites  soon 
had  cause  to  believe  that  he  meditated  a  des- 
perate vengeance  upon  them  for  the  death  of 
Wamsutta  and  the  wrongs  of  his  race.  To 
make  the  sense  of  injury  deeper  in  his  mind, 
the  Plymouth  authorities  treated  him  with 
great  harshness  and  compelled  him  to  give- 
up  his  arms.  A  "  praying  Indian  "  who 
lived  among  his  people  informed  the  colonists 
that  the  chief  meditated  harm  against  them,, 
and  his  dead  body  was  soon  after  found. 
Three  of  Philip's  men  were  suspected  of  the 
murder.  They  were  arrested,  tried  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  found  guilty  by  a  jury  composed 
of  whites  and  Indians,  and  were  put  to  death. 
This  was  early  in  1675. 

Cry  for  Revenge. 
The  execution  of  these  men  awoke  a  wild 
thirst  for  revenge  among  the  tribe  to  which 
:hey  belonged,  and  the  young  warriors  clam- 
ored loudly  for  war  against  the  English. 
Philip,  whose  vigorous  mind  enabled  him  to 
judge  more  clearly  of  the  issue  of  such  a 
struggle,  entered  into  the  contest  with  reluct- 
ance, for  he  saw  that  it  must  end  in  the 
destruction  of  his  race.  He  was  powerless 
to  resist  the  universal  sentiment  of  his  people, 
and  like  a  true  hero  resolved  to  make  the 
best  of  the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed, 


172 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


and  to  share  the  fate  of  his  nation.  The 
Indians  were  tolerably  well  provided  with 
fire-arms,  for,  in  spite  of  the  severe  punish- 
ments denounced  against  the  sale  of  weapons 
io  the  savages,  the  colonists  had  not  been 
proof  against  the  temptations  of  gain  held 
out  to  them  by  this  traffic. 

Their  chief  dependence,  however,  was  upon 
their  primitive  weapons.  The  English,  on 
the  other  hand,  were  well  armed,  and  were 
provided  with  forts  and  towns  which  fur- 
nished them  with   secure  places  of  refuge. 


KING    PHILIP, 

They  might  have  averted  the  war  by  concil- 
iating the  savages,  but  they  persisted  in 
their  unjust  treatment  of  them,  regarding 
them  as  "bloody  heathen,"  who  it  was  their 
duty  to  drive  back  into  the  wilderness. 

Philip  was  able  to  bring  seven  hundred 
desperate  warriors  into  the  field.  They  had 
no  hope  of  success,  and  they  fought  only  for 
vengeance.  They  knew  every  nook  and 
hiding-place  of  the  forest,  and  in  these  nat- 
ural defences  could   hope  to  continue   the 


struggle  as  long  as  the  leaves  remamed  on 
the  trees  to  conceal  their  lurking-places  from 
the  white  man's  search. 

War  Breaks  Out. 

Immediately  after  the  execution  of  the 
three  Indians  at  Plymouth,  Philip's  men  had 
begun  to  rob  exposed  houses  and  carrj'  off 
cattle,  but  the  war  did  not  actually  begin 
until  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  1675,  the  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment as  a  preparation  for  the  struggle. 
On  that  day  the  people  of  Swanzey,  in  Ply- 
mouth colony,  while  returning  home  from 
church,  were  attacked  by  the  Wampanoags, 
and  eight  or  nine  were  killed.  Philip  burst 
into  tears  when  the  news  of  this  attack  was 
brought  to  him,  but  he  threw  himself  with 
energy  into  the  hopeless  struggle,  now  that 
it  had  come. 

Reinforcements  were  sent  from  Massachu- 
setts to  the  aid  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  and 
on  the  twenty-ninth  of  June  the  united  forces 
made  an  attack  upon  the  Wampanoags,  killed 
six  or  seven  of  their  men  and  drove  them  to 
a  swamp  in  which  they  took  refuge.  The 
English  surrounded  this  swamp,  determined 
to  starve  the  Indians  into  submission,  but 
Philip  and  his  warriors  escaped  and  took 
refuge  among  the  Nipmucks,  a  small  tribe 
occupying  what  is  now  Worcester  county, 
Massachusetts.  The  English  then  aiarched 
into  the  territory  of  the  Narragaiwetts  and 
compelled  them  to  agree  to  remain  neutral, 
and  to  deliver  up  the  fugitive  Indians  who 
should  take  refuge  among  them.  This 
accomplished,  the  colonists  hoped  they  had 
put  an  end  to  the  war. 

Philip  succeeded  in  inducing  the  Nipmucks 
to  join  him  in  the  struggle,  and  his  warriors 
began  to  hang  around  the  English  settle- 
ments. The  whites  were  murdered  wherever 
they  ventured  to  expose  themselves,  and  a 
feeling  of  general  terror  spread  through  the 


NEW   ENGLAND    AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


173 


%  bl 


colonies.  No  one  knew  the  extent  of  the 
hostility  of  the  savage  tribes,  or  how  many 
allies  Philip  had  gained ;  nor  was  it  certain 
when  or  where  the  next  great  blow  of  the 
savages  would  be  struck. 

Strange  Stories. 

Some  of  the  colonists  began  to  give  way 
;o  superstitious  fears.  It  was  asserted  that 
an  Indian  bow,  a  sign  of  impending  evil,  had 

been   seen    clearly  defined  

against    the   heavens,  and         "^ 

that  at  the   eclipse  which 

occurred  at  this  time   the 

moon    bore    the    figure      1 

an     Indian    scalp     on     it 

face.  The  northern  hea\  tii 

glowed  with  auroial  liglit 

ofunusual  brilliancy,  ti    l[ 

of  phantom  horsemen  w  ere 

heard  to  dash  through  the 

air;  the  sighing  of  them    I 

wind  was  like   the    ^         1 

of  whistling   bullet 

the  howling  of  the 

was  fiercer  and  more 

stant   than    usual.     The^e 

things,     the     superstitious 

declared,     were     \sarnmg', 

that     the     colonies     were 

about  to  be  seveiely  pun 

ished  for  their  sins,  am 

>hich  they  named  pi    t 

swearing,    the    neglect    ot 

bringing  up  their  children 

in  more  rigid  observances, 

the  licensing  of  ale  houses, 

and   the   wearing   of  long 

hair  by  the  men,  and  of  gay  apparel  by  the 

women.     The  more  extreme  even  declared 

that  they  were  about  to  be  "judged  "  for  not 

exterminating  the  Quakers. 

In  the  meantime,  Philip,  with  a  party  of 
Nipmucks  and  his  own  people,  carried  the 
<var  into  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and 


spread  death  along  the  line  of  settlements 
from  Springfield  to  Northfield,  then  the  most 
remote  inland  town.  With  the  hope  of  with- 
drawing the  Nipmucks,  who  could  mustet 
fifteen  hundred  warriors,  from  the  confed- 
eracy. Captain  Hutchinson,  with  twenty  men, 
was  sent  to  treat  with  them.  His  party  was 
ambushed  and  murdered  at  Brookfield  early 
in    August.       The     Indians    then    attacked 


wolves  fW|  ^-^^""^ 
)re  con-  -T^  %^    ^ 


THE   BURNING    OF   BROOKFIELD   BY  THE   INDIANS. 


Brookfield,  and  burned  the  village  with  the 
exception  of  one  strong  house  to  which  the 
colonists  retreated. 

After  a  siege  of  two  days,  during  which 
they  kept  up  a  constant  fire  upon  the  build- 
ing, they  attempted  to  burn  the  house,  but 
were  prevented  by  a  shower  of  rain  which 


1.74 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


extinguished  the  flames.  At  the  same 
mo'iient  a  reinforcement  of  fifty  men  arrived 
to  the  aid  of  the  whites,  and  the  savages 
were  driven  off  with  the  loss  of  several  of 
Bhcir  number.  Philip  succeeded  in  drawing 
to  his  support  nearly  all  the  tribes  of  New 
England,  and  it  was  resolved  by  the  savages 
to  m  ike  a  general  effort  for  the  destruction 
of  the  whites.  A  concerted  attack  was  to 
be  made  upon  a  large  number  of  settlements 
at  the  same  day  and  hour,  and  the  Sabbath 
was  chosen  as  the  day  most  favorable  for  the 
■movement. 

King  Philip  a  Refugee. 

Deerfield  in  Massachusetts  and  Hadley  in 
•Connecticut  were  among  the  places  attacked. 
The  former  was  burned.  Hadley  was  as- 
sailed while  the  congregation  were  worship- 
ing in  the  church,  and  the  whites  were  hard 
pressed  by  their  antagonists.  Suddenly  in 
the  midst  of  the  battle  there  appeared  a  tall 
and  venerable  man  with  a  flowing  beard,  and 
clad  in  a  strange  dress.  With'sword  in  hand 
he  rallied  the  settlers,  and  led  them  to  a  new 
effort,  in  which  the  savages  were  beaten  back 
and  put  to  flight.  When  the  battle  was  over, 
the  stranger  could  not  be  found,  and  the 
wondering  people  declared  that  he  was  an 
angel  sent  by  God  for  their  deliverance.  It 
was  Goffe,  the  regicide,  who  had  suddenly 
lett  his  place  of  concealment  to  aid  his  coun- 
trymen in  their  struggle  with  the  savages. 
He  had  been  lying  in  concealment  at  the 
house  of  Russell,  the  minister  of  Hadley,  and 
returned  to  his  place  of  refuge  when  the 
danger  was  over. 

On  the  whole,  the  Indians,  though  they 
succeeded  in  causing  great  suffering  to  the 
colonics,  were  unsuccessful  in  their  efforts 
during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1675.  In 
October,  Philip  returned  to  his  old  home, 
but,  finding  Mount  Hope  in  ruins,  took  shel- 
ter among  the  Narragansetts,  who  protected 


him  notwithstanding  their  promise  to  deliver 
up  all  fugitives  to  the  English.  The  colonial 
authorities  seeing  that  the  tribe  had  no  inten- 
tion of  fulfilling  their  promise,  and  being 
fearful  that  Philip  would  succeed  in  winning 
them  over  to  his  side,  resolv^ed  to  anticipate 
the  danger  and  treat  them  as  enemies. 

A  force  was  collected  and  sent  intc  the 
Narragansett  country  in  December,  1675. 
This  tribe,  numbering  about  three  thousand 
souls,  had  erected  a  strong  fort  of  palisades, 
in  the  midst  of  a  swamp  near  the  present 
town  of  Kingston,  Rhode  Island.  It  was 
almost  inaccessible,  and  had  but  a  single 
entrance,  defended  by  a  morass,  which  could 
be  passed  only  by  means  of  a  fallen  tree. 
The  English  were  led  to  the  fort  by  an 
Indian  traitor,  and  attacked  it  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  December.  After  a  severe  fight  of 
two  hours  they  succeeded  in  forcing  an  en- 
trance into  the  fort.  The  wigwams  were 
then  fired,  and  the  whole  place  was  soon  in 
flames.  The  defeat  of  the  savages  was 
complete,  but  it  was  purchased  by  the  loss 
of  six  captains  and  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  killed  and  wounded,  on  the  part  of  the 
English. 

Fury  of  the  Savages. 

About  one  thousand  of  the  Narragansetts 
were  slain,  their  provisions  were  destroyed 
and  numbers  were  made  prisoners.  Those 
who  escaped  wandered  through  the  frozen 
woods  without  shelter,  and  for  food  were 
compelled  to  dig  for  nuts  and  acorns  under 
the  snow.  Many  died  during  the  winter, 
Canonchet,  the  Narragansett  chief,  was 
among  the  survivors.  "  We  will  fight  to  the 
last  man  rather  than  become  servants  to  the 
English,"  said  the  undaunted  chieftain  He 
was  taken  prisoner  in  April,  1676,  near 
Blackstone,  and  was  offered  his  life  if  he 
would  induce  the  Indians  to  make  peace 
He  refused  the  offer  with  scorn,  and.  when 


-■ms^ 


_v»i,-.   A-- 


s)  .,»i:\u^^   --''AVT  k'4     —  A 


.  ^-4^^^"   '- 

,^^^,  ^^>1\        '  ,    ^  ^  i^,i^-^ 


C^^ 


MKS.    KOWLANDSON    CAPTURED    BY    THE    INDIANS. 


175 


1/6 

sentenced  to  death,  answered  proudly  :  "  I 
like  it  well ;  I  shall  die  before  I  speak  any- 
thing unworthy  of  myself." 

In  the  spring  of  1676,  Philip,  who  had  been 
to  the  west  to  endeavor  to  induce  the 
Mohawks  to  join  the  war  against  the  Eng- 
lish, returned  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of 
his  countrymen  in  New  England.  The  work 
of  murdering  and  burning  was  resumed  with 
renewed  fury.  The  Indians  seem.ed  to  be 
everywhere  and  innumerable,  and  the  whites 
could  find  safety  only  in  their  forts.  The 
surviving  Narragansetts  scourged  the  Rhode 
Island  and  Plymouth  colonies  with  fire  and 
axe,  and  even  the  aged  Roger  Williams  was 
obliged  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defence  of 
his  home.  Lancaster,  Medford,  Weymouth, 
Groton,  Springfield,  Sudbury  and  Marl- 
borough, in  Massachusetts,  and  Providence 
and  Warwick,  in  Rhode  Island,  were  de- 
stroyed either  wholly  or  in  part,  and  numer- 
ous other  settlements  were  attacked  and  made 
to  suffer  more  or  less  severely. 

Mother  and  Child  Woanded. 

Among  the  prisoners  carried  away  by  the 
savages  was  Mrs.  Rowlandson,  wife  of  the 
resident  minister,  and  her  little  girl  six  years 
old.  A  single  bullet  fired  during  the  attack 
wounded  both  mother  and  child.  With  that 
devotion  which  is  part  of  the  nature  of  a 
mother,  she  carried  and  nursed  the  little  one 
for  nine  days,  when  it  died  in  her  arms.  The 
parent  endured  many  hardships,  and  was  a 
captive  among  the  Indians  for  three  months, 
when  she  was  ransomed  for  twenty  pounds. 

As  the  season  advanced  the  cause  of  the 
Indians  became  more  hopeless,  and  they 
began  to  quarrel  among  themselves.  In  June 
the  Nipmucks  submitted,  and  the  tribes  on 
the  Connecticut  refused  to  shelter  Philip  any 
longer.  He  then  appealed  to  the  Mohawks 
to  take  up  the  hatchet,  but  seeing  that  his 
cause   was   hopeless,  they  refused   to   join 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


him.  In  proud  despair  Philip  went  back  to 
Mount  Hope  to  die.  One  of  his  people 
urged  him  to  make  peace  with  the  whites, 
and  was  struck  dead  by  the  chief  for  daring 
to  mention  such  a  humiliation. 

"I  Am   Ready  to  Die!" 

It  became  known  that  Philip  had  returned 
to  his  old  home,  and  Captain  Church 
marched  against  him,  dispersed  his  followers, 
and  took  the  chiefs  wife  and  little  son  pris- 
oners. Philip,  who  had  borne  the  reverses 
and  the  reproaches  of  his  nation  with  the 
firmness  of  a  hero,  was  conquered  by  this 
misfortune.  "  My  heart  breaks,"  he  cried, 
despairingly,  "  I  am  ready  to  die !  "  He  was 
soon  attacked  by  Church  in  his  place  of 
concealment,  and  in  attempting  to  escape 
was  shot  by  an  Indian  who  was  serving  in 
the  ranks  of  his  enemies.  Philip's  little  son 
was  sold  as  a  slave  in  Bermuda,  and  the 
grandson  of  Massasoit,  who  had  welcomed 
and  befriended  the  English,  was  condemned 
to  pass  his  days  in  bondage  in  a  foreign 
clime. 

The  death  of  Philip  was  soon  followed  by 
the  close  of  hostilities.  The  power  of  the 
Indians  was  completely  broken.  Of  the 
Narragansetts  scarcely  one  hundred  men 
were  left  alive,  and  the  other  tribes  had  suf- 
fered severely.  The  Mohegans  had  remained 
faithful  to  the  English,  and  Connecticut  had 
been  happily  spared  the  sufferings  experi- 
enced by  the  other  colonies,  which  were 
very  severe.  Twelve  or  thirteen  towns  were 
destroyed,  and  many  others  were  seriously 
crippled.  Six  hundred  houses  were  burned, 
and  the  pecuniary  losses  amounted  to  the 
then  enormous  sum  of  half  a  million  of 
dollars.  Over  six  hundred  men,  chiefly 
young  men,  fell  in  the  war,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  family  which  did  not  mourn  some 
loved  one  who  had  given  his  life  for  the 
country. 


NEW   ENGLAND   AFTER   THE   RESTORATION. 


lf»  all  their  distress  the  colonies  received 
no  aid  from  England.  The  mother  country 
left  them  to  fight  out  their  struggle  of  life 
and  death  alone.  The  English  people  and 
government  were  indifferent  to  their  fate. 
One  generous  Non-conformist  church  in 
Dublin  sent  a  contribution  of  five  hundred 
pounds  to  the  sufferers.  This  relief  was 
gratefully  acknowledged;  but  to  the  credit 
of  New  England  it  should  be  remembered 
that  her  colonies  never  asked  assistance 
from  England.  The  king  was  very  careful, 
however,  to  exact  every  penny  he  could 
wring  from  the  colonies,  and  towards  the 
close  of  the  Indian  war  established  a  royal 
custom-house  at  Boston  for  the  collection  of 
duties.  Duties  were  imposed  upon  the  com- 
merce of  the  colonies,  and  the  royal  govern- 
ment endeavored  to  enforce  their  payment 
by  threatening  to  refuse  the  New  England 
ships  the  protection  which  enabled  them  to 
escape  the  outrages  of  the  African  pirates  of 
the  Mediterranean. 

The  province  of  Maine  had  been  restored 
by  Charles  II.  to  the  heirs  of  Sir  Ferdinand 
Gorges,  and  in  1677  Massachusetts  pur- 
chased their  claims  for  the  sum  of  twelve 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  thus  confirmed 
her  possession  of  the  region  between  the 
Piscataqua  and  the  Kennebec.  The  region 
between  the  Kennebec  and  the  Penobscot 
was  held  by  the  Duke  of  York,  and  that  from 
the  Penobscot  to  the  St.  Croi.x  was  occupied 
by  the  French. 

In  July,  1679,  King  Charles  detached  New 
Hampshire  from  Massachusetts,  and  organ- 
ized it  as  a  royal  province;  the  first  ever 
erected  in  New  England.  The  province  at 
once  asserted  its  rights,  and  a  controversy 
was  begun  with  the  crown,  which  was  con- 
tinued for  several  years.  The  people  resisted 
the  effort  to  force  upon  them  the  observances 
of  the  English  church,  and  the  collection  of 
taxes   assessed   by  the   royal   officials,  and 


^77 

Cranfield,  the  royal  governor,  finding  it 
impossible  to  continue  his  arbitrary  rule, 
wrote  to  the  British  government,  "  I  shall 
esteem  it  the  greatest  happiness  in  the  world 
to  remove  from  these  unreasonable  people. 
They  cavil  at  the  royal  commission,  and  nol 
at  my  person.  No  one  will  be  accepted  by 
them  who  puts  the  king's  commands  :a' 
execution." 

Conflict  With  the   King. 

In  the  last  years  of  his  reign  Charles  II. 
made  a  determined  effort  to  destroy  the 
charter  of  Massachusett.s.  Commissioners 
were  sent  by  the  colony  to  England  to 
endeavor  to  defend  its  rights,  but  the  royal 
government  was  resolved  upon  its  course, 
and  the  people  of  Massachusetts  were 
equally  determined  not  to  consent  to  the 
surrender  of  their  liberties.     At  length,  in 

1684,  the  general  court  having  in  the  name 
of  the  people  distinctly  refused  to  make  a 
surrender  of  the  charter  to  the  king,  the 
English  courts  declared  the  charter  forfeited. 
A  copy  of  the  judgment  was  sent  to  Boston, 
and  was  received  there  on  the  second  of 
July,  1685.  The  colony  was  full  of  appre- 
hension. The  charter  under  which  it  had 
grown  and  prospered,  and  which  secured  its 
liberties  to  it  without  the  interference  of  the 
crown,  had  been  stricken  down  by  the  sub- 
servient courts  of  the  mother  country,  and 
there  was  now  no  defence  between  the  liber- 
ties of  Massachusetts  and  the  arbitrary  will 
of  the  king,  who  had  given  the  colony  good 
cause  to  fear  his  hostility. 

James  II.  came  to  the  English  throne  in 

1685.  He  was  even  more  hostile  to  New 
England  than  his  brother  Charles.  He  was 
a  bigoted  Roman  CathoHc,  and  was  resolved 
to  introduce  that  faith,  not  only  into  Eng- 
land, but  also  into  the  colonies.  He  attempted 
to  accomplish  this  by  proclaiming  an  indul- 
gence or   toleration   of  all    creeds.     .A.s  he 


178 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


dared  not  proceed  openly  to  violate  his  cor- 
onation oath,  he  hoped  by  this  underhanded 
scheme  to  place  his  own  religion  upon  such 
a  footing  in  England  that  he  would  soon  be 
in  a  position  to  compel  its  adoption  by  his 
subjects.  He  had  greatly  mistaken  the 
temper  of  both  England  and  America. 

Joseph    Dudley,   who    had   been  sent  to 
England  as  one  of  the  agents  of  Massachu- 


V,  ^ 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 

•etts  in  the  last  controversy  between  the 
colony  and  King  Charles,  now  found  it  to 
his  interest  to  become  as  ardent  a  defender 
as  he  had  formerly  been  an  opponent  of  the 
royal  prerogative,  and  James  finding  him  a 
willing  abettor  of  his  designs,  appointed  him 
president  of  Massachusetts  until  a  royal 
governor   should   arrive,  for  the    king   was 


resolved  to  take  away  the  charters  of  all  th^ 
colonies  and  make  them  royal  provinces. 
At  the  same  time,  being  determined  to  curtail 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  the  king  appointed 
Edward  Randolph  its  censor.  Dudley-  was 
regarded  by  the  people  as  the  betrayer  of 
the  liberties  of  his  country,  and  both  he  and 
Randolph  were  cordially  despised  by  them. 
The  king  in  appointing  Dudley  made  no 
provision  for  an  assembly  or 
general  court,  as  he  meant  to 
govern  the  colonies  without 
reference  to  the  people.  He 
regarded  the  American  pro- 
vinces as  so  many  possessions 
of  the  crown,  possessed  of  no 
rights,  and  entitled  to  no  privi- 
leges save  what  he  chose  to 
allow  them. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  Sir 
Edmund  Andros,  whom  the  king 
had  appointed  governor  of  New 
York,  was  made  governor-gen- 
eral of  all  New  England.  He 
reached  Boston  in  December, 
i6S6.  Dudley  was  made  chief 
justice,  and  Randolph  colonial 
secretary.  The  governor-general 
was  empowered  by  the  king  to 
appoint  his  own  council,  impose 
such  taxes  as  he  should  think 
.  ■'  fit,  command  the  militia  of  the 

colonies,  enforce  the  naviga- 
tion acts,  prohibit  printing, 
and  establish  episcopacy  in 
New  England ;  and  in  order 
to  enable  him  to  enforce  his  will,  two 
companies  of  soldiers  were  sent  over  with 
him  and  quartered  in  Boston.  Thus  were 
the  liberties  of  New  England  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  a  tyrant,  and  thus  was  inaugu- 
rated a  despotism  the  most  galling  that 
was  ever  imposed  upon  men  of  English 
descent. 


NEW   ENGLAND   AFTER  THE   RESTORATION. 


179 


Andros  promptly  put  in  force  a  series  of 
the  most  arbitrary  measures.  The  public 
schools,  which  had  been  fostered  with  such 
care  by  the  colonial  governments,  were 
allowed  to  fall  into  decay.  The  support 
which  had  been  granted  to  the  churches  was 
withdrawn.  The  people  were  forbidden  to 
assemble  for  the  discussion  of  any  public 
matter,  though  they  were  allowed  the  poor 
privilege  of  electing  their  town  officers.  The 
form  of  oath  in  use  in  New  England  was  an 
appeal  to  Heaven  with  uplifted  hand.  The 
governor  now  ordered  the  substitution  of  a 
form  which  required  the  person  to  place  his 
hand  on  the  Bible.  This  was  particularly 
repugnant  to  the  Puritans,  who  regarded  it 
as  a  "  Popish  practice."  Probate  fees  were 
increased  twenty-fold.  The  holders  of  lands 
were  told  that  their  titles  were  invalid 
because  obtained  under  a  charter  which  had 
been  declared  forfeited. 

Tyrannical  Proceedings. 

No  person  was  allowed  to  leave  the  colony 
without  a  pass  signed  by  the  governor.  The 
Puritan  magistrates  and  ministers  were 
refused  authority  to  unite  persons  in  mar- 
riage. The  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  stationed  at  Boston,  was  the  only 
person  in  New  England  who  could  perform 
a  legal  marriage.  Episcopacy  was  formally 
established,  and  the  people  were  required  to 
build  a  church  for  its  uses.  At  the  com- 
mand of  the  king,  a  tax  of  a  penny  in  the 
pound,  and  a  poll-tax  of  twenty  pence,  was 
imposed   upon   every  person  in  the  colony. 

Some  of  the  towns  had  the  boldness  to 
refuse  to  pay  this  tax,  and  John  Wise,  the 
minister  of  Ipswich,  advised  his  fellow- 
tuwnsmen  to  resist  it.  He  and  a  number  of 
others  were  arrested  and  fined.  When  they 
pleaded  their  privileges  under  the  laws  of 
England,  they  were  told  by  one  of  the  coun- 
cil:   "You   have   no  privilege  left  you  but 


not  to  be  sold  as  slaves."  "  Do  you  think," 
asked  one  ot  the  judges,  "  that  the  laws  of 
England  follow  you  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  ?  "  The  iniquitous  exactions  of  Andros 
and  his  associates  threatened  the  country  with 
ruin.  When  the  magistrates  mentioned  this, 
they  were  told,  "  It  is  not  for  his  majesty's 
interest  you  should  thrive."  "  The  governor 
invaded  liberty  and  property  after  such  a 
manner,"  wrote  Increase  Mather, "  as  no  man 
could  say  anything  was  his  own." 

The  Old  "  Charter  Oak." 
The  other  colonies  came  in  for  their  share 
of  bad  treatment.  Soon  after  he  reached 
Boston,  Andros  demanded  of  the  authorities 
of  Rhode  Island  the  surrender  of  their  char- 
ter. Governor  Clarke  declined  to  comply  with 
this  demand,  and  Andros  went  to  Providence, 
broke  the  seal  of  the  colony,  and  declared  its 
government  dissolved.  He  appointed  a  com- 
mission irresponsible  to  the  people  for  the 
government  of  Rhode  Island,  and  then  had 
the  effrontery  to  declare  that  the  people  of 
that  colony  were  satisfied  with  what  he  had 
done. 

In  October,  Andros  went  to  Connecticut 
with  an  armed  guard  to  take  possession  of 
the  government  of  that  colony.  He  reached 
Hartford  on  the  thirty-first  of  the  month, 
and  found  the  legislature  in  session,  and  de- 
manded ot  that  body  the  surrender  of  the 
charter.  The  discussion  was  prolonged  until 
evening,  and  then  candles  were  brought,  and 
the  charter  was  placed  on  the  table.  Sud- 
denly the  lights  were  extinguished,  and  when 
they  were  relighted  the  charter  could  not  be 
found.  It  had  been  secured  by  Joseph 
Wadsworth  of  Hartford,  and  carried  to  the 
southern  part  of  the  city,  where  it  was  con- 
cealed in  a  hollow  oak  tree,  which  was  after- 
wards known  as  the  "  Charter  Oak." 

Andros,  furious  at  the  disappearance  of  the 
charter,  was  not  to  be  balked  of  his  purpose 


i8o 


SETTLEMENT 


of  seizing  the  colonial  government,  and 
taking  the  record  book  of  the  assembly, 
he  wrote  the  word  "Finis"  at  the  end 
of  the  last  day's  proceedings.  He  then 
declared  the  colonial  government  at  an 
end,  and  proceeded  to  administer  the  affairs 
of  the  province  in  the  spirit  in  which  he 
had  governed  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island. 

The  people  of  New  England  had  borne 
these  outrages  with  a  patience  which  no  one 
had  expected  of  them.  They  were  a  law- 
abiding  people,  and  wished  to  exhaust  all 
legal  means  of  redress  before  proceeding  to 
extreme  measures  for  their  protection ;  but 


THE   CHARTER   OAK. 

the  party  in  favor  of  driving  Andros  and  his 
fellow-plunderers  out  of  the  country  was 
rapidly  growing  stronger,  and  it  was  not 
certain  how  much  longer  the  policy  of  for- 
bearance would  be  continued.  Increase 
Mather  was  appointed  to  go  to  England 
and  endeavor  to  procure  a  redress  of  the 
grievances  of  the  colonies.  It  was  a  danger- 
ous mission,  for  the  king  was  in  full  sympa- 
thy with  the  men  whom  he  had  placed  over 
the  liberties  of  New  England.  It  was  also 
difficult  to  leave  America  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  Andros  and  his  colleagues,  but 
Mather  succeeded  in  escaping  their  vigilance, 
and  was  on  his  way  to  the  old  world  when 


OF  AMERICA. 

relief    arrived     from    a    most     unexpected 
quarter. 

The  efforts  of  James  to  bring  about  the 
re-establishment  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion  in  England  roused  the  whole  Eng- 
lish nation  against  him.  and  in  1689  the 
nation  invited  William,  Prince  of  Orange^ 
the  husband  of  James'  eldest  daughter. 
Mary,  to  come  over  to  England  and  assume 
the  throne.  James,  left  without  any  adher- 
ents, fled  to  France,  and  William  and  Mary 
were  securely  seated  upon  the  throne. 

The  news  of  the  landing  of  William  in 
England  and  the  flight  of  King  James 
reached  Boston  on  the  fourth  of  April,  1689. 
The  messenger  was  at  once  imprisoned  by 
Andros,  but  his  tidings  soon  became  known 
to  the  citizens.  On  the  morning  of  the  eight- 
eenth the  people  of  Boston  took  up  arms,  and 
having  secured  the  person  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  royal  frigate  in  the  harbor, 
seized  the  royalist  sheriff 

Sent  to  England  for  Trial. 

The  militia  were  assembled,  and  Andros 
and  his  companions  were  obliged  to  take 
refuge  in  the  fort.  Simon  Bradstreet,  the 
governor  who  had  held  office  at  the  time  of 
the  abrogation  of  the  charter,  was  called 
upon  by  the  people  to  resume  his  post,  and 
the  old  magistrates  were  reinstated  and 
organized  as  a  council  of  safety.  Andros 
and  his  creatures  attempted  to  escape  to  the 
frigate,  but  were  prevented  and  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  The  next  day  rein- 
forcements came  pouring  into  Boston  from 
the  other  settlements,  and  the  fort  was  taken 
and  the  frigate  mastered.  Town  meetings 
were  now  held  throughout  the  colony,  and  it 
was  voted  to  resume  the  former  charter. 
The  people  were  almost  unanimous  in  favor 
of  this  course,  but  the  counsels  of  a  nrore 
timid  minority  prevailed,  and  the  council, 
which  had  appointed  itself  to  the  control  o\ 


NEW   ENGLAND   AFTER   THE   RESTORATIOX. 


iSi 


affairs,  decided  to  solicit  a  new  charter  from 
William  and  Mar\'.  A  general  court  was 
con\-ened  on  the  twenty-second  of  May. 
The  people  of  the  colony  were  anxious  that 
Andres,  Dudley  and  Randolph  should  receive 
prompt  punishment  for  their  offences,  but 
;he  authorities  wisely  determined  to  send 
ihem  to  England  for  trial. 

Plymouth,  upon  receipt  of  the  news  from 
Boston,  seized  the  agent  of  Andros,  impris- 
oned him,  and  re-established  the  government 
which  Andros  had  overthrown,  under  the 
constitution  signed  on  board  the  "  May- 
flower." There  were  none  of  the  old  Pil- 
grim fathers  living  to  witness  this  event,  but 
their  children  were  none  the  less  determined 
to  maintain  unimpaired  the  liberties  they 
had  inherited  from  them. 

The  Charter   Safe. 

Rhode  Island  promptly  resumed  her 
charter  and  reinstated  the  officers  whom 
Andros  had  displaced.  Connecticut,  upon 
hearing  of  the  downfall  of  the  governor- 
general,  brought  out  her  charter  from  its 
hiding  place,  and  restored  the  old  officers  to 
their  positions. 

Thus  the  work  of  James  II.  was  over- 
thrown, and  the  destinies  of  New  England 
were  once  more  in  the  hands  of  her  own 
people.  The  generation  that  had  settled 
New  England  had  nearly  all  been  gathered 
to  their  rest,  and  their  children  were  in  some 
respects  different  from  the  fathers.  They 
had  learned  lessons  of  toleration,  and  had 
acquired  many  of  the  refining  graces  that  the 
elder  Puritans  regarded  as  mere  vanity. 
They  retained,  however,  the  earnest  and 
lofty  virtues  which  had  made  the  first  gen- 
eration superior  to  hardships  and  trials  of  all 


kinds,  and  which  had  enabled  them  in  the 
face  of  every  discouragement  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  the  great  commonwealths 
which  to-day  cherish  their  memories  as 
their  most  precious  legacies.  The  fathers  of 
New  England  richly  merited  the  honor 
which  succeeding  generations  have  delighted 
to  bestow  upon  their  memories.  However 
they  may  have  erred,  they  were  men  who 
earnestly  sought  to  do  right  in  all  things, 
and  who  did  their  duty  fearlessly  according 
to  the  light  before  them. 

In  the  first  generation  we  have  noticed  an 
extraordinary  degree  of  influence  exerted  by 
the  ministers.  This  was  due  to  no  desire  of 
the  Puritans  to  connect  church  and  state, 
but  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  ministers 
represented  the  best  educated  and  most  in- 
tellectual class  of  that  day,  and  the  people 
regarded  them  as  the  best  qualified  guides 
in  the  community.  As  New  England  ad- 
vanced in  prosperity  her  schools  and  col- 
leges were  able  to  turn  out  numbers  of  edu- 
cated men,  who  embraced  the  other  learned 
professions,  and  divided  the  influence  with 
the  ministers.  New  England  always  chose 
its  leaders  from  among  its  most  intelligent 
men,  and  its  people  alwaj-s  yielded  a  willing 
homage  to  the  claims  of  intellect 

At  the  downfall  of  Andros  there  were 
about  two  hundred  thousand  white  inhabi- 
tants in  the  English  colonies  of  North 
America.  Of  these,  Massachusetts,  includ- 
ing Plymouth  and  Maine,  had  about  forty- 
four  thousand;  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode 
Island  about  six  thousand  each  ;  Connecticut 
about  twenty  thousand;  making  the  total 
population  of  New  England  about  seventy- 
si.x  thousand. 


CHAPTER  XV 
Witchcraft  in  Massachusetts 


Result*  of  the  /"ailure  of  Massachusetts  to  Resume  her  Charter— The  New  Charter— Loss  of  the  Liberties  of  the  Colon) 
— Unioa  of  Plymouth  with  Massachusetts  Bay— Behef  in  Witchcraft— The  History  of  Witchcraft  in  Massachusetts— 
The  Case  of  the  Goodwin  Children— Cotton  Mather  Espouses  the  Cause  of  the  Witches— Samuel  Parris— He  Origi- 
nates the  Salem  Delusion— A  Strange  Histor)-- A  Special  Court  Appointed  for  the  Trial  of  the  Witches— The  Victims 
—Execution  of  the  Rev.  George  Burroughs — Cotton  Mather's  Part  in  the  Tragedies — The  General  Co^rt  takes  Action 
in  Behalf  of  the  People — End  of  the  Persecution — Failure  of  Cotton  Mather's  Attempt  to  Save  his  Credit. 


THE  decision  of  the  magistrates  of 
Massachusetts  to  disregard  the 
wishes  of  a  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  colony,  who  desired  an  imme- 
diate restoration  of  the  government  under 
the  old  charter,  and  to  wait  for  a  new  charter 
from  William  and  Mary,  gave  great  offence 
to  the  popular  party.  Had  the  wish  of  this 
party  been  complied  with,  Massachusetts 
might  have  recovered  every  liberty  and  priv- 
ilege of  which  she  had  been  deprived  by  King 
James.  Increase  Mather  distinctly  declares 
that  "  had  they  at  that  time  entered  upon  the 
full  exercise  of  their  charter  government,  as 
their  undoubted  right,  wise  men  in  England 
were  of  opinion  that  they  might  have  gone 
on  without  disturbance."  The  self-constituted 
government  hesitated,  however,  and  the  op- 
portunity was  lost. 

When  the  convention  of  the  people  met,  in 
May,  1689,  they  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
council  that  had  taken  charge  of  affairs  upon 
the  downfall  of  Andros,  and  demanded  that 
the  governor,  deputy  governor  and  assist- 
ants elected  in  1686  should  be  restored  to 
office.  The  council  refused  to  comply  with 
this  demand,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to 
the  people,  who  sustained  their  representa- 
tives. A  compromise  was  effected,  and  the 
council  agreed  to  permit  the  officers  of  1686 
to  resume  their  places  until  instructions  could 
be  received  from  England.  Agents  were 
182 


sent  to  England  to  solicit  a  restoration  of  the 
charter,  and  their  appeal  was  supported  by 
the  English  Presbyterians  with  great  unani- 
mity. Even  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
urged  the  king  "  not  to  take  away  from  the 
people  of  New  England  any  of  the  privileges 
which  Charles  I.  had  granted  them," 

In  spite  of  the  pressure  exerted  upon  him 
in  behalf  of  the  colony,  King  William 
granted  to  Massachusetts  a  charter  which 
placed  the  liberties  of  the  province  so  entirely 
at  the  mercy  of  the  crown  that  the  colonial 
agent  refused  to  accept  it.  There  was  no 
help  for  it,  however,  and  the  charter  became 
the  fundamental  law  of  Massachusetts. 
Under  the  old  charter  the  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts had  been  elected  annually  by  the 
votes  of  the  freemen ;  he  was  now  to  be 
appointed  by  the  king  and  to  serve  during 
the  royal  pleasure.  He  was  given  power  to 
summon  the  general  court,  and  to  adjourn 
or  dissolve  that  body. 

The  election  of  magistrates  of  all  kinds, 
which  had  been  confided  to  the  people  by 
the  old  charter,  was  taken  from  them,  and 
henceforth  these  officials  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  governor  with  the  consent  of  th< 
council.  The  old  charter  had  made  the 
decision  of  the  colonial  courts  final ;  the 
new  permitted  appeals  from  these  tribunals 
to  the  privy  council  in  England.  The  old 
charter  had  given  to  the  general  court  fulJ 


WITCHCRAFT  IN   MASSACHUSETTS. 


183 


powers  of  legislation;  the  new  confeired 
upon  the  governor  the  right  to  veto  any  of 
its  measures,  and  reserved  to  the  crown  the 
power  of  cancelHng  any  act  of  colonial 
legislation  within  three  years  after  its  pass- 
age. The  council  was  at  first  appointed 
oy  the  king,  but  was 
subsequently  elected  by 
the  joint  ballot  of  the 
two  branches  of  the  gen- 
eral court. 

To  compensate  the 
people  for  the  loss  of 
their  political  power  the 
king-  greatly  enlarged 
the  limits  of  the  colony. 
Massachusetts  and  Ply- 
mouth were  united  in 
one  province,  the  name 
of  the  former  being  given 
to  the  whole.  The  Eli- 
zabeth Islands  were  also 
added  to  the  province, 
and  its  northern  bound- 
ary was  extended  to  the 
St.  Lawrence.  Toleration 
was  granted  to  every 
religious  sect  except  the 
Roman  Catholics.  New 
Hampshire  was  separ- 
ated from  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  IMassachusetts 
and  made  a  separate 
province ;  but  Maine 
and  the  vast  wilderness 
beyond  it  were  confirmed 
io  the  Bay  colony.  The 
charter  bore  tlie  date  of 
October  7,  1691.  Upon 
the  nomination  of  Increase  Mather,  one  of 
the  colonial  agents.  Sir  William  Phipps,  a 
native  of  New  England,  a  well-meaning  but 
incompetent  man,  who  was  in  religious 
matters  strongly  inclined  to  superstition,  was 


appointed  governor  of  Massachusetts,  Will- 
iam Stoughton,  "  a  man  of  cold  affections, 
proud,  self-willed,  and  covetous  of  distinction" 
— a  man  universally  hated  by  the  people- 
was  appointed  deputy  governor  to  please 
Cotton  Mather.    The  members  of  the  council 


THE   REV.    CO'lTON    MATHER. 

were  chosen  entirely  for  their  devotion  "tt 
the  interests  of  the  churches." 

While  these  matters  were  in  progress  of 
settlement,  there  occurred  in  Massachusetts 
one  of  the  most  singular  delusions  recorded 


1 84 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


in  history',  and  which  was  in  some  respects 
the  last  expiring  eiTort  of  ecclesiastical  am- 
bition to  control  the  politicil  affairs  of  the 
colony.  The  clergy  had  always  sought  in 
New  England,  as  in  other  lands,  to  fight 
their  political  enemies  with  spiritual  weapons. 
They  now  carried  this  to  an  extreme  which 
taught  the  people  of  New  England  a  lesson 
that  was  not  soon  forgotten. 

Witches  and  Witchcraft. 
The  belief  in  witchcraft  has  not  been  con- 
fined to  any  single  nation,  and  at  this  time 
was  common  to  America  and  Europe.  "  The 
people  did  not  rally  to  the  error;  they 
accepted  the  superstition  only  because  it  had 
not  yet  been  disengaged  from  religion."  It 
was  believed  that  as  Christians  were  united 
with  God  by  a  solemn  covenant,  so  were 
witches  leagued  with  the  devil  by  a  tie  which, 
once  formed,  they  could  not  dissolve.  Those 
who  thus  placed  themselves  in  the  arch- 
fiend's power  were  used  by  him  as  instru- 
ments to  torment  their  fellow-men.  They 
were  given  power  to  annoy  them  by  pinch- 
ing them,  thrusting  invisible  pins  into  them, 
pulling  their  hair,  afflicting  them  with  disease, 
killing  their  cattle  and  chickens  with  myste- 
rious ailments,  upsetting  their  wagons  and 
carts;  and  by  practising  upon  them  many 
other  puerile  and  ludicrous  tricks. 

The  witches  generally  exerted  their  arts 
upon  those  whom  they  hated,  but  it  was  a 
matter  of  doubt  how  many  persons  were 
included  in  their  dislikes.  One  of  the  most 
popular  superstitions  was  that  of  the 
•'Witches'  sacrament,"  a  gathering  at  which 
the  devil,  in  the  form  of "  a  small  black  man," 
presided,  and  required  his  followers  to 
renounce  their  Christian  baptism  and  to 
sign  their  names  in  his  book.  They  were 
then  re-baptised  by  the  devil,  and  the  meet- 
ing was  closed  with  horrid  rites  which  varied 
in  different  narratives  according  to  the  im- 
agination of  the  relators. 


The  belief  in  the  existence  of  witchcraft 
was  held  by  some  of  the  leading  minds  of 
this  period.  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  Lord  Chief 
Justice  of  England,  was  firmly  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  and  it  was  advo 
cated  by  many  of  the  clergy  of  England. 
In  New  England  the  clergy  held  it  to  be 
heresy  to  deny  the  existence  of  witches, 
which,  they  claimed  was  clearly  taught  in 
the  Scriptures.  It  was  evidently  to  their 
interest  to  maintain  this  belief,  as  it  made 
them  the  chief  authorities  in  such  cases,  and 
furnished  them  with  a  powerful  weapon 
against  their  adversaries. 

Devils  and  Wizards. 

By  the  early  settlers  of  New  England  the 
Indians  were  supposed  to  be  worshipers  of 
the  devil,  and  their  medicine-men  to  be 
wizards.  Governor  Hutchinson,  in  his 
"  History  of  Massachusetts,"  thus  sums  up 
the  cases  of  supposed  witchcraft  that  had 
occurred  in  the  colony  previous  to  the  time 
or  which  we  are  now  writing : 

"  The  first  suspicion  of  witchcraft  among 
the  English  was  about  the  year  1645,  at 
Springfield,  upon  Connecticut  River ;  several 
persons  were  supposed  to  be  under  an  evil 
hand,  and  among  the  rest  two  of  the  min- 
ister's children.  Great  pains  were  taken  to 
prove  the  facts  upon  several  of  the  persons 
charged  with  the  crime,  but  either  the  nature 
of  the  evidence  was  not  satisfactory,  or  the 
fraud  was  suspected,  and  so  no  person  was 
convicted  until  the  year  1650,  when  a  poor 
wretch,  Mary  Oliver,  probably  weary  of  her 
life  from  the  general  reputation  of  being  a 
witch,  after  long  examination,  was  brought 
to  confession  of  her  guilt,  but  I  do  not  find 
that  she  was  executed. 

"  Whilst  this  inquiry  was  making,  Mar- 
garet Jones  was  executed  at  Charlestown ; 
and  Mr.  Hale  mentions  a  woman  at  Dor- 
chester, a.id  anotlier  at  Cambridge  about  the 


WITCHCR.'^FT   IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 


185 


same  time,  who  all  at  their  death  asserted 
their  innocence.  Soon  after,  Hugh  Parsons 
was  tried  at  Springfield,  and  escaped  death. 
In  1655  Mrs.  Hibbins,  the  assistant's  widow, 
was  hanged  at  Boston. 

"  In  1662,  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  one 
Ann  Cole,  a  young  woman  who  lived  next 
door  to  a  Dutch  family,  and  no  doubt  had 
learned  something  of  the  language,  was 
supposed  to  be  possessed  with  demons,  who 
sometimes  spoke  Dutch  and  sometimes 
English,  and  sometimes  a  language  which 
nobody  understood,  and  who  held  a  con- 
ference with  one  another.  Several  ministers 
who  were  present  took  down  the  conference 
in  writing  and  the  names  of  several  per- 
sons, mentioned  in  the  course  of  the  con- 
ference, as  actors  or  bearing  parts  in  it ,  par- 
ticularly a  woman,  then  in  prison  upon 
suspicion  of  witchcraft,  one  Greensmith,  who 
upon  examination,  confessed  and  appeared  to 
be  surprised  at  the  discovery.  She  owned 
that  she  and  the  others  named  had  been 
familiar  with  a  demon,  who  had  carnal 
knowledge  of  her,  and  although  she  had  not 
made  a  formal  covenant,  yet  she  had 
promised  to  be  ready  at  his  call,  and  was  to 
have  had  a  high  frolic  at  Christmas,  when 
the  agreement  was  to  have  been  signed. 
Upon  this  confession  she  was  executed,  and 
two  more  of  the  company  were  condemned. 
In  1669  Susanna  Martin,  of  Salisbury,  was 
bound  over  to  the  court  upon  suspicion  of 
witchcraft,  but  escaped  at  that  time. 
A  Fortunate  Escape. 

"In  1671  Elizabeth  Knap,  another  vcn- 
triloqua,  alarmed  the  people  of  Groton  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  Ann  Cole  had 
done  those  of  Hartford ;  but  her  demon  was 
not  so  cunning,  for,  instead  of  confining  him- 
self to  old  women,  he  railed  at  the  good 
minister  of  the  town  and  other  people  of 
good  character,  and  the  people  could  not 
then   be  prevailed   on    to   believe  him,  but 


believed  the  girl  when  she  confessed  that  she 
had  been  deluded,  and  that  the  devil  had 
tormented  her  in  the  shape  of  good  persons  ; 
so  she  escaped  the  punishment  due  to  her 
fraud  and  imposture. 

"  In  1673  Eunice  Cole,  of  Hampton,  was 
tried,  and  the  jury  found  her  not  legally 
guilty,  but  that  there  were  strong  grounds 
to  suspect  her  of  familiarity  with  the  devil. 

An  Invisible  Hand. 

"  In  1679  William  Morse's  house,  at  New- 
bury, was  troubled  with  the  throwing  of 
bricks,  stones,  etc.,  and  a  boy  of  the  family 
was  supposed  to  be  bewitched,  who  accused, 
one  of  the  neighbors;  and  in  1682  the  house 
of  George  Walton,  a  Quaker,  at  Portsmouth, 
and  another  at  Salmon  Falls  (in  New  Hamp- 
shire), were  attacked  after  the  same  manner. 

"  In  1683  the  demons  removed  to  Con- 
necticut River  again,  where  one  Desborough's 
house  was  molested  by  an  invisible  hand,  and 
a  fire  kindled,  nobody  knew  how,  which 
burnt  up  a  great  part  of  his  estate;  and  in 
\tZ\  Philip  Smith,  a  judge  of  the  court,  a 
military  officer  and  a  representative  of  the 
town  of  Hadley,  upon  the  same  river  (a 
hypochondriac  person),  fancied  himself  under 
an  evil  hand,  and  suspected  a  woman,  one  of 
his  neighbors,  and  languished  and  pined 
away,  and  was  generally  supposed  to  be  be- 
witched to  death.  While  he  lay  ill,  a  num- 
ber of  brisk  lads  tried  an  experiment  upon 
the  old  woman.  Having  dragged  her  out  of 
her  house,  they  hung  her  up  until  she  was 
near  dead,  let  her  down,  rolled  her  some 
time  in  the  snow,  and  at  last  buried  her  in  it 
and  left  her  there,  but  it  happened  that  she 
survived  and  the  melancholy  man  died." 

These  cases,  which  were  not  generally 
regarded  in  the  enlightened  spirit  of  the 
writer  we  have  quoted,  served  to  confirm 
the  common  belief  in  witchcraft.  Incnase 
Mather  published  a  w<jrk  in  16S4  containing 


<S6 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


an  account  of  the  cases  which  had  already 
occurred  in  the  colon)-,  and  giving  detailed 
descriptions  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
afflicted  persons  had  exhibited  their  "  devil- 
try." The  publication  of  this  work  seemed 
to  revive  the  trouble,  and  in  a  more  aggra- 
vated form,  for  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the 
general  discussion  of  delusions  of  this  kind 
rarely  fails  to  produce  an  increase  of  the  evil. 
A  Child  Bewitched. 
In  i6S8  a  case  occurred  which  excited 
general  interest,  and  was  the  beginning  of  one 
of  the  saddest  periods  in  the  history  of  New 
England.  The  daughter  of  John  Goodwin, 
a  child  of  thirteen  years,  accused  the 
daughter  of  an  Irish  laundress  of  stealing 
some  linen.  The  mother  of  the  laundress,  a 
friendless  emigrant,  succeeded  in  disproving 
the  charge,  and  abused  the  girl  soundly  for 
making  a  false  accusation.  Soon  after  this, 
the  accuser  was  seized  with  a  fit,  and  pre- 
tended to  be  bewitched  in  order  to  be 
revenged  upon  the  poor  Irish  woman.  Her 
younger  sister  and  two  of  her  brothers  fol- 
lowed her  example.  They  pretended  to  be 
dumb,  then  deaf,  then  blind,  and  then  all 
three  at  once.  "  They  were  struck  dead  at 
the  sight  of  the  '  Assembly's  Catechism,'  " 
says  Governor  Hutchinson,  dryly,  *' '  Cot- 
ton's Milk  for  Babes,'  and  some  other  good 
books,  but  could  read  in  Oxford  jests,  Popish 
and  Quaker  books,  and  the  Common  Prayer 
without  any  difficulty."  Nevertheless  their 
appetite  was  good,  and  they  slept  soundly  at 
night.  The  youngest  of  these  little  im- 
postors was  less  than  five  years  old.  It  was 
at  once  given  out  that  the  Goodwin  children 
were  bewitched,  and  no  one  suspected  or 
hinted  at  the  fraud.  They  would  bark  like 
dogs  and  mew  like  cats, and  a  physician  who 
was  called  in  to  treat  them  solemnly  declared 
that  they  were  possessed  by  devils,  as  he 
discovered  many  of  the  symptoms  laid  down 
in  Increase  Mather's  book. 


A  conference  of  the  four  ministers  of 
Boston,  and  one  from  Charlestown,  was  held 
at  Goodwin's  house,  where  they  observed  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  As  a  result  of 
their  efforts,  the  youngest  child,  a  boy  of 
less  than  five  years,  was  delivered  of  his  evil 
spirit.  The  ministers  now  had  no  doubt 
that  the  children  had  been  bewitched,  and  as 
the  little  ones  accused  the  Irish  woman  of 
their  misfortune,  she  was  arrested,  tried  for 
witchcraft,  convicted  and  hanged,  notwith' 
standing  that  many  persons  thought  the  poor 
creature  a  lunatic. 

Among  the  ministers  who  had  investigated 
this  case  and  had  procured  the  execution  of 
the  woman  was  Cotton  Mather,  the  son  of 
Increase  Mather,  then  president  of  Harvard 
College.  He  was  a  young  man  who  had  but 
recently  entered  the  ministry,  and  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  learned  and 
gifted  preachers  in  the  colony.  He  was 
withal  a  man  of  overweening  vanity  and  full 
of  ambition.  He  could  not  bear  contradic- 
tion, and  was  devoted  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  political  power  of  the  clergy.  He  was 
superstitious  by  nature,  and  was  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  reality  of  witchcraft.  He  had 
become  deeply  interested  in  the  case  of  the 
Goodwin  children,  and  in  order  to  study  it 
more  deeply  took  the  eldest  girl  to  his 
house,  where  he  could  observe  and  experi- 
ment upon  her  devil  at  his  leisure.  She  was 
a  cunning  creature,  and  soon  found  that  it 
was  to  her  interest  to  humor  the  young  pas- 
tor in  his  views,  and  she  played  upon  his 
weakness  with  a  shrewdness  and  skill  which 
were  remarkable  in  one  so  young,  and  exhibit 
the  credulity  of  the  investigator  in  a  most 
pitiable  light. 

"  All  Devils  are  Not  Alike." 

Mather  carried  on  his  experiments  with  a 
diligence  which  would  have  seemed  ludi- 
crous had  its  object  been  less  baneful  to  the 


WITCHCRAFT   IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 


187 


community.  He  read  the  Bible,  and  prayed 
aloud  in  the  pre.sence  of  the  girl,  who  would 
pretend  to  be  thrown  into  a  fit  by  the  pious 
exercise.  At  the  same  time  she  read  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  or  Quaker  or 
Popish  treatises,  without  any  interruption 
from  her  familiar  spirits.  The  minister  then 
tested  the  proficiency  of  the  devil  in  lan- 
guages, by  reading  aloud  passages  of  the 
Bible  in  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Latin,  which  the 
girl  professed  to  understand.  When  he  tried 
her  with  an  Indian  dialect,  however,  she 
could  not  comprehend  him.  By  other  exper- 
iments, designed  to  ascertain  if  the  spirits 
could  read  the  thoughts  of  others,  Mather 
came  to  the  sage  conclusion  that  "  all  devils 
are  not  alike  sagacious."  The  girl  flattered 
his  vanity,  and  lulled  his  suspicion  of  fraud 
by  telling  him  that  his  own  person  was 
especially  protected  against  the  evil  spirits 
by  the  power  of  God,  and  that  the  devils  did 
not  dare  to  enter  his  study. 

Pious  Belief  in  'Witchcraft. 

The  vanity  of  Cotton  Mather  was  elated  to 
the  highest  pitch  by  what  he  deemed  his 
successful  experiments,  and  he  wrote  a  book 
upon  witchcraft,  in  which  he  endeavored  to 
prove  the  truth  of  his  theories,  and  declared 
that  he  should  esteem  it  a  personal  insult  if 
any  one  should  hereafter  venture  to  deny  the 
existence  of  witchcraft.  His  book  was 
reprinted  in  London,  with  a  preface  by 
Richard  Baxter,  the  well-known  author  of 
"  The  Saints'  Rest,"  warmly  indorsing  it.  It 
was  very  generally  read  in  New  England, 
and  had  a  most  pernicious  effect  upon  the 
people  by  inducing  them  to  give  credit  to 
the  stories  of  the  writer  rather  than  to  listen 
to  the  promptings  of  their  own  good  sense. 

Still  there  were  some  in  Boston  who  had 
the  boldness  to  differ  with  Mather,  and  these 
the  indignant  divine  denounced  as  "sad- 
ducees."     Mather  supported  his  views  by  his 


sermons.  "  There  are  multitudes  of  sad- 
ducees  in  our  day,"  he  declared.  "A  devil 
in  the  apprehension  of  these  mighty  acute 
philosophers  is  no  more  than  a  quality  or  a 
distemper.  Men  counted  it  wisdom  to  credit 
nothing  but  what  they  say  and  feel.  They 
never  saw  any  witches ;  therefore  there  are 
none."  The  ministers  of  Boston  and 
Charlestown  gave  their  young  colleague  their 
hearty  support,  and  declared  that  those  who 
doubted  the  existence  of  witchcraft  were 
guilty  of  atheism,  and  indorsed  Mather's 
book  as  proving  clearly  that  "  there  is  both  a 
God  and  a  devil,  and  witchcraft."  Thus  did 
the  clergy  of  Massachusetts  set  themselves 
to  the  task  of  forcing  their  own  narrow  views 
upon  the  people.  It  was  a  needed  lesson. 
New  England  had  passed  the  time  when 
clerical  rule  in  political  affairs  could  be  pro- 
ductive of  good,  and  was  now  to  be  taught 
the  danger  of  permitting  it  to  extend  beyond 
this  period. 

At  this  juncture  Mather's  power  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  appointment  of 
his  friend  and  parishioner.  Sir  William 
Phipps,  as  governor  of  the  province,  and  the 
nomination  of  his  father-in-law  and  many  of 
his  intimate  friends  to  the  council.  The 
ambitious  Stoughton,  the  deputy  governor, 
was  also  subject  to  his  influence.  Here  was 
a  fine  opportunity  to  endeavor  to  establish 
the  power  of  the  clergy  upon  the  old  founda- 
tions, which  were  being  destroyed  by  the 
growing  intelligence  and  independence  of 
the  people.  Many  of  the  ministers,  under 
the  lead  of  Cotton  Mather,  had  committed 
themselves  to  the  doctrine  of  witchcraft,  and 
the  people  must  accept  it  upon  their  simple 
assertion.  No  inquiry  must  be  allowed  into 
the  matter,  the  opinions  of  the  ministers 
must  be  adopted  by  the  laitj'.  And  so 
Mather  and  his  followers  resorted  to  the  usual 
weapons  of  superstition  to  accomplish  the 
success  of  their  plans. 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


In  1692,  a  new  case  of  witchcraft  occurred 
in  Salem  village,  now  the  town  of  Danvers. 
The  minister  of  this  place  was  Samuel  Parris, 
between  whom  and  a  number  of  his  people 
there  had  for  some  time  existed  dissensions 
of  such  a  bitter  nature  that  the  attention  of 
the  general  court  had  been  directed  to  them. 
In  February,  1692,  the  daughter  and  niece  of 
Parris,  the  former  a  child  of  nine  years,  and 
the  latter  of  less  than  twelve,  gave  signs  of 
being  bewitched.  Parris  at  once  recognized 
the  opportunity  which  was  thus  offered  him 
for  vengeance  upon  his  enemies,  and  delib- 
erately availed  himself  of  it.  He  demanded 
of  the  children  the  names  of  the  persons  who 
had  bewitched  them,  and  then  proceeded  to 
accuse  those  whom  he  succeeded  In  inducing 
the  girls  to  denounce.  The  first  victim  was 
Rebecca  Nurse.  She  was  known  in  the 
community  as  a  woman  of  exemplary  Chris- 
tian character  ;  but  she  was  one  of  the  most 
resolute  opponents  of  Parris.  Upon  his 
accusation  she  was  arrested  and  imprisoned. 
The  next  Sunday  Parris  preached  a  sermon 
from  the  text,  "  Have  I  not  chosen  you  twelve, 
and  one  of  you  is  a  devil."  As  his  remarks 
were  directed  against  Mistress  Nurse,  Sarah 
Cloyce,  her  sister,  at  once  left  the  church. 

A   Hundred   in   Prison. 

This  in  itself  was  a  serious  offence  in  those 
days,  and  Parris  took  advantage  of  it  to 
accuse  the  offender  of  witchcraft,  and  she  was 
sent  to  join  her  sister  in  prison.  Mather, 
who  deemed  his  credit  at  stake,  lent  his  active 
aid  to  the  persecution  of  these  unfortunate 
people,  and  had  the  vanity  to  declare  that  he 
regarded  the  efforts  of  "  the  evil  angels  upon 
the  country  as  a  particular  defiance  unto 
himself"  Parris  scattered  his  accusations 
right  and  left,  becoming  both  informer  and 
witness  against  those  whom  he  meant  to 
destroy  for  their  opposition  to  him. 

In  a  few  weeks  nearly  one   hundred  per- 


sons were  in  prison  upon  the  charge  of 
witchcraft.  Abigail  Williams,  Parris's  niece, 
aided  her  uncle  with  her  tales,  which  the 
least  examination  would  have  shown  to  be 
absurd.  George  Burroughs,  one  of  the  min- 
isters of  Salem,  had  long  been  regarded  by 
Parris  as  a  rival,  and  he  now  openly 
expressed  his  disbelief  in  witchcraft,  and  his 
disapproval  of  the  measures  against  those 
charged  with  that  offence.  This  boldness 
sealed  his  doom.  He  was  accused  by 
Parris  and  committed  to  prison  "  with  the 
rest  of  the  witches."  "  The  gallows  was  to 
be  set  up,  not  for  those  who  professed  them- 
selves witches,  but  for  those  who  rebuked 
the  delusion." 

Hanging  a  Witch. 

Governor  Bradstreet,  who  had  been  chosen 
by  the  people,  was  unwilling  to  proceed  to 
extreme  measures  against  the  accused,  as  he 
had  no  faith  in  the  evidence  against  them. 
The  arrival  of  the  royal  governor  and  the 
new  charter  in  Boston  in  May,  1692,  placed 
Cotton  Mather  and  his  fellow-persecutors  in 
a  position  to  carry  out  their  bloody  designs. 
The  general  court  alone  had  authority  to 
appoint  special  courts,  but  Governor  Phipps 
did  not  hesitate  to  appoint  one  himself  for 
the  trial  of  the  accused  persons  at  Salem, 
and  this  illegal  tribunal,  with  Stoughton  as 
its  chief  judge,  met  at  Salem  on  the  second 
of  June.  In  this  court  Parris  acted  as  pros- 
ecutor, keeping  back  some  witnesses,  and 
pushing  others  forward  as  suited  his  plans. 

The  first  victim  of  the  court  was  Bridget 
Bishop,  "a  poor,  friendless  old  woman." 
Parris,  who  had  examined  her  at  the 
time  of  her  commitment,  was  the  principal 
witness  against  her.  Deliverance  Hobbs 
being  also  accused,  a  natural  infirmity  of  her 
body  was  taken  as  a  proof  of  her  guilt,  and 
she  was  hanged,  protesting  her  innocence. 
Rebecca  Nurse  was  at  first  acquitted  of  the 


WITCHCRAFT   IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 


charges  against  her,  but  the  court  refused  to 
receive  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  and  Parris 
was  determined  that  the  woman  against 
whom  he  had  preached  and  prayed  should 
not  escape  him,  and  the  jury  were  induced 
to  convict  her,  and  she  was  hanged.     John 


tion.     He  was  immediately  denounced,  tried 
and  hanged. 

When  George  Burroughs,  the  minister, 
was  placed  on  trial,  the  witnesses  produced 
against  him  pretended  to  be  dumb.  "  Who 
hinders  these  witnesses  from  giving  their  testi- 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


Willard,  who  had  been  compelled  by  his 
duty  as  a  constable  to  arrest  the  accused, 
now  refused  to  serve  in  this  capacity  any 
longer,  as  he  had  become  convinced  of  the 
hypocrisy  of  the  instigators  of  the  persecu- 


monies?"  asked  Stoughton,  the  chief  judge. 
"I  suppose  the  devil,"  replied  Burroughs,  con- 
temptuously. "  How  comes  the  devil,"  cried 
Stoughton,  exultingly,  "  so  loath  to  have  any 
testimony  borne  against  you  ?  "     The  words 


ipo 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


of  the  prisoner  were  regarded  as  a  confes- 
sion, and  his  remarkable  bodily  strength  was 
made  an  evidence  of  his  guilt.  He  was  con- 
victed and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  He  was 
executed  on  the  nineteenth  of  August  with 
four  others.  As  he  ascended  the  scaffold, 
Burroughs  made  an  appeal  to  the  people 
assembled  to  witness  the  execution,  and 
effectually  vindicated  himself  from  the  absurd 
charges  against  him,  and  repeated  the  Lord's 
prayer,  which  was  regarded  as  a  test  of  inno- 
cence. The  spectators  seemed  about  to 
interfere  in  favor  of  the  victim. 

An  Innocent  Man  Hanged. 

Cotton  Mather,  who  was  present  on  horse- 
back, now  exerted  himself  to  complete  the 
judicial  murder.  He  harangued  the  people, 
insisted  on  the  guilt  of  Burroughs,  remind- 
ing them  that  the  devil  could  sometimes 
assume  the  form  of  an  angel  of  light,  and 
even  descended  to  the  falsehood  of  declaring 
that  Burroughs  was  no  true  minister,  as  his 
ordination  was  not  valid.  His  appeal  was 
successful  and  the  execution  was  completed. 

Giles  Cory,  an  old  man  over  eighty  years 
■of  age,  seeing  that  no  denial  of  guilt  availed 
anything,  refused  to  plead,  and  was  pressed 
to  death,  in  accordance  with  an  old  English 
law,  long  obsolete,  which  was  revived  to 
meet  his  case.  Samuel  Wardwell  confessed 
his  guilt,  and  escaped  the  gallows.  Over- 
come with  shame  for  his  cowardice,  he 
retracted  his  confession,  and  was  hanged  for 
denying  witchcraft.  A  reign  of  terror  pre- 
vailed in  Salem  ;  the  prisons  were  full ;  and 
no  one  could  feel  sure  how  long  he  would 
escape  accusation  and  arrest.  Many  persons 
confessed  their  guilt  to  save  their  hves. 
Children  accused  their  parents,  parents  their 
children,  and  husbands  and  wives  each  other 
of  the  most  impossible  offences,  in  the  hope 
of  escaping  the  persecution  themselves. 
Hale,  the  minister  of  Beverley,  was  a  zealous 


advocate  of  the  persecution  until  the  bitter 
cup  was  presented  to  his  own  lips  by  the 
accusation  of  his  wife.  Many  persons  were 
obliged  to  fly  the  colony,  and  the  magistrates, 
conscious  that  they  were  exceeding  their 
powers,  did  not  demand  their  surrender. 

Crime  Added   to  Crime. 

We  have  mentioned  only  some  of  the 
principal  cases  to  show  the  character  of  the 
persecution,  as  our  limits  forbid  the  relation 
of  all.  The  total  number  hanged  was 
twenty;  fifty-five  were  tortured  or  terrified 
into  confessions  of  guilt.  The  accusations 
were  at  first  lodged  against  persons  of 
humble  station,  but  at  length  reached  the 
higher  classes.  Governor  Phipps'  wife  and 
two  sons  of  Governor  Bradford  are  said  to 
have  been  among  the  accused.  "  Insanity," 
says  Judge  Story,  "  could  hardly  devise 
more  refinements  in  barbarity,  or  profligacy 
execute  them  with  more  malignant  coolness." 
Every  principle  of  English  justice  was  vio- 
lated to  secure  the  condemnation  of  the 
accused,  and  people  were  encouraged  by  the 
magistrates  to  accuse  others  as  a  means  of 
securing  the  favor  of  the  authorities. 

These  terrible  deeds  were  not  the  work  of 
the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and  under  a 
popular  government  would  have  been  im- 
possible ;  for  though  the  belief  in  witchcraft 
was  general,  the  sentiment  of  the  people  was 
against  the  barbarity  of  the  court.  The 
Salem  tragedies  were  the  work  of  a  few 
men,  not  one  of  whom  was  responsible  in 
any  way  to  the  people.  "  Of  the  magistrates 
at  that  time,  not  one  held  office  by  the  suf- 
frage of  the  people  ;  the  tribunal,  essentially 
despotic  in  its  origin,  as  in  its  character,  had 
no  sanction  but  an  extraordinary  and  an 
illegal  commission ;  and  Stoughton,  the  chief 
judge,  a  partisan  of  Andros,  had  been  re- 
jected by  the  people  of  Mas.sachusetts.  The 
responsibility  of  the  tragedy,  far  from  attach- 


WITCHCRAFT   IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 


191 


ing  to  the  people  of  the  colony,  rests  with  the 
very  few,  hardly  five  or  six,  in  whose  hands 
the  transition  state  of  the  government  left  for 
a  season  unHmited  intluence.  Into  the  in- 
terior of  the  colony  the  delusion  did  not 
spread  at  all."  * 

Public  Indignation. 

Stoughton's  court,  having  hanged  twenty 
of  its  victims,  adjourned  about  the  last  of 
September,  1692,  until  November,  and  on  the 
eighteenth  of  October  the  general  court  met. 
The  indignation  of  the  people  had  been 
gathering  force,  and  men  were  determined  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  judicial  murders  and  tor- 
tures which  had  disgraced  them  so  long. 
Remonstrances  were  at  once  presented  to 
the  assembly  against  "the  doings  of  the 
witch  tribunals,"  the  people  of  Andover 
leading  the  way  in  this  effort.  The  assembly 
abolished  the  special  court,  and  established 
a  tribunal  by  public  law.  It  was  ordered 
that  this  court  should  not  meet  until  the  fol- 
lowing January.  The  governor  attempted 
to  undo  the  work  of  the  assembly  by  ap- 
pointing Stoughton  chief  judge  of  the  new 
court. 

When  that  tribunal  met  at  Salem  in  Jan- 
uary, 1693,  it  was  evident  that  the  public 
mind  had  undergone  a  marked  change.  The 
influence  of  the  leaders  of  the  delusion  was 
at  an  end.  The  grand  jury  rejected  tlie  ma- 
jority of  the  presentments  offered  to  it,  and 
when  those  who  were  indicted  were  put  on 
trial,  the  jury  brought  in  verdicts  of  acquittal 
in  all  but  three  cases.  The  governor,  now 
alive  to  the  force  of  public  sentiment,  re- 
prieved all  who  were  under  sentence  to  the 
great  disgust  of  Stoughton,  who  left  the 
bench  in  a  rage  when  informed  of  this 
action.  The  persecutors,  anxious  to  cover 
their  defeat  by  the  execution  of  one  more 
victim,  employed  all  their  arts   to   procure 

*  h&ncxoiVs  History  of  tke  United  Slates,  ■<!q\.  iii.,  p.  SS. 


the  conviction  of  a  woman  of  Charlestown, 
who  was  commonly  believed  to  be  a  witch. 
They  supported  their  charge  by  more  im- 
portant evidence  than  had  been  presented  in 
any  case  at  Salem,  but  the  jury  at  once 
returned  a  verdict  of  "  not  guilty." 

Cotton  Mather  was  intensely  mortified  by 
the  failure  of  his  efforts  to  force  the  people 
into  a  general  acceptance  of  his  views.  He 
got  up  a  case  of  witchcraft  in  Boston,  but  was 
careful  to  caution  his  possessed  people  to 
refrain  from  accusing  any  one  of  bewitching 
them.  Robert  Calef,  an  unlettered  man,  but 
one  whose  common  sense  could  not  be  led 
astray  by  Mather,  promptly  exposed  the  im- 
posture in  a  pamphlet,  which  effectually 
destroyed  Mather's  influence  for  harm. 
Mather,  unable  to  reply  to  him,  denounced 
him  as  an  enemy  of  religion,  and  complained 
that  Calef 's  book  was  "  a  libel  upon  the 
whole  government  and  ministry  of  the  land," 
forgetting  that  only  seven  or  eight  ministers, 
and  no  magistrate  commanding  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  had  any  share  in  the 
tragedies.  Calef  continued  his  writings, 
however,  undismayed  by  the  indignation  of 
his  adversar\%  and  his  book  was  finally  pub- 
lished in  England,  where  it  attracted  con- 
siderable attention. 

The  Danger  Past. 

The  danger  was  now  over.  It  was  no 
longer  possible  to  procure  a  conviction  for 
witchcraft.  The  indignant  people  of  Salem 
village  at  once  drove  the  wretched  Parris 
and  his  family  from  the  place.  Noyes,  the 
minister  of  Salem,  who  had  been  active  in 
the  persecutions,  was  compelled  to  ask  the 
forgiveness  of  the  people,  after  a  public  con- 
fession of  his  error.  The  devotion  of  the 
rest  of  his  life  to  works  of  charity  won  him 
the  pardon  he  sought.  Sewall,  one  of  the 
judges,  struck  with  horror  at  the  part  he  had 
played  in  the  persecution,  made  an  open  and 


192 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


frank  confession  of  his  error,  and  implored 
the  forgiveness  of  his  fellow-citizens.  His 
sincerity  was  so  evident  that  he  soon  regained 
the  favor  he  had  lost.  Stoughton  passed 
the  remainder  of  his  life  in  proud  and  haughty 
disregard  of  the  opinion  of  his  fellow-men, 
scorning  to  make  any  acknowledgment  of 
error,  and  evincing  no  remorse  for  his  cruel- 
ties. 

Cotton  Mather  Duped. 

As  for  the  prime  mover  of  the  delusion, 
the  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  nothing  could  induce 
him  to  admit  that  he  could  by  any  possibility 
have  been  in  error ;  not  even  the  recollection 
of  the  sorrow  he  had  brought  upon  some  of 
the  best  people  in  the  colony  could  shake 
his  impenetrable  self  conceit  or  humble  him. 
When  it  was  plain  to  him  that  he  was  the 
object  of  the  indignation  of  all  good  men  in 
New  England,  he  had  the  hardihood  to 
endeavor  to  persuade  them  that  after  all  he 
had  not  been  specially  active  in  the  sad 
affair.  "  Was  Cotton  Mather  honestly  credu- 
lous ?  "  asks  Bancroft.  "  Ever  ready  to  dupe 
himself,  he  limited  his  credulity  only  by  the 
probable  credulity  of  others.     He  changes. 


or  omits  to  repeat,  his  statements,  without 
acknowledging  error,  and  with  a  clear  inten- 
tion of  conveying  false  impressions.  He  is 
an  example  how  far  selfishness,  under  the 
form  of  vanity  and  ambition,  can  blind  the 
higher  faculties,  stupefy  the  judgment,  and 
dupe  consciousness  itself  His  self-right- 
eousness was  complete  till  he  was  resisted." 
And  yet  this  man  was  not  to  die  without 
rendering  to  the  country  a  genuine  service. 
In  1721,  having  become  satisfied  that  inocu- 
lation was  a  sure  preventive  of  small-pox,  he 
advocated  the  introduction  of  it  into  the 
colony.  He  was  opposed  by  the  whole  body 
of  the  clergy,  who  declared  that  it  was  an 
attempt  to  defeat  the  plans  of  the  Almighty, 
who  "  sent  the  small-pox  as  a  punishment 
fo."  sins,  and  whose  vengeance  would  thus  be 
onl\/  provoked  the  more."  The  people  of 
the  colony  were  also  bitterly  opposed  to 
inoculation,  and  threatened  to  hang  Mather 
if  he  did  not  cease  his  advocacy  of  it.  His 
life  was  at  one  time  in  serious  danger,  but  he 
persevered,  and  at  length  had  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  the  practice  of  inoculation  gener- 
ally adopted  by  the  people  who  had  so  hotly 
opposed  it. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Settlement  of  New   York 


Voyages  of  Henry  Hudson — He  is  Employed  by  the  Dutch — Discovery  of  the  Hudson  River — E.irly  Dutch  Voysg^j— 
Adrian  Block — Fate  of  Hudson — The  Dutch  Build  a  Fort  on  Manhattan  Island — Settlement  of  New  Amsterdam— 
The  Province  Named  New  Netherlands- --Fort  Nassau — Peter  Minuits  Governor — The  Dutch  Settlement  of  Dela- 
«are^\Vouter  Van  Twiller — Kieft  Governor — His  Unjust  Treatment  of  the  Indians — Massacre  of  the  Indians  E± 
Hoboken— The  Indian  War — Stuyvesant  Appointed  Governor — Disputes  with  the  English  in  Connecticut — The 
Swedes  Settle  Delaware — Stuyvesant  Captures  the  Swedish  Forts — Growth  of  New  Amsterdam — Disputes  Between 
the  People  and  Governor — Growing  Spirit  of  Popular  Liberty — The  People  Appeal  to  the  States  General — Capture  of 
New  Netherlands  by  the  English— The  Name  of  the  Province  Changed  to  New  York— Results  of  the  EngUsh  Con- 
quest— Progress  of  New  Jersey — Andros  Governor  of  New  York — He  Fails  to  Establish  His  Authority  Over 
Connecticut — New  York  Allowed  an  Assembly^Discontents  of  the  People — l.eisler's  Rebellion — Execution  of 
Leisler  and  Milboume — Fletcher  Governor — His  Attempt  to  Obtain  Command  of  the  Connecticut  Militia — Episcopacy 
Established  in  New  York — The  Freedom  of  the  Press  Sustained — New  Jersey  a  Royal  Province. 


WHEN  the  hope  of  finding  a 
northwest  passage  to  India 
began  to  die  out,  a  company 
of  "  certain  worshipful  mer- 
chants "  of  London  employed  Henry  Hud- 
son, an  Englishman  and  an  exp  ••ienced 
navigator,  to  go  in  search  of  a  noriheas( 
passage  to  India,  around  the  Arctic  shores 
of  Europe,  between  Lapland  and  Nova 
Zembla  and  frozen  Spitzbergen.  These 
worthy  gentlemen  were  convinced  that  since 
the  effort  to  find  a  northic^jf  passage  had 
failed,  nothing  remained  but  to  search  for  a 
northf^j^  passage,  and  they  were  sure  that  if 
human  skill  or  energy  could  find  it,  Hudson 
wojld  succeed  in  his  mission.  They  were 
not  mistaken  in  their  man,  for  in  two  suc- 
cessive voyages  he  did  all  that  mortal  could 
do  to  penetrate  the  ice-fields  beyond  the 
North  Cape,  but  without  success. 

An  impassable  barrier  of  ice  held  him 
back,  and  he  was  forced  to  return  to  London 
to  confess  his  failure.  With  unconquerable 
hope,  he  suggested  new  means  of  overcoming 
*he  difficulties;  but  while  his  employers 
praised  his  zeal  and  skill,  they  declined  to  go 
to  further  expense  in  an  undertaking  which 

»3 


promised  so  little,  and  the  "  bold  Englishman, 
the  expert  pilot  and  the  famous  navigator  " 
found  himself  out  of  employment.  Every 
effort  to  secuj'c  aid  in  England  failed  him,  and, 
thoroughly  disheartened,  he  passed  over  to 
Holland,  whither  his  fame  had  preceded  hirr. 
The  Dutch,  who  were  more  enterprising 
and  more  hopeful  than  his  own  countrymen, 
lent  a  ready  ear  to  his  statement  of  his 
plans,  and  the  Dutch  East  India  Company 
at  once  employed  him  and  placed  him  in 
command  of  a  yacht  of  ninety  tons,  called 
the  "  Half  Moon,"  manned  by  a  picked 
crew.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  March,  1609, 
Hudson  set  sail  in  this  vessel  from  Amster- 
dam and  steered  directly  for  the  coast  of 
Nova  Zembla.  He  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  meridian  of  Spitzbergen,  but  here  the  ice„ 
the  fogs  and  the  fierce  tempests  of  the  north 
drove  him  back,  and  turning  to  the  west 
ward,  he  sailed  past  the  capes  of  Greenland, 
and  on  the  second  of  July  was  on  the  banks 
of  Newfoundland.  He  passed  down  the 
coast  as  far  as  Charleston  Harbor,  vainh/- 
hoping  to  find  the  northz^^j^  passage,  ar.t' 
then  in  despair  turned  to  the  northward,  dis 
covering  Delaware  Bay  on  his  voyage. 
193 


194 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


On  the  third  of  September  he  arrived  off" 
a  lar^e  bay  to  the  north  of  the  Delaware, 
and  passing  into  it,  dropped  anchor  "  at  two 
cables'  length  from  the  shore,"  within  Sandy 
Hook.  Devoting  some  days  to  rest,  and  to 
the  exploration  of  the  bay,  he  passed 
through  The  Narrows  on  the  eleventh  of 
September,  and  then  the  broad  and  beautiful 
"inner    bay"    burst    upon    him  in  all   its 


the  natives  who  came  out  to  the  "Half  Moon" 
in  their  canoes,  that  the  river  came  from  far 
beyond  the  mountains,  convinced  him  that 
the  stream  flowed  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and 
that  by  sailing  on  he  would  at  length  reach 
India — the  golden  land  of  his  dreams. 

Thus  encouraged,  he  pursued  his  way  up 
the  river,  gazing  with  wondering  delight 
upon  its  glorious  scenery,  and  listening  with 


s:hui^yZ^^i^ 


NOVA  ZEMBLA FROM  AN  OLD  PRINT. 


splendor,  and  from  the  deck  of  his  ship  he 
watched  the  swift  current  of  the  mighty 
river  rolling  from  the  north  to  the  sea.  He 
was  full  of  hope  now,  and  the  next  day  con- 
tinued his  progress  up  the  river,  and  at 
nightfall  cast  anchor  at  Yonkers.  During 
the  night  the  current  of  the  river  turned  his 
ship  around,  placing  her  head  down  stream  ; 
and  this  fact,  coupled  with  the  assurances  of 


gradually  fading  hope  to  the  stories  of  the 
natives  who  flocked  to  the  water  to  greet 
him.  The  stream  narrowed,  and  the  watei 
grew  fresh,  and  long  before  he  anchored 
below  Albany,  Hudson  had  abandoned  the 
belief  that  he  was  in  the  northwest  passage. 
From  the  anchorage  a  boat's  crew  continued 
the  voyage  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk. 
Hudson  was  satisfied   that  he   had    made  a 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


19^ 


great  discovery — one  that  was  worth  fully  as 
much  as  finding  the  new  route  to  India.  He 
was  in  a  region  upon  which  the  white  man's 
eye  had  never  rested  before,  and  which 
offered  the  richest  returns  to  the  commercial 
ventures.  He  hastened  back  to  New  York 
Bay,  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  Holland,  and  then  set  sail  for 
Europe.  He  put  into  Dartmouth,  in  Eng- 
land, on   his   way  back,   where   he   told   the 


The  discovery  of  Hudson  was  particularly 
acceptable  to  the  Dutch,  for  the  new  country 
was  rich  in  fur-bearing  animals,  and  Russia 
offered  a  ready  market  for  all  tiie  furs  that 
could  be  sent  there.  The  East  India  Con. 
pany,  therefore,  refitted  the  "  Half  Moon " 
after  her  return  to  Holland,  and  despatched 
her  to  the  region  discovered  by  Hudson  on 
a  fur  trading  expedition,  which  was  highly 
siiccts-iful.      Private  persons  also  eml^rJ'ed 


story  of  his  discovery.  King  James  I.  pre- 
vented his  continuing  his  voyage,  hoping  to 
deprive  the  Dutch  of  its  fruits  ;  but  Hudson 
took  care  to  send  his  log-book  and  all  the 
ship's  papers  over  to  Holland.and  thus  placed 
his  employers  in  full  possession  of  the  know- 
ledge he  had  gained.  The  English  at  length 
released  the  "  Half  Moon,"  and  she  continued 
her  voyage  to  the  Texel,  but  without  her 
commander. 


in  similar  enterprises,  and  within  two  yet{fi 
a  prosperous  and  important  fur  trade  waf 
established  between  Holland  and  the  country 
along  the  Mauritius,  as  the  great  river  dis- 
covered by  Hudson  had  been  named,  in 
honor  of  the  Stadtholder  of  Holland.  No 
government  took  any  notice  of  the  trade  for  a 
while  and  all  persons  were  free  to  engage  In  it 
Among  the  adventurers  employed  in  this 
trade  was  one  Adrian  Block,  noted  as  one  of 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


the  boldest  navigators  of  his  time.  He 
made  a  voyage  to  Manhattan  Island  in  1614, 
then  the  site  of  a  Dutch  trading-post,  and 
secured  a  cargo  of  skins,  with  which  he  was 
about  to  return  to  Holland,  when  a  fire  con- 
sumed both  his  vessel  and  her  cargo,  and 
obliged  him  to  pass  the  winter  with  his  crew 
on  the  island.  They  built  them  log  huts  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Beaver  Street — the 
first  houses  erected  on  the  island — and  dur- 
ing the  winter  constructed  a  yacht  of  sixteen 


HENRY    HUDSON. 

tons,  which  Block  called  the  "  Onrust " — 
the  "Restless."  In  this  yacht  Block  made 
several  voyages  of  discovery,  and  explored 
the  coasts  of  Long  Island  Sound,  and  gave 
bis  name  to  the  small  island  near  the  eastern 
end  of  the  sound.  He  soon  after  went  back 
to  Europe. 

In  the  meantime  Hudson  had  not  been 
permitted  by  the  English  king  to  take  service 
again  with  the  Dutch,  and  after  apprising  his 
employers  in  Holland  of  his  discoveries,  he 


was  engaged  by  an  English  company  to 
make  further  explorations  in  their  behalf 
He  sailed  to  the  north  of  his  former  route, 
reached  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and  passing 
through  the  straits,  entered  the  bay  which 
bears  his  name.  He  spent  the  remainder  of 
the  season  in  exploring  its  coasts,  and  re- 
solved to  winter  there,  hoping  to  push  his 
discoveries  still  further  northward  in  the 
spring.  In  the  spring  of  1611  he  found  it 
impossible  to  continue  his  voyage,  as  his 
provisions  had  begun  to  run  low,  and 
with  tears  turned  his  vessel's  prow 
homeward.  His  men  now  broke  out 
into  mutiny,  and  seizing  Hudson  and 
his  son  and  four  others,  who  were  sick, 
they  placed  them  in  the  shallop  and 
set  them  adrift.  And  so  the  great  navi- 
gator, whose  memory  is  perpetuated  by 
one  of  the  noblest  of  the  rivers  of 
America,  and  whose  genius  gave  the 
region  through  which  it  flows  to  civili- 
zation, perished  amid  the  northern  seas. 
"  The  gloomy  waste  of  waters  which 
bears  his  name  is  his  tomb  and  his 
=   .  monument." 

Forts  Along  the  Hudson. 
In  1614  the  Dutch  built  a  fort  on 
the  lower  end  of  Manhattan  Island, 
and  in  the  next  few  years  established 
forts  or  trading  houses  along  the 
river  as  far  as  Fort  Orange,  on  the 
site  of  Albany.  These  were  merely 
trading-posts,  no  effort  being  yet  made  to 
occupy  the  country  with  a  permanent  col- 
ony. In  1621  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  trad- 
ing with  America,  and  took  possession  of  the 
country  along  the  Hudson,  intending  to  hold 
it  merely  as  temporary  occupants.  The 
States  General  of  Holland  granted  them  the 
monopoly  of  trade  from  Cape  May  to  Nova 
Scotia,  and  named  the  whole  region  New 
Netherland.    The  Dutch  thus  e.\tended  their 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


197 


claims  into  regions  already  claimed  by 
the  English  and  French,  and  prepared 
the  way  for  future  quarrels  and  complica- 
tions. 

The  English,  now  awake  to  the  import- 
ance of  Hudson's  discoveries,  warned  the 
Dutch  government  to  refrain  from  making 
further  settlements  on  "  Hudson's  River,"  as 
they  called  the  Mauritius;  but  the  latter, 
relying  upon  the  justice  of  their  claim,  paid 
no  attention  to  these  warnings,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1623  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany sent  over  thirty  families  of  Walloons, 
or  one  hundred  and  ten  persons  in  all,  to 
found  a  permanent  colony 

These  Walloon     ^^ _  ^..^^ 

were  Protestan' 
from  the  frontiL . 
between  France 
and  Flanders,  and 
had  fled  to  Amster- 
dam to  escape  re- 
ligious persecution 
in  their  own  coun- 
trj'.  They  were 
sound,  healthy, 
vigorous  and  pious 
people,  and  could 
be  relied  upon  to 
make  homes  in  the 
new  world.      The 

majority  of  them  settled  around  the  fort  on 
the  lower  end  of  Manhattan  Island,  and  the 
colony  was  named  New  Amsterdam.  The 
remainder  established  themselves  on  Long 
Island,  about  where  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard 
now  stands,  and  there  Sarah  de  Rapelje,  the 
first  white  child  born  in  the  province  of  New 
Ketherlands,  saw  the  light.  Eighteen  fami- 
lies ascended  the  river  and  settled  around 
Fort  Orange. 

In  the  same  year  (1623)  a  party  under 
command  of  Cornelis  Jacobscn  May,  who 
gave  his  name  to  the  southern  cape  of  New 


Jersey,  ascended  the  Delaware,  then  called 
the  South  River,  and  built  Fort  Nas- 
sau, on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  a  few 
miles  below  the  present  city  of  Cam- 
den. This  was  done  in  order  to  estab- 
lish the  claim  of  the  Dutch  to  this  re« 
gion. 

In  1626  the  West  India  Company  sent  out 
to  New  Amsterdam  the  first  regular  governor 
of  the  province,  Peter  Minuits  by  name.  He 
brought  with  him  a  koopman,  or  general 
commissary,  who  was  also  the  secretaiy  of 
the  pro\-ince,  and  a  schout,  or  sheriff,  to 
assist  him  in  his  government.  The  only 
laws    prescribed    for    the    colony    were    the 


HUDSON    STR.^lT. 

instructions  of  the  West  India  Company. 
The  colonists,  on  their  part,  were  to  regard 
the  orders  of  the  governor  as  their  law.  He 
was  authorized  to  punish  minor  offences  at 
his  discretion,  but  cases  requiring  severe  or 
capital  punishment  were  to  be  sent  to  Hol- 
land for  trial.  Minuits  set  to  work  with 
great  vigor  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the 
colony.  He  called  a  council  of  the  Indian 
chiefs,  and  purchased  the  island  of  Manhat- 
tan from  them  for  presents  valued  at  about 
twenty-four  dollars  in  American  money.  He 
thus  secured  an  equitable  title  to  the  island 


^^^^^^^^^^J 


198 


MUTINY   OX   HUDSON'S   SHIP. 


THE  SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   VuRK. 


199 


and  won  the  friendship  of  the  Indians.     To  i  between  Cape    Henlopen  and    the  mouth  of 


encourajje  emigration,  the  company  granted 
to  each  emigrant  as  much  land  as  he  could 
properly  cultivate,  and  it  was  ordered  that 
any  member  of  the  company  who  in  four  years 
should  induce  fifty  persons  to  settle  anywhere 
within  the  limits  of  New  Netherland,  the 
island  of  Manhattan  alone 
excepted,  should  be  termed 
"Patroon,"  or  "  Lord  of  the 
Manor,"  and  should  be  en- 
titled to  purchase  a  tract  of 
land  sixteen  miles  in  length 
by  eight  in  width  for  the 
support  of  this  dignity.  A 
number  of  persons  availed 
themselves  of  this  privilege 
and  secured  from  the  In- 
dians by  purchase  the  best 
lands  and  the  most  valuable 
trading  places  in  the  prov- 
ince. Those  who  were  in- 
ferior to  them  in  wealth 
were  of  necessity  compelled 
to  become  the  tenants  of 
the  patroons,  and  thus  a 
check  was  placed  upon  the 
improvement  of  the  colony. 
In  order  to  compel  the  col- 
onists to  purchase  their 
supplies  from  Holland,  the 
company  forbade  them  to 
manufacture  even  the  sim- 
plest fabrics  for  clothing,  on 
pain  of  banishment.  T  e 
patroons  were  enjoined  to 
provide  a  minister  and  a 
schoolmaster  for  their  tena.its,  but  no  jjro- 
vision  was  made  for  them  by  the  company, 
which  was  careful,  however,  to  offer  to  fur- 
nish the  patroons  with  African  slaves  if 
their  use  should  be  found  desirable. 

In  1629  Samuel  Godyn  and  Samuel  Blom- 
maert  purchased  from  the  Indians  the  region 


the  Delaware  River,  and  in  163 1  a  col- 
ony of  thirty  souls  was  planted  on  Lewes 
Creek,  in  the  present  state  of  Delaware. 
"  That  Delaware  exists  as  a  separate  com 
monwealth  is  due  to  this  colony.  Accord- 
ing to  English  rule,  occupancy  was  neces 


FIRST   SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW    YORK. 


sary  to  complete  a  title  to  the  wilderness, 
and  the  Dutch  now  occupied  Delaware." 
Less  than  a  year  later  De  Vries  came  over 
from  Holland  with  a  reinforcement,  and 
found  only  the  ruins  of  the  settlement,  the 
people  of  which  had  been  massacred  by  th- 
Indians. 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


Under  the  vigorous  administration  of 
Mi-.uits,  New  Netherland  prospered;  houses 
were  built,  farms  laid  off;  the  population  Wcis 
largely  increased  by  new  arrivals  from 
Europe.  During  this  period  New  Amster- 
dam fairly  entered  upon  its  career  as  one  of 
che  most  important  places  in  America.  It 
ivas  a  happy  settlement  as  well ;  the  rights 
of  the  people  were  respected,  and  they  were 
practically  as  free  as  they  had  been  in  Hol- 
land. 

Troubles  with  the  Indians  marked  the 
close  of  Minuit's  administration.  The  latter 
were  provoked  by  the  murder  of  some  of 
their  number  by  the  whites,  and  by  the  aid 
rendered  by  the  commander  at  Fort  Orange 
to  the  Mohegans  in  one  of  their  forays  upon 
the  Mohawks.  Alarmed  by  the  hostility  of 
the  savages,  many  of  the  families  at  Fort 
Orange,  and  from  the  region  between  the 
Hudson  and  the  Delaware,  abandoned  their 
settlements  and  came  to  New  Amsterdam  for 
i>afcty,  thus  adding  to  the  population  of  that 
town.  Minuits  was  recalled  in  1632  and 
left  the  province  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
During  the  last  year  of  his  government  New 
Amsterdam  sent  over  g6o,000  worth  of  furs 
to  Holland. 

The  Renowned  Van  Twiller. 

Minuits  was  succeeded  by  Wouter  Van 
Twiller,  a  clerk  in  the  company's  warehouse 
at  Amsterdam,  who  owed  his  appointment 
to  his  being  the  husband  of  the  niece  of 
Killian  Van  Rensselaer,  thcpatroon  of  Alba- 
ny. Irving  has  thus  sketched  this  redoubt- 
able governor  :  "  He  was  exactly  five  feet  six 
inches  in  height,  and  six  feet  five  inches  in 
circumference.  His  head  was  a  perfect 
sphere,  and  of  such  stupendous  dimensions 
that  dame  Nature,  with  ail  her  sex's  ingenu- 
ity, would  have  been  puzzled  to  construct  a 
neck  capable  of  supporting  it ;  wherefore  she 
wisely  declined   the  attempt,  and   settled  it 


firmly  on  top  of  his  back-bone  just  between 
the  shoulders.  His  body  was  oblong  and 
particularly  capacious  at  bottom,  which  was 
wisely  ordered  by  Providence,  seeing  that  he 
was  a  man  of  sedentary  habits  and  very 
averse  to  the  idle  labor  of  walking. 

"A  Beer  Barrel  on  Skids.*' 

"  His  legs  were  very  short,  but  sturdy  in 
proportion  to  the  weight  they  had  to  sustain ; 
so  that,  when  erect,  he  had  not  a  little  the 
appearance  of  a  beer  barrel  on  skids.  His 
face — that  infallible  index  of  the  mind — pre- 
sented a  vast  expanse,  unfurrowed  by  any  of 
those  lines  and  angles  which  disfigure  the 
human  countenance  with  what  is  termed 
expression.  Two  small  gray  eyes  twinkled 
feebly  in  the  midst,  like  two  stars  of  lesser 
magnitude  in  a  hazy  firmament ;  and  his  full- 
fed  cheeks,  which  seemed  to  have  taken  toll 
of  everything  that  went  into  his  mouth,  were 
curiously  mottled  and  streaked  with  dusky 
red,  like  a  Spitzenberg  apple.  His  habits 
were  as  regular  as  his  person.  He  daily  took 
his  four  stated  meals,  appropriating  exactly 
an  hour  to  each  ;  he  smoked  and  doubted 
eight  hours,  and  he  slept  the  remaining 
twelve  of  the  four-and-twenty." 

Van  Twiller  ruled  the  province  seven  years, 
and,  in  spite  of  his  stupidity,  it  prospered. 
In  1633,  Adam  Roelantsen,  the  first  school- 
master, arrived — for  the  fruitful  Walloons 
had  opened  the  way  by  this  time  for  his 
labors — and  in  the  same  year  a  wooden 
church  was  built  in  the  present  Bridge  Street, 
and  placed  in  charge  of  the  famous  Dominie 
Everardus Bogardus.  In  i635,the fort,  which 
marked  the  site  of  the  present  Bowling 
Green.and  which  had  been  begun  in  1614,  was 
finished,  and  in  the  same  year  the  first  English 
settlers  at  New  Amsterdam  came  into  the 
town. 

The  English  in  New  England  also  began 
to  give  the  Dutch  trouble  during  this  admin- 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


istration,  and  even  sent  a  ship  into  "  Hud- 
son's Riv-er  "  to  trade  with  the  Indians.  In- 
fluenced by  De  Vrics,  the  commander  of  the 
fort,  the  governor  sent  an  expedition  up  the 
river  after  the  audacious  English  vessel, 
seized  her,  brought  her  back  to  New  York, 
and  sent  her  to  sea  with  a  warning  not  to 
repeat  her  attempt.  The  disputes  between 
the  Enghsh  and  the  Dutch  about  the  Con- 
necticut settlements  also  began  to  make 
trouble  for  New  Amsterdam.  Van  Twiller 
possessed  no  influence  in  the  colony,  was 
laughed  at  and  snubbed  on  every  side,  and 
was  at  length  recalled  by  the  company  in 
1638.  The  only  memorial  of  Van  Twiller 
left  to  us  is  the  Isle  of  Nuts,  which  lies  in  the 
bay  between  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and 
which  he  purchased  as  his  private  domain. 
It  is  still  called  the  "  Governor's  Island." 

Van  Twiller  was  succeeded  by  William 
Kieft,  a  man  of  greater  abilities,  but  unscru- 
pulous and  avaricious.  He  had  become  a 
bankrupt  in  Holland,  and  hoped  to  find  in 
America  the  means  of  restoring  his  fortunes. 
His  administration  of  the  province  was  full 
of  troubles,  the  greater  part  of  which  were 
due  to  his  recklessness  and  rapacity. 

Mohawk  Braves. 

The  colonists  were  forbidden  to  sell  fire- 
arms to  the  Indians,  but  some  of  the  traders 
along  the  Hudson  had  violated  this  order, 
and  it  was  estimated  that  the  Mohawks  had 
at  least  four  hundred  warriors  armed  with 
muskets.  They  were  willing  to  pay  large 
prices  for  the  guns,  as  these  weapons  enabled 
them  to  meet  on  equal  terms  their  enemies, 
the  Canada  Indians,  who  had  been  armed  by 
the  French.  During  Van  Twiller's  admin- 
istration the  colony  had  been  on  good  terms 
with  the  Mohegans  and  other  tribes  of  the 
Algonquin  race,  who  were  generally  known 
as  the  river  Indians.  Kieft,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  demanded  of  them  the  payment  of  a 


tribute,  which  he  pretended  he  had  been 
ordered  by  the  company  to  levy  upon  them. 
They  refused  his  demand  with  contempt,  and 
from  this  time  the  friendship  which  they  had 
entertained  for  the  Dutch  began  to  disappear. 
A  year  or  two  later  the  Raritans,  a  tribe 
living  on  the  river  of  that  name,  were  accused 
of  stealing  some  hogs  from  the  colony.  The 
animals  had  been  taken  by  some  Dutch 
traders  ;  but  Kieft,  instead  of  investigating 
the  matter,  sent  a  party  of  soldiers  among 
the  Raritans  and  destroyed  their  corn  and 
killed  several  of  their  number.  The  savages 
determined  upon  revenge,  and  with  their 
usual  unreasoning  fury  attacked  the  settle- 
ment which  De  Vries — who  was  always  a 
friend  of  the  Indians — had  founded  on  Staten 
Island,  and  killed  four  men.  The  people  of 
the  colony  now  urged  the  governor  to  con- 
ciliate the  savages  by  kind  treatment,  but  he 
refused  to  do  so. 

An  Avenger  of  Blood. 

Another  cause  of  trouble  soon  arose. 
Twenty  years  before  a  Dutch  trader  had 
killed  an  Indian  chief  in  the  presence  of  d 
little  nephew  of  the  warrior.  That  child, 
now  grown  to  manhood,  came  into  the  colony 
in  1 64 1,  and  avenged  his  uncle  by  killing  an 
innocent  settler.  Kieft  ordered  the  Indians 
to  surrender  the  young  man  that  he  might 
be  punished  for  his  crime  ;  but  the  savages 
refused  to  give  him  up,  but  offered  to  ransom 
him.  Kieft  refused  their  proposition,  and 
the  matter  remained  an  open  source  of 
trouble. 

With  the  hope  of  finding  a  remedy  for  the 
Indian  difficulty,  the  people  obtained  from 
the  governor,  in  1642,  permission  to  hold  ;i 
meeting  of  the  heads  of  families  at  New 
Amsterdam.  These  appointed  twelve  of  thei: 
numberto  investigate  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 
This  was  the  first  representative  assembly  of 
New  Netherland,  and  its  career  was  short. 


202 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


Venturing  to  pass  beyond  the  Indian  ques- 
tion, and  to  criticise  the  administration  of  the 
governor  in  other  matters,  it  was  dissolved. 
Near  the  end  of  the  year  1642  the  Mohawks 
sent  a  band  of  warriors  armed  with  muskets 
to  demand  tribute  of  the  river  tribes.  These, 
too  weak  to  contend  with  their  enemies,  fled 
to  the  Dutch  for  protection.  Kieft  was  at 
this  time  angry  with  the  Indians  for  refusing 
to  surrender  to  him  one  of  their  number  who 
had  killed  a  Dutchman  who  had  made  him 
drunk  and  then  ill-treated  him,  and  he 
resolved  to  take  a  signal  vengeance  upon 
them,  and  exterminate  them.  De  Vries,  to 
'vhom  he  communicated  his  plan,  remon- 
strated with  him  in  the  hope  of  inducing  him 
to  abandon  it.  "If  j'ou  murder  these  poo/ 
creatures  who  have  put  themselves  und«;i- 
your  protection,  you  will  involve  the  whole 
colony  in  ruin,  and  their  blood,  and  the 
blood  of  your  own  people,  will  be  required 
at  your  hands,"  said  De  Vries.  Nothing, 
however,  could  move  the  governor  from  his 
purpose. 

Attack  Upon  the  Savages. 

The  Indians  who  had  sought  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Dutch  were  encamped  with  the 
Hackensack  tribe  just  above  Hoboken.  On 
the  night  of  the  twenty -fifth  of  February,  the 
garrison  of  the  fort  at  New  Amsterdam,  rein- 
forced by  the  crews  of  some  Dutch  privateers 
in  the  river,  crossed  the  Hudson  and  attacked 
the  unsuspecting  savages.  Nearly  a  hundred 
were  killed,  and  when  the  morning  came 
many  of  the  poor  wretches  were  seen  crowd- 
ing along  the  shore  of  the  river  in  the  vain 
attempt  to  cross  over  to  their  supposed 
friends  at  New  Amsterdam.  They  were 
forced  into  the  stream  and  drowned.  A 
company  of  Indians,  trusting  to  the  friendship 
of  the  Dutch,  had  encamped  on  Manhattan 
Island,  near  the  fort.  They  were  put  to  death 
almost  to  a  man. 


The  massacre  was  regarded  by  the  colo- 
nists with  horror  and  detestation,  and  they 
took  no  part  in  the  joy  with  which  the  gov- 
ernor greeted  the  troops  on  their  return  from 
their  bloody  work.  He  was  not  allowed  to 
rejoice  long,  however.  When  it  became 
known  among  the  Algonquins  that  their 
brethren  had  been  murdered,  not  by  the  Mo- 
hawks, but  by  the  Dutch,  every  tribe  took  up 
the  hatchet  to  avenge  them,  and  a  general 
warfare  began  along  the  entire  line  of  the 
Dutch  settlements.  Several  villages  were 
destroyed,  and  a  number  of  settlers  were  mur- 
dered or  carried  into  captivity.  The  colony 
was  threatened  with  ruin,  and  Kieft  was 
obliged  to  open  negotiations  for  peace.  It 
was  in  this  war  that  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson 
and  her  family,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
territory  of  the  Dutch,  were  murdered  by  the 
savages. 

Treaty  of  Peace  Negotiated. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  1643,  a  conference 
was  held  at  Rockaway,  between  sixteen  Indian 
chiefs  and  De  Vries  and  two  other  envoys 
from  the  colony.  One  of  the  principal 
sachems  arose,  holding  in  his  hands  a  bundle 
of  small  sticks.  "When  you  first  arrived  on 
our  shores,"  said  the  Indian,  addressing  the 
whites, "  you  were  destitute  of  food.  We  gave 
you  our  beans  and  our  corn  ,  we  fed  you  with 
oysters  and  fish ;  and  now,  for  our  recom- 
pense, you  murder  our  people."  He  then 
laid  down  one  of  the  little  sticks  and  pro- 
ceeded :  "  The  traders  whom  your  first  ships 
left  on  our  shores  to  traffic  till  their  return, 
were  cherished  by  us  as  the  apple  of  our  eye 
We  gave  them  our  daughters  for  their  wives 
Among  those  whom  you  have  murderec 
were  children  of  j'our  own  blood." 

"  I  know  all,"  said  De  Vries,  interrupting 
his  recital  of  wrongs.  He  then  invited  the 
chiefs  to  go  with  him  to  the  fort.  They 
accompanied  him  to  New  Amsterdam,  where 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


203 


presents  were  exchanged  and  a  treaty  of  peace 
negotiated.  The  younger  warriors  were  not 
satisfied.  Kieft's  presents  were  niggardly. 
They  were  not  regarded  by  the  savages  as 
a  sufilkient  compensation  for  the  wrongs  they 
had  suffered,  and  the  war  was  renewed. 

The  leader  of  the 
Dutch  in  this  cam- 
paign ivas  Captain 
John  Underhill,  who 
had  served  in  the 
Pequod  war  in  New 
England,  and  had 
removed  to  New 
Amsterdam  in  conse- 
quence of  ha\  ing  been 
made  to  do  penance 
in  public  at  Boston  in 
1640.  The  war  con- 
tinued for  two  years, 
and  though  the  col- 
ony suffered  severely, 
the  Dutch  were  able 
to  inflict  such  heavy 
losses  upon  the  sav- 
ages that  the  latter 
were  at  length  as 
anxious  for  peace  as 
the  whites.  Sixteen 
hundred  of  the  In- 
dians had  fallen,  but 
the  colony  had  been 
brought  to  the  verge 
of  ruin,  and  the  popu- 
lation of  New  Ams- 
terdam was  reduced 
to  one  hundred  souls. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  August,  1645,  the  chiefs 
of  the  Algonquins  and  a  deputation  from 
their  old  enemies,  the  Mohawks,  who  came 
as  mediators,  met  the  whites  on  the  spot  now 
known  as  the  Battery,  and  concluded  a  peace. 
The  close  of  the  war  was  hailed  with  re- 
ioici  gs  throughout  the  colony.      Kieft  was 


regarded  with  universal  hatred  as  the  author 
of  the  terrible  sufferings  of  the  struggle,  and 
his  barbarous  conduct  was  censured  and 
disavowed  by  the  company,  and  he  was 
recalled.  Hated  throughout  the  colony,  ha 
at  Icneth  determined  to  return  to  Euroofe 


PETER    STUVVESANT. 

Freighting  a  vessel  with  his  ill-gotten  gains, 
he  sailed  from  Manhattan  in  1647.  As  he 
neared  the  shores  of  the  old  world  his  ship 
was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  and  all 
on  board  perished. 

Kieft,  in  the  vain  hope  of  conciliating  the 
people,    appointed,    immediately   after    the 


204 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


close  of  the  war,  a  new  municipal  council  of 
eight  members.  The  first  act  of  this  council 
was  to  demand  of  the  States  General  of  Hol- 
land the  removal  of  Kieft.  Their  demand 
was  complied  with,  as  we  have  seen,  and  in 
1647  Peter  Stuyvesant  was  made  governor 
of  New  Netherlands,  and  reached  New  Am- 
sterdam in  the  same  year. 

"  Vain  as  a    Peacock.' 

Stuyvesant  was  essentially  a  strong  man. 
A  soldier  by  education  and  of  long  experi- 
ence, he  was  accustomed  to  regard  rigid 
•discipline  as  the  one  thing  needful  in  every 
relation  of  life,  and  he  was  not  slow  to  intro- 
duce that  system  into  his  government  of 
New  Amsterdam.  He  had  served  gallantly 
in  the  wars  against  the  Portuguese,  and  had 
lost  a  leg  in  one  of  his  numerous  encounters 
with  them.  He  was  as  vain  as  a  peacock,  as 
fond  of  display  as  a  child,  and  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  most  aristocratic  ideas — 
qualities  not  exactly  the  best  for  a  governor 
of  New  Amsterdam.  Yet  he  was,  with  all 
his  faults,  an  honest  man,  he  had  deeply  at 
heart  the  interests  of  the  colony,  and  his  ad- 
ministration was  mainly  a  prosperous  one. 

He  energetically  opposed  from  the  first  all 
manifestations  in  favor  of  popular  govern- 
ment. His  will  was  to  be  the  law  of  the 
province.  "  If  any  one,"  said  he,  "  during 
my  administration  shall  appeal,  I  will  make 
him  a  foot  shorter,  and  send  the  pieces  to 
Holland,  and  let  him  appeal  in  that  way." 
He  went  to  work  with  vigor  to  reform  mat- 
ters in  the  colony,  extending  his  efforts  to 
even  the  morals  and  domestic  affairs  of  the 
people.  He  soon  brought  about  a  reign  of 
material  prosperity  greater  than  had  ever 
been  known  before,  and  e.xerted  himself  to 
check  the  encroachments  of  the  English  on 
the  east,  and  the  Swedes  on  the  south.  He 
inaugurated  a  policy  of  kindness  and  justice 
toward  the  Indians,  and  soon  changed  their 


enmity  to  sincere  friendship.  One  thing, 
however,  he  dared  not  do — he  could  not 
levy  taxes  upon  the  people  without  their 
consent,  for  fear  of  offending  the  States  Gen- 
eral of  Holland.  This  forced  him  to  appoint 
a  council  of  nine  prominent  citizens,  and, 
although  he  endeavored  to  hedge  round 
their  powers  by  numerous  conditions,  the 
nine  ever  afterwards  served  as  a  salutary 
check  upon  the  action  of  the  governor. 

Opposition  to  Stuyvesant. 

The  English  in  Connecticut  made  great 
efforts  to  extend  their  territories  westward  at 
the  expense  of  New  Netherland,  and  gave 
Stuyvesant  no  little  annoyance  by  their 
aggressions.  During  his  administration  the 
colony  received  large  accessions  of  English 
emigrants  from  New  England,  who  came  to 
New  Netherland  "  to  enjoy  that  liberty  de- 
nied to  them  by  their  own  countrymen." 
They  settled  in  New  Amsterdam,  on  Long 
Island,  and  in  Westchester  County.  Being 
admitted  to  an  equality  with  the  Dutch  set- 
tlers, they  exercised  considerable  influence 
in  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and  towards  the 
close  of  his  administration  gave  the  governor 
considerable  trouble  by  their  opposition  to 
his  despotic  acts.  Stuyvesant  entered  into 
an  arrangement  with  Connecticut  for  the 
proper  adjustment  of  the  boundaries  of  the 
two  colonies,  and  left  the  English  in  posses- 
sion of  half  of  Long  Island. 

Upon  his  removal  from  his  place  as  gover- 
nor of  New  Amsterdam  Peter  Minuits  offered 
his  services  to  Gustavus  Adolphus,  king  of 
Sweden,  who  was  anxious  to  found  in 
America  a  colony  which  might  prove  a  place 
of  refuge  for  the  persecuted  Protestants  of 
Europe.  The  offer  was  accepted  by  the 
king,  and  the  shores  of  the  Delaware  were 
chosen  as  the  site  of  the  new  settlement. 
Near  the  close  of  1637  a  little  company  of 
Swedes  and  Fins  embarked  in  two    vessels 


THE   SETTLEMENT    OF    NEW    YORK. 


205 


under  the  direction  of  Minuits.and  saikd  f( 
America.  The  Delaware  was  reached  carl 
in  1638,  and  the  new-comers  purchased  from 
the  natives  the  country  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river  from  Cape  Henlopen  to  Trenton. 
A  fort  was  built  within  the  limits  of  the 
present  state  of  Delaware,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Wilmington,  and  named  Fort 
Christiana,  in  honor  of  the  youthful  queen  of 
Sweden,  the  daughter  of  Gustavus. 

Swedish  Immigrants. 

Kieft,  the  Dutch  governor  of  New  Nether- 
land,  protested  against  this  occupation  of  the 
country  by  the  Swedes,  as  Holland  claimed 
the  region  along  the  Delaware.  Sweden  was 
too  formidable  a  power  for  her  colony  to  be 
attacked,  however,  and  Kieft  contented  him- 
self with  his  protest.  Fresh  emigrants  came 
out  from  Scandinavia,  and  New  Sweden  grew 
rapidly.  The  Dutch  Fort  Nassau  was  re- 
newed, but  the  Swedes  succeeded  in  main- 
taining their  ascendency  along  the  Delaware 
in  spite  of  it.  Their  plantations  were 
extended  along  the  river,  and  the  smallest 
of  the  American  commonwealths  was  per- 
manently settled  by  Europeans. 

When  Stuyvesant  w^as  made  governor  of 
New  Netherland  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany resolved  to  enforce  their  claim  to 
Delaware,  and  in  165 1  built  Fort  Casimir  on 
the  site  of  Newcastle.  The  Swedes  regarded 
this  as  an  encroachment  upon  their  domain, 
and  in  1654  captured  the  Fort.  Upon  the 
receipt  of  this  news  the  Dutch  Company 
indignantly  ordered  Stuyvesant  "  to  drive 
the  Swedes  from  the  river,  or  compel  their 
submission."  In  September,  1655,  Stuyve- 
sant, with  a  force  of  six  hundred  men,  sailed 
from  Manhattan  into  the  Delaware.  The 
Swedish  forts  were  compelled  to  surrender 
one  after  another,  and  the  colonists  were 
forced  to  submit  to  the  establishment  of  the 
rule  of  the  Dutch.     They  were  allowed  to 


retain  their  possessions,  and  on  the  whole 
were  treated  well.  Many  of  them,  however, 
were  dissatisfied  with  their  new  rulers,  and 
in  the  ne.xt  few  years  emigrated  to  Maryland 
and  Virginia. 

The  territory  now  included  in  the  state  of 
New  Jersey  was  also  claimed  by  the  Dutch. 
They  built  Fort  Nassau  on  the  Delaware  tc, 
establish  this  claim,  but  the  Swedes  were  tnt 
first  to  settle  the  country.  Soon  after,  estab- 
lishing themselves  in  Delaware,  they  crossed 
over  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  and 
built  a  line  of  trading-posts  extending  from 
Cape  May  to  Burlington. 


GUST.WUS    ADOLPHUS. 

New  Amsterdam  continued  to  prosper,, 
and  was  even  at  this  early  day  rapidly  becom- 
ing an  important  commercial  town.  Stuy- 
vesant's  arbitrary  temper  was  held  in  check 
to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  more  liberal 
policy  of  the  company,  who  sincerely  desired 
the  prosperity  of  the  colony.  "  Let  every 
peaceful  citizen,"  wrote  the  directors,  "  enjoy 
freedom  of  conscience ;  this  maxim  has  made 
our  city  the  asylum  for  fugitives  from  every^ 
land;  tread  in  its  steps,  and  you  shall  be 
blessed."     The    infant    metropolis   from  the 


2o6 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


first  acquired  a  cosmopolitan  character.  It 
contained  settlers  from  every  nation  of 
Europe,  and  even  from  Africa ;  for  the  Dutch 
at  an  early  day  introduced  negro  slavery 
into  the  colony. 

The  people  of  New  Netherland  had  no 
political  rights,  and  the  West  India  Com- 
pany, with  every  disposition  to  treat  the 
colony  with  fairness,  did  not  mean  to  allow 
the  settlers  to  have  any  voice  in  govern- 
ing themselves.  Town  meetings  were  posi- 
tively forbidden,  and  every  care  was  taken  to 
discourage  any  manifestation  of  public  spirit. 
Nevertheless  the  colonists  were  beginning  to 
feel  the  promptings  of  the  spirit  of  democ- 
racy, and  the  English  settlers  who  had 
come  into  the  province  were  by  no  means 
content  to  remain  without  the  privileges  of 
freemen.  A  series  of  disputes  at  once  arose 
with  the  fiery  old  governor,  who  entertained 
the  most  profound  contempt  for  the  people, 
and  laughed  in  scorn  at  the  assertion  of  their 
ability  to  govern  themselves. 

Rights  of  the  People  Disregarded. 

The  discontents  went  on  increasing,  how- 
•ever,  and  at  length  the  people  appointed  a 
convention  of  two  delegates  from  each  settle- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  deliberating  on  the 
affairs  of  the  colony.  Stuyvesant  was  bit- 
terly opposed  to  this  assembly,  but  deemed 
it  best  not  to  .seek  to  prevent  its  meeting,  as 
■such  a  step  would  have  brought  about  a 
collision  with  the  people.  The  convention 
addressed  the  governor  as  follows  ;  "  The 
States  General  of  the  United  Provinces  are 
our  liege  lords ;  we  submit  to  the  laws  of  the 
United  Provinces  ;  and  our  rights  and  priv- 
ileges ought  to  be  in  harmony  with  those  of 
the  fatherland,  for  we  are  a  member  of  the 
state,  and  not  a  subjugated  people.  We,  who 
have  come  together  from  various  parts  of 
the  world,  and  are  a  blended  community  of 
various  lineage;  we,  who  have,  at  our  own 


expense,  exchanged  our  native  lands  for  the 
protection  of  the  United  Provinces;  we,  who 
have  transformed  the  wilderness  into  fruitful 
farms,  demand  that  no  new  laws  shall  be 
enacted  but  with  the  consent  of  the  people; 
that  none  shall  be  appointed  to  office  but 
with  the  approbation  of  the  people;  that 
obscure  and  obsolete  laws  shall  never  be 
revived." 

This  was  too  much  for  the  governor.  He 
attempted  to  reason  with  the  deputies,  who 
had  the  temerity  to  demand  the  right  of 
self-government,  and  finding  them  firm,  dis- 
solved the  convention  with  the  haughty 
declaration :  "  We  derive  our  authority  from 
God  and  the  West  India  Company,  not  from 
the  pleasure  of  a  few  ignorant  subjects." 
The  West  India  Company  entirely  approved 
the  course  of  the  governor.  "  We  approve 
the  taxes  you  propose,"  they  wrote  to  Stuy- 
vesant ;  "  have  no  regard  to  the  consent  of 
the  people.  Let  them  indulge  no  longer  the 
visionary  dream  that  taxes  can  be  imposed 
only  with  their  consent." 

Neither  the  company  nor  the  governor 
could  understand  that  this  persistent  disre- 
gard of  the  rights  of  the  people  was  aliena- 
ting all  classes  of  the  colonists  and  making 
them  long  for  the  conquest  of  New  Nether- 
land by  the  English  as  the  only  means  of 
obtaining  the  privileges  of  the  freemen  of 
the  English  colo'',:es. 

Large  Land  Grant. 

Nor  was  this  an  idle  hope.  For  a  long 
time  past  the  English  government  had  seri- 
ously entertained  the  idea  of  driving  out  the 
Dutch,  and  adding  New  Netherland  to  its 
American  possessions.  The  English  claim 
extended  to  the  entire  Atlantic  coast  as  far 
south  as  Florida,  and  the  Dutch  were 
regarded  as  intruders.  Cromwell  and  his 
son  had  each  contemplated  making  such  an 
effort,  and  at  the  return  of  Charles  II.  to  the 


THK    SKTTLKMRXT   OF    NKW    Yv)RK. 


207 


throne  the  plan  was  more  seriously  discussed, 
and  at  len;^tli  put  in  operation.  Charles, 
although  at  peace  with  Holland,  and  in  spite  of 
the  charter  which  he  had  granted  to  Connecti- 
cut, bestowed  upon  his  brother,  the  Duke  of 
Vork,  afterwards  James  II.,  the  entire  region 
between  the  Connecticut  and  Delaware 
rivers.  This  was  in  February,  1664.  A 
squadron  was  at  once  fitted  out  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seizing  the  Dutch  colony,  and  was 
placed  in  command  of  Richard  Nicolls,  an 
officer  of  the  Duke  of  York's  household. 
The  fleet  touched  at  Boston  to  land  the  com- 
missioners sent  out  by  Charles  to  the  New 
England  colonies  and  to  receive  reinforce- 
ments. Governor  Winthrop,  of  Connecticut 
also  embarked  on  board  of  it. 

The  first  intimation  Stu_\-vesant  had  of  the 
intended  robbery  was  the  appearance  of  the 
fleet  within  the  Narrows  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  August,  1664.  The  next  day 
Nicolls  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  town 
and  fort  of  New  Amsterdam.  Stuyvesant, 
who  had  made  preparations  for  defending 
the  place,  endeavored  to  resist  the  demand, 
but  the  citizens  refused  to  sustain  him  and 
he  was  obliged  to  submit.  On  the  eighth  of 
September  he  embarked  his  troops  for  Hol- 
land and  put  to  sea.  The  English  at  once 
took  possession  of  the  fort  and  town,  and 
their  vessels  ascending  the  Hudson,  received 
the  submission  of  the  other  Dutch  forts  and 
settlements  along  the  river.  A  few  weeks 
later  the  Dutch  and  the  Swedes  along  the 
Delaware  submitted  to  the  English,  and  the 
entire  province  was  in  their  hands.  The 
name  of  New  Amsterdam  was  changed  to 
New  York,  which  name  was  also  bestowed 
upon  the  province,  and  Fort  Orange  was 
called  Albany,  all  in  honor  of  the  new  pro- 
prietor.    Nicolls  was  appointed  go\ernor. 

The  Engl '^h  set  themselves  to  work  to 
conciliate  the  Dutch  residents,  a  task  not 
very  difficult,  as  the   English  .settlers  in  the 


province  had  already  prejjared  the  way  for 
the  change,  and  the  treatment  the  colony 
had  received  from  the  West  India  Comjjany 
had  prevented  the  formation  of  any  decided 
attachment  to  the  rule  of  Holland.  The 
English  system  of  government  was  intro- 
duced, the  towns  were  allowed  to  elect  their 
own  magistrates,  and  the  desires  of  the  people 
for  representative  government  seemed  about 
to  be  gratified. 

A  Strong  Alliance. 

The  Mohawks  had  been  the  friends  of  tht 
Dutch,  and  they  now  readily  entered  into  an 
alliance  with  the  English  as  their  successors. 
This  alliance  remained  unbroken  all  through 
the  colonial  period,  and  during  the  war  ot 
the  Revolution  ;  and  in  the  first-named  perioa 
proved  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the 
colonies,  as  the  Mohawks,  whose  hatred  o(' 
the  French  was  deep  and  unrelenting,  prove. ' 
a  formidable  obstacle  in  the  way  of  invadinj 
parties  from  Canada. 

Immediately  upon  becoming  master  of  th 
province,  the  Duke  of  York  proceeded  U 
divide  it.  He  sold  to  Lord  Berkeley  and 
.Sir  George  Cartaret,  both  of  whom  were 
already  proprietaries  of  Carolina,  the  country 
between  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware.  This 
purchase  was  named  New  Jersey,  in  honor 
of  the  island  of  Jersey,  of  which  Cartaret  was 
governor,  and  corresponded  in  size  very 
nearly  to  the  present  state  of  that  name. 
The  new  proprietors  made  liberal  offers  tc 
induce  emigrants  to  settle  in  their  territory 
and  among  other  things  offered  them  land.= 
free  of  rent  for  five  years.  They  granted  tc 
the  province  a  political  establishment  con 
sisting  of  a  governor,  a  council,  and  assembly 
of  representatives  of  the  people,  wiio  were 
given  the  power  to  make  the  laws  necessary 
for  their  government. 

The   proprietors    reserved    the    right    to 
appoint  the  governor   and  judicial  ofiicers. 


208 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


and  to  veto  the  proceedings  of  tlie  assembly. 
Negro  slavery  was  also  introduced.  These 
offers  drew  a  large  number  of  settlers  to 
New  Jersey,  and  many  families  came  over 
from  Long  Island  to  the  new  province.  The 
principal  settlement  was  named  Elizabeth- 
town,  in  honor  of  Cartaret's  wife.  The 
colony  prospered ;  no  trouble  was  experi- 
enced from  the  neighboring  Lidians,  whose 
power  had  been  thoroughly  broken  by  the 
Dutch,  and  everything  went  on  happily 
until  the  year  1670,  when  the  proprietaries 
demanded  the  rents  due  for  the  lands  held 
by  the  settlers.  The  demand  was  refused. 
Many  of  the  colonists  had  lived  in  the 
province  under  the  rule  of  the  Dutch,  and 
had  bought  their  lands  from  the  Lidians,  and 
they  claimed  that  the  grant  of  the  province 
to  Cartaret  could  not  invalidate  these  pur- 
chases, as  the  king  had  no  claim  to  the 
lands  which  he  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon 
his  favorites.  Others  refused  to  pay  rent 
because  they  had  made  their  plantations 
without  any  assistance  from  the  proprietaries 
and  did  not  acknowledge  any  debt  to  them. 
The  representative  of  the  proprietaries  was 
obliged  to  fly  for  safety,  and  went  to  England 
for  assistance  in  enforcing  his  demands. 

Insult  Added  to  Injury. 
The  Duke  of  York  heard  the  complaints 
of  the  proprietaries,  but  the  only  attention  he 
paid  to  them  was  to  appoint  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  who  subsequently  became  infamous 
for  his  tyranny  in  New  England,  governor  of 
New  Jersey.  This  was  a  flagrant  violation 
of  the  rights  of  Cartaret  and  Berkeley,  and 
an  act  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  last 
of  the  Stuarts.  Berkeley  in  disgust  sold  his 
half  of  the  province,  known  as  West  Jersey, 
to  an  English  Quaker  named  Edward 
Byllinge,  who  subsequently  made  over  his 
claim  to  William  Penn,  who  made  an  ar- 
rangement with  Cartaret  to  divide  the  Jer- 


seys. Cartaret  retained  East  Jersey,  and  the 
line  of  division  was  drawn  from  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  province  to  the  sea  at 
Little  Egg  Harbor.  This  purchase  became 
the  cause  of  considerable  litigation  in  after 
years,  and  West  Jersey  was  claimed  by  Penn- 
sylvania until  the  ne.xt  century,  when,  as  we 
shall  see,  the  dispute  was  settled. 

Scotch  Covenanters. 

New  Jersey  received  a  considerable  acces- 
sion to  her  population  in  consequence  of  the 
re-establishment  of  episcopacy  in  Scotland. 
The  Cameronians  or  Covenanters  refused  ta 
submit  to  the  authority  of  the  church,  and 
thus  became  the  objects  of  a  cruel  persecu- 
tion. As  so  many  of  their  faith  had  done 
before  them,  they  sought  refuge  from  their 
persecutors  in  America,  and  in  1683  and  the 
following  years  large  numbers  of  them  came 
over  and  settled  in  East  Jersey.  This  portion 
of  the  state  was  the  cradle  of  Presbyter- 
ianism  in  America. 

Li  the  meantime  matters  in  New  York 
had  not  been  conducted  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  people.  The  promises  made  to  the 
colonists  by  the  English  authorities  were 
not  kept.  The  province  was  treated  as  the 
absolute  property  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
the  governor  and  his  council  were  consti- 
tuted the  highest  authority  for  both  the 
making  and  execution  of  the  laws.  Repre- 
sentative government  was  denied  them,  arbi- 
trary taxes  were  imposed  by  Governor 
Nicolls,  and  the  titles  to  the  lands  held  by 
the  settlers,  not  even  excepting  the  Dutch 
patents,  were  declared  invalid,  in  order  that 
by  issuing  new  title-deeds  Nicolls  might  gain 
enormous  fees.  Lovelace,  the  successor  of 
Nicolls,  carried  his  tyranny  to  a  still  greater 
extent.  His  system  of  government  is  thus 
summed  up  :  "  The  method  for  keeping  the, 
people  in  order  is  severity,  and  laying  such 
taxes    as    may   give   them     liberty   for    no 


THE   SETTLKMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


209 


thought  but  how  to  discharge  them." 
When  the  people  of  a  number  of  the  towns 
ventured  to  remonstrate  with  the  governor, 
he  ordered  their  petition  for  the  redress  of 
their  grievances  to  be  publicly  burned  before 
the  town  house  in  New  York.  The  settle- 
ments in  Delaware  were  treated  with  equal 
injustice. 

Peace  Between  England  and  Holland. 

In  1673,  war  having  broken  out  between 
Holland  and  England,  a  Dutch  squadron 
entered  the  harbor  of  New  York.  The  peo- 
ple, thoroughly  cured  of  their  partiality  for 
English  rule  by  the  injustice  they  had  suf- 
fered, made  no  resistance  and  surrendered 
the  town.  Its  name  was  changed  to  New 
Orange,  and  the  authority  of  the  Dutch  was 
again  extended  over  the  province,  and  also 
over  Long  Island,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
The  Mohawks  sent  a  deputation  of  their 
chiefs  to  congratulate  the  Dutch  upon  the 
recovery  of  their  colony.  The  ne.xt  year, 
however,  peace  was  made  between  England 
and  Holland,  and  the  Dutch  surrendered 
their  conquests  in  America.  New  York 
passed  once  more  into  the  hands  of  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  East  Jersey  into  those  of  Car- 
taret. 

In  the  same  year  the  Duke  of  York  ap- 
pointed Sir  Edmund  Andros  governor  of 
New  York.  The  eastern  settlements  of 
Long  Island  were  anxious  to  adhere  to  Con- 
necticut, but  the  governor  compelled  them 
on  pain  of  being  declared  rebels  to  acknowl- 
edge themselves  a  part  of  New  York.  The 
claim  of  the  duke  extended  within  the  limits 
of  Connecticut  as  far  as  the  river  of  that 
name,  and  in  the  summer  of  1675  Andros 
sailed  with  several  armed  sloops  for  that  col- 
ony to  establish  his  authority  as  far  as  the 
river.  The  government  of  Connecticut, 
warned  of  his  purpose,  determined  to  resist 
him,  and  Captain  Bull,  the  commander  of  the  j 
'4 


fort  at  Saybrookc,  was  ordered  to  pay  no  at- 
tention to  his  claim.  Andros,  arriving  off 
Saybrooke,  hoisted  the  royal  standard  and 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort. 

A  Connecticut  Captain. 

Bull  instantly  ran  up  the  English  colors, 
and  refused  to  comply  with  the  demand. 
Andros,  who  was  a  coward  at  heart,  quailed 
before  the  firmness  of  the  Connecticut  cap- 
tain, and  abandoned  his  undertaking  and 
sailed  for  Long  Island.  Thus  ended  the  at- 
tempt of  the  Duke  of  York  to  dismember 
Connecticut.  Andros  returned  to  New  York 
to  disgust  the  people  of  that  province  with 
his  tyranny. 

When  James  II.  became  king  he  com- 
pelled the  proprietaries  of  New  Jersey  to 
surrender  their  claim  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
that  province  to  him,  and  annexed  it  to  New 
York.  In  1683  the  grievances  of  the  people 
of  New  York  had  become  so  unendurable 
that  James,  then  Duke  of  York,  deemed  it 
best  to  conciliate  them,  and  allowed  the  free- 
holders to  send  representatives  to  an  assem- 
bly. This  assembly  met  in  October,  1683, 
and  its  fir.st  act  was  to  demand  the  rights  of 
Englishmen.  "  Supreme  legislative  power," 
they  declared.  "  shall  forever  be  and  reside  in 
the  governor,  council  and  people,  met  in  gen- 
eral assembly.  Every  freeholder  and  freeman 
shall  vote  for  representation  without  restraint 
No  freeman  shall  suffer  but  by  the  judgment 
of  his  peers;  and  all  trials  shall  be  by  a  jury 
of  twelve  men.  No  tax  shall  be  assessed,  on 
any  pretence  whatever,  but  by  the  consent  of 
the  assembly.  No  seaman  or  soldier  shall 
be  quartered  on  the  inhabitants  against  their 
will.  No  martial  law  shall  exist.  No  person 
professing  faith  in  God  by  Jesus  Christ  shall 
at  any  time  be  any  ways  disquieted  or  ques- 
tioned for  any  difference  of  opinion."  These 
privileges  were  conceded  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  who  solemnly  promised  not  to  change 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


them  except  for  the  dvantage  of  the  colony ; 
but  he  had  scarcely  become  king  when  he 
overturned  the  liberties  he  had  conceded  and 
made  New  York  a  royal  province,  dependent 
entirely  upon  his  unrestrained  will  for  its 
privileges. 

Leisler  Holds  the  Fort. 

The  people  of  New  York  were  Protestants, 
many  of  whom  had  had  cause  to  dread  the 
restoration  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
in  England.  When  James  gave  evidence  of 
his  intention  to  compel  the  acceptance  of  that 
faith  by  all  his  subjects,  the  colonies  included, 
they  were  greatly  discontented.  Their  fears 
were  increased  by  the  appointment  by  the 
king  of  a  Roman  Catholic  as  collector  of  cus- 
toms at  New  York.  Nicholson,  the  royal 
governor,  was  also  exceedingly  unpopular. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  overthrow  of 
James  II.  in  England  reached  New  York, 
Jacob  Leisler,  the  senior  captain  of  the  mili- 
tary companies,  was  requested  by  his  men 
to  take  possession  of  the  fort  and  assume  the 
management  of  affairs  until  the  government 
should  be  settled  by  the  orders  of  King 
William.  Leisler  was  a  prominent  merchant 
and  was  very  popular  with  the  common 
people,  but  he  was  opposed  by  the  great  land- 
holders, who  were  principally  Dutch,  and  by 
the  party  devoted  to  the  Church  of  England. 
He  found  himself  at  the  head  of  about  five 
hundred  armed  men,  and  taking  possession 
of  the  fort  avowed  his  intention  to  hold  it 
until  the  will  of  King  William  should  be 
known.  He  was  sustained  by  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  New  York,  but  the 
aristocratic  party,  and  the  churchmen,  who 
hated  him,  as  he  was  a  Presbyterian,  de- 
nounced him  as  a  rebel,  and  sustained  the 
council  of  Nicholson,  the  last  governor 
appointed  by  King  James,  which  withdrew 
to  Albany  in  August,  1689. 

Leisler  appointed  his  son-in-law,  Mil- 
bourne,  his  secretary.     Later  in  the  year  the 


people  of  Albany,  being  in  danger  of  an 
attack  from  the  French  from  Canada,  asked 
aid  from  New  York.  Leisler  sent  Milbourne 
with  a  body  of  troops  to  their  assistance,  but 
the  old  council  refused  to  acknowledge  his 
authority,  or  to  allow  him  to  assume  the 
command  of  the  fort,  and  he  went  back  with 
his  men  to  New  York,  leaving  the  people  of 
Albany  to  depend  upon  their  own  exertions 
for  the  defeat  of  the  French.  In  their  neces- 
sity they  asked  for  and  received  aid  from 
Connecticut. 

Blood  Runs  High. 

In  December  letters  from  the  English 
government  were  received,  addressed  to 
Nicholson,  or,  in  his  absence,  to  "  such  as, 
for  the  time  being,  take  care  for  preserving 
the  peace  and  administering  the  law "  in 
New  York.  A  commission  for  Nicholson 
accompanied  these  documents ;  but  he  was 
on  his  way  to  England,  and  Leisler,  who 
was  temporarily  in  authority  in  New  York, 
regarded  his  position  as  confirmed  by  the 
letters  from  England,  and  caused  himself  to 
be  proclaimed  governor.  He  ordered  the 
members  of  the  old  council  at  Albany  to  be 
arrested,  and  summoned  an  assembly  to  pro- 
vide for  the  wants  of  the  colony. 

Upon  first  taking  charge  of  affairs  Leisler 
had  addressed  a  letter  to  King  William  set- 
ting forth  his  reasons  for  his  action,  and  ask- 
ing the  king  to  make  known  his  royal  pleasure 
concerning  the  colony.  No  answer  was  sent 
by  the  king  to  this  communication,  but  on  the 
thirtieth  of  January,  1691,  a  ship  suddenly 
arrived  in  the  harbor  having  on  board  a  com- 
pany of  English  soldiers,  commanded  by  a 
Captain  Ingoldsby,  who  had  been  sent  by 
Colonel  Henry  Sloughter,  whom  King  Wil- 
liam had  appointed  governor  of  New  York. 

The  aristocratic  party  at  once  rallied  around 
Ingoldsby  as  their  leader,  and  that  officer 
demanded   of  Leisler   the  surrender  of  the 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


fort.  Leisler  insisted  that  he  should  produce 
his  authority  for  such  a  demand,  and,  as 
none  could  be  shown,  refused  to  give  up  the 
fort,  but  offered  Ingoldsby  every  assistance 
for  himself  and  his  men,  and  avowed  his 
intention  to  submit  to  Sloughter  upon  his 
arrival.  In  the  time  which  elapsed  between 
the  arrivals  of  Ingoldsby  and  the  new  gov- 
ernor party  spirit  ran  so  high  that  a  collision 
occurred  between  the  soldiers  and  the  people, 
in  which  one  man  was  wounded. 

Charged  with  Treason. 

Sloughter  reached  New  York  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  March,  1691.  Leisler  at  once  sent 
messengers  to  receive  his  orders,  but  the  mes- 
sengers were  detained.  The  ne.xt  morning 
Leisler  addressed  a  letter  to  Sloughter,  ask- 
ing to  whom  he  should  deliver  up  the  fort. 
Sloughter  returned  no  answer  to  this  letter, 
but  ordered  Ingoldsby  to  "  arrest  Leisler 
and  the  persons  called  his  council." 

Leisler,  Milbourne,  and  six  others  were 
arrested  and  immediately  arraigned  before  a 
tribunal  composed  of  their  inveterate  enemies, 
on  a  charge  of  treason.  This  was  a  frivolous 
pretence,  for  it  was  well  known  that  Leisler, 
who  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  King 
William,  had  never  dreamed  of  denying  his 
authority ;  but  it  was  as  good  a  charge  as 
any  other,  as  the  fate  of  the  prisoners  was 
decided  from  the  first.  The  prisoners  denied 
the  authority  of  the  court,  and  refusing  to 
plead  before  it,  appealed  to  the  king.  The 
presiding  officer  of  the  court  was  the  chief 
justice  of  New  York,  the  infamous  Joseph 
Dudley,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  New 
England  by  the  people  whose  liberties  he 
had  outraged.  The  prisoners,  in  spite  of 
their  appeal,  were  condenmed  to  death. 

Sloughter  was  unwilling  to  disregard  their 
appeal  as  entirely  as  the  court  had  done,  and 
wished  to  leave  the  matter  to  the  king;  but 
the  enemies  of  Leisler  were  resolved  upon 


his  death.  Taking  advantage  of  the  known 
weakness  of  the  governor,  they  made  him 
drunk  at  a  dinner  party,  and  in  this  state 
induced  him  to  sign  the  death  warrant  ofthe 
prisoners.  The  next  morning  at  daybreak 
(May  i6th)  Leisler  and  Milbourne  were  hur- 
ried from  their  weeping  families  to  the  gal- 
lows, to  be  executed  for  treason. 

Judicial  Murder. 

In  spite  of  a  pouring  rain,  the  people  who 
had  gotten  news  of  the  tragedy  crowded 
around  the  place  of  execution  to  cheer  their 
martyrs  in  their  last  moments.  "  Weep  not 
for  us,  who  are  departing  to  our  God,"  said 
Leisler  to  the  multitude.  Milbourne  saw 
standing  among  the  crowd  one  of  the  men 
who  had  been  prominent  in  their  con- 
demnation, and  cried  out  to  him  :  "  Robert 
Livingston,  I  will  implead  thee  for  this  at 
the  bar  of  God."  Then  turning  to  the  peo- 
ple, he  said  :  "  I  die  for  the  king  and  queen, 
and  for  the  Protestant  religion,  in  which  I 
was  born  and  bred.  Father,  into  thy  hands 
I  commend  my  spirit."  The  judicial  murder 
was  then  completed,  and  New  York's  first 
martyrs  laid  down  their  lives  in  behalf  of 
the  rights  ofthe  people. 

The  popular  party  was  now  more  than  ever 
embittered  against  the  aristocratic  class,  and 
the  principles  which  Leisler  and  Milbourne 
upheld  were  more  than  ever  insisted  upon. 
Their  friends,  "  who  were  distinguished 
always  by  their  zeal  for  popular  power,  for 
toleration,  for  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of 
legitimacy,"  continued  the  struggle,  and  at 
length  succeeded  in  making  their  principles 
the  law  of  the  colony. 

The  royalist  assembly,  while  denying  to 
the  people  an  equality  with  themselves  in 
political  matters,  were  yet  indisposed  to  sur- 
render to  the  crown  the  independence  ofthe 
colony,  and,  with  their  successors,  insisted 
upon  the  right  of  self-government,  and  the 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


regulation  of  taxation  by  the  assembly,  with 
such  firmness  that  in  1705  Queen  Anne 
yielded  so  far  as  to  permit  the  assembly  to 
appoint  "  its  own  treasurer  to  take  charge  of 
extraordinary  supplies." 


arts  to  prevent  this  act  of  justice.  As  for 
Governor  Sloughter,  who  was  at  the  best  but 
a  poor  weak  adventurer,  he  died  of  the  effects 
of  his  dissipation  six  months  after  the  execu- 
tion of  his  victims. 


QUEEN 

The  memory  of  Leisler  and  Milbourne 
was  vindicated  after  their  death.  The  son  of 
the  former  made  the  appeal  to  the  king  which 
had  been  denied  his  father,  and  Parliament 
at  length  reversed  the  attainder  under  the 
charge  of  treason,  and  restored  their  estates 
to   their    families.     Dudley  exerted   all   his 


ANNE. 

In  1692  Benjamin  Fletcher  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Sloughter.  He  was  an  officer  of 
the  royal  army,  and  was  as  passionate  and 
avaricious  as  he  was  incompetent  in  other 
respects.  He  was  a  firm  ally  of  the  aristo- 
cratic party,  and  a  bitter  foe  to  popular  lib- 
erty.    In  1693,  in  order  to  assist  New  York 


THE   SETTLEMENT   OF   NEW   YORK. 


against  the  attacks  of  the  French  in  Canada, 
all  the  colonies  were  required  to  contribute 
their  quota  of  troops  to  her  defence.  An 
effort  was  also  made  to  place  the  militia  of 
New  Jersey  and  Connecticut  under  the 
orders  of  the  governor  of  New  York.  The 
authorities  of  Connecticut,  however,  were 
resolved  not  to  relinquish  the  control  of 
their  militia,  which  would  have  been  to 
sacrifice  their  rights  secured  by  the  charter. 
In  order  to  enforce  his  authority,  Gov- 
ernor Fletcher  repaired  to  Hartford,  where 
the  assembly  of  Connecticut  was  in  session. 
At  the  time  of  his  arrival  a  company  of 
militia  was  engaged  in  training  in  the  town. 
Governor  Fletcher  rode  up  to  this  force  ;  but 
its  commander,  Captain  Wadsworth,  paid  no 
attention  to  him,  and  did  not  even  acknowl- 
edge his  presence.  Fletcher,  who  had 
boasted  that  he  would  not  stir  from  the 
colony  until  he  was  obeyed,  ordered  his 
secretary  to  read  his  commission  in  the 
hearing  of  the  troops. 

"  Silence  !  "  "  Music !  Music  !  " 

As  the  secretary  commenced  to  read, 
Wadsworth  ordered  the  drums  to  be  beaten, 
and  the  secretary's  voice  was  drowned. 
"Silence!"  cried  Fletcher;  "begin  again 
)vith  the  commission."  "  Music !  music !  " 
ordered  Wadsworth,  the  same  man  who  had 
hid  the  charter  from  Governor  Andros.  The 
drummers  began  again,  and  the  governor,  in 
a  rage,  ordered  them  to  cease  their  music. 
Wadsworth  sharply  commanded  the  bewil- 
dered musicians  to  go  on  with  their  drum- 
ming, and  then  turning  upon  Fletcher,  said 
to  him  fiercely  :  "  If  I  am  interrupted  again, 
I  will  make  daylight  shine  through  you." 
The  voice  and  manner  of  the  man  con- 
vinced the  governor  that  he  was  in  earnest, 
and  he  went  back  to  New  York,  satisfied  of 
the  impossibility  of  bringing  the  Connecticut 
militia  under  his  orders. 


New  York  was  the  most  northern  colony 
in  which  the  authority  of  the  Church  of 
England  was  established.  A  number  of  its 
people  were  members  of  that  communion, 
and  in  the  colonial  government  the  influence 
of  that  church  was  predominant.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  people,  however,  were  hostile 
to  it,  and  it  was  not  until  1695  that  Governor 
Fletcher  was  able  to  obtain  for  it  anything 
like  favor  from  the  assembly.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  were  fearful  that  if 
It  obtained  a  firm  footing  among  them,  the 
British  government  might  bestow  upon  it  a 
power  which  would  be  dangerous  to  the 
other  denominations.  Naturally  it  enjoyed 
the  favor  of  the  home  government,  and 
engrossed  all  the  provision  made  by  England 
for  religious  matters  in  the  colony. 

Struggle  for  Liberty. 

Lord  Cornbury,  the  royal  governor,  at- 
tempted in  1705  to  silence  a  Presbyterian 
minister  for  preaching  without  a  license  from 
the  governor ;  but  a  jury,  composed  of 
Episcopalians,  acquitted  the  prisoner.  The 
same  governor  connived  at  the  seizure  by 
the  Episcopalians  of  a  church  in  Jamaica, 
which  had  been  built  by  the  whole  town ; 
but  the  colonial  court  restored  it  to  its 
rightful  owners.  The  spirit  of  popular  lib- 
erty and  toleration  was  growing  rapidly  in 
New  York,  and  its  colonial  history  is  the 
story  of  a  constant  struggle  between  the 
people  and  the  royal  governors  for  the  asser- 
tion and  maintenance  of  their  rights.  Nearly 
all  the  governors  regarded  their  position  as 
but  a  means  of  enriching  themselves,  and 
systematically  defrauded  both  the  king  and 
the  colony. 

By  1732  the  population  of  New  York  City 
numbered  a  little  less  than  nine  thousand 
souls.  In  that  year  a  case  of  the  deepest 
interest  occurred  in  that  city.  John  Peter 
Zenger  had  established  a  newspaper  called 


214 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


the  Weekly  Journal,  which  ventured  to  cen- 
sure the  arbitrary  action  of  the  governor  and 
assembly  in  levying  illegal  taxes  upon  the 
colony.  This  was  a  bold  step,  for  until  now 
no  newspaper  had  dared  to  criticise  the 
action  of  the  government.  Cosby,  the  gov- 
ernor of  New  York,  resolving  to  make  an 
example  of  the  offender,  arrested  Zenger  on 
the  charge  of  libel  and  caused  his  paper  to 
be  publicly  burned.  Zenger  employed  two 
lawyers  to  defend  him,  and  these  increased 
the  anger  of  the  government  by  denying  the 
competency  of  the  court,  inasmuch  as  the 
appointment  of  the  chief  justice,  Delancy, 
had  been  made  by  Cosby  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  council,  and  was  therefore  illegal. 
The  court  at  once  struck  their  names  from 
its  list  of  attorneys,  and  this  arbitrary  action 
so  intimidated  the  remaining  members  of 
Ihe  bar  that  Zenger  found  it  impossible  to 
iprocure  counsel. 

Famous  "  Quaker  Lawyer. 

In  this  helpless  condition  he  was  put  on 
<r»al,  and  the  court  had  actually  begun  its 
proceedings  when  a  stranger,  a  venerable 
and  noble-looking  man,  entered  the  room 
■'And  took  his  seat  at  the  bar.  He  announced 
his  name  to  the  court,  and  stated  that  he  had 
<:ome  to  act  as  counsel  for  the  prisoner.  A 
murmur  of  admiration  greeted  the  announce- 
ment of  his  name.  He  was  Andrew  Hamilton, 
speaker  of  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
femous  "Quaker  lawyer"  of  Philadelphia. 
In  the  trial  which  ensued,  Hamilton  offered 
»o  prove  the  truth  of  the  alleged  libel,  but 


was  not  allowed  to  do  so  ;  the  chief  justice 
quoting  English  precedents  in  support  of  his 
decision. 

Hamilton  then  made  an  eloquent  appeal 
to  the  jury,  declaring  that  they  of  their 
own  knowledge  knew  the  statements  of 
Zenger's  paper  to  be  true,  and  urged  them 
to  maintain  the  great  principles  of  the  free- 
dom of  the  press  and  liberty  of  speech 
throughout  the  colonies,  which  principles, 
and  not  John  Peter  Zenger,  he  solemnly 
declared  were  on  trial  before  them.  In  spite 
of  the  unfavorable  charge  of  the  judge,  the 
jury  brought  in  a  unanimous  verdict  of  ac- 
quittal, which  was  announcedamid  the  cheers 
of  the  people.  Thus  while  the  freedom  of 
the  press  was  still  in  doubt  in  England,  and 
thirty-seven  years  before  the  famous  trial  for 
libel  of  the  publisher  of  the  Letters  Junius 
established  it  in  the  mother  country,  the 
people  of  New  York  declared  themselves  its 
guardians,  and  struck  down  the  effort  of  the 
royal  power  to  impose  shackles  upon  their 
most  vigilant  defender. 

In  1702  the  proprietaries  of  New  Jersey 
surrendered  their  rights  of  jurisdiction  to  the 
crown,  and  Queen  Anne  united  the  two  Jer- 
seys in  one  province,  and  placed  it  under  the 
governor  of  New  York.  It  was  given  a  sep- 
arate assembly,  but  this  concession  of  partial 
independence  of  its  neighbor  did  not  suit  the 
province,  and  after  many  protests  it  was 
given  its  own  governor  in  the  person  of 
Lewis  Morris,  in  1 708.  During  the  rest  of 
the  colonial  period  it  remained  a  loyal 
province 


CHAPTl-IR  XVII 

Colonization   u(  Pennsylvania 

rhe  Quakers— Tkeir  Origin  and  Doctrines— William  Peiin— Becomes  a  Quaker— Is  Persecuted  for  His  Religious 
Opinions— Becomes  Interested  in  American  Colouuation— Purchases  West  Jersey  from  the  Proprietor- Conceives  the 
Idea  of  Founding  a  Free  Stale  in  America— Purchases  Pennsylvania  from  Charles  1 1.— Conditions  of  His  Charter- 
Sends  Out  a  Colony— Arrival  of  Penn  in  America— Philadelphia  Founded— Penn's  Treaty  with  the  Indians— Religious 
Toleration  Guaranteed— Penn's  Relations  with  His  Colonists— Rapid  Growth  of  Pennsylvania  in  Population  and 
Prosperity— William  Penn  and  James  II  —Renewal  of  Penn's  Troubles— William  HI.  Declares  Pennsylvania  a  Royal 
Province— Penn  is  Vindicated  and  Restored  to  His  Proprietary  Rights— His  Return  to  Pennsylvania— Character  of 
the  Settlers  of  the  Province— Penn  Goes  Back  to  England— Efforts  to  Deprive  Him  of  His  Possessions— His  Death. 


ONE  of  the  most  remarkable  results 
of  the  English  Reformation  -ivas 
the  rise  and  growth  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  as  they 
came  to  be  called.  Discarding  what  seemed 
to  them  superfluous  and  unnecessary  forms 
in  religion,  they  confined  themselves  to  a 
simpler  and  more  primitive  expression  of 
their  faith.  Believing  that  the  only  evil  a 
Christian  should  resist  is  the  evil  of  his  own 
heart,  they  opposed  no  resistance  to  perse- 
cution or  to  ill-treatment  from  their  fellow- 
men ;  and  as  servants  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  were  unchangeably  opposed  to  war  and 
bloodshed.  They  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity :  that  we  obtain  salvation  by  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ ;  that  man  was  cre- 
ated a  free  and  responsible  agent;  that  he 
forfeited  his  right  to  the  blessings  of  the 
Creator  by  his  fall,  and  will  owe  his  restor- 
ation to  his  lost  estate  to  the  mercy  of  God 
and  the  blood  of  Christ;  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  are  the  work  of  inspiration,  and  a 
good  rule  of  life  and  faith. 

With  them  the  test  of  Christianity  was  not 
a  man's  standing  in  the  church,  but  the 
answer  of  a  good  conscience ;  the  sense  of 
true  inward  communion  between  the  soul  of 
the  individual  and  God.  They  conducted 
their   worship    in    silence,   and  regarded  all 


their  members  as  sent  by  God  to  preach  His 
Gospel;  therefore, any  one, even  women,  was 
free  to  speak  in  their  meetings  the  message 
which  came  to  him  from  the  Holy  Spirit. 
They  denied  that  the  right  to  preach  was 
restricted  to  any  particular  class,  and  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  regular 
clergy.  Oaths  were  regarded  as  unlawful 
for  Christian  men,  and  temperance  and  the 
utmost  simplicity  in  all  things  were  enjoined 
upon  their  people.  They  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  social  distinctions  which  prevailed 
in  the  world,  though  they  admitted  the 
power  of  the  magistrates  to  enforce  the  !aws, 
and  regarded  all  men  as  equals.  Their  drcss 
was  simple  and  in  proportion  to  the  means 
of  the  wearer,  and  their  lives  were  blame- 
less. They  admitted  the  right  of  all  men  to 
worship  God  in  their  own  w-ay,  and  thus 
extended  to  all  others  the  perfect  toleration 
they  claimed  for  themselves. 

The  founder  of  this  sect  was  the  good 
George  Fox,  the  son  of  a  weaver  of  Leices- 
tershire, and  "  by  his  mother  descended 
from  the  stock  of  the  martyrs."  He  began 
to  teach  his  doctrines  about  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  at  first  his 
converts  were  people  of  the  himibler  classes 
of  England.  He  was  met  with  a  determined 
opposition  from  both  the  established  church 


2l6 


SETTLEMENT    OF   AMERICA. 


and  the  Presbyterians,  and  was  imprisoned, 
set  in  the  stocks,  cruelly  beaten  and  other- 
wise persecuted,  and  driven  from  place  to 
place.  Yet  he  persevered,  and  his  doctrines 
began  to  spread.  Distressed  by  the  perse- 
cutions to  which  his  followers  were  sub- 
jected, he  visited  America  after  the  restora- 
tion of  Charles  II.,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
there  a  place  of  refuge  for  his  people,  but 
could  find  none.  Puritan  New  England  was 
hostile  to  his  doctrines,  and  the  power  of 
the  Church  of  England  was  strong  enough 
in  the  southern  colonies  to  defeat  his  object. 

The  Founder  of  Pennsylvania. 

Among  Fox's  converts  were  a  few  from 
the  higher  classes  of  English  society.  One 
of  these  was  destined  to  be,  next  to  its 
founder,  the  greatest  benefactor  of  his  faith, 
and  one  of  the  choice  instruments  of  the 
Almighty  in  the  settlement  and  Christianiza- 
tion  of  America.  This  was  William  Penn. 
He  was  the  son  and  heir  of  Admiral  Sir 
William  Penn,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
naval  commanders  of  England.  The  admiral 
desired  for  his  son  the  advantages  which  his 
high  position  would  readily  secure  to  him,  but 
the  young  man  at  an  early  day,  happening  to 
converse  with  a  simple-minded  Quaker, 
became  so  deeply  impressed  with  his  prin- 
ciples that  he  adopted  them  as  his  own. 
This  greatly  annoyed  the  father,  but  suppos- 
ing that  it  was  a  mere  boyish  notion  which 
his  son  would  outgrow,  William  was  sent  to 
study  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  after 
leaving  that  institution  was  made  to  travel 
through  Europe  to  improve  his  mind  and  to 
remove  his  tendency  to  Quakerism. 

William  returned  to  England,  after  an 
absence  of  two  years,  greatly  improved  in 
mind,  but  still  true  to  his  religious  convic- 
tions. In  1666,  while  traveling  in  Ireland, 
Penn  met  his  old  friend,  Thomas  Loe,  and 
heard  him  speak  of  the  glorious  triumph  of 


the  faith  of  a  Christian  over  the  adversities 
of  the  world.  His  enthusiasm  was  once 
more  awakened  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
from  that  moment  began  to  seek  to  draw 
others  into  the  communion  which  had  given 
him  so  much  happiness.  His  course  gave 
offence  to  the  authorities  and  he  was  impris- 
oned. He  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  the 
viceroy  of  Ireland,  in  which  he  declared  : 
"  Religion  is  my  crime  and  my  innocence ; 
it  makes  me  a  prisoner  to  malice,  but  my 
own  freeman." 

Being  liberated,  he  went  back  home,  but 
only  to  meet  with  mockery  and  persecution. 
He  was  ridiculed  by  his  companions  of  his 
own  rank  in  life,  and  it  was  a  common  jest 
in  society,  says  Pepys,  that  "  William  Penn 
was  a  Quaker  again,  or  some  very  melan- 
choly thing."  His  father,  disappointed  and 
indignant  at  the  failure  of  his  hopes,  turned 
him  out  of  his  house  without  a  penny;  but 
his  mother,  truer  to  her  nature,  supplied  him 
with  sufficient  funds  to  relieve  his  most 
pressing  wants. 

Thrust  Into  Prison. 

Penn  now  began  to  defend  his  doctrines 
through  the  press,  and  thus  brought  them 
into  greater  prominence.  This  soon  made 
him  the  victim  of  the  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties, and  the  Bishop  of  London  threatened 
him  with  imprisonment  for  life  if  he  did  not 
recant  his  doctrines.  He  answered  firmly  : 
"  Then  my  prison  shall  be  my  grave."  He 
was  committed  to  the  Tower  on  a  charge  of 
heresy  and  kept  in  close  confinement. 
Charles  II.,  naturally  kind-hearted,  was 
touched  by  his  firmness,  and  sent  the  learned 
Stillingfleet,  himself  a  man  of  humanity,  to 
reason  with  him.  "  The  Tower,"  said  Penn, 
"  is  to  me  the  worst  argument  in  the  world." 
At  the  end  of  a  year  his  father's  friend,  the 
Duke  of  York,  procured  his  release,  fo(-  the 
consistency  of  the  v^oung  man  had  won  back 


COLONIZATION    OF 

for   him   the  affection  and   sympathy  of  the 
stern  old  admiral. 

Every    etibrt   was    now    made    to    draw 
William  Penn  away  from  his  faith.     A  high 
rank  in  the  royal  navy,  the  favor  of  the  king, 
and  many  other  inducements  were  held  out 
to  him,  but  he  refused  them  all  and  remained 
true  to  his  principles.  In 
less  than  a  year  after  his 
release  from  the  Tower 
he  was  arrested  for  hav- 
ing spoken  at  a  Quaker 
meeting.     He  protested 
his  right  to  do  this  and 
declared  that  no  power 
on  earth  should  prevent 
him  from  worshiping  the 
God  who  made  him. 

He  was  placed  on  trial 
foi  his  offence,  and  bold- 
ly demanded  to  know  on 
what  law  the  indictment 
against  him  was  founded. 
'  On  the  common  law," 
replied  the  recordei. 
"  Where  is  that  law?  " 
asked  Penn.  "  The  law 
which  is  not  in  being,  fai 
from  being  common,  is 
no  law  at  all."  He  con- 
ducted his  own  defence, 
and  as  he  was  pleading 
earnestly  for  his  rights 
as  an  Englishman,  was 
hurried  out  of  court.  He 
appealed  to  the  jury  to 
remember  that  they  were 
his  judges.  The  jury, 
in  spite  of  an  unfavor- 
able charge  from  the  judge,  brought  in  a 
verdict  of  acquittal.  The  court  ordered 
them  back  to  their  room,  with  the  angry 
declaration  :  "  We  will  have  a  verdict,  by 
the  help  of  God,  or  you  shall   starve  for  it." 


PENNSYLVANIA.  217 

"  You  are  Englishmen,"  cried  Penn  to  the 
jurors,  as  they  were  retiring:  "mind  your 
pi  ivilegc  ;  give  not  away  your  right." 

At  last,  after  being  kept  two  days  and 
nights  without  food,  the  jury  repeated  their 
verdict  of  "  not  guilt}-,"  and  were  fined 
by  the  court  for  daring  to  assert  their  inde- 


WILI.I.^M    PENN. 

pendence.  Penn  was  fined  for  contempt  ol 
court,  and  sent  back  to  prison.  His  fine  was 
soon  discharged  by  his  father,  who  died 
shortly  afterwards.  "  Son  William."  said 
the  dving  admiral,  to  whom  earthly  honors 


SETTLEMENT    OF   AMERICA. 


now  appeared  in  their  true  light,  "  if  you 
and  your  friends  keep  to  your  plain  way  of 
preaching  and  living,  you  will  make  an  end 
of  the  priests." 

Penn  was  now  nearly  twenty-six  years 
old,  and  had  inherited  from  his  father  a 
handsome  estate.  He  continued  to  explain 
and  defend  his  doctrines  through  the  press, 
and  in  1671  was  arrested  and  sentenced  to 
six  months'  imprisonment  in  Newgate. 
From  his  prison  he  addressed  a  noble  plea 
to  Parliament  and  to  the  nation  for  tolera- 
tion in  all  matters  of  faith. 

The  Wife  of  Penn. 

Upon  his  release  from  prison,  Penn  trav- 
elled in  Holland  and  Germany,  and  upon  his 
return  to  England,  in  1673,  married  a  woman 
of  great  beauty,  whose  noble  character  ren- 
dered her  a  fitting  companion  to  him.  He 
took  no  part  in  public  affairs  until  the 
imprisonment  of  George  Fox,  upon  his 
return  to  England  to  America,  called  him 
once  more  to  the  defence  of  his  brethren. 
Fox  being  released,  he  and  Penn  and  several 
others  travelled  through  Holland  and  a  part 
of  Germany,  seeking  to  make  converts  to 
their  faitli — an  effort  in  which  th.ey  were 
very  successful  among  the  Dutch  and  Ger- 
man peasantry.  Returning  to  England,  he 
once  more  appealed  to  Parliament,  but  with- 
out success,  to  do  justice  to  the  Quakers, 
and  grant  them  the  toleration  to  which  they 
were  entitled. 

Despairing  of  success  in  England,  Penn 
.low  directed  the  whole  of  his  energies  to 
securing  a  home  for  his  persecuted  brethren 
in  the  new  world.  A  number  of  Quakers 
were  already  settled  along  the  banks  of  the 
Delaware  and  in  New  Jersey,  and  in  1675 
the  embarrassments  of  Edward  Byllinge,  who 
had  purchased  Lord  Berkeley's  mterest  in 
New  Jersey,  obliged  him  to  sell  his  share  of 
that  province.    It  was  purchased  by  William 


Penn,  Gawen  Lourie  and  Nicholas  Lucas, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Quaker.':  This  placed 
the  Friends  in  possession  of  an  asylum,  but 
it  left  them  more  at  the  mercy  of  the  English 
government  and  church  than  they  desired  to 
be,  and  New  Jersey  was  divided  into  two 
equal  parts ;  Cartaret,  Berkeley's  former 
partner,  retaining  East  Jersey,  and  West 
Jersey  becoming  the  property  of  the 
Quakers. 

The  People  Rule. 

This  was  accomplished  in  1676,  and  in 
March  of  the  following  year  a  government 
resting  upon  the  will  of  the  people,  and 
securing  to  the  inhabitants  protection  and 
equality  in  all  their  political  and  religious 
rights  and  privileges,  was  set  up  in  West 
Jersey.  The  English  Quakers  came  over  to 
the  new  province  in  great  numbers,  with  the 
good  wishes  of  Charles  H.,  and  peaceful 
relations  were  established  with  the  Lidians. 
Byllinge,  who  had  retained  some  interest  in 
the  province,  now  began  to  be  troublesome, 
and  claimed  the  right  to  nominate  the  deputy 
governor.  The  people  denied  his  claim,  and 
at  the  instigation  of  William  Penn,  amended 
their  constitution  so  as  to  place  the  choice 
of  all  their  oflRcers  in  their  own  hands,  and 
then  elected  a  governor. 

Penn  had  now  become  deeply  interested 
in  the  colonization  of  America,  and  wished 
to  secure  for  his  faith  a  wider  domain  than 
West  Jersey.  He  had  inherited  from  his 
father  a  claim  against  the  English  govern- 
ment amounting  to  sixteen  thousand  pounds. 
He  now  proposed  to  exchange  this  claim  for 
a  grant  of  territory  in  America.  Charles  II., 
who  was  alwa\-s  in  want  of  money,  and  who 
never  set  much  value  upon  the  lands  of  the 
new  world,  readily  accepted  his  offer,  as  it 
was  urged  by  Lords  North,  Halifax  and 
Sunderland,  and  the  Duke  of  York,  who 
were   firm    friends   of  William    Penn.     The 


COLONIZATION    UF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


219 


king,  in  1G81,  granted  to  Penn  a  district 
lying  west  of  the  Delaware  River,  and  corre- 
sponding very  nearly  to  territory  embraced 
in  the  present  state  of  Pennsyh-ania,  which 
name  the  king  bestowed  upon  it  in  honor  of 
the  proprietor. 

The  Duke  of  York  claimed  Delaware  as 
his  own  property,  and  Penn,  who  wished  to 
have  free  access  to  the  sea,  purchased  it  of 
him  the  next  year.  The  territory  was  granted 
to  Penn  as  absolute  proprietor;  the  people 
were  secured  in  the  right  of  self-government; 
religious  equality  was  guaranteed  to  all ;  the 
acts  of  the  colonial  legislature  were  to  be 
submitted  to  the  king  and  council,  who  had 
the  power  to  annul  them  if  contrary  to  the 
law  of  England ;  the  power  of  levying 
customs  was  reserved  to  Parliament ;  and  no 
taxes  were  to  be  imposed  upon  the  people 
save  by  the  colonial  legislature  or  by  Parlia- 
ment. 

Settlers  Throng  the  Wilderness. 

Penn  then  invited  all  persons  who  desired 
to  do  so  to  settle  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  a 
proclamation  declared  his  intention  to  leave 
the  settlers  free  to  make  their  own  laws.  "  I 
propose,"  he  said,  "to  leave  m}-selfand  suc- 
cessors no  power  of  doing  mischief,  that  the 
will  of  no  one  man  may  hinder  the  good  of  a 
whole  country."  " God,"  he  declared,  "has 
furnished  me  with  a  better  resolution,  and  has 
given  me  His  grace  to  keep  it." 

His  resolution  was  soon  tested.  Soon 
after  he  obtained  his  patent  a  company  of 
traders  offered  him  six  thousand  pounds  and 
an  annual  payment  of  a  stipulated  sum  for 
the  monopoly  of  the  Indian  traffic  between 
the  Delaware  and  the  Susquehanna.  He 
had  already  straitened  himself  very  much  by 
his  expenditures  for  his  colony,  and  his 
family  had  been  obliged  to  endure  some 
deprivations  in  consequence.  The  offer  was 
tempting,  but   he  declined  it  firmly.     What 


was  free  to  him  should  be  free  to  every 
inhabitant  of  Pennsylvania,  and  he  would 
derive  no  advantage  at  the  expense  of  his 
people. 

Liberal    Education. 

A  company  was  collected  and  sent  out  to 
Pennsylvania,  under  William  Markham, 
Penn's  nephew,  and  the  personal  character 
of  the  proprietor  of  the  colony  was  deencd 
by  all  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  liberties.  Penn  intended  fol- 
lowing this  company  as  soon  as  he  could, 
and  in  the  meantime  enjoined  Markham  to 
continue  the  establishment  already  existing 
along  the  Delaware,  and  to  govern  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  of  England.  In  1682  he 
prepared  to  go  out  to  America  to  superin- 
tend the  formal  establishment  of  his  colony. 
As  he  was  about  to  sail,  he  wrote  to  his 
wife,  to  whom  he  was  devoted  with  all  the 
ardor  of  his  youth :  "  Live  low  and  spar- 
ingly till  my  debts  be  paid  ;  I  desire  not 
riches,  but  to  owe  nothing;  be  liberal  to  the 
poor  and  kind  to  all."  With  regard  to  their 
children,  he  wrote:  "  Let  their  learning  be 
liberal ;  spare  no  cost,  for  by  such  parsimony 
all  is  lost  that  is  saved." 

Penn  took  out  with  him  one  hundred 
emigrants,  and  reached  Newcastle  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  October,  1682,  after  a  long 
and  trying  voyage.  In  the  presence  of  the 
Swedish,  Dutch  and  English  settlers,  who 
welcomed  him  with  joy,  he  took  formal  pos- 
session of  the  province,  which  was  surren- 
dered to  him  by  the  agents  of  the  Duke  of 
York.  He  pledged  himself  to  the  people  to 
grant  them  liberty  of  conscience  and  all  their 
civil  privileges.  From  Newcastle  Penn  went 
up  the  river  to  Chester,  where  a  settlement 
had  been  formed  by  emigrants  from  the 
north  of  England,  who  had  preceded  him. 

Early  in  November,  accompanied  by  a  few 
friends.  Penn  ascended   the  Delaware  in  an. 


COLONIZATION    OF    PKNNSVLVANIA. 


open  boat  to  the  mouth  of  the  Schuylkill,  1 
and  passing  a  little  distance  beyond  this, 
landed  on  the  beautiful  site  now  occupied  by 
the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  place  at 
which  he  landed  was  long  known  as  the 
"  Blue  Anchor  Landnig,"  from  a  ta\  ern  of 
that  name  which  stood  there.  A  little  later, 
under  a  spreading  elm,  Penn  met  the  chiefs 
of  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes  and  entered 
into  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  with 
them.  This  treaty  was  confirmed  by  no 
oath,  but  it  remained  unbroken  for  fifiy 
years,  and  as  neither  side  sought  to  evade  its 
obligations,  which  were  simply  cjf  peace  and 
good  will,  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania 
escaped  in  its  earlier  years  the  horrors  of  a 
savage  warfare  from  which  the  other  settlers 
suffered.  "  We  ^\i\\  live,"  said  the  Indian 
sachems,  "  in  lo\e  with  William  Penn  and 
his  children  as  long  as  the  moon  and  the 
sun  shall  endure."  They  kept  their  word. 
"  Penn  came  without  arms  ;  he  declared  his 
purpose  to  abstain  from  violence  ;  he  had  no 
message  but  peace ;  and  not  a  drop  of 
Quaker  blood  was  ever  shed  by  an  Indian." 
The  scene  of  the  treaty  was  at  Shacka- 
maxon.  now  Kensington,  in  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia. 

Philadelphia  Laid  Out. 

On  the  pleasant  tract  lying  between  the 
Delaware  and  the  Schuylkill,  which  was 
purchased  from  the  Swedes,  who  had  on 
their  part  purchased  it  from  the  Indians, 
Penn  in  i''i.S3  laid  out  the  capital  of  his 
province,  which  he  named  Philadelphia, 
the  City  of  Brotherly  Love,  in  token  of  the 
principles  which  he  meant  should  constitute 
the  common  law  of  his  possessions.  It  was 
abundantly  supplied  with  streams  of  pure 
water  and  w,is  admirably  situated  for  pur- 
poses of  trade.  He  did  not  wish  it  to  be 
built  after  the  manner  of  European  cities, 
but    designed    it   to   be    a   "  greene  country 


town,  gardens  round  each  house,  that  it 
might  never  be  burned,  and  always  be 
wholesome."  The  streets  were  laid  off  by 
marking  their  course  through  the  primitive 
forest  by  blazing  the  trees,  and  the  building 
of  dwellings  was  begun.  In  the  first  year 
of  Penn's  arrival  in  the  colony  twenty-three 
ships  with  emigrants  arrived  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  three  years  after  its  foundation  Philadel- 
phia contained  upwards  of  six  hundred 
houses,  and  the  colony  had  a  population  of 
ten  thousand.  The  Indians  proved  the  firm 
friends  of  the  colonists  and  supplied  them 
with  wild  fowl  and  venison  in  return  for 
articles  of  European  manufacture. 


PENN    TREATY    MONUMENT. 

Penn  from  the  first  refused  to  retain  m  his 
hands  the  exercise  of  the  vast  powers  with 
which  the  charter  granted  him  by  the  king 
invested  him.  As  early  as  December,  1682, 
he  convened  a  general  convention  of  the 
people  and  gave  them  a  charter  of  liberties 
which  Bancroft  thus  sums  up  :  "  God  was 
declared  the  only  Lord  of  conscience ;  the 
first  day  of  the  week  was  reserved  as  a  day 
of  leisure,  for  the  ease  of  the  creation.  The 
rule  of  equality  was  introduced  into  families 
by  abrogating  the  privileges  of  primogeni- 
ture.      The    word     of  an    honest  man  was 


SETTLEMENT    OF   AMERICA. 


evidence  without  an  oath.  The  mad  spirit 
of  speculation  was  checked  by  a  system  of 
strict  accountability,  applied  to  factors  and 
agents. 

"  Every  man  liable  to  civil  burdens  pos- 
sessed the  right  of  suffrage;  and,  without 
regard  to  sect,  every  Christian  was  eligible  to 
office.  No  tax  or  custom  could  be  levied 
but  by  law.  The  Quaker  is  a  spiritualist ; 
thepleasur        t*  ^        ni-isks  rev  els  and 


THE    OLD    SWEDES     CHURCH,    BUILT    IN    I04 


stage  plays,  not  less  than  bull-baits  and 
cock-fights,  were  prohibited.  Murder  was 
the  only  crime  punishable  by  death.  Mar- 
riage was  esteemed  a  civil  contract ;  adultery 
a  felony.  The  Quakers  had  suffered  wrong 
from  imprisonment ;  the  false  accuser  was 
liable  to  double  damages.  Every  prison  for 
convicts  was  made  a  workhouse.  There 
were    neither    poor-rates    nor    tithes.       The 


Swedes,  and  Finns,  and  Dutch  were  invested 
with  the  liberties  of  Englishmen."  *  In 
March,  1683,  the  first  general  assembly  of 
Pennsylvania  met  at  Philadelphia.  "  I  am 
ready."  said  Penn  to  this  body,  "to  settle 
such  foundations  as  may  be  for  your  happi- 
ness." 

Under  the  guidance  of  the  founder  of  the 
colony,  the  assembly  established  a  constitu- 
tion which  made   Pennsylvania  emphatically 
a  free  state.      A  government  was  es- 
tablished, consisting  of  a  governor,  a 
legislative   council    and  an  assembly 
composed  of  representatives    of    the 
\  people.    As  the  charter  made  the  pro- 

\  prietor  responsible  to  the  king  for  the 
1  legislation  of  the  colony,  no  act  of 
legislation  was  to  be  valid  until  it  had 
^  passed  the  great  seal  of  the  province. 
With  this  exception,  the  entire 
power  of  the  province  was  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  people.  "  But  for  the 
^  hereditary  office  of  proprietary,  Penn- 
sylvania had  been  a  representative 
democracy.  In  Maryland  the  council 
was  named  by  Lord  Baltimore ;  in 
Pennsylvania,  by  the  people.  In 
Maryland,  the  power  of  appointing 
magistrates,  and  all,  even  the  subor- 
dinate executive  officers,  rested  solely 
with  the  proprietary;  in  Pennsylvania, 
William  Penn  could  not  appoint  a 
justice  or  a  constable;  every  executive 
officer,  except  the  highest,  was  elected 
by  the  people  or  their  representatives  ; 
and  the  governor  could  perform  no  public  act 
but  with  the  consent  of  the  council.  Lord 
Baltimore  had  a  revenue  derived  from  the 
export  of  tobacco,  the  staple  of  Maryland ; 
and  his  colony  was  burdened  with  taxes;  a 
similar  revenue  was  offered  to  William  Penn 
and  declined,  and  tax-gatherers  were  un- 
known in  his  province." 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  p.  385. 


COLONIZATION   OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 


223 


Thus  did  the  "Quaker  King"  complete 
one  of  the  sublimest  surrenders  of  political 
power  in  all  the  annals  of  history.  "  I  de- 
sired," he  said,  in  his  grand  simplicicy,  "  to 
show  men  as  free  and  happy  as  they  can  be." 

The  colony  improved  rapidly.  Men  were 
attracted  from  all  parts  of  Great  Britain, 
from  Ireland,  the  Low  countries,  from  Ger- 
many and  Sweden,  to  Pennsylvania.  The 
personal  character  of  William  Penn,  not  less 
•than  the  advantasjes  afforded  them,  induced 


Lord  Baltimore  claimed  Delaware  as  a  part 
of  the  country  granted  to  him.  Penn  sus- 
tained his  claim  to  that  region  by  pleading 
the  actual  settlement  of  the  Dutch  previous 
to  the  grant  to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  his  pur 
chase  of  the  rights  which  the  Duke  of  York 
had  derived  from  the  Dutch.  The  English 
courts  decided,  in  1685,  that  Delaware  did 
not  constitute  a  part  of  Maryland  and  sus- 
tained Penn's  claim.  The  boundaries  of  the 
two  colonies  were  settled  by  a  compromise. 


2-^^'' 
,-^'-^ , 


^•fe'j^&t 


INDI.\N    AMUSEMENTS CANOE-RACE    BETWEEN    syUAW- 


them  to  settle  m  the  happy  colony.  Phila- 
delphia especially  grew  with  rapidity,  and 
already  gave  promise  of  becoming  the  prin- 
cipal city  of  colonial  America.  Schools 
were  opened  and  liberally  encouraged,  for 
ignorance  had  no  advocates  in  this  thrifty 
community.  The  printing  press  was  also 
set  up  and  put  to  work.  In  August,  1684, 
Penn,  having  successfully  established  his 
colony,  took  leave  of  his  people  and  returned 
to  England 


During  Penn's  absence  in  England  rhe 
people  of  Delaware  began  to  be  restless. 
They  presented  to  the  proprietary  a  list  of 
grievances,  and  were  granted  b\-  Penn  a  sep- 
arate government. 

The  fall  of  James  II.,  who  continued  the 
friend  of  William  Penn,  though  so  widely 
opposed  to  him  in  religion,  was  the  beginning 
of  trouble  for  the  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania. 
Penn  did  not  relinquish  his  friendship  for  the 
dethroned  king,  and  his  enemies  made  this 


224 


SETTLEMENT    OF   A:\IERICA. 


constancy,  which  in  no  way  interfered  with 
his  lo}'alty  to  William  and  Mary,  the  means 
of  injuring  him  in  the  estimation  of  the  new 
king.  William  was  induced  to  believe  the 
charges  of  disloyalty  which  were  brought 
against  Penn,  and  deprived  him  of  his  patent 
and  proprietorship  of  Pennsylvania.  Penn 
was  also  imprisoned  several  times  for  dis- 
loyalt}'. 

Absurd  Teachings. 

During  this  period  the  colony  was  much 
annoyed  by  a  disturbance  led  by  one  George 
Keith,  who  pushed  the  Quaker  doctrine  of 
non-resistance  to  the  verge  of  absurdity.  He 
argued  that  no  Quaker  could  with  consist- 
ency take  part  in  public  affairs  as  a  magis- 
trate or  legislator.  As  the  liberties  of  the 
colony  were  the  work  of  Quakers  the  infer- 
ence was  plain.  If  Keith  was  right,  then 
Pennsylvania  had  no  lawful  government,  and 
must  apply  to  the  king  for  one.  Keith  pro- 
duced such  trouble  in  the  colony  that 
even  the  tolerant  Quakers  were  at  length 
obliged  to  lay  hands  on  him.  He  was  tried 
and  fined  for  using  seditious  language ;  but 
lest  their  action  should  seem  to  be  a  punish- 
ment of  opinion  the  Quaker  magistrates 
remitted  the  fine.  He  subsequently  became 
a  clergyman  of  the  English  church. 

This  disturbance  gave  the  king  a  pretext 
for  declaring  Pennsylvania  a  royal  province, 
and  in  April,  1693,  Benjamin  Fletcher  was 
appointed  by  William  and  Mary  governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  which  province  Delaware 
was  reunited.  The  people,  indignant  at  this 
invasion  of  their  rights,  attempted  no  resist- 
ance, but  refused  to  recognize  the  royalist 
governor. 

Some  of  the  magistrates  resigned  their 
offices  upon  his  arrival.  Upon  the  meeting 
of  the  assembly  the  hostility  to  Fletcher 
increased.  The  members  of  the  assembly 
declared  the  laws  they  had  made  under  the 
charter     granted    to   Penn  to  be    \alid,  and 


refused  to  have  new  ones,  or  recogn'ze  any 
other  authority.  A  charter  granted  by  King 
Charles  was,  they  maintained,  as  valid  as  one 
granted  b\'  King  William,  and  they  refused  to 
re-enact  their  old  laws,  as  such  a  course  would 
be  to  brand  them  as  illegal.  Fletcher  de- 
manded that  the  assembly  should  appropriate 
a  sum  for  the  defence  of  New  York  against 
the  Indians.  His  demand  was  flatly  refused. 
The  assembly  was  willing,  however,  to  make 
an  appropriation  for  the  relief  of  the  people 
of  New  York  who  had  suffered  by  this  war, 
but  only  upon  condition  that  this  sum  should 
be  disbursed  by  officers  of  its  own  appoint- 
ment. Fletcher  refused  to  consent  to  this 
condition,  as  he  regarded  it  as  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  king's  prerogative,  and  the 
assembly  was  dissolved,  A.  D.  1694. 

Penn's    Misfortunes. 

In  the  meantime  Penn  had  been  restored 
to  his  proprietary  rights.  The  king  ex- 
pressed himself  satisfied  of  his  innocence, 
which  was  established  before  the  council, 
and  in  Augu.st,  1694,  the  patent  for  his 
restoration  was  formally  issued.  Penn  was 
anxious  to  return  to  Pennsylvania,  but  was 
detained  in  England  by  his  inability  to  raise 
the  funds  necessary  for  the  voyage.  He  had 
spent  a  large  part  of  his  fortune  in  planting 
the  colony,  and  the  persecutions  and  annoy- 
ances to  which  he  had  been  subjected  in 
England  had  caused  him  great  loss.  Nor 
was  this  his  only  trouble.  His  wife  and 
eldest  son  had  died  during  his  trials,  and 
some  whom  he  had  imagined  his  friends  in 
his  prosperity  had  in  his  adversity  shown 
themselves  his  enemies.  He  retained  his 
serenity  of  mind,  however,  and  persevered  in 
the  good  work  to  which  he  had  devoted  his 
life.  Being  unable  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  he 
sent  his  nephew,  Markham,  as  his  deput}-. 
Markham  summoned  an  assembly,  and  this 
bodv,    alarmed     at    the     recent    changes    in 


COLONIZATION   OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 


23S 


their  charter,  which  had  threatened  to 
deprive  them  of  their  poHtical  rights,  en- 
deavored to  provide  against  a  recurrence  of 
the  danger  by  assuming  the  power  of  fram- 
ing a  constitution  for  themselves.  The  assem- 
bly of  1696  made  still  further  changes,  and 
placed  the  control  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ment entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  people  by 
giving  them  the  election  of  all  the  officials 
of  the  province. 

Old  Charter  Discarded. 

Penn  returned  to  Pennsylvania  in  Novem- 
ber, 1699,  and  sanctioned  the  action  of  the 
people.  One  of  the  members  of  the  council 
proposed  that  they  should  make  a  constitu- 
tion that  should  be  "  firm  and  lasting "  to 
them  and  to  their  descendants.  "  Keep  what 
is  good  in  the  charter  and  frame  of  govern- 
ment,'' said  Penn ;  "  and  lay  aside  what  is 
burdensome,  and  add  what  m.ay  best  suit  the 
common  good."  It  was  agreed  by  all  par- 
ties that  it  would  be  best  to  surrender  the 
old  charter  and  frame  a  new  constitution. 
This  was  attended  with  considerable  diffi- 
culty, as  Delaware  dreaded  the  loss  of  its 
independence.  It  was  conciliated  by  being 
given  its  own  legislature,  but  was  under  the 
administration  of  the  governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  two  colonies  were  never  again 
united.  The  constitution  secured  to  the 
people  all  the  political  privileges  they 
claimed.  Penn,  whose  sole  desire  was  for 
the  welfare  of  the  colony,  held  back  nothing 
for  himself. 

Among  the  earliest  emigrants  to  Pennsyl- 
vania were  many  Germans,  who  had  been 
converted  to  the  Quaker  doctrines  by  Will- 
iam Penn  during  his  missionary  labors  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  They  settled  at 
Germantown,  to  which  they  gave  its  name. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century 
the  severe  wars  in  Europe  drove  out  large 
numbers  of  Germans  from  the  Rhine  valley. 


They  sought  refuge  in  England  at  first,  and 
from  that  country  passed  over  to  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  were  chiefly  Lutherans,  and 
members  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
They  settled  chiefly  in  the  southern  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  clung  together  instead 
of  separating,  thus  giving  to  this  part  of  the 
state  the  peculiar  characteristics  which  dis- 
tinguish it  to  the  present  day.  They  held 
aloof  from  the  English,  and  allowed  the 
German  language  alone  to  be  taught  to  their 
children.  They  attracted  other  settlers  from 
their  native  country,  and  the  region  occupied 
by  them  was  soon  thickly  settled,  and  was 
noted  as  one  of  the  best  cultivated  sections 
of  the  pro\-ince. 

Industrious  Settlers. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  a  large  emigration  from  the  north  of 
Ireland  and  from  Scotland  began  to  set  in, 
and  continued  for  some  years.  These  people 
were  nearly  all  Presbyterians  and  located 
themselves  chiefly  in  the  eastern  and  central 
sections  of  the  province.  They  were  an 
energetic,  industrious  and  intelligent  com- 
munity, and  set  to  work  with  a  will  to 
improve  their  new  home.  They  advanced 
the  frontier  of  Pennsylvania  steadily  west' 
ward  by  their  new  plantations,  and  proved 
themselves  among  the  most  desirable  settlers 
that  had  yet  come  into  the  province. 

William  Penn  had  come  to  Pennsylvania 
with  the  intention  of  passing  the  remainder 
of  his  life  there;  but  rumors  now  began  to 
reach  the  colony  that  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  crown  to  deprive  Pennsylvania  of  its 
charter  and  make  it  a  royal  province.  These 
reports  made  it  necessary  for  Penn  to  return 
to  England,  a  step  to  which  nothing  but  the 
importance  of  being  near  the  home  govern- 
ment to  defend  the  liberties  of  his  people 
could  have  forced  him.  He  had  done  his 
work  in  America  well,  and  cofild  eo  back  to 


226 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


Ihis  native  land  with  the  satisfaction  that  he 
liad  successfully  laid  the  foundations  of  a 
great  and  rapidly-growing  state,  and  had 
placed  the  liberties  of  its  people  upon  such  a 
secure  basis  that  they  would  endure  for  all 
time.  He  had  founded  a  democracy,  and 
had  proved  by  the  most  generous  surrender 
of  his  truly  regal  powers  that  his  chief  aim 
in  life  was  the  good  of  his  fellow-men. 
After  making  such  arrangements  as  he 
deemed  best  for  the  welfare  of  his  "  young 
countrie,"  he  went  back  to  England  in 
1701. 

Penn's   Honorable   Poverty. 

There  were  not  wanting  efforts  after  his 
arrival  in  England  to  deprive  him  of  his 
proprietary  rights  and  to  convert  Pennsyl- 
vania into  a  royal  province;  but  the  deep 
reverence  with  which  the  English  people 
had  now  come  to  regard  the  virtues  of  Will- 
iam Penn  prevented  the  consummation  of 
these  designs,  and  saved  the  people  of  Penn- 
sylvania from  the  rule  of  royal  governors, 
such  as  plundered  the  sister  province  of  New 
York.  The  crovn  could  never  be  persuaded 
to  rob  the  man  whose  pure  life  was  an  honor 
to  the  nation.  In  his  last  years  Penn  was  so 
poor  that  he  was  for  a  while  an  inmate  of  a 


debtors'  prison.  He  had  bought  the  prov- 
ince of  Pennsylvania  from  Charles  II.,  and 
had  confirmed  his  claim  by  purchasing  the 
lands  from  the  Indians,  so  that  he  was  abso- 
lute owner  of  the  unoccupied  lands  of  the 
colony. 

He  thus  had  it  in  his  power  to  relieve  his 
distress  by  selling  his  claims,  but  in  his 
deepest  poverty  he  refused  to  part  with 
Pennsylvania,  except  upon  terms  which 
would  secure  to  his  people  the  full  and  per- 
fect enjoyment  of  the  liberties  he  had  guar- 
anteed them.  He  died  in  1 71 8,  peacefully 
and  amid  the  sympathy  of  his  countrymen 
in  England,  and  the  sorrow  of  those  whom 
he  had  befriended  in  his  beloved  Pennsyl- 
vania. By  his  pure  life  he  won  for  the  peo- 
ple of  his  faith  the  respect  of  all  candid  men, 
and  by  his  fidelity  to  the  principles  he  pro- 
fessed he  became  the  benefactor  of  millions 
who  will  ever  count  it  a  privilege  to  honor 
his  name. 

Penn  left  three  sons,  who  were  all  minors 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  They  succeeded 
to  his  rights  as  proprietary  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  government  of  the  colony  was  ad- 
ministered for  them  by  deputies  until  the 
Revolution,  when  their  claims  were  pur- 
chased by  the  state. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
Settlement  of  the  Carolinas 


.radual  Settlement  of  North  Carolina  from  Virginia— Charles  II.  Grants  Carolina  to  Clarendon  and  Others— The  "  Granf 
Model " — An  Ideal  Aristocracy  Proposed  for  Carolina— The  Authority  of  the  Proprietaries  Established  -n  North  Caro- 
lina—Continued Settlement  of  that  Region— Characteristics  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  North  Carolina— The  People  Reject 
the  Grand  Model — Hostility  of  England  to  the  Colonial  Commerce — Insurrection  in  North  Carolina — Slothel  Govemol 
— Settlement  of  South  Carolina — Charleston  Founded — The  Proprietary  Constitutions  Rejected  by  South  Carolina — 
Rapid  Growth  of  the  Colony— Introduction  of  Slavery— Characteristics  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  South  Carolina— Efforta 
to  Enforce  the  Navigation  Acts — Resistance  of  the  People — The  Proprietaries  Abandon  their  Constitutions — Archdale'i 
Reforms— Religious  Intolerance— Establishment  of  the  Church  of  England  in  South  Carolina— Action  of  the  Crown- 
Continued  Prosperity  of  South  Carolina— Governor  Moore  Attacks  St.  Augustine— Failure  of  the  Effort— The  Spaniard! 
are  Repulsed  in  an  Attempt  to  Capture  Ch»rleston — Indian  War  in  North  Cdrohna — The  Tuscaroras  Driven  Northward 
— War  with  the  Yemmassees — Destruction  of  their  Power — Separation  of  the  Carolinas. 


WE  have  related  the  efforts  of  the 
French  to  colonize  the  shores 
of  the  beautiful  region  which 
they  named  Carolina,  and  the 
failure  of  Raleigh's  attempt  to  found  a  city 
upon  Roanoke  Island.  We  have  now  to 
consider  the  successful  planting  of  this  same 
region  with  English  settleinents. 

After  the  settlement  of  Virginia  the  atten- 
tion of  the  English  was  frequently  drawn  to 
the  fertile  region  south  of  the  James,  and  as 
their  plantations  spread  in  that  direction  ad- 
venturous explorers  went  into  this  region, 
and  returned  with  reports  of  its  great  beauty 
and  fertility.  When  the  severe  measures  of 
the  Virginia  colony  for  enforcing  conformity 
to  the  established  church  were  put  in  opera- 
tion, many  dissenters  withdrew  from  the 
limits  of  the  colony  and  settled  in  what  are 
now  the  northeastern  counties  of  North 
Carolina.  Among  these  were  a  company  of 
Presbyterians,  who  setded  upon  the  Chowan. 
Others  followed  them,  and  by  the  year  1663 
these  counties  contained  a  prosperous  and 
growing  community  of  English-speaking 
people. 

In  1663,  Charles  II.,  who  always  displayed 
the  most  remarkable  liberality  in  his  gifts  of 


American  lands,  granted  to  eight  of  his 
favorites  the  vast  region  extending  from  the 
present  southern  boundary  of  Virginia  to  the 
St.  John's  River  in  Florida,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Those  upon  whom 
this  rich  gift  was  bestowed  were  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  the  prime  minister,  Lord  Ashley  , 
Cooper,  who  was  afterwards  Earl  of  Shaftes-  ' 
bury,  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  Lord  Craven, 
Sir  John  Colleton,  Lord  John  Berkeley,  his 
brother,  Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  governor 
of  Virginia,  and  Sir  George  Cartaret.  They 
were  gi\cn  absolute  power  over  their  terri- 
tory, the  king  reserving  only  a  claim  upon 
their  allegiance.  The  country  had  been 
called  Carolina  by  the  first  French  settlers  in 
honor  of  Charles  IX.  of  France;  the  old 
name  was  retained  in  honor  of  Charles  II.  of 
England. 

The  proprietors  had  but  one  object  in  view: 
to  enrich  themselves ;  but  they  claimed  to  be 
influenced  by  a  "  pious  zeal  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  gospel."  They  at  once  set  to  work 
to  prepare  a  code  of  laws  for  the  govern- 
ment of  their  province.  This  task  was  com- 
mitted to  Ashley  Cooper,  Earl  of  Shaftesbury, 
and  the  great  philosopher,  John  Locke,  then 
an  almost  unknown  man.  These  produced 
227 


228 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


a  code  known  as  "  The  Grand  Model,"  or 
"Fundamental  Constitutions."  This  was  a 
system  which  might  have  been  successful  if 
the  people  for  whom  it  was  intended  had 
been  some  European  community  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  but  it  was  utterly  unsuited  to 
a  colony  in  the  woods  of  Am.erica,  composed 
of  men  whose  personal  independence  and 
sturdy  love  of  freedom  were  the  indispensable 
conditions  of  the  success  of  their  enterprise. 
By  the  terms  of  the  "  Grand  Model "  an 
order  of  nobility  was  created,  into  whose 
hands  the  sole  right  to  rule  was  committed. 
Earls,  barons,  and  squires  were  made  the 
natural  heads  of  the  various  classes  of  society, 
and  the  common  people  were  attached  to  the 
soil  as  tenants. 

A  Mockery  of  Freedom. 

A  simple  tenant  could  never  rise  above  his 
humble  position,  and  was  denied  the  right 
of  suffrage  ;  only  those  who  possessed  fifty 
acres  of  land  were  allowed  this  right,  or 
were  entitled  to  the  name  of  freemen.  The 
freemen  were  allowed  an  assembly,  but  that 
body  was  placed  entirely  under  the  control 
of  the  nobility.  Religious  freedom  was 
promised  to  all  persons,  but  the  constitution 
expressly  declared  that  the  only  orthodox 
establishment  was  the  Church  of  England. 
Trial  by  jury  was  guaranteed,  but  with  the 
destructive  provision  that  a  majority  should 
decide  the  verdict  of  the  jury. 

It  was  very  clear  that  this  magnificent 
constitution  would  not  suit  the  settlers  l\  the 
log  cabins  of  North  Carolina,  but  the  proprie- 
tors, Ignorant  of  the  people  they  had  to  deal 
with,  proceeded  to  organize  their  govern- 
Tient  in  England  by  electing  the  Duke  of 
Albemarle  to  the  rank  of  Palatine,  as  the 
head  of  their  system  was  termed.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Berkeley,  then  governor  of  Virginia,  was 
ordered  to  establish  the  authority  of  the  pro- 
prietors over  the  settlers  on  Albemarle  Sound. 


This  he  did,  and  appointed  William  Drum- 
mond,  a  Scotchman  and  one  of  the  settlers,, 
governor.  This  was  the  same  Drummond 
who  afterwards  took  part  in  Bacon's  rebellion 
in  Virginia,  and  was  hanged  by  Berkeley,  as 
has  been  related.  A  simple  form  of  govern- 
ment was  established,  and  the  people  oi 
North  Carolina  were  left  in  peace  until  it 
should  be  time  to  collect  the  quit-rents  which 
the  proprietors  claimed  as  due  for  their  occu- 
pation of  their  lands. 

In  i66i,a  few  years  previous  to  this  action 
of  Berkeley,  a  company  from  New  England 
had  made  a  settlement  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River.  The  colony  did  not  prosper,  how- 
ever, though  liberal  inducements  were  held 
out  to  it,  and  many  of  the  emigrants 
returned  home.  In  1664  a  colony  from  the 
Barbadoes  joined  the  settlers  on  the  Cape 
Fear.  The  new-comers  had  been  sent  out 
by  a  company  at  the  Barbadoes,  who  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians  a  tract  of  land  thirty- 
two  miles  square  on  the  Cape  Fear,  and 
asked  of  the  proprietors  of  Carolina  a  confir- 
mation of  their  purchase  and  a  separate  char- 
ter of  government.  A  liberal  charter  was 
granted  them,  the  country  was  named  Clar- 
endon, and  Sir  John  Yeamans,  a  resident  of 
Barbadoes,  was  appointed  governor.  He 
was  instructed  to  "  make  things  easy  to  the 
people  of  New  England ;  from  thence  tht 
greatest  supplies  are  expected." 

Lumber  Trade. 

In  1665  he  led  a  company  of  emigrants 
from  Barbadoes,  and  f  jrmed  a  settlement  on 
the  Cape  Fear.  The  eflTort  to  found  a  town 
was  unsuccessful,  and  the  emigrants  founf5 
great  difTiculty  in  contending  against  thi' 
natural  barrenness  and  poverty  of  the  region 
in  which  they  had  located.  They  devoted 
themselves  to  the  cutting  and  export  of  lum- 
ber, and  established  a  trade  in  boards,  staves 
and  shingles  to  the  West  Indies,   which  i& 


SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   CAROLIXAS, 


229 


still  carried  on  bj'  their  descendants.  This 
trade  was  found  to  be  profitable,  and  emi- 
gration increased.  In  1666  the  colon)-  is 
said  to  ha\e  had  a  population  of  eight 
hundred  souls. 

In  the  meantime  the  settlements  on  Albe- 
marle Sound  and  the  Chowan  had  prospered, 
and  had  increased  steadily  in  population, 
jnder  the  simple  government  established 
over  them.  This  government  consisted  of  a 
council  of  six  persons  namecf  by  the  proprie- 
taries and  six  chosen 
by  the  assembly,  and 
an  assembly  consist- 
ing of  the  governor, 
the  council  and  twelvL- 
representatives  cho-^- 
en  by  the  freeholders 
of  the  colony.  The 
proprietaries  had  con- 
firmed the  colonists 
in  the  possession  of 
their  lands,  and  had 
solemnly  promised 
them  religious  tolera- 
tion and  exempti'i- 
from  taxation  except 
by  the  colonial  legis- 
lature. In  1669  the 
assembly,  feeling  se- 
cure in  these  guaran- 
tees, enacted  a  series 
of  laws  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the   colony, 

which  remained  in  force  in  North  Carolina 
until  near  the  close  of  the  next  century. 
It  was  enacted  that  no  emigrant  should  be 
sued  for  a  debt  contracted  before  his  settle- 
ment in  the  colony  until  he  had  been  a 
resident  of  the  province  for  five  years. 

Marriage  was  made  a  civil  contract,  and 
for  its  validity  required  simply  the  consent 
of  the  contracting  parties  before  a  magistrate 
in  the   presence  of  witnesses.     No  emigrant 


could  be  taxed  during  his  first  year's  resi- 
dence in  the  colony.  New  settlers  were 
invited  by  the  offer  of  large  bounties  in 
lands,  but  no  title  to  these  lands  could  be 
obtained  until  after  a  two  years'  residence  in 
the  colony.  The  governor's  salary  and  the 
other  expenses  of  the  province  were  secured 
by  the  imposition  of  a  fee  of  thirty  pounds 
of  tobacco  in  every  lawsuit.  The  members 
of  the  assembly  served  without  compensa- 
tion, seeking  no  emoluments  from  office. 


THE  COAST  OF  NORTH  CAKOUNA. 

In  1670  the  constitution  of  Shaftesbury 
and  Locke  was  sent  over  by  the  proprie- 
taries, and  the  governor  was  ordered  to 
establish  it  in  the  colony.  It  met  with  a 
determined  resistance  from  both  legislature 
and  people,  who  could  never  be  induced  to 
submit  to  it. 

The  people  upon  whom  the  proprietaries 
endeavored  to  enforce  their"  Grand  Model" 
were    in    many    respects    the  most  singular 


230 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


community  in  America.  Many  of  them  had 
fled  from  injustice  and  persecution  in  other 
colonies,  and  in  the  soh'tude  of  the  forests  of 
North  Carolina  had  become  possessed  of  an 
independence  which  scorned  any  control  but 
that  of  the  government  established  by  their 
3wn  consent.  The  plantations  were  chiefly 
along  the  rivers  and  the  shores  of  Albe- 
marle Sound;  there  were  no  roads  but  the 
paths  marked  through  the  forests  by  the 
blazing  of  the  trees ;  the  inhabitants  visited 
each  other  and  travelled  through  the  country 
in  their  boats,  scarcely  any,  even  among  the 
women  and  children,  being  unacquainted 
with  the  use  of  the  oar. 

A  Happy  Community. 

The  people  were  attached  to  their  beauti- 
ful "  summer  land,"  and  to  the  freedom 
which  they  enjoyed  in  it.  They  had  little 
use  for  laws,  for  they  were  mainly  a  simple- 
hearted  and  virtuous  race,  who,  by  pursuing 
the  paths  of  right,  gave  no  cause  for  restraint. 
They  had  no  court-house  until  1722.  Their 
first  church  was  not  built  until  1705, and  the 
freedom  of  conscience  which  they  enjoyed 
was  perfect.  Yet  they  were  a  God-fearing 
people,  and  George  Fox,  who  visited  them 
in  1672,  testifies  to  their  readiness  to  hear 
the  word  of  God  and  to  theirhomely  virtues. 
They  were  cut  off  from  the  world,  careless  of 
the  struggles  which  rocked  Europe  to  its 
foundations,  and  anxious  only  to  live  in  the 
peaceful  enjoyment  of  the  good  things  God 
had  given  them,  and  to  rear  their  children  in 
the  ways  which  they  deemed  conformable  to 
His  will.  There  were  no  towns  in  the  colony, 
and  in  power  and  importance  North  Carolina 
could  not  compare  with  any  of  her  more 
northern  sisters ;  but  there  were  no  com- 
munities in  wb'':h  the  people  were  happier  or 
more  contente,*  than  in  this  one. 

When  the  cruelties  of  Berkeley  Jrove 
many  of  the  Virginians  from  their  province, 


they  fled  to  North  Carolina,  and  were  kindly 
received  by  the  people,  who  treated  Berke- 
ley's demands  to  surrender  the  refugees  for 
punishment  with  contempt.  "Are  there  any 
who  doubt  man's  capacity  for  self-govern- 
ment, let  them  study  the  early  history  of 
North  Carolina;  its  inhabitants  were  restless  | 
and  turbulent  in  their  imperfect  submission  ' 
to  a  government  imposed  on  them  from 
abroad;  the  administration  of  the  colony 
was  firm,  humane  and  tranquil  when  they 
were  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Any 
government  but  one  of  their  own  institution 
was  oppressive."  * 

These  were  the  people  for  whom  the 
"  Grand  Model "  was  designed,  and  who 
successfully  resisted  its  imposition.  The 
proprietaries  had  withdrawn  the  government 
they  had  first  established,  at  the  time  when 
the  constitutions  of  Shaftesbury  and  Locke 
were  offered  to  the  colony,  and  the  refusal  of 
these  constitutions  by  the  colonists  left 
North  Carolina  without  any  regularly  estab- 
lished system  of  government.  In  this  state 
of  affairs  Stevens,  the  governor,  continued  to 
administer  the  old  system  until  a  settlement 
of  the  matter  in  dispute  could  be  had.  He 
died  in  1 674,  and  the  assembly  elected  Cart- 
wright,  their  speaker,  as  his  successor,  by 
whom  the  government  was  administered  for 
two  years. 

Another  Appeal    to  England. 

Eastchurch,  the  new  speaker,  was  sent  to 
England  to  explain  the  grievances  of  the 
colony  to  the  proprietaries  and  to  endeavor 
to  secure  the  withdrawal  of  the  obnoxious 
constitution.  Without  withdrawing  their 
favorite  system,  the  proprietaries,  who  were 
disposed  to  conciliate  the  colony,  thought 
best  to  leave  matters  in  their  present  condi- 
tion   and   appointed    Eastchurch    governor 


Bancroft's  History  of  tht  United  States^  vol.  ii..  p.  158. 


s?:ttlement  of  the  carolinas. 


331 


They  did  away  with  much  of  the  good  cITect 
of  this  measure  by  coupling  this  appointment 
with  that  of  Miller  as  collector  of  customs. 
He  had  been  driven  out  of  the  colony  by  the 
people  some  time  before,  and  he  was  now 
sent  to  compel  the  payment  of  the  revenues 
cla'med  by  the  proprietaries,  and  to  enforce 
the  navigation  acts  in  North  Carolina. 

England's  Iniquitous  Policy. 

The  enforcement  of  the  navigation  acts 
meant  sioiply  the  certain  crippling  and  the 
probable  ruin  of  the  industry  of  North  Caro- 
lina. The  commerce  of  the  colony  was 
small  and  was  already  struggling  against 
natural  difficulties.  The  whole  province 
contained  a  little  less  than  four  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  its  exports  consisted  of  about 
eight  hundred  hogsheads  of  tobacco,  a  small 
quantity  of  Indian  corn  and  a  few  cattle. 
These  were  shipped  in  a  few  small  vessels 
which  came  for  them  from  New  England, and 
brought  in  return  the  few  articles  of  foreign 
manufacture  which  the  planters  could  afford 
to  purchase.  Yet  this  humble  trade  was 
made  the  object  of  the  envy  of  the  English 
merchants,  and  it  was  resolved  by  a  vigorous 
enforcement  of  the  navigation  acts  to  cut  the 
North  Carolinians  off  from  the  use  of  the 
New  England  markets  and  to  compel  them 
to  send  their  products  to  England  for  sale. 
Never  was  the  iniquitous  policy  of  England 
toward  her  colonies  more  strikingly  and  per- 
fectly illustrated  than  in  her  treatment  of 
North  Carolina  at  this  period. 

The  effort  to  enforce  the  navigation  act 
was  met  by  a  deliberately  planned  and  exe- 
cuted insurrection  of  the  people,  who  pub- 
lished to  the  world  a  declaration  of  the 
causes  which  had  impelled  them  to  this 
action,  and  which  were  chiefly  the  loss  of 
their  liberties  by  the  changes  in  the  govern- 
ment, the  imposition  of  excessive  taxes,  and 
the  interruption  of  their  commerce  by  the 


burdens    laid    upon    it    by  the   navigation 
acts. 

The  leader  of  the  movement  was  John 
Culpepper.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
council  joined  the  insurrection;  but  the 
rest,  with  Miller,  who,  in  addition  to  his 
office  of  collector,  had  been  acting  as  gov- 
ernor in  the  absence  of  Eastchurch,  were 
arrested  and  imprisoned.  When  Eastchurch 
arrived    the     colonists     refused    either    to 


y 


^- 


^v. 


A  SETTLER'S    CABIN. 


acknowledge  his  authority  or  to  allow  him 
to  enter  the  colony.  In  the  meantime  they 
arranged  matters  upon  the  old  popular  sys- 
tem, and  sent  Culpepper  and  another  of  their 
number  to  England  to  negotiate  a  settlement 
with  the  proprietaries. 

Miller  escaped  from  confinement  and  rO' 
paired  to  England  to  oppose  the  efforts  of 
Culpepper.     By  cunningly   making  himselt 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


the  champion  of  the  navigation  acts,  Miller 
succeeded  in  arousing  a  strong  sentiment 
against  Culpepper,  who  was  arrested  on  a 
charge  of  resisting  the  collection  of  the  rev- 
enue and  embezzling  the  public  funds.  In 
support  of  this  arbitrary  act  the  government 
^leaded  an  old  statute  of  Henry  VIII.,  by 
which  a  colonist  could  be  arraigned  in  Eng- 
land for  an  offence  committed  in  a  colony. 
Culpepper  demanded  to  be  tried  in  North  Car- 
olina, upon  the  scene  oi  his  alleged  crinva;  but 
this  was  refused  him,  and  he  was  put  on  trial  in 
England.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  shrewdly 
perceiving  that  such  a  course  was  repugnant 
to  the  real  sentiment  of  the  English  people, 
and  that  it  offered  him  an  opportunity  to 
increase  his  popularity,  undertook  the  de- 
t::nce  of  Culpepper,  and  procured  his 
acquittal. 

Captured  by  Pirates. 

The  proprietaries  now  appointed  as  gov- 
ernor one  of  their  number,  Seth  Slothel,  who 
had  purchased  the  rights  of  Lord  Clarendon. 
Slothel  on  his  voyage  out  was  captured  by  the 
Algerine  pirates,  and  during  his  absence  the 
government  of  North  Carolina  was  admin- 
istered by  governors  appointed  by  the  in- 
surgents, who  seem  to  have  acted  with  the 
consent,  or  at  least  without  the  opposition 
of  the  proprietaries,  who  were  much  at  a  loss 
to  know  how  to  enforce  their  authority  in 
the  province.  They  instructed  the  colonists 
to  "settle  order  among  themselves,"  and 
appear  to  have  left  them  very  much  to  their 
own  devices.  The  government  was  well  and 
fairly  administered,  and  order  was  main- 
tained; an  act  of  amnesty  was  published; 
ind  when  Slothel  reached  the  colony,  in 
;  583,  after  his  release  from  his  captivity,  he 
found  it  peaceful  and  orderly. 

The  administration  of  Slothel  was  un- 
fortunate for  the  province.  He  could  enforce 
neither  the  constitutions  of  the  proprietaries 


nor  the  navigation  acts,  as  he  was  expected 
to  do  ,  so  he  devoted  his  energies  to  the 
task  of  enriching  himself,  which  he  accomp- 
lished by  robbing  the  colonists  and  defraud- 
ing his  proprietary  associates  in  England. 
In  1688  the  colonists,  greatly  exasperated  by 
his  exactions,  to  which  they  had  submitted  for 
about  five  years,  drove  him  out  of  tha  prov 
ince  by  condemning  him  to  an  exile  of  i 
year,  and  forever  disqualifying  him  fron! 
holding  the  office  of  governor.  This  was 
their  boldest  act  yet  and  was  an  open  defi- 
ance of  the  proprietaries. 

Charleston  Founded. 

In  the  meantime  the  southern  portion  of 
Carolina  had  been  brought  under  English 
rule.  In  1670  a  company  of  emigrants  was 
sent  out  by  the  proprietaries,  under  the 
direction  of  William  Sayle  and  Joseph  West, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  the  commercial  agent 
of  the  proprietaries.  They  went  by  way  of 
Barbadoes  and  landed  at  Port  Royal,  where 
the  ruins  of  Fort  Carolina,  which  had  been 
erected  by  the  French,  were  still  to  be  seen. 
After  a  short  delay  here,  they  removed  to  a 
more  favorable  location  farther  northward, 
between  two  rivers,  which  they  named  the 
Ashley  and  Cooper,  in  honor  of  the  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  one  of  the  proprietaries.  In 
1680  this  settlement  was  abandoned  for  a 
better  situation  nearer  the  harbor.  This  last 
settlement  was  the  foundation  of  the  city  of 
Charleston.  The  first  plantation  on  the 
Ashley  River  was  aflerwards  known  as  Old 
Charleston.  At  present  not  even  a  log  cabin 
remains  to  mark  the  site. 

The  emigrants  to  South  Carolina  had 
been  furnished  with  a  copy  of  the  constitu- 
tions of  Shaftesbury  and  Locke,  but  the> 
were  as  averse  to  the  acceptance  of  them  as 
were  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  for  they 
perceived  that  such  a  system  as  that  devised 
by  the   proprietaries  could    not  be  put  it 


SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   CAROLINAS. 


23j 


•operation  in  America.  Immediately  upon 
their  arrival  they  proceeded  to  establish  a 
form  of  government  suited  to  their  needs. 
It  consisted  of  a  governor,  a  council  com- 
posed of  five  members  appointed  by  the 
proprietaries  and  five  by  the  assembly,  and 
an  assembly  of  twenty  delegates  chosen  by 
the  people.  Thus  was  representative  gov- 
ernment established  as  the  basis  of  the 
political  life  of  the  province,  and  throughout 
all  her  subsequent  history  it  was  cherished 
by  South  Caro- 
lina as  her  most 
precious  posses- 
sion. 

The  colon}' 
grew  rapidly  in 
population ;  the 
delightful  cli- 
mate, the  ricli 
soil  and  the  li 
beral  offers  of 
lands  by  the 
proprietaries  at 
tracting  settk 
in  considerabl 
numbers.  In  1 67  I 
Sir  John  Ye.i- 
mans  brought 
over  African 
slaves  from  Bar- 
badoes,  thus  in- 
troducing negro  slavery  into  the  colony  at  the 
very  outset  of  its  existence.  This  species  of 
labor  being  found  well  suited  to  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  province,  was  generally  adopted 
in  the  remaining  years  of  the  century,  and 
became  the  basis  of  the  industry  of  South 
Carolina,  which  was  from  the  first  a  purely 
agricultural  state.  The  negroes  multiplied 
rapidly  by  natural  increase  and  by  fresh 
importations;  "so  rapidly,"  says  Bancroft, 
"  that  in  a  few  years,  we  are  told,  the  blacks 
were   to   the   whites    in   the   proportion    of 


twenty-two  to  twelve,  a  proportion  that  had 
no  parallel  north  of  the  West  Indies." 

The  white  population  also  increased  rapidly. 
The  dissenters,  as  all  the  Protestant  sects 
who  differed  from  the  Church  of  England 
were  called,  came  over  to  the  colony  in  large 
numbers,  hoping  to  find  there  the  toleration 
they  were  denied  at  home.  They  consisted 
of  Dutch  and  German  Protestants,  and 
Presbyterians  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and 
from    Scotland.      The    last   were    generally 


Lili    CAROLINA. 


people  of  culture  and  gave  to  the  colony 
many  clergymen,  physicians,  lawyers  and 
schoolmasters.  Churchmen  from  England 
also  emigrated  in  considerable  numbers,  as 
the"  Grand  Model  "  established  their  church 
as  the  orthodox  faith  of  the  province.  Dutch 
emigrants  came  also  from  New  York  to 
escape  the  outrages  of  the  English  governors 
of  that  province. 

Last  of  all  were  the  Huguenots,  who  were 
induced  to  settle  in  South  Carolina  by  Charles 
II.,  who  was  sincerely  anxious  to  give  them 


234 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


a  refuge  from  their  persecutions  in  Europe, 
and  who  wished  them  to  establish  in  Carolina 
the  culture  of  the  vine,  the  olive  and  the 
silk-worm.  The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  drove  thousands  of  the  Huguenots 
from  France.  Large  numbers  of  them  joined 
their  brethren  in  South  Carolina.  They 
were  ahiiost  invariably  persons  of  education 
and  refinement.  In  France  they  had  consti- 
tuted the  most  useful  and  intelligent  part  of 
the  population.  They  had  almost  monopo- 
lized the  mechanical  skill  and  mercantile 
enterprise  of  their  native  land,  and  their  loss 
was  severely  felt  by  it  for  many  genera- 
tions. 

In  South  Carolina  they  soon  became  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  constitute  an  important 
part  of  the  population,  and  their  influence 
was  felt  in  a  marked  degree  and  for  the  good 
of  the  colony.  They  brought  with  them  the 
virtues  which  had  won  them  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  people  of  Europe,  and  the 
industry  which  could  not  fail  to  place  them 
among  the  most  prosperous  citizens  of  the 
new  state.  They  mingled  freely  and  inter- 
married with  the  other  classes  of  the  people 
of  the  province,  and  thus  became  the  ances- 
tors of  a  splendid  race  who  did  honor  to 
their  country  and  upheld  her  cause  with 
their  valor  in  her  hour  of  trial  in  the  next 
century. 

A  Settlement  Ruined. 

The  early  years  of  South  Carolina  were 
marked  by  a  constant  struggle  between  the 
colonists  and  the  proprietaries.  The  latter 
vainly  attempted  to  introduce  the  "  Grand 
Model "  as  the  law  of  the  province,  and  the 
former  steadily  resisted  it.  A  little  later  the 
proprietaries  offered  to  make  some  modifica- 
tions in  their  constitutions,  but  these  conces- 
sions were  rejected  also.  The  governor,  Sir 
John  Yeamans,  regarded  his  office  solely  as 
a   means   of    repairing    his   fortunes  at  the 


expense  of  both  proprietaries  and  colonists, 
and  was  dismissed  by  his  employers.  Westj 
who  was  a  man  of  ability  and  liberality,  was 
appointed  his  successor,  and  under  him 
the  colony  prospered,  but  as  he  was  too 
friendly  to  the  people,  he  was  removed  also. 
In  1684  a  small  colony  under  Lord  Card- 
ross,  a  Presbyterian,  settled  at  Port  Royal. 
These  settlers  had  fled  to  America  to  escape 
persecution  in  England,  but  their  effort  to  find 
an  abiding  place  in  the  new  world  was  not  des- 
tined to  be  successful.  Lord  Cardross  return- 
ed to  Europe  in  a  year  or  two,  and  in  i6S6the 
Spaniards  from  St.  Augustine,  who  claimed 
the  region  as  a  dependency  of  their  own, 
invaded  the  little  settlement  and  laid  it 
waste.  Of  the  ten  families  which  had  con- 
stituted the  colony,  some  returned  to  Scot- 
land, while  the  remainder  disappeared  among 
the  colonists  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Coopei 
and  Ashley  rivers. 

Stubborn  Resistance. 

In  1685,  the  proprietaries  ordered  the  colo- 
nial authorities  to  enforce  the  navigation  acts 
in  the  ports  of  the  province.  A  rigid  execu- 
tion of  this  order  would  have  been  as  fatal  to 
the  feeble  commerce  of  South  Carolina  as  to 
that  of  the  settlements  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  province,  and  it  was  resisted  by  the 
colonists  as  a  violation  of  their  natural  rights 
and  of  the  promises  made  to  them  at  the  time 
of  their  emigration.  In  order  to  establish 
their  authority  more  firmly  the  proprietaries 
appointed  James  Colleton  governor,  with  the 
rank  of  landgrave. 

He  was  brother  of  one  of  the  proprietaries, 
and  it  was  supposed  that  this  fact  and  his 
aristocratic  rank  would  give  him  a  mor-al 
power  which  his  predecessors  had  not  pos- 
sessed. The  new  governor  attempted  to 
enforce  the  constitutions,  but  was  met  with  a 
determined  resistance,  and  when  he  under- 
took  to  collect  the   rents   claimed   by  the 


436 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


proprietaries,  and  the  taxes  he  had  been 
ordered  to  !ev>',  the  assembly  seized  the 
records  of  the  province,  imprisoned  the 
colonial  secretary',  and  defied  the  governor 
to  execute  his  orders.  In  1690,  they  went 
-till  further,  and  having  proclaimed  Wil- 
lain  and  Mary,  disfranchised  Colleton  and 
banished  him  from  South  Carolina. 

Disputes  now  ran  high  in  the  colony, 
chiefly  in  regard  to  rents  and  land  tenures. 
The  "  cavaliers  and  ill-livers,"  as  the 
party  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  pro- 
prietaries was  termed,  endeavored  to 
compel  the  remainder  of  the  settlers — the 
Presbyterians,  Quakers  and  Huguenots, 
the  last  of  whom  had  recently  been  ad- 
mitted to  all  the  privileges  of  citizenship— 
to  submit  to  their  high-handed  measures. 
They  hoped  among  other  things  to  secure 
the  supremacy  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
the  colony,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a 
majority  of  the  people  were  dissenters.  The 
troubles  went  on  increasing,  and  at  length 
the  proprietors,  in  the  hope  of  putting  an 
•end  to  them,  consented  to  abandon  their 
■effort  to  force  upon  the  Carolinas  the  legisla- 
don  of  Shaftesbury  and  Locke.  In  April, 
1693,  they  abolished  the  fundamental  consti- 
tutions by  a  formal  vote,  and  decided  to 
allow  the  government  of  the  province  to  be 
conducted  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
charter. 

A  Wise  Governor. 

Thomas  Smith  was  appointed  governor, 
but  in  spite  of  his  many  virtues  he  was  unac- 
ceptable to  the  people,  and  the  proprietaries 
determined  to  send  out  to  Carolina  one  of 
their  own  number  with  full  powers  to  inves- 
tigate and  remedy  the  grievances  of  the 
colony.  Ji)hn  Archdale,  "an  honest  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,"  was  chosen,  and 
at  once  repaired  to  Carolina.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  moderation,  and  was  well  suited  to 


the  task  before  him.  He  succeeded  in  har« 
monizing  the  hostile  factions  which  divided 
the  province,  and  in  the  formation  of  the 
council  selected  two  men  of  the  moderate 
party  to  one  high  churchman,  an  arrange- 
ment which  fairly  represented  the  actual  state 
of  parties,  and  gave  satisfaction  to  the  mas 
of  the  people.  He  remitted  the  quit-i  ents  foi 
three  and  four  years,  and  arranged  the  price 
of  lands  and  the  system  of  conveyances  upon 
an  equitable  basis,  and  gave  the  colonists  the 
privilege  of  paying  their  dues  to  the  propri- 
etaries either  in  money  or  in  produce.  Hr. 
established  peaceful  relations  with  tht- 
Indians,  and  put  an  end  to  the  infamous 
practice  of  kidnapping  them,  which  had 
prevailed  since  the  establishment  of  tht 
colony.  The  savages  in  the  Cape  Fea' 
region  had  suffered  especially  from  this,  and 
now  showed  their  gratitude  by  treating  with 
kindness  the  sailors  who  were  cast  away  on 
their  coast. 

Friendly  relations  were  also  begun  with 
the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.  Several 
Yemmassee  Indians,  who  had  been  con- 
verted by  the  missionaries,  having  been 
captured  and  exposed  for  sale  in  Carolina, 
were  ransomed  by  Archdale,  who  sentthem  to 
the  governor  of  St.  Augustine.  The  Spaniards, 
gratefully  acknowledged  this  kindness,  and 
returned  it  by  forwarding  to  South  Carolina 
the  crew  of  an  English  vessel  which  had 
gone  ashore  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  The 
colonial  government  was  organized  by  Arch- 
dale, on  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  Marj'land. 
The  council  was  appointed  by  the  proprie- 
taries, and  the  assembly  elected  by  the  peo- 
ple; and  the  militia  were  charged  with  the 
defence  of  the  colony.  Archdale's  adminis- 
tration was  so  satisfactory  to  all  parties  that 
upon  his  withdrawal  from  the  province  the 
assembly  declared  that  he  had, "  by  his  wis- 
dom, patience  and  labor,  laid  a  firm  founda- 
tion for  a  most  glorious  superstructure." 


SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   CAROLINAS. 


237 


Archdale  went  back  to  Eni;l?ind  in  1697, 
and  the  proprietaries,  failing  to  profit  by  the 
lesson  of  his  success,  attempted  to  introduce 
a  measure  which  would  give  the  political 
power  of  the  colony  exclusively  into  the 
hands  of  the  landowners.  This  measure  was 
resolutely  rejected  by  the  colonial  assembly. 
The  majority  of  the  people  of  the  colony 
were,  as  has  been  stated,  dissenters,  Presby- 
terians, Quakers  and  Huguenots.  They 
had  consented,  in  order  to  pacify  the  high 
church  party,  that  one  minister  of  the  Church 
of  England  should  be  maintained  at  the  pub- 
lic expense,  but  the  churchmen  were  re- 
eolved  to  force  their  system  upon  them. 

The  Assembly's  Intolerance. 

In  1704  the  churchmen  had  a  majority  of 
one  in  the  assembly  ;  the  governor  was  favor- 
able to  them,  and  the  council  was  no  longer 
arranged  upon  the  just  plan  of  Archdale. 
The  assembly,  in  violation  of  the  plainest 
principles  of  justice,  disfranchised  the  dis- 
senters, and  established  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land as  the  religion  of  the  colony.  This 
action  was  approved  by  the  council  and  gov- 
ernor, and  was  sustained  by  the  proprietaries 
in  spite  of  the  earnest  opposition  of  Arch- 
dale The  disfranchised  people  appealed  for 
justice  to  the  queen  and  the  House  of  Lords. 
The  committee  of  the  lords  declared  that  the 
proprietaries  had  forfeited  their  charter,  and 
advised  its  recall,  and  the  house  pronounced 
the  intolerant  acts  null  and  void,  which  de- 
cision was  proclaimed  by  the  queen  in  June, 
1706.  In  November  of  the  same  year  the 
colonial  legislature  repealed  its  acts,  and 
restored  to  the  dissenters  their  political 
.-ights.but  the  laws  establishing  the  Church 
of  England  as  the  religion  of  the  province 
remained  unrepealed  until  the  Revolution. 

The  disputes  in  the  colony  went  on,  but  in 
spite  of  them  South  Carolina  continued  to 
prosper,  and  its  population  increased  rapidly. 


During  Archdalc's  residence  in  the  colony 
the  captain  of  a  ship  from  Madagascar  gave 
him  some  rice,  which  he  distributed  among 
the  planters  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
whether  it  could  be  cultivated  in  the  mari- 
time regions  of  the  province,  wiiich  were 
unsuited  to  the  culture  of  wheat.  The  experi- 
ment was  entirely  successful,  and  the  colony 
at  once  embarked  in  the  culture  of  rice,  which 
has  ever  since  been  one  of  its  principal  indus- 
tries. Carolina  rice  soon  took  rank  as  the 
best  grown  in  any  country.  The  fur  trade 
was  also  carried  on  with  great  activity,  and 
the  manufacture  of  tar  and  the  export  of  lum- 
ber also  became  prominent  sources  of  wealth. 
It  was  believed  that  the  colony  could  suc- 
cessfully manufacture  a  large  part  of  the 
woollen  fabrics  necessary  to  the  supply  of  its 
wants,  and  the  attempt  was  made.  It  was 
struck  down  by  the  British  government  in 
pursuance  of  its  plan  to  compel  the  colonies 
to  depend  upon  England  for  all  their  supplies. 
Parliament  forbade  the  several  colonies  to 
export  woollen  goods  to  any  other  province 
or  to  any  foreign  port.  They  were  to  ship 
their  products  to  England  alone,  and  to 
receive  their  supplies  from  her  only.  Eng- 
lish merchants  were  to  be  privileged  to  set 
a  price  to  suit  their  own  interests  upon  the 
products  of  the  colonies  and  also  upon  the 
articles  of  European  manufacture  sold  them 
in  return.  The  effect  of  this  iniquitous  law 
upon  Carolina  was  to  drive  her  back  into 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  thus  to  increase  the 
demand  for  slaves,  which  was  promptly  sup- 
plied by  British  traders. 

A  Reckless  Adventurer. 

In  1702,  England  was  at  war  with  Franci 
and  Spain,  and  James  Moore  was  governoi 
of  Carolina.  He  was  a  needy  adventurer, 
who  endeavored  to  fill  his  purse  by  kidnap 
ping  Indians  and  selling  them  as  slaves.  This 
being  too  slow  a  process,  he  determined  to 


238 


SETTLEMENT  OF   AMERICA. 


plunder  the  Spanish  settlementof  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  attacked  that  place  with  a  force  of 
whites  and  Indians.  The  town  was  readily 
taken,  but  he  could  make  no  impression 
upon  the  citadel,  and  despatched  a  vessel  to 
Jamaica  for  cannon  to  reduce  the  fort.  The 
'garrison  in  the  meantime  sent  an  Indian 
runner  to  Mobile  with  news  of  their  situa- 
tion, and  word  was  sent  from  Mobile  to 
Havana.  In  a  short  while  two  Spanish  ships 
of  war  arrived  at  St.  Augustine  to  the  relief 
of  the  garrison,  and  Moore  was  obliged  to 
raise  the  siege.  He  abandoned  his  stores  and 
retreated  overland  to  Charleston.  The  only 
result  of  his  expedition  was  the  accumula- 
tion of  a  debt  which  the  colony  was  obliged 
to  carry  for  many  years. 

Brutal  Butchery. 

Moore's  next  eftbrt  was  directed  against 
the  Appalachee  Indians  of  Florida.  These 
had  been  converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith  by  the  Spanish  missionaries,  and  had 
begun  to  adopt  habits  of  civilization ;  they 
lived  in  villages,  and  supported  themselves 
by  cultivating  the  soil.  They  were  also  very 
friendly  to  the  French,  who  had  settled 
Louisiana.  Moore  professed  to  be  very  ap- 
prehensive of  the  effects  of  the  Spanish  and 
French  influence  upon  the  Appalachees,  and 
declared  his  intention  to  cripple  them  before 
they  could  do  any  harm  to  the  English  set- 
tlements. His  real  motive  was  the  hope  of 
plunder.  The  only  crime  of  the  poor  sav- 
ages was  their  adoption  of  the  Roman  faith. 

In  1705,  with  a  force  of  about  fifty  white 
men  and  one  thousand  Seminole  warriors, 
Moore  invaded  the  settlements  of  the  Appa- 
'achees,  destroyed  them,  killed  many  of  the 
natives,  and  made  prisoners  of  large  num- 
bers, who  were  removed  to  the  region  of  the 
Altamaha.  The  churches  were  plundered 
and  destroyed,  and  the  country  of  the  Appa- 
lachees was  given   to   the   Seminoles   as  a 


reward  for  their  services.  They  at  once 
occupied  it,  and  thus  became  a  barrier  be- 
tween their  English  friends  and  the  Spanish 
settlements. 

In  1706,  the  Spaniards  and  French  sent  a 
combined  fleet  to  Charleston  to  avenge  the 
attacks  upon  St.  Augustine  and  the  Appa- 
lachees. The  attack  of  the  fleet  was  repulsed 
by  the  people,  who  were  led  by  William  Rhet 
and  Sir  Nathaniel  Johnson,  and  the  assailants 
were  forced  to  withdraw  with  the  loss  of  one 
ship  belonging  to  the  French  and  upwards 
of  three  hundred  men. 

North  Carolina  continued  to  prosper.  Her 
people  were  happy  and  contented  under  theit 
simple  system  of  government,  which  was 
described  by  Spotswood  as  "  scarce  any  gov- 
ernment at  all."  In  1704,  the  proprietaries 
attempted  to  establish  the  Church  of  England 
in  this  part  of  their  province,  the  people  of 
which  were  nearly  all  Presbyterians,  Quakers 
and  Lutherans.  It  was  ordered  that  all  who 
refused  to  submit  to  the  laws  for  the  estab- 
lishment and  support  of  the  English  church 
should  be  disfranchised. 

Open  Rebellion. 

The  people  opposed  a  general  and  deter- 
mined resistance  to  this  measure,  and  at  the 
end  of  a  year  there  was  but  one  clergj^man 
of  the  English  church  within  the  limits  of 
the  colony.  The  resistance  finally  culmin- 
ated in  open  rebellion.  The  colony  was 
divided  into  two  parties,  one  of  which  sus- 
tained the  authority  of  the  proprietors,  the 
other  the  rights  of  the  people.  Each  party 
had  its  governor  and  assembly,  and  for  six 
years  the  colony  remained  in  a  state  of 
anarchy.  The  Quakers  were  the  leading 
spirits  of  the  popular  party  and  maintained 
their  rights  with  a  steadfastness  characteristic 
of  their  race. 

Thus  far  North  Carolina  had  escaped  a 
war  with  the  Indians.     TheTuscaroras,  who 


SETTLEMENT   OF   THE   CAROLINAS. 


occupied  the  central  and  northwestern  por- 
tions of  the  present  state,  had  emigrated  at 
some  remote  period  from  the  north,  and  they 
now  viewed  with  jealousy  and  distrust  the 
encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  their 
lands.  About  1 7 1 1  the  proprietaries  assigned 
large  tracts  in  the  country  of  this  tribe  to  a 
company  of  Germans  from  the  region  of  the 
Neckar  and  the  Rhine,  who  had  fled  to 
America  to  escape  religious  persecution.  A 
company  of  these  exiles  had  come  out  under 
the  direction  of  De  Graiifenreid,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 171 1,  De  Graffenreid  accompanied 
Lawson,  the  surveyor-general  of  the  prov- 
ince, in  an  expedition  up  the  Neuse  for  the 
purpose  of  locating  these  lands  and  of 
ascertaining  how  far  the  river  was  navigable. 
They  were  captured  by  a  party  of  sixty 
Indians  and  hurried  to  a  distant  village  of 
the  Tuscaroras.  Lawson  was  regarded  with 
bitter  hostility  by  the  Indians,  who  looked 
upon  him  as  responsible  above  all  others  for 
the  loss  of  their  lands,  as  he  had  been  com- 
pelled by  his  duties  to  locate  the  grants  <  ' 
the  proprietaries,  and  he  was  put  to  deatli 
■with  cruel  torments. 

Condemned  to  Death. 
De  GraiTeureid  was  also  condemned  to 
die,  but  he  told  the  savages  that  he  had 
been  but  a  short  time  in  the  country,  and 
that  he  was  the  "  chief  of  a  different  tribe 
from  the  English,"  and  promised  that  he 
would  take  no  more  of  their  land.  The 
Indians  kept  him  a  prisoner  for  five  weeks, 
and  then  permitted  him  to  return  to  his 
friends.  During  this  time  the  Tuscaroras 
and  Corees,  whom  they  had  drawn  into  an 
alliance  with  them,  attacked  the  settlements 
of  the  whites  on  the  Roanoke  and  Pamlico 
Sound,  and  for  three  days  spread  death  and 
devastation  all  along  the  frontier  of  the  col- 
ony. A  large  number  of  the  unoffending 
settlers  were  slain  and  many  homesteads  were 
destroyed. 


The  people  of  North  Carolina  appealed  to 
Virginia  and  South  Carolina  for  assistance. 
South  Carolina  sent  a  small  body  of  troops 
and  a  force  of  friendly  Indians ;  and  Gov- 
ernor Spots\vood,  of  Virginia,  unable  to  send 
assistance,  engaged  one  tribe  of  the  Tusca- 
roras in  a  treaty  of  peace.  The  people  of 
North  Carolina,  divided  by  their  internal 
dissensions,  took  scarcely  any  part  in  the 
struggle.    The  South  Carolina  forces  attacked 


mt:)^' 


Kv, 


^ 


'%WJ 


\r'«A(e> 


KING    GEUKGE    I. 


the  Tuscaroras  in  their  fort  and  compelled 
them  to  make  peace.  The  troops,  however, 
on  their  return  home,  violated  the  treaty  by 
seizing  some  of  the  Indians  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  them  as  slaves.  The  war  broke 
out  again  and  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  for 
about  a  year,  and  resulted  in  the  expulsion 
of  the  Tuscaroras  from  North  Carolina. 

The  Yemmassees  had  for  some  time  been 
hostile  to  the  Spaniards,  as  they  resented 
the  efforts   of  the  priests   to  convert   them 


240 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA, 


to  Christianity.  They  had  acted  as  the 
allies  of  the  English  in  the  war  with  the 
Tuscaroras,  but  after  the  close  of  that 
struggle  the  unscrupulous  traders,  who  re- 
garded them  as  "a  tame  and  peaceable 
people,"  had  treated  them  so  badly,  and 
plundered  them  so  systematically,  that  they 
were  driven  into  hostility  to  the  English. 
They  thereupon  renewed  their  friendship 
with  the  Spaniards,  and  induced  the  Cataw- 
bas,  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  who  had  also 
been  friendly  to  the  English,  to  join  them 
against  their  former  allies. 

Indian  Depredations. 

In  1715  the  savages,  suddenly,  and  with- 
out warning,  attacked  the  settlements  on  the 
frontier.  The  alarm  was  sent  to  Port  Royal 
and  Charleston,  and  the  assailed  people  fled 
towards  the  settlements  along  the  coast. 
The  Indians  continued  their  depredations, 
and  the  colony  prepared  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible to  resist  them.  Aid  was  sent  from 
North  Carolina,  whose  government  had  now 
been  placed  on  a  more  stable  footing.  Gov- 
ernor Craven  took  the  field  without  delay, 


v/ith  such  troops  as  he  could  raise,  and  a 
long  ard  bloody  struggle  ensued.  The 
power  c'  the  savages  was  broken,  however. 
The  Yemmassees  were  compelled  to  take 
refuge  in  Florida,  where  they  were  provided 
for  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  other  tribes 
were  driven  farther  westward. 

The  contests  between  the  proprietaries 
and  the  colonists  now  came  to  an  end.  The 
proprietaries  had  made  no  effort  to  help  the 
colonists  during  their  struggle  with  the  In- 
dians, and  the  latter  determined  to  have  no- 
more  to  do  with  their  former  lords.  The 
dispute  was  carried  before  Parliament,  which 
body  declared  that  the  proprietaries  had  for- 
feited their  charter.  In  1720  King  George  I. 
appointed  Francis  Nicholson  provisional 
governor  of  Carolina.  In  1729  the  contro- 
versy was  ended  by  the  purchase  of  the  pro- 
prietaries' interests  by  the  crown  for  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Carolina  thus  became  a  royal  province,  and 
was  divided  by  the  king  into  two  separate 
states,  known  respectively  as  North  and. 
South  Carolina,  to  each  of  which  a  royal 
governor  was  appointed. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
Settlement  of   Georgria 


General  James  Edward  Oglethorpe— His  EflForts  to  Reform  rrisoii  Discipline  of  England-Proposes  to  Found 
a  Colony  in  America  for  the  Poor  and  for  Prisoners  for  Debt— A  Charter  Obtained  from  the  King— Coloniza- 
tion of  Georgia— Savannah  Settled— First  Years  of  the  Colony— Labors  of  Oglethorpe— Arrival  of  New 
Emigrants— Augusta  Founded— The  MoraWan  Settlements— The  Wesleys  in  America— George  Whitefield 
—War  Between  England  and  Spain— Oglethorpe  Invades  Florida— Failure  of  the  Attack  upon  St.  Augus- 
tine—The Spaniards  Invade  Georgia— Oglethorpe's  Stratagem— Its  Success— Battle  of"  Bloody  Marsh  "— 
Close  of  the  War— Charges  Against  Oglethorpe— Hi's  Vindication— His  Return  to  Europe— Changes  in 
the  Colonial  Government- Introduction  of  Slavery  into  Georgia— Prosperity  of  the  Colony. 


THE  severe  laws  in  force  in  England 
in  the  last  century  against  debtors 
aroused  the  opposition  of  many 
philanthropists,  who  strove  to  pro- 
cure their  abolition  or  amelioration.  Among 
these  was  General  James  Edward  Oglethorpe, 
an  officer  of  the  English  army  and  a  member 
of  Parliament.  He  was  a  man  of  fortune, 
and  of  generous  nature,  and  devoted  himself 
with  energy  to  reform  not  only  the  laws 
against  debtors  but  the  entire  prison  disci- 
pline of  England.  There  were  at  this  time 
upwards  of  four  thousand  men  in  prison  for 
debt.  Their  condition  was  most  pitiful. 
They  had  no  hope  of  relief  save  through  the 
mercy  of  the  creditors  who  had  consigned 
them  to  their  prisons,  and  were  treated  with 
a  severity  due  only  to  criminals. 

It  seemed  an  outrage  to  the  generous 
Oglethorpe  to  visit  such  heavy  punishments 
upon  persons  whose  only  crimes  were  their 
misfortunes,  and  he  endeavored  to  have  the 
laws  authorizing  imprisonment  for  debt  re- 
pealed, and  failing  in  this  conceived  the  plan 
of  establishing  in  America  a  place  of  refuge 
to  which  the  poor  and  unfortunate  might 
resort,  and  earn  a  support  by  their  own 
industry,  lie  succeeded  in  interesting  others 
in  his  benevolent  scheme,  and  in  1732  a 
petition,  signed  by  a  number  of  men  of  rank 
16 


and  influence,  was  presented  to  George  II., 
praying  him  to  grant  to  the  petitioners  a 
tract  of  unoccupied  land  in  America  for  the 
purpose  of  founding  such  an  asylum  as  that 
proposed  by  Oglethorpe.  The  king  re- 
sponded favorably  to  this  appeal,  and  granted 
to  Oglethorpe  and  twenty  other  persons  the 
region  between  the  Savannah  and  the  Alta- 
maha  rivers. 

This  region  was  to  be  held  "  in  trust  for 
the  poor,"  for  a  period  of  twenty-one  years, 
by  the  trustees  named  in  the  charter,  and 
was  to  constitute  a  home  for  unfortunate 
debtors  and  Protestants  from  the  continent 
of  Europe,  who  might  wish  to  seek  safety 
there  from  persecution.  The  territory  thus 
assigned  formed  a  part  of  South  Carolina, 
but  was  formally  separated  from  it  and 
named  Georgia,  in  honor  of  the  king.  The 
"  free  exercise  of  religion  "  was  secured  to 
all  sects  "except  Papists."  No  grant  of  land 
to  any  single  settler  was  to  exceed  five  hun- 
dred acres,  a  condition  which  it  was  hoped 
would  prevent  the  rich  from  securing  the 
best  lands,  and  give  to  the  poor  an  oppor- 
tunity to  become  landowners.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  the  climate  and  soil  of  the  new 
province  were  specially  adapted  to  the  rais- 
ing of  silk-worms  and  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine. 

241 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


The  scheme  of  Oglethorpe  enlisted  the 
sympathies  of  all  classes  of  the  English  peo- 
ple. Liberal  donations  were  made  in  its  be- 
half, and  its  benevolent  projector  exerted 
himself  with  energy  to  secure  a  colony  with 
which  to  lay  the  the  foundations  of  the  new 
state.  It  was  determined  to  take  none  but 
the  poorest  and  most  helpless,  and  Ogle- 
thorpe himself  decided  to  accompany  them 
and  give  his  personal  care  to  the  planting  of 
the  colon}'. 

Settlement   of  Savannah. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  comprising 
thirt)'-five  families,  were  embarked,  and  they 
sailed  from  England  in  November,  1732. 
They  reached  Charleston  in  fifty-seven  days, 
and  were  formally  welcomed  by  the  assembly 
of  South  Carolina  and  presented  with  a  sup- 
ply of  cattle  and  rice.  From  Charleston  the 
company  sailed  to  Port  Royal,  while  Ogle- 
thorpe hastened  to  explore  the  Savannah  and 
select  a  cite  for  the  settlement.  He  chose  a 
location  at  Yamacraw  Bluff,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  about  twenty  miles  from 
its  mouth.  He  purchased  the  lands  from  the 
Yamacraw  Indians,  and  the  foundations  of  a 
town  were  laid. 

The  place  was  named  Savannah,  from  the 
river  on  which  it  stood.  Oglethorpe  has- 
tened forward  the  clearing  of  the  land  and 
the  building  of  houses,  but  for  nearly  a  year 
contented  himself  with  a  tent  which  was 
erected  under  four  wide-spreading  pines. 
"  The  streets  were  laid  out  with  the  greatest 
regularity  ;  in  each  quarter  a  public  square 
was  reserved  ;  the  houses  were  planned  and 
constructed  on  one  model — each  a  frame  of 
sawed  timber,  twent)'-four  feet  by  sixteen, 
floored  with  rough  deals,  the  sides  with 
feathered-edge  boards,  unplained,  and  the  roof 
shingled."  A  garden  was  laid  off  by  the 
river-side,  to  be  the  nursery  of  European 
fruits  and  other  productions. 


Friendly  relations  were  cultivated  with  the 
Indians.  The  chief  of  the  Yamacraws  came 
in  bringing  a  buffalo  skin,  on  the  inner  side 
of  which  was  painted  the  head  and  feathers 
of  an  eagle.  "  Here  is  a  little  present,"  said 
Tomo-chichi,  as  the  chief  was  named.  "  The 
feathers  of  the  eagle  are  soft  and  signify 
love  ;  the  buffalo  skin  is  warm,  and  is  the 
emblem  of  protection  ;  therefore  love  and 
protect  our  little  families."  The  Muscogees, 
Creeks,  Cherokees  and  Oconees  also  sent  their 
chiefs  to  Savannah  to  make  an  alliance  with 
the  English.  The  savages  were  well  pleased 
with  the  noble  and  commanding  appearance 
of  Oglethorpe  and  his  frank  and  kind  manner 
of  dealing  with  them,  and  trusted  implicitly 
in  the  promises  he  made  them.  The  distant 
Choctaws  also  sent  messengers  to  open 
friendly  relations  with  the  new  settlers,  and  a 
profitable  trade  was  established  with  the 
tribes  as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi. 

Grand  Old   German  Hymns. 

Thus  far  the  colony  of  Georgia  was  a 
success,  and  the  friends  of  the  movement  in 
England  were  not  slow  to  make  public  the 
accounts  which  came  to  them  of  its  delightful 
climate  and  fertile  soil,  and  all  who  were 
oppressed  or  in  need  were  invited  to  seek 
the  protection  and  advantages  which  the  new 
land  offered.  The  fame  of  the  colony  attracted 
the  attention  of  a  number  of  German  Prot- 
estants in  and  around  Salzburg,  who  were 
undergoing  a  severe  persecution  for  the  sake 
of  their  religion. 

Their  sufferings  enlisted  the  sympathy  of 
the  people  of  England,  and  the  "  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Go.spel  "  invited 
them  to  emigrate  to  Georgia  and  secured  for 
them  the  means  of  doing  so.  The  Germans 
readily  accepted  the  offer,  and  rejoiced 
greatly  that  they  were  thus  afforded  an 
opportunit}'  of  spreading  the  gospel  among 
the   Indians.     Nearly  one   hundred  persons 


SETTLEMENT  OF  GEORGIA. 


243 


set  out  from  Salzburg,  taking  with  them 
their  wives  and  httle  ones  in  wagons,  and 
joumeyes  across  the  count)'  to  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main. 

They  carried  with  them  their  Bibles  and 
books  of  devotion,  and  as  they  journeyed 
lightened  their  fatigues  with  those  grand  old 
German  hymns  which  they  were  to  make  as 
precious  in  the  new  world  as  they  were  to 
the  people  of  God  in  the  old.  From  Frank- 
fort they  proceeded  to  the  Rhine  and  floated 
down  that  stream  to  Rotterdam,  where, 
being  joined  by  two  clergymen — Bolzius 
and  Gronau — they  sailed  to  England. 
They  were  warmly  received  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  trustees  of  the  colon}-  and 
forwarded  to  Georgia. 

A  stormy  passage  of  fifty-seven  days 
brought  them  to  Charleston,  in  March, 
1734,  where  they  were  met  by  Ogle- 
thorpe, who  led  them  to  their  destina- 
tion. They  were  assigned  a  location  on 
the  Savannah,  a  short  distance  above 
the  town  of  Savannah,  where  they  began 
without  delay  to  lay  off  a  town,  which 
they  named  Ebenezer,  in  gratitude  to 
•God  for  his  guidance  of  them  into  a  land 
of  plenty  and  of  rest  from  persecution. 
Others  of  their  countrymen  joined  them 
from  time  to  time,  and  their  settlement 
grew  rapidly  and  became  noted  as  one 
of  the  most  orderly,  thrifty  and  moral 
communities  in  the  new  world. 

In  1734  the  town  of  Augusta  was  laid 
out  at  the  head  of  boat  navigation  on  the  Sa- 
vannah, and  soon  became  an  important  trad- 
ing-post. Emigrants  came  over  from  England 
in  large  numbers,  and  Oglethorpe  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  his  colony  fairly  started 
upon  the  road  to  prosperity.  He  was  justly 
proud  of  the  success  of  the  colony,  for  it  was 
mainly  due  to  his  disinterested  efforts. 
■Governor  Johnson,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
had  watched  the  labors  of  Oglethorpe  with 


the  deepest  interest,  wrote :  "  His  under- 
taking will  succeed,  for  he  nobly  devotes  all 
his  powers  to  serve  the  poor  and  rescue 
them  from  their  wrechedness."  The  pastor 
of  Ebenezer  bore  equally  emphatic  testimony 
to  his  devotion.  "  He  has  taken  care  of  us 
to  the  best  of  his  ability,"  said  the  pastor. 
"  God  has  so  blessed  his  presence  and  his 
regulations  in  the  land  that  others  would  not 
in  many  years  have  accomplished  what  he 
has  broutrht  about  in  one." 


GENERAL   OGLETHORPE. 

In  April,  1734,  Oglethorpe,  whose  pres- 
ence was  required  in  Europe,  sailed  from 
Savannah,  taking  with  him  several  Indians, 
and  enough  of  the  raw  silk  which  had  been 
produced  in  the  colony  to  make  a  dress  for 
the  queen.  Georgia  was  left  to  manage  its 
own  affairs  during  the  absence  of  its  founder. 
As  the  colonists  regarded  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits  as  the  sure  cause  of  the  debt  and 
misery    from    which    they    had    fled,   they 


244 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


prohibited  their  introduction  into  the  colony ; 
but  it  was  found  impossible  to  enforce  this 
law.  The  importation  of  negro  slaves  was 
also  forbidden.  The  colony  was  a  refuge  for 
the  distressed  and  oppressed  of  all  nations, 
and  it  seemed  a  violation  of  the  spirit  in 
which  it  was  founded  to  hold  men  in  bond- 
age. "  Slavery,"  said  Oglethorpe,  "  is  against 
the  gospel  as  well  as  the  fundamental  law  of 
England.  We  refused,  as  trustees,  to  make 
a  law  permitting  such  a  horrid  crime." 


with  the  intention  of  becoming  missionaries 
of  the  gospel  among  the  savage  tribes,  and 
under  their  leader,  Spangenberg,  formed  a 
new  settlement  on  the  Ogeechee,  south  of 
the  Savannah.  They  claimed  and  received 
a  grant  of  fifty  acres  of  land  for  each  of 
their  number,  in  accordance  with  a  law 
which  had  been  passed  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  emigration.  In  the  same  year  a 
company  of  Scotch  Highlanders,  under  their 
minister,  John  McLeod,  arrived  and  founded 


\    s     L lUE 


The  visit  of  Oglethorpe  to  England  was 
productive  of  great  benefit  to  Georgia.  Par- 
liament was  induced  to  grant  it  assistance, 
and  the  king  became  deeply  interested  in  the 
province  which  had  been  called  by  his  name. 
Emigrants  from  England  continued  to  seek 
its  hospitable  shores,  and  the  trustees  induced 
a  band  of  Moravians,  or  United  Brethren,  to 
emigrate  to  the  colony.     They  came  in  1735, 


the  town  of  Darien,  on  the  Altamaha.  In 
1736  Oglethorpe  himself  returned,  bringing 
with  him  three  hundred  emigrants. 

Among  the  new-comers  were  two  broth- 
ers, men  of  eminent  piety,  who  were  destined 
to  exercise  a  powerful  influence  upon  the 
world.  They  were  John  and  Charles  Wes- 
ley, sons  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and    themselves  ministers  of  that 


SETTLEMi:XT   OF   GEORGIA. 


245 


communion.  Charles  Wesley  had  been 
selected  by  Oglethorpe  as  his  secretar\',  and 
John  Wesley  came  with  the  hope  of  becom- 
ing the  means  of  converting  the  Indians  to 
Christianity.  He  did  not  succeed  in  realiz- 
ing his  noble  ambition,  but  we  cannot  doubt 
that  his  experience  in 
America  formed  a 
very  important  part 
of  the  training  by 
which  God  was  pre- 
paring him  for  the 
great  work  he  meant 
to  intrust  to  him  at  a 
later  day. 

The  preaching  of 
Wesley  had  a  marked 
effect  upon  the  col- 
ony. Crowds  flocked 
to  hear  him,  neglect- 
ing their  usual  amuse- 
ments in  their  eager- 
ness to  listen  to  him. 
His  austerity  of  life, 
however,  involved 
him  in  troubles  with 
the  people,  and  his 
popularity  at  length 
disappeared.  His 
brother  Charles  was 
too  tenderly  moulded 
for  so  rough  a  life  as 
that  of  the  infant  col- 
ony, and  his  health 
sank  under  it.  The 
brothers  remained  in 
Georgia  only  two 
years,  and  then  went 
i^ack  to  their  labors  in 
Europe,  never  to  return  to  America. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  the  Wesleys 
came  to  the  colony  George  Whitefield,  their 
friend  and  associate,  the  "  golden-mouthed  " 
preacher  of  the  century.    In  his  own  land  he 


had  beguii  to  preach  the  message  of  his  Mas- 
ter when  but  a  mere  youth,  and  had  pro- 
claimed it  to  the  inmates  of  the  prisons  and 
to  the  poor  in  the  fields,  and  now  he  had 
come  to  bring  the  gospel  to  the  people  of 
the  new  world.     He  visited  the  Lutherans  at 


JOHN    WESLEY. 


Ebcnezer,  and  was  deeply  impressed  with  thv 
care  with  which  they  protected  the  orphan 
and  helpless  children  of  their  community.' 
He  determined  to  establish  an  institution 
similar   to   the   orphan    house  at  Halle,  ia 


246 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


Germany,  and  by  his  personal  exertions  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  in  England  and  America 
the  funds  necessary  for  the  success  of  his 
enterprise. 

He  thereupon  established  near  Savannah 
th*   first   orphan   asylum    in  America.     He 


GEORGE   WHITEFIELD. 

watched  it  with  unceasing  care  during  his 
life,  but  after  his  death  it  languished  and  was 
at  length  discontinued.  Whitefield  did  not 
confine  his  labors  to  Georgia.  He  visited 
every  colony  in    America,  and   finally   died 


and  was  buried  in  New  England.  The 
memory  of  his  wonderful  eloquence  is  still 
retained  in  this  country  by  the  children  of 
those  who  listened  to  him. 

Immediately  upon  his  return  to  Georgia,. 
Oglethorpe  proceeded  to  visit  the  Lutheran 
settlement  at  Ebenezer, 
to  encourage  the  people 
and  lay  out  their  town. 
The  Germans  repaid  nis 
care  by  their  industry, 
and  in  a  few  years  their 
total  annual  product  of 
raw  silk  amounted  to  ten 
thousand  pounds.  The 
culture  of  indigo  was 
also  carried  on  by  them 
with  marked  success. 

Oglethorpe,  having 
visited  the  Scotch  set- 
tlement at  Darien,  now 
resolved  to  come  to  a 
definite  understanding 
with  the  Spaniards  at 
St.  Augustine  respect- 
ing the  southern  border 
of  Georgia,  and  to  sus- 
tain the  pretensions  of 
Great  Britain  to  the 
country  as  far  south  as 
the  St.  John's.  Proceed- 
ing with  a  detachment  of 
Highlanders  to  Cumber- 
land Island,  he  marked 
out  the  location  for  a 
fort,  to  be  called  St. 
Andrew's,  and  on  the 
southern  end  of  Amelia 
Island,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  John's,  built  Fort  St.  George.  The 
Spaniards  on  their  part  claimed  the  whole 
coast  as  far  north  as  St.  Helena's  Sound,  and 
Oglethorpe,  a  little  later,  decided  to  abandon 
Fort  St.  George,  but  strengthened  Fort  St. 


SETTLEMENT  OF  GEORGIA. 


247 


Andrew,  as  it  defended  the  entrance  to  the 
St.  J\lar>''s,  which  stream  was  finally  settled 
upon  as  the  boundary  between  Georgia  and 
Florida.  Oglethorpe  was  commissioned  a 
brigadier-general  by  the  king,  and  was 
charged  with  the  defence  of  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina.  He  repaired  to  England 
and  raised  a  regiment  of  troops,  with  which 
he  returned  to  Georgia  in  1738. 

Spain  and  England  were  rapidly  drifting 
into  war.  The  system  of  restrictions  by 
which  the  European  governments  sought  to 
retain  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  com- 
merce of  their  respective  colonies  was  always 
a  fruitful  source  of  trouble.  It  now  operated 
to  bring  England  and  Spain  to  open  hostili- 
ties. The  Spanish  colonies  were  forbidden 
b\^  law  to  trade  with  any  port  but  that  of 
Cadiz.  The  merchants  of  this  place,  being 
given  a  monopoly  of  the  colonial  commerce, 
were  enabled  to  fix  their  prices  without  fear  of 
competition,  and  thus  earned  large  fortunes. 

Grasping  Smugglers. 
The  trade  of  the  Spanish-American  col- 
onies, however,  was  too  tempting  not  to  pro- 
duce rivals  to  the  merchants  of  Cadiz.  The 
English,  who  had  watched  its  growth  with 
eager  eyes,  determined  to  gain  a  share  of  it. 
By  the  terms  of  a  treaty  between  the  two 
nations,  an  English  vessel  was  allowed  to 
visit  Portobello,  in  the  West  Indies,  once  a 
year,  and  dispose  of  its  cargo.  This  vessel 
was  followed  by  smaller  ones,  which  in  the 
night  replaced  with  their  cargoes  the  bales  of 
goods  that  had  been  discharged  during  the 
day.  An  active  smuggling  trade  sprang  up 
between  the  English  and  Spanish-American 
ports,  and  English  vessels  repeatedly  sought 
these  ports,  under  the  pretence  of  distress, 
and  sold  their  goods.  These  enterprises 
were  carried  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
Spanish  merchants  were  unable  to  compete 
with  the  English  smugglers  in  the  colonial 


markets,  and  the  tonnage  of  the  port  of 
Cadiz  fell  from  fifteen  thousand  to  two  thou- 
sand tons. 

The  Spaniards  visited  with  severe  punish- 
ments all  who  were  detected  in  engaging  in 
this  illicit  traffic.  Some  of  the  offenders  were 
imprisoned,  and  others  were  deprived  of  their 
cars.  The  English  people  resented  the  pun- 
ishment of  these  traders  as  an  infringement 
of  the  freedom  of  trade,  and  regarded  the 
smugglers  who  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
Spanish  justice  as  martyrs.  The  popular 
sentiment  was  therefore  in  favor  of  a  war 
with  Spain,  and  the  English  government, 
which  had  all  along  connived  at  this  illicit 
trade,  which  was  rapidly  crippling  a  rival 
power,  shared  the  national  feeling. 

Grievances  of  the  Settlers. 

The  English  colonists,  who  had  watched 
the  growth  of  the  trouble  between  the  two 
European  countries,  had  grievances  of  their 
own.  South  Carolina  was  a  sufferer  by  the 
loss  of  numerous  runaway  negro  slaves,  who 
escaped  to  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine. 
The  return  of  these  fugitives  was  demanded, 
and  was  refused,  not  because  the  Spaniards 
were  opposed  to  slavery,  but  because  they 
were  always  ready  to  injure  the  English  col- 
onies by  any  means  in  their  power.  More- 
over, the  Spanish  authorities  of  Florida 
had  ordered  the  English  to  withdraw  from 
Georgia,  and  it  was  not  certain  that  they 
would  refrain  from  seeking  to  enforce  this 
order.  Oglethorpe  had  become  convinced 
that  war  was  inevitable,  and  in  order  to  be 
prepared  for  it  had  visited  Europe  and  raised 
a  regiment  of  si.x  hundred  men,  as  has  been 
related. 

War  was  declared  against  Spain  by  Eng- 
land in  October,  1739.  Admiral  Vernon  was 
sent  against  Portobello  with  his  fleet,  and 
captured  that  town  and  its  fortifications, 
and  gained   some  other  successes  over  the 


248 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


Spaniards  in  Central  America.  In  1740,  the 
American  colonies  were  ordered  by  the 
British  government  to  contribute  each  its 
quota  to  a  grand  expedition  against  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  the  West  Indies. 
Each  colony  made  its  contribution  promptly, 
and  Pennsylvania,  in  the  place  of  troops, 
voted  a  sum  of  money. 

Fleet  of  a  Hundred  Vessels. 

The  expedition  reached  Jamaica  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 741,  but  instead  of  proceeding  at  once 
to  attack  Havana,  which  was  only  three 
days  distant,  and  the  conquest  of  which 
would  have  made  England  supreme  in  the 
West  Indies,  the  fleet  was  detained  for  over 
a  month  at  Jamaica  by  the  dissensions  be- 
tween Wentworth,  the  incompetent  com- 
mander of  the  land  forces,  and  Vernon,  the 
admiral  of  the  fleet.  The  expedition  num- 
bered over  one  hundred  vessels,  of  which 
twenty-nine  were  ships  of  the  line,  and  was 
manned  with  fifteen  thousand  sailors  and 
twelve  thousand  troops,  and  supplied  with 
every  requisite  for  a  successful  siege.  Havana 
might  have  been  taken,  and  England  have 
gained  a  hold  upon  the  southern  waters  of 
America  which  could  never  have  been 
■wrested  from  her. 

Instead  of  undertaking  this  important 
measure,  the  expedition  attacked  Cartha- 
gena,  the  strongest  fortress  in  Spanish 
America.  The  Spaniards  defended  it  with 
obstinancy  and  held  the  English  in  check 
until  the  besieging  force,  decimated  by  the 
ravages  of  the  climate,  was  compelled  to 
withdraw.  The  war  continued  through  the 
next  year,  but  England  gained  no  advan- 
tage in  the  West  Indies  which  could  at 
all  compensate  her  for  her  losses  in  the 
struggle. 

In  the  autumn  of  1739,  upon  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  Oglethorpe  was  ordered  to 
invade    Florida,  and    attack  St.  Augustine. 


He  hastened  to  Charleston  and  urged  upon 
the  authorities  of  South  Carolina,  which 
formed  a  part  of  his  military  command,  the 
necessity  of  acting  with  promptness  and  de- 
cision. He  was  granted  supplies  and  a  force 
of  four  hundred  men,  which,  added  to  his 
own  regiment,  gave  him  a  force  of  one 
thousand  white  troops.  He  was  also  fur- 
nished with  a  body  of  Indian  warriors  by  the 
friendly  tribes,  and  with  his  little  army  in- 
vaded Florida  in  the  spring  of  174 1,  and  laid 
siege  to  St.  Augustine.  He  found  the  gar- 
rison more  numerous  and  the  fortifications 
stronger  than  he  had  been  led  to  believe. 
The  Indians  soon  became  disheartened  and 
began  to  desert,  and  the  troops  from  South 
Carolina,  "  enfeebled  by  the  heat,  dispirited 
by  sickness  and  fatigued  by  frujtless  efforts, 
marched  awa)'  in  large  bodies." 

Spanish   Settlers  Protected. 

The  small  naval  force  also  became  dissat- 
isfied, and  Oglethorpe,  left  with  only  his  own 
regiment,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  into 
Georgia  after  a  siege  of  five  weeks.  During 
this  campaign  Oglethorpe  made  a  few  pris- 
oners, whom  he  treated  with  kindness.  He 
prevented  the  Indians  from  maltreating  the 
Spanish  settlers,  and,  throughout  the  inva- 
sion, "  endured  more  fatigues  than  any  of  his 
soldiers;  and  in  spite  of  ill-health,  he  was  at 
the  head  in  every  important  action." 

The  invasion  of  Florida  was  a  misfortune 
for  Georgia  in  every  way.  Not  only  were 
some  of  the  inhabitants  lost  to  the  colony  by 
death,  and  the  industry  of  the  province 
greatly  interfered  with  by  the  calling  off  of 
the  troops  from  their  ordinary  avocations, 
but  a  serious  misfortune  was  sustained  in  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Moravians  from  the  prov- 
ince. Uncompromisingly  opposed  to  war, 
they  withdrew  from  Georgia  in  a  body  and 
settled  in  Pcnnsyhania,  where  they  founded 
the  towns  of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   GEORGIA. 


249 


In  the  last  year  of  the  war,  1742,  the 
Spaniards  resolved  to  avenge  the  attack  upon 
Florida  by  driving  the  English  out  of 
Georgia.  A  strong  fleet  with  a  considerable 
land  force  was  sent  from  Cuba  to  St.  Augus- 
tine, from  which  it  proceeded  to  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Mary's.  Oglethorpe  had  con- 
structed a  strong  work  called  Fort  William, 
on  the  southern  end  of  Cumberland  Island, 
for  the  defence  of  this  river.  With  no  aid 
from  Carolina,  and  with  less  than  a  thousand 
men,  Oglethorpe  was  left  to  defend  this 
position  as  well  as  he  could.  He  posted  his 
main  force  at  Frederica,  a  small  village  on 
St.  Simon's  Island.  The  Spanish  fleet 
attacked  Fort  William  in  June  and  succeeded 
in  passing  it  and  entering  the  harbor  of  St. 
Simon's.  The  troops  were  landed  and  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  a  combined  attack 
upon  Frederica. 

Entrapped  and  Defeated. 

Oglethorpe  now  resolved  to  anticipate  the 
attack  of  the  enemy  by  a  night  assault  upon 
their  position,  but  as  his  forces  were  approach- 
ing the  Spanish  camp,  under  cover  of  dark- 
ness, one  of  his  soldiers,  a  Frenchman, 
betrayed  the  movement  by  firing  his  gun, 
and  escaping  into  the  enemy's  lines,  where 
he  gave  the  alarm.  Oglethorpe,  by  a  happy 
stratagem,  now  induced  the  enemy  to  with- 
draw, and  drew  upon  the  deserter  the  pun- 
ishment he  merited.  He  bribed  a  Spanish 
prisoner  to  carry  a  letter  to  the  deserter,  in 
which  he  addressed  the  Frenchman  as  a  spy 
of  the  English,  and  urged  him  to  use  every 
effort  to  detain  the  Spaniards  before  Fred- 
erica for  several  days  longer,  until  a  fleet  of 
six  English  ships  of  war,  which  had  sailed 
from  Charleston,  could  reach  and  destroy 
St.  Augustine.  The  letter  was  delivered  by 
the  released  prisoner  to  the  Spanish  com- 
mander, as  0,:;lethorpe  had  known  would  be 
the  case,  and  the  deserter  was  placed  in  con- 
finement. 


Fortunately,  at  this  moment,  some  vessels 
from  South  Carolina,  laden  with  supplies  for 
Oglethorpe,  appeared  in  the  offing.  These 
the  Spanish  commander  was  confident  were 
the  ships  on  their  way  to  attack  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  determined  to  strike  a  vigorous 
blow  at  Frederica  before  sailing  to  the  relief 
of  his  countrymen  in  Florida.  On  his  march 
towards  the  English  position  he  was  ambus- 
caded and  defeated,  with  great  loss,  at  a 
place  since  called  "  Bloody  Marsh."  The 
next  night  he  embarked  his  forces  and  sailed 
for  St.  Augustine  to  defend  it  from  the  attack 
which  had  no  existence  save  in  the  fertile 
brain  of  Oglethorpe,  whose  stratagem  was 
thus  entirely  successful.  On  their  withdrawal 
the  Spaniards  renewed  their  attempt  to  cap- 
ture Fort  W'illiam,  but  without  success. 
The  firmness  and  vigor  of  Oglethorpe  had 
saved  Georgia  and  Carolina  from  the  ruin 
which  the  Spaniards,  who  had  no  intention 
of  occupying  the  country,  had  designed  for 
them. 

Oglethorpe  Acquitted. 

Yet  the  founder  and  brave  defender  ol 
Georgia  was  not  to  escape  the  experience  of 
those  who  seek  with  disinterested  zeal  to 
serve  their  fellow-men.  The  disaffected 
settlers  sent  an  agent  to  England  to  lodge 
complaints  against  him  with  the  government. 
In  July,  1743,  having  made  sure  of  the  tran- 
quility and  safety  of  the  colony,  Oglethorpe 
sailed  for  England  to  meet  his  accuser,  and 
upon  arriving  in  his  native  country  demanded 
an  investigation  of  his  conduct  in  the  land 
for  which  he  had  sacrificed  so  much. 

The  result  of  the  inquiry  was  the  trium- 
phant acquittal  of  Oglethorpe  and  the  pun- 
ishment of  his  accuser  for  making  false 
charges.  Oglethorpe  was  promoted  to  the 
grade  of  major-general  in  the  English  army. 
He  did  not  return  to  Georgia  again,  but  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  during 


250 


SETTLEMENT  OF  AMERICA. 


his  ten  years  of  sacrifice  and  toil  in  America 
he  had  successfully  laid  the  foundations  of  a 
vigorous  state  and  had  placed  it  far  beyond 
the  possibility  of  failure,  and  that  his  name 
was  honored  and  loved  by  the  people  for 
whom  he  had  given  his  best  efforts  without 
any  personal  reward.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
ninety  years.  After  the  departure  of  Ogle- 
thorpe many  improvements  were  made  in 
the  government  of  Georgia,  which  was 
changed  from  a  military  rule  to  a  civil 
establishment.  The  forms  and  customs  of 
the  English  law  were  introduced  and  the 
usual  magistrates  appointed. 

Human  Cargoes  from  Africa. 

Slavery  had  been  forbidden  by  the  trus- 
tees, but  the  majority  of  the  people  were 
dissatisfied  with  this  prohibition.  The  Ger- 
mans and  the  Scotch  were  opposed  to  the 
introduction  of  slave  labor,  but  the  greater 
number  of  the  English,  many  of  whom  had 
been  reduced  to  poverty  by  their  idleness 
and  wastefulness,  were  of  the  opinion  that 
the  agricultural  wealth  of  the  colony  could 
not  be  properly  developed  by  white  labor 
alone.  "  They  were  unwilling  to  labor,  but 
were  clamorous  for  privileges  to  which  they 
had  no  right."  They  declared  that  the  use 
of  strong  liquors  was  rendered  absolutely 
necessary  by  the  climate  and  demanded  the 
repeal  of  the  laws  against  their  introduction. 
Negro  slaves  were  hired  from  the  Carolina 
planters  at  first  for  a  few  years,  and  finally 
for  a  term  of  one  hundred  years,  which  was  a 
practical  establishment  of  slavery  in  the 
colony. 

Within  seven  years  after  Oglethorpe's 
departure  slave-ships  from  Africa  brought 
their  cargoes  direct  to  Savannah  and  sold 
them  there.  The  scruples  of  the  Germans 
were  at   length   overcome,  and  they  were 


induced  to  believe  that  negroes  might  be  led 
into  the  Christian  fold  by  their  proper  treat- 
ment by  Christian  masters,  and  that  in  this 
way  their  change  of  country  might  result  in 
benefit  to  them.  "  If  you  take  slaves  in 
faith,"  wrote  their  friends  from  Germany, 
"  and  with  the  intent  of  conducting  them  to 
Christ,  the  action  will  not  be  a  sin,  but  may 
prove  a  benediction."  Even  the  pious  White- 
field  took  this  view  of  the  subject  and  urged 
the  trustees  to  grant  permission  to  the  colo- 
nists to  hold  slaves,  as  indispensable  to  the 
prosperity  of  Georgia. 

The  trustees  were  so  strongly  urged  to  this 
step  by  all  classes  of  the  colony,  and  so 
overrun  with  complaints,  that  the  twenty-one 
years  of  their  guardianship  having  expired, 
they  were  glad  to  surrender  their  trust,  which 
they  did  in  1752,  and  Georgia  became  a  royal 
province.  Privileges  similar  to  those  granted 
the  other  colonies  were  allowed  it.  The 
king  appointed  the  governor  and  some  of  the 
other  higher  officials,  and  the  assembly  dis- 
charged the  duties,  and  enjoyed  the  rights 
appertaining  to  similar  bodies  in  the  other 
provinces. 

Georgia  was  always  a  favored  colony. 
Among  the  most  important  privileges  be- 
stowed upon  it  was  the  right  to  import  and 
hold  negro  slaves,  which  was  conferred  upon 
it  by  Parliament  after  a  careful  examination 
into  the  matter.  After  this  the  colony  grew 
rapidly,  and  cotton  and  rice  were  largely- 
cultivated.  In  1752,  at  the  time  of  the  re- 
linquishment of  the  colony  to  the  crown, 
Georgia  contained  a  population  less  than 
twenty-five  hundred  whites  and  about 
four  hundred  negroes.  In  1775,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  the  popu- 
lation  numbered  about  seventy-five  thousand 
souls,  and  its  exports  were  valued  at  over 
,  half  a  million  of  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XX 
The  French  in  the  Valley  of  the   Mississippi 

Origin  of  the  Hostility  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  French— Settlement  of  Canada— Plans  of  the  French  Respecting  thelndiaM 
— The  Jesuits — Their  Work  in  America — Suceess  of  their  Missions — The  Early  Missionaries— Foundation  of  a  College 
at  Quebec— Efforts  of  the  Jesuits  to  Convert  the  Iroquois— Father  Jogues— Death  of  Ahasistari— Father  Alloiiez— The 
Missions  on  the  Upper  Lakes— Father  Marquette— His  Exploration  of  the  Upper  Mississippi— Death  of  Marquette— 
La  Salle — Efforts  of  France  to  Secure  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi— La  Salle  Descends  the  Mississippi  to  its  Mouth 
— His  Effort  to  Coloni^e  the  Lower  Mississippi — The  First  Colony  in  Texas — Its  Failure — Death  of  La  Salle — 
Lemoine  d'lbberville- Settlement  of  Louisiana— Colony  of  Biloxi— Settlement  of  Mobile— Crozat's  Monopoly— 
FoundiHg  of  New  Orleans — Detroit  Founded — Slow  Growth  of  the  French  Colonies — Occupation  of  the  Ohio  Valley 
by  the  French — Wars  with  the  Indians — Extermination  of  the  Natchez  Tribe — War  with  the  Chickasaws. 


WE  have  already  spoken  of  the 
explorations  of  Samuel  Cham- 
plain  in  Canada  and  in  the 
northern  part  of  New  York. 
It  is  necessary  now,  in  order  to  obtain  a 
proper  comprehension  of  the  period  at  which 
we  have  arrived,  to  go  back  to  the  time  of  his 
discoveries  and  trace  the  efforts  of  France 
to  extend  her  dominion  over  the  great  valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  We  have  seen  Cham- 
.plain  in  one  of  his  last  expeditions  accom- 
^.anying  a  war  party  of  the  Hurons  and  AI- 
gonqums  against  their  inveterate  enemies, 
the  Iroquois  or  Five  Nations.  By  his  aid 
the  former  were  enabled  to  defeat  the  Iro- 
quois, and  that  great  confederacy  thus  be- 
came the  bitter  and  uncompromising  enemies 
of  the  French  nation.  They  cherished  this 
hostility  to  the  latest  period  of  the  dominion 
of  France  in  Canada,  and  no  effort  of  the 
French  governors  was  ever  able  to  over- 
come it. 

The  efforts  of  Champlain  established  the 
settlement  of  Canada  upon  a  sure  basis  of 
success,  and  after  his  death  settlers  came 
over  to  Canada  from  France  in  considerable 
numbers.  Quebec  bccamean  important  place, 
and  other  settlements  were  founded.  It  was 
apparent  from  the  first  that  the  French  colo- 
nies   must  occupy  a   very  different    footing 


from  those  of  England.  The  soil  and  the 
climate  were  both  unfavorable  to  agriculture, 
and  the  French  settlements  were  of  necessity 
organized  chiefly  as  trading-posts.  The 
trade  in  furs  was  immensely  valuable,  and 
the  French  sought  to  secure  the  exclusive 
possession  of  it.  To  this  end  it  was  indis- 
pensable to  secure  the  friendship  of  the  In- 
dians, especially  of  those  tribes  inhabiting 
the  country  to  the  north  and  west  of  the 
great  lakes. 

In  1634,  three  years  before  the  death  of 
Champlain,  Louis  XIII.  granted  a  charter 
to  a  company  of  French  nobles  and  mer- 
chants, bestowing  upon  them  the  entire 
region  embraced  in  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  then  known  as  New  France. 
Richelieu  and  Champlain,  who  were  mem- 
bers of  this  company,  were  wise  enough  to- 
understand  that  their  countrymen  were  not 
suited  to  the  task  of  colonization,  and  that 
if  France  was  to  found  an  empire  in  the  new 
world,  it  must  be  by  civilizing  and  Chris 
tianizing  the  Indians  and  bringing  them 
under  the  rule  of  her  king,  and  not  by  seek- 
ing to  people  Canada  with  Frenchmen. 
From  this  time  it  became  the  policy  of 
France  to  bring  the  savages  under  her  sway. 
The  efforts  of  the  settlers  in  Canada  were 
mainly  devoted  to  trading  with  the  Indians, 
2SI      , 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


and  no  attempt  was  made  to  found   an  agri- 
cultural state. 

Champlain  had  conceived  a  sincere  desire 
("or  the  conversion  of  the  savages  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  had  employed  several  priests  of 
the  order  of  St.  Francis  as  his  companions, 
and  these  had  gained  sufficient  success  among 
the  savages  to  gi\'e  ground  for  the  hope  that 
the  red  men  might  yet  be  brought  into  the 
fold  of  Christ.  Father  Le  Caron,  one  of  this 
order,  had  penetrated  far  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence, had  explored  the  southern  coast  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  had  even  entered  Lake 
Huron.  He  brought  back  tidings  of  thou- 
sands of  tlie  sons  of  the  forest  living  in 
darkness  and  superstition,  ignorant  of  the 
gospel,  and  dying  "  in  the  bondage  of  their 
sins."  In  France  a  sudden  enthusiasm  was 
awakened  in  behalf  of  the  savages,  and  at 
court  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians 
became  the  sure  road  to  distinction.  Much 
of  this  was  the  result  of  genuine  disinterested 
regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  red  men,  but 
much  also  was  due  to  the  conviction  that  by 
such  a  course  the  power  of  France  would  be 
most  surely  established  in  Canada. 

Work  of  the  Jesuits. 

The  missions  were  placed  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Jesuits,  an  order  well  suited  to 
the  task  demanded  of  it.  It  had  been  estab- 
lished by  its  founder  for  the  express  design 
of  defeating  the  influences  and  the  work  of 
the  Reformation,  and  its  members  were 
chosen  with  especial  regard  to  their  iitness 
for  the  duties  required  of  them.  They  were 
to  meet  and  refute  the  arguments  by  which 
the  Reformers  justified  their  withdrawal  from 
the  Roman  church,  to  beat  back  the  advanc- 
ing wave  of  Protestantism,  and  bring  all 
Christendom  once  more  in  humble  submis- 
sion to  the  feet  of  the  Roman  pontiff. 

The  Reformers  had  made  a  most  successful 
use  of  education  in  winning  men  from  Rome; 


the  Jesuits  would  take  their  own  weapons 
against  the  Protestants.  They  would  no 
longer  command  absolute  and  unquestioning 
submission  to  their  church;  but  would  edu- 
cate the  people  to  accept  the  faith  of  Rome 
as  the  result  of  study  and  investigation  ;  and 
in  order  that  study  and  investigation  should 
lead  to  this  desired  result,  the  control  of 
these  processes  should  be  placed  exclusively 
in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  the  Jesuit 
order,  who  should  direct  them  as  they  deemed 
best.  Such  a  task  required  a  band  of  de- 
voted men,  carefully  trained  for  their  special 
work ;  and  such  an  order  the  Jesuits  became. 
Surrendering  his  conscience  and  will  to  the 
direction  of  his  superiors,  and  sinking  his 
personality  in  that  of  his  order,  the  Jesuit 
became  a  mere  intellectual  machine  in  the 
hands  of  his  superior. 

A  Solemn  Oath. 

Bound  by  a  most  solemn  oath  to  obey 
without  inquiry  or  hesitation  the  commands 
of  the  Pope,  or  the  superiors  of  the  order,  the 
Jesuit  holds  himself  in  readiness  to  execute 
instantly,  and  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  any 
task  imposed  upon  him.  Neither  fatigue, 
danger,  hunger  nor  suffering  was  to  stand  in 
his  way  of  perfect  and  unhesitating  obedi- 
ence. No  distance  was  to  be  considered  an 
obstacle,  and  no  lack  of  ordinary  facilities  of 
travel  was  to  prevent  him  from  attempting  to 
reach  the  fields  in  which  he  was  ordered  to 
labor.  The  merit  of  obedience  in  his  eyes 
atoned  for  ever}'-  other  short-coming  ;  devo- 
tion to  the  church,  the  glory  of  making 
proselytes,  made  even  suffering  pleasure  and 
death  a  triumph,  if  met  in  the  discharge  of 
duty. 

Such  an  order  was  in  every  way  qualified 
for  the  work  of  Christianizing  the  savages, 
and  America  offered  the  noblest  field  to 
which  its  energies  had  yet  been  invited. 
There,  cut  off  from  the  ambitious  schemes 


THE   FRENXH    IN   THE   VALLEY   OF   THE   ^^SSISSH'PI 
and  corrupt    influences    which  had  enlisted 
their  powers  in  Europe,  the   Jesuits    could 


'■S3 


achieve  and  did  achieve  their  noblest  and 
most  useful  triumphs.  There,  their  influ- 
ence was  for  good  alone,  and  their  labors 
stand  in  striking  contrast  with  those  which 
won  for  the  order  the  universal  execration  of 
Europe.  Not  only  did  they  win  the  honor 
of  gaining  many  converts  to  the  Christian 
faith,  but  they  were  the  means  of  extending 
the  dominion  of  their  country  far  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  Canada,  and  of  bringing  the 
great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  under  the 
authority  of  France. 

Marriage  of  W^hites  and  Indians. 

By  the  year  1536  there  were  thirteen 
Jesuit  missionaries  in  Canada  laboring 
among  the  Indians.  Not  content  with  re- 
maining around  the  posts,  they  pushed  out 
beyond  the  frontier  settlements  into  the 
boundless  forest,  making  new  converts  and 
important  discoveries.  Each  convert  was 
regarded  as  a  subject  of  France,  and  the 
equal  of  the  whites,  and  the  kindliest  rela- 
tions were  established  between  the  French 
and  the  natives.  Many  of  the  traders  took 
them  Indian  wives,  and  from  these  marriages 
sprang  the  class  of  half-breeds  afterwards  so 
numerous  in  Canada. 

The  limits  of  Canada  were  too  narrow  for 
the  ambition  of  the  Jesuits  ;  they  burned  to 
carry  Christianity  to  the  tribes  in  the  more 
distant  regions  beyond  the  lakes.  In  the 
autumn  of  1634  Fathers  Brabeuf  and  Daniel 
accompanied  a  party  of  Hurons,  who  had 
come  to  Quebec  on  a  trading  expedition,  to 
their  home  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  which 
bears  their  name.  It  was  a  long  and  difficult 
journey  of  nine  hundred  miles,  and  it  taxed 
the  endurance  of  the  missionaries  to  the  ut- 
most, but  they  persevered,  and  finally  gained 
a  resting-place  at  the  Huron  villages  on 
Georgian   Bay  and    Lake    Simcoe      There 


they  erected  a  rude  chapel  in  a  little  grove, 
and  celebrated  the  mysteries  of  their  religion 
in  the  midst  of  the  wondering  red  men,  who 
looked  on  with  awe  and  not  without  interest. 


New  Missions. 

Si.x  missions  were  soon  established  among 
the  Indian  villages  in  this  part  of  the  lake, 
and  converts  began  to  reward  the  labors  of 
the  devoted  priests.  Father  Brabeuf  had  not 
an  idle  moment.  The  first  four  hours  of  the 
day  were  passed  in  prayer  and  in  the  flagel- 
lation of  his  body ;  he  wore  a  shirt  of  hair, 
and  his  fasts  were  frequent  and  severe.  The 
remainder  of  the  day  was  given  to  catechis- 
ing and  teaching  the  Indians.  As  he  passed 
along  the  streets  of  the  village  he  would  ring 
his  little  bell,  and  in  this  way  summon  the 
warriors  to  converse  with  him  upon  the 
mysteries  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  spent 
fifteen  years  in  his  labors  among  the  Indians, 
and  hundreds  of  converts  were  by  means  of 
him  gained  to  Christ  among  the  dusky  chil- 
dren of  the  forest. 

The  great  Huron  chief,  Ahasistari,  was 
among  the  converts  of  Father  Brabeuf, 
"  Before  you  came  to  this  country,"  he  said 
to  the  missionary,  "  when  I  have  incurred  the 
greatest  perils  and  have  alone  escaped,  I  have 
said  to  myself,  '  Some  powerful  Spirit  has  the 
guardianship  of  my  days.'"  That  Spirit  he 
now  declared  was  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  he 
had  before  adored  him  in  ignorance,  he  now 
became  his  acknowledged  servant.  Being 
satisfied  of  his  sincerity.  Father  Brabeuf 
baptized  him,  and  the  chief,  in  the  enthusi- 
asm of  his  new  belief,  exclaimed,  "  Let  us 
strive  to  make  the  whole  world  embrace  the 
faith  in  Jesus." 

The  report  of  the  successful  efforts  of  the 
missionaries  gave  great  satisfaction  in  France, 
and  the  king  and  queen  and  the  nobles  made 
liberal  donations  in  support  01  the  missions 
and  for  the  assistance  of  the  converts.     A 


254  LM\Llsn\     \NL     NUKMAL    sLllOOI     lUlIDINC.^    AT    lUKOMO     IN    li>j2. 


THE   FRENCH   IN   THE   VA 

college  for  the  education  of  missionaries  was 
founded  at  Quebec  in  1635.  This  was  the 
first  institution  of  learning  established  in 
America,  and  preceded  the  founding  of  Har- 
vard College  by  two  years.  Madame  de  la 
Peltrie,  a  wealthy  young  widow  of  Alcncon, 
with  the  aid  of  three  nuns,  established  in  1639 
the  Ursuline  Convent  for  the  education  of 
Indian  girls.  The  three  nuns  came  out  from 
France  to  take  charge  of  it,  and  were  received 
with  enthusiasm,  especially  by  the  Indians. 
Montreal  being  regarded  as  a  more  suit- 
able place,  the  institution  was  removed  to 
that  island  and  permanently  established 
there. 

The  Powerful    Mohawks. 

The  labors  of  the  missiouv^ries  had  thus 
far  been  confined  to  the  Huron  and  Algon- 
quin tribes,  whom  they  found  very  willing  to 
listen  to  them,  and  among  whom  they 
counted  their  converts  by  thousands.  They 
had  encountered  but  little  hostility  from 
them,  and  the  dangers  of  the  enterprise  were 
merely  those  inseparable  from  the  unsettled 
condition  of  the  country.  They  were 
anxious  to  extend  their  efforts  to  the  fiercer 
and  more  pow-erful  Iroquois,  as  the  conver- 
sion of  the  tribes  of  this  confederacy  would 
not  only  swell  the  number  of  their  converts, 
but  would  extend  the  influence  of  France  to 
the  very  borders  of  the  English  settlements 
on  the  Atlantic  coast. 

The  Iroquois,  or  Five  Nations,  consisted, 
as  has  been  said,  of  the  Seneca,  Cayuga, 
Onondaga,  Oneida  and  Mohawk  tribes. 
They  occupied  almost  all  that  part  of  Canada 
south  of  the  Ottawa,  and  between  Lakes 
Ontario,  Erie  and  Huron,  the  greater  part  of 
New  York  and  the  country  lying  along  the 
south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  now  included  in 
the  states  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.  They 
were  generally  called  by  the  English  the 
Mohawks.     They  were  the  most  intelligent, 


LLEY    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


255 


as  well  as  the  most  powerful,  of  the  tribes 
with  whom  the  French  missionaries  came  in 
contact. 

Their  traditions  related  that  their  confed- 
eracy had  been  formed  in  accordance  with 
the  instructions  of  Hiawatha,  the  greatest 
and  wisest  of  their  chiefs,  who  had  been 
blessed  by  the  Great  Spirit  with  more  than 
human  beauty  and  wisdom  and  courage. 
He  had  made  his  people  great,  united  and 
prosperous ;  had  then  taken  a  solemn  leave  of 
them,  and  had  sailed  out  into  the  distant 
sunset  in  a  snow-white  canoe,  amid  the 
sweetest  music  from  the  spirit  land.  They 
were  regarded  with  dread  by  the  sur- 
rounding tribes,  many  of  which  were  tribu- 
tary to  them.  Their  influence  extended 
eastward  as  far  as  New  England,  and  west- 
ward as  far  as  the  countries  of  the  Illinois  and 
the  Miamis.  They  regarded  the  Hurons  as 
their  hereditary  enemies,  and  the  French,  as 
allies  of  the  Hurons,  now  shared  this  hos- 
tility. The  savages  long  remembered,  and 
never  forgave,  the  alliance  of  Champlain 
with  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins,  to  w-hich 
reference  has  been  made. 

Enmity  of  the  Red  Men. 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  vainly  endeavored 
to  add  the  tribes  of  the  Five  Nations  to  their 
converts.  The  latter,  regarding  the  French 
as  enemies,  could  never  be  made  to  look 
upon  the  missionaries  of  that  race  as  friends, 
and  considered  the  efforts  of  the  good  fathers 
in  their  behalf  as  a  species  of  incantation 
designed  for  their  destruction.  They  closed 
the  region  south  of  Lake  Ontario  to  the 
French  traders  and  priests  and  kept  a  vigilant 
watch  over  the  passes  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  trade  of 
the  French  at  Montreal  with  the  tribes  on  the 
lakes. 

The  only  route  by  which  the  lakes  could 
be  reached  in  safety  was  by  the  Ottawa  and 


2S6 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


through  the  wilderness  beyond.  Yet  occa- 
sionally a  trading  party  would  slip  through 
the  blockade  established  by  the  Iroquois, 
and,  descending  the  lakes  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence, reach  Montreal  and  Quebec  in  safety. 
These  expeditions  constituted  the  only 
means  by  which  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in 
the  remote  regions  could  communicate  with 
their  principal  establishment  at  Montreal. 

In  the  summer  of  1642,  Father  Jogues, 
who  had  labored  with  great  success  in  the 
country  now  embraced  in  the  state  of  Michi- 
gan, left  the  Sault  Sainte  Marie  under  the 
escort  of  the  great  Huron  war  chief  Ahasis- 
tari  and  a  number  of  his  braves,  and,  descend- 
ing the  Ottawa  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  reached 
Montreal  and  Quebec  in  safety.  On  the 
first  of  August  he  set  out  on  his  return,  ac- 
companied by  a  larger  fleet  of  Huron  canoes. 
Before  the  mouth  of  the  Ottawa  was  reached 
the  party  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  Mo- 
hawks, and  the  canoes  were  so  much  dam- 
aged that  the  occupants  were  forced  to  make 
for  the  opposite  shore.  The  greater  number 
escaped,  but  a  few,  among  whom  were  Father 
Jogues  and  Father  Goupil,  a  fellow-priest, 
were  taken  prisoners. 

Died  at  the  Stake. 

Ahasistari  had  succeeded  in  reaching  a  place 
of  safety,  and  from  his  concealment  saw  the 
missionaries  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  their 
enemies.  He  knew  the  fate  that  awaited 
them,  and  resolved  to  share  it  with  them. 
Father  Jogues  might  have  escaped,  but  as 
there  were  among  the  prisoners  several  con- 
verts who  had  not  yet  received  baptism,  he 
decided  to  remain  with  them  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  administer  the  sacred  rite  to 
them  before  their  execution.  Ahasistari 
strode  through  the  midst  of  the  astonished 
Mohawks  to  the  side  of  the  priest.  "  My 
brother,"  said  the  chief,  "  I  made  oath  to  thee 
that  I   would    share    thy    fortune,  whether 


death  or  life  ;  here  am  I  to  keep  my  vow." 
He  received  absolution  from  the  hands  of  his 
teacher,  and  died  at  the  stake  with  the  firm- 
ness of  a  Christian  and  a  hero.  Jogues  and 
Goupil  were  carried  to  the  Mohawk,  and  in 
each  village  through  which  they  were  led 
were  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet.  On  an 
ear  of  corn  which  was  thrown  to  them  for 
food  a  few  drops  of  the  dew  had  remained, 
and  with  these  Father  Jogues  baptized  two 
of  his  converts. 

Peace  with  the  Five  Nations. 

Goupil  was  not  so  fortunate.  He  was  seen 
in  the  act  of  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross  over  an  Indian  child,  and  was 
struck  dead  by  a  blow  from  the  toma- 
hawk of  the  child's  father,  who  sup- 
posed he  was  working  a  spell  for  the  little 
one's  harm.  Father  Jogues  had  expected 
the  same  fate,  but  he  was  spared,  and  even 
allowed  to  erect  a  large  cross  near  the  village 
at  which  he  was  detained,  and  to  worship 
before  it  at  pleasure.  He  escaped  at  length 
and  reached  Albany,  where  he  was  kindly 
received  by  the  Dutch,  who  enabled  him  to 
return  to  France,  from  which  country  he 
sailed  again  for  Canada.  He  went  boldly 
into  the  Mohawk  country  and  began  again 
the  efforts  which  he  had  made  during  his 
captivity  to  convert  his  enemies  to  the  true 
faith,  but  his  labors  were  soon  cut  short  by 
his  murder  by  a  Mohawk  warrior.  Other 
missionaries  sought  the  country  of  these 
tribes,  but  only  to  meet  torture  and  death  at 
their  hands. 

In  1645,  the  French,  who  desired  to  secure 
their  possessions,  made  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  Five  Nations.  The  latter  professed 
to  forget  and  bury  the  wrongs  of  the  past, 
and  agreed  to  be  the  true  friends  of  the 
French.  The  Algonquins  joined  in  the 
peace,  but  neither  tribe  was  sincere  in  its 
professions  of  friendship. 


THE    FRENCH    IN   THE   VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSH'PL 


;57 


The  Abenakis  of  Maine,  who  had  heard 
of  the  good  deeds  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  sent 
messengers  to  Montreal  asking  that  mission- 
aries might  be  sent  to  dwell  among  them. 
Their  appeal  was  favorably  considered,  and 
Father  Dreuilettes  made  his  way  across  the 
wilderness  to  the  head  of  the  Kennebec,  and 
descended  that  stream  to  a  point  within  a 
few  miles  of  its  mouth,  where  he  established 
his  mission.  Large  numbers  of  the  savages 
came  to  him  for  religious  instruction,  and  he 
found  them  ready  to  embrace  the  truths  he 
taught  them.  He  entered  heartily  into  all 
the  modes  of  Indian  life,  hunting  and  fishing 
with  them,  and  winning  their  confidence  and 
affection.  After  remaining  with  them  about 
a  year  he  returned  to  Quebec,  escorted  by  a 
band  of  his  converts.  He  gave  such  favora- 
ble accounts  of  the  disposition  of  the  Maine 
Indians  that  a  permanent  mission  was  estab- 
lished among  them. 

Uncivilized  Wild  Men. 

By  the  close  of  the  year  1646  the  French 
had  established  a  line  of  missions  extending 
across  the  continent  from  Lake  Superior  to 
Nova  Scotia,  and  between  si.xty  and  seventy 
missionaries  were  actively  engaged  in  in- 
structing and  preaching  to  the  savages. 
How  far  the  labors  of  these  devoted  men 
were  actually  successful  will  never  be  known, 
as  their  work  was  of  a  character  which  can- 
not be  submitted  to  any  human  test.  They 
did  not  succeed,  however,  in  changing  either 
the  character  or  the  habits  of  their  converts. 
They  were  still  wild  men,  who  scorned  to 
engage  in  the  labor  of  cultivating  their  lands, 
and  lived  by  hunting  and  fishing.  They 
learned  to  engage  in  the  religious  services  of 
the  missionaries,  to  chant  matins  and  ves- 
pers, but  they  made  no  approach  to  civiliza- 
tion. When,  in  after  years,  the  zeal  of  the 
whites  for  their  conversion  became  less  act- 
ive, and  the  missionaries  less  numerous,  they 
fell  back  into  their  old  ways. 
17 


In  1648  the  peace  between  the  Mohawks 
and  the  Hurons  was  broken,  and  the  war 
blazed  up  again  fiercer  than  ever.  Bands  of 
Mohawk  warriors  invaded  the  territory  of 
the  Hurons,  and  both  the  savage  and  the 
missionary  fell  victims  to  their  fury.  On 
the  morning  of  the  fourth  of  July  the  village 
of  St.  Joseph,  on  Lake  Simcoe,  was  attacked 
by  a  war  party  of  the  Mohawks. 

Pierced  With  Arrows. 

The  Huron  braves  were  absent  on  a  hunt- 
ing expedition,  and  only  the  old  men  and 
the  women  and  children  of  the  tribe  were 
left  in  the  village.  This  was  the  village 
founded  by  the  missionaries  Brabeuf  and 
Daniel,  the  hitter  of  whom,  now  an  old  man, 
was  still  dwelling  with  his  converts.  At  the 
opening  of  the  attack  the  good  priest  has- 
tened to  baptize  such  as  he  could,  and  to 
give  absolution  to  all  whom  he  could  reach. 
Then,  as  the  Mohawks  forced  the  stockade 
which  protected  the  village  and  swarmed  in 
among  the  wigwams,  he  advanced  calmly 
from  the  chapel  to  meet  them,  and  fell 
pierced  with  numerous  arrows. 

During  the  ne.xt  year  the  Jesuit  missions 
in  Upper  Canada  were  broken  up.  At  the 
capture  of  the  village  Father  Brabeuf  and 
his  companion,  Gabriel  Lallemand,  were 
made  prisoners,  and  were  subsequently  put 
to  death  with  the  crudest  tortures.  They 
bore  their  sufferings  with  a  firmness  which 
astonished  their  persecutors.  The  Hurons 
were  scattered  and  their  country  was  added 
to  the  dominion  of  the  Five  Nations.  Many 
of  the  captive  Hurons  were  adopted  into  the 
conquering  tribes.  A  large  number  of  these 
had  embraced  Christianity — so  many,  indeed, 
that  the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  in  nowise 
discouraged  by  the  terrible  scenes  which  had 
marked  the  war,  began  to  cherish  the  hope 
that  the  presence  of  these  converts  would 
induce   the   Iroquois  to  receive  a  missionary 


258 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


among  them.  It  was  decided  to  make  the 
attempt  among  the  Onondagas,  and  Oswego, 
which  was  their  principal  village,  was  chosen 
as  the  site  of  the  missiou. 

Useless  Efforts. 

The  Iroquois  made  no  effort  to  disturb  the 
missionaries,  and  priests  were  sent  among 
the  other  tribes  of  the  confederacy.  Encour- 
aged by  this  reception,  the  French  undertook 
to  secure  a  firm  footing  in  this  inviting 
region  by  establishing  a  colony  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Oswego,  and  fifty  persons  were  des- 
patched to  that  point  to  begin  a  settlement 
there.  This  aroused  the  alarm  of  the 
Indians,  who  compelled  the  colonists  to 
withdraw  and  forced  the  missionaries  to  de- 
part with  them.  This  was  the  last  effort  of 
the  French  to  obtain  possession  of  New 
York.  The  Five  Nations  were  not  to  be 
reconciled  with  them  on  any  terms,  and  their 
hostility  made  it  useless  to  attempt  the  col- 
onization of  that  fertile  region. 

Defeated  in  their  hope  of  obtaining  a 
footing  in  the  country  of  the  Five  Nations, 
the  Jesuit  fathers  turned  their  attention  more 
energetically  to  the  vast  region  beyond  the 
lakes.  In  1654  two  young  fur-traders  had 
penetrated  into  the  country  beyond  Lake 
Superior,  and  after  an  absence  of  two  years 
had  returned  to  Quebec,  bringing  with  them 
accounts  of  the  powerful  and  numerous 
tribes  occupying  that  region.  They  brought 
with  them  a  number  of  Indians,  who  urged 
the  French  to  open  commercial  relations 
with  and  send  missionaries  among  these 
tribes.  Their  request  was  promptly  granted, 
and  missionaries  were  soon  on  the  ground. 
One  of  these,  the  aged  Father  Mesnard, 
while  journeying  through  the  forests,  wan- 
dered off  from  his  attendants  and  was  never 
seen  again.  His  cassock  and  breviary  were 
f  v.nd  by  the  Sioux,  and  were  long  retained 
Ly  them  as  a  protection  against  evil. 


In  1665  Father  Claude  Alloiiez  ascended 
the  Ottawa  and  crossed  the  wilderness  to  the 
Sault  Ste-Marie,  on  a  mission  to  the  tribes  of 
the  far  west.  In  October  he  reached  the 
principal  town  of  the  Chippewas  at  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior.  He  found  the  tribe  in 
great  excitement ;  the  young  warriors  were 
eager  to  engage  in  a  war  against  the  formid- 
able Sioux,  and  the  old  men  were  seeking  to 
restrain  them.  A  grand  council  was  in 
progress,  which  was  attended  by  the  chiefs 
of  ten  or  twelve  of  the  neighboring  tribes 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  peace  if 
possible.  Father  Alloiiez  was  admitted  to 
this  assembly  and  exhorted  the  warriors  to 
abandon  their  hostile  intentions,  and  urged 
them  to  join  the  French  in  an  alliance  against 
the  Five  Nations. 

His  appeal  was  successful ;  the  war  against 
the  Sioux  was  abandoned,  and  the  savages 
came  in  from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding 
country  to  listen  to  the  words  of  the  mis- 
sionary. A  chapel  was  built  on  the  shore  of 
the  lake  and  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  founded.  The  fame  of  the  missionary 
spread  far  to  the  west  and  north,  and  the 
tribes  dwelling  north  of  Lake  Superior,  the 
Pottawatomies  from  Lake  Michigan,  who 
worshiped  the  sun,  and  the  Sioux  and  the 
Illinois  from  the  distant  prairies  of  the  west, 
came  to  the  mission  to  hear  the  teachings  of 
the  missionary.  They  told  him  of  their 
country,  an  unbroken  expanse  of  level  land, 
without  trees,  but  covered  with  long  rich 
grass,  upon  which  grazed  innumerable  herds 
of  buffalo  and  deer  ;  of  the  rice  which  grew 
wild  in  their  distant  homes  ;  of  the  rich 
yield  of  maize  which  their  fields  produced  ; 
of  the  copper  mines  of  which  they  but  dimly 
comprehended  the  value;  and  of  the  great 
river  which  flowed  through  their  country 
from  the  far  north  to  the  unknown  regions 
of  the  south,  and  which  Alloiiez  understood 
them  to  call  the  "  Messipi." 


THE   FRENCH    IN   THE  VALLEY   OF  THE   MISSISSHTL 


After  remaining  at  his  mission  for  two 
years,  AUoiiez  returned  to  Quebec  to  ask  for 
other  laborers  in  the  great  field  around  him, 
and  to  urge  the  French  to  establish  per- 
manent settlements  of  emigrants  or  traders 
in  the  Lake  Superior  country.  He  remained 
at  Quebec  two  days,  was  given  an  assistant, 
and  at  once  returned  to  his  post,  where  he 
continued  his  labors  for  many  years.  "  Dur- 
ing his  long  sojourn  he  lighted  the  torch  of 
faith  for  more  than  twenty  dilTerent  nations." 

In  1668  the  French  West  India  Company, 
under  whose  auspices  the  settlement  of 
Canada  had  been  conducted,  relinquished 
their  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade,  and  a  great 
improvement  in  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  Canada  ensued.  In  the  same  year  Fathers 
Claude  Dablon  and  James  Marquette  esttib- 
lished  the  mission  ofSte-Marie  at  the  rapids 
through  which  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior 
rush  into  those  of  Huron.  "  For  the  suc- 
ceeding years,"  says  Bancroft,  "  the  illus- 
trious triumvirate,  Alloiiez,  Dablon  and 
Marquette,  were  employed  in  confirming  the 
influence  of  France  in  the  vast  regions  that 
extend  from  Green  Bay  to  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  mingling  happiness  with  suffering, 
and  winning  enduring  glory  by  their  fearless 
perseverance." 

Wonderful  Scene. 

In  1669,  Father  Alloiiez  went  to  establish 
"  mission  at  Green  Bay,  and  Father  Mar- 
quette took  his  place  at  the  mission  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Marquette  had  heard  so  much 
of  the  Mississippi  that  he  resolved  to  under- 
take the  discovery  of  the  upper  waters  of 
that  stream.  He  employed  a  young  Illinois 
warrior  as  his  companion,  and  from  him 
learned  the  dialect  of  that  tribe.  In  1673, 
accompanied  by  a  fellow-priest  named  Joliet, 
five  French  boatmen,  and  some  Indian  guides 
and  interpreters,  bearing  their  canoes  on  their 
backs,  Marquette  set  out   from  his  mission, 


and  crossing  the  narrow  portage  which 
divides  the  Fox  River  from  the  Wisconsin, 
reached  the  headwaters  of  tlie  latter  stream. 
There  the  guides  left  them,  wond.'ring  at 
their  rashness  in  seeking  to  venture  into  a 
region  which  the  simple  imagination  of  the 
savages  filled  with  vague  terroro.  The 
adventurers  floated  down  the  Wisconsin,  and 
in  seven  days  entered  the  Mississippi,  "  with 
a  joy  that  could  not  be  expressed."  Raising 
the  sai)s  of  their  canoes  they  glided  down 
the  mighty  father  of  waters,  gazing  with 
wonder  upon  the  magnificent  forests  which 
lined  its  shores,  and  which  swarmed  with 
game,  and  admiring  the  boundless  prairie* 
which  stretched  away  from  either  bank  to  th" 
horizon. 

The  Pipe  of  Peace. 

One  hundred  and  eighty  miles  below  th» 
mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  the  voyagers  for  the 
first  time  discovered  signs  of  human  beings. 
They  landed,  and  found  an  Indian  village  s 
few  miles  distant  from  the  river.  They  wera 
kindly  received  by  the  inhabitants,  who  spoke 
the  language  of  the  Indians  who  had  come 
with  Marquette,  and  a  week  w^as  passed  at 
this  hospitable  village.  The  villagers  told 
the  travellers  that  the  lower  river  extended 
far  to  the  south,  where  the  heat  was  deadly, 
and  that  in  those  latitudes  the  stream 
abounded  with  monsters  which  destroyed 
both  men  and  canoes.  At  the  departure  of 
the  whites  the  chief  of  the  tribe  hung  around 
Marquette's  neck  the  peace-pipe,  and  ex- 
plained to  him  that  it  would  prove  a  safe- 
guard to  him  among  the  tribes  into  whost 
territory  his  journey  would  lead  him. 

Continuing  their  voyage  the  explorer? 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and 
noticed  the  strong,  muddy  stream  which  it 
poured  into  the  Mississippi.  "When  I 
return,"  said  Marquette,  "  I  will  ascend  that 
river  and  pass  beyond  its   headwaters,  and 


26o 


SETTLEMElSii    OF  AMERICA. 


proclaim  the  gospel."  One  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  farther  south  they  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio,  of  which  river  they  had 
heard  from  the  Illinois  at  the  village  they 
had  visited.  As  they  proceeded  farther  south 
the  heat  became  more  intense,  for  it  was  the 
month  of  July.  They  met  with  Indians, 
whose  hostility  was  disarmed  by  the  peace- 
pipe  which  Marquette  bore.  Some  of  these 
Indians  were  armed  with  axes  of  European 
manufacture,  which  they  had  obtained  either 
trom  the  Spaniards  in  the  far  south,  or  from 
the  English  in  Virginia.  The  voyage  was 
continued  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas. 
Marquette  was  now  satisfied  that  the  great 
river  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  as 
he  was  fearful  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  in  that  region,  he  decided  to  bring 
his  voyage  to  an  end,  and  return  to  the 
lakes. 

The  Dying  Missionary. 

The  task  of  ascending  the  river  was  accom- 
plished with  great  difficulty,  and  at  length 
the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  was  reached.  As 
they  supposed  this  stream  would  lead  them 
to  the  lakes  the  voyagers  ascended  it  to  its 
headwaters,  and  then  crossed  the  country  to 
the  site  of  Chicago,  from  which  they  con- 
tinued the  voyage  by  way  of  Lake  Michigan 
to  Green  Bay. 

Marquette  despatched  Joliet  to  Quebec  to 
report  the  results  of  the  voyage,  but  himself 
remained  at  Green  Bay.  It  was  his  purpose 
to  preach  the  gospel  among  the  Illinois,  who 
had  begged  him  during  his  voyage  to  come 
back  to  them.  He  was  detained  at  Green 
Bay  for  some  time  by  feeble  health,  but  in 
1675  went  back  to  the  Illinois,  and  began  his 
labors  among  them.  Feeling  that  his  end 
was  near  he  undertook  to  return  to  the  mis- 
sion of  St.  Mary's,  but  fell  ill  on  the  way. 
He  gave  absolution  to  all  his  companions, 
and  retired    to   pray.     An  hour  afterwards, 


uneasy  at  his  absence,  his  people  went  to 
seek  him,  and  found  him  kneeling,  but  pray- 
ing no  longer,  for  his  spirit  had  gone  to 
receive  its  reward.  He  was  buried  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and 
his  memory  was  long  cherished  with  affec- 
tion by  the  Indians. 

The  work  of  e.xploration  which  Marquette^ 
had  begun  was  taken  up  by  a  bolder  and 
firmer  hand.  Robert  Cavalier  de  la  Salle,  a 
man  of  good  family,  had  been  educated  for 
the  service  of  ttie  Jesuits,  but  had  abandoned 
his  design  of  entering  that  order  after  com- 
pleting his  education.  In  1667  he  had  emi- 
grated to  Canada  to  seek  his  fortune,  and 
had  established  himself  as  a  fur-trader  on 
Lake  Ontario.  Encouraged  by  the  governor 
of  Canada  he  had  explored  Lake  Ontario, 
and  had  ascended  to  Lake  Erie.  When  the 
French  governor  a  few  years  later  built  Fort 
Frontenac  to  guard  the  outlet  of  Lake 
Ontario,  La  Salle  was  granted  an  extensive 
domain,  including  Fort  Frontenac,  now  the 
town  of  Kingston,  on  condition  that  he 
would  maintain  the  fort.  He  thus  obtained 
the  monopoly  of  the  fur-trade  with  the  Five 
Nations.  Here  he  was  residing  at  the  time 
of  the  death  of  Marquette. 

On  the  Road  to  Fortune. 
The  news  of  Marquette's  discoveries  filled 
him  with  the  deepest  interest,  and  he  was 
eager  to  continue  the  exploration  of  the 
river  at  the  point  at  which  Marquette  had 
discontinued  it,  and  to  trace  it  to  its  mouth. 
He  was  already  on  the  road  to  fortune,  but 
the  prospect  of  winning  greater  fame  was  too 
tempting  to  be  resisted,  and,  leaving  his  pos- 
sessions on  Lake  Ontario,  he  sailed  for 
France  and  laid  before  Colbert,  the  minister, 
the  schemes  he  had  for  the  exploration  and 
colonization  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
He  obtained  a  grant  of  valuable  pri\ileges 
and  received  permission  to  attempt  the  task 


THE   FRENCH    IN   THE   VALLEY   OF  THE   MISSISSIPPL 


261 


of  adding  that  vast  region  to  the  dominions 
of  France.  He  returned  to  Fort  Frontenac 
in  the  autumn  of  1678,  bringing  with  him  as 
his  lieutenant  an  Italian  veteran  named  Tonti 
.and  a  number  of  mechanics  and  seamen,  to- 
gether with  the  materials  for  rigging  a  ship. 

Before  the  winter  had  set  in  he  ascended 
Lake  Ontario  to  the  Niagara  River,  where  he 
built  a  trading-post.  Then  passing  around 
the  falls  he  constructed  a  vessel  of  sixty  tons 
at  the  foot  of  Lake  Erie.  Tonti  and  Father 
Hennepin,  a  Franciscan,  _ 

went  among  the  Senecas 
during  the  construction 
of  the  ship  and  estab- 
lished friendly  relations 
with  them,  and  La  Salle 
exerted  himself  to  pro- 
cure furs  with  which  to 
freight  his  vessel.  The 
vessel  completed,  he  as- 
cended Lake  Erie,  passed 
through  the  straits  into 
Lakes  Huron  and  Michi- 
gan, and  entered  Green 
Bay.  Then  loading  his 
vessel  with  a  cargo  of 
valuable  furs,  he  sent 
her  to  the  Niagara,  with 
orders  to  return  with 
supplies  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

During  her  absence 
La  Salle  and  his  com- 
panions ascended  Lake  Michigan  in  canoes 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph's,  where 
they  built  a  fort.  Then  crossing  over  to  the 
valley  of  the  Illinois,  he  built  a  fort  on  a  bluff 
near  the  site  of  Peoria,  and  awaited  the  re- 
turn of  the  "  Griffin."  The  vessel  had  been 
wrecked  on  the  voyage  to  Niagara,  and  when 
it  became  evident  that  she  would  not  return, 
La  Salle  named  his  fort  Crevecoeur  ("  Heart- 
break.") 


Supplies  were  necessary  to  the  exploration 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  La  Salle  being  deter- 
mined to  obtain  them,  took  with  him  three 
companions  and  crossed  the  wilderness  to 
Fort  Frontenac,  %vhich  he  reached  in  the 
spring  of  1680.  During  his  absence,  Father 
Hennepin,  by  his  orders,  explored  the  Upper 
Mississippi  as  far  as  the  falls,  which  he  named 
in  honor  of  St.  Anthony,  the  patron  saint  of 
the  expedition.  In  the  summer  of  16S0 
La  Salle  returned  to  the  Illinois,  but  various 


causes  intervening  to  delay  him,  he  was  not 
able  to  undertake  his  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  until  1682.  In  that  year  he  built 
a  barge  on  the  upper  Illinois,  and  embarking 
with  his  companions,  floated  down  that 
stream  to  the  Mississippi,  which  he  descended 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  named  the 
country  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Louis- 
iana, in  honor  of  Louis  XIV.,  King  of  France. 
Then  ascending  the  Mississippi,  he  returned 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


by  the  Lakes  to  Quebec,  and  in  1683  sailed 
for  France  to  enlist  the  government  and  peo- 
ple in  his  project  for  colonizing  the  country 
along  the  lower  Mississippi. 

An  Unfortunate  Wreck. 

His  design  was  encouraged  by  the  king, 
and  emigrants  were  readily  found.  In 
1684,  he  sailed  from  France  with  four 
ships  and  two  hundred  and  eighty  per- 
sons to  plant  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  Unhappily  the  command- 
er of  the  fleet  was  not  in  sympathy  with  La 
Salle,  and  being  jealous  of  his  authority,  man- 
ifested a  degree  of  stubbornness  which  was 
fatal  to  the  expedition.  One  hundred  of  the 
colonists  were  soldiers ;  of  the  rest,  some 
were  volunteers,  some  mechanics,  some 
women,  and  some  priests.  After  a  long  voy- 
age they  entered  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  Jan- 
uary, 1685.  They  sailed  past  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  when  La  Salle  perceived 
his  error,  Beaujeu,  the  commander  of  the 
fleet,  refused  to  return,  but  continued  his 
western  course  until  the  bay  of  Matagorda 
was  reached.  There  La  Salle,  weary  of  his 
disputes  with  Beaujeu,  resolved  to  land, 
hoping  that  he  might  yet  find  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  A  careless  pilot,  in  attempt- 
ing to  get  the  store-ship  into  the  harbor, 
wrecked  her,  and  all  the  supplies  which  Louis 
XIV.  had  provided  with  a  lavish  hand  were 
lost. 

The  colony,  which  was  named  Fort  St. 
Louis,  was  from  the  first  doomed  to  misfor- 
tune, and  in  a  little  more  than  two  years  was 
reduced  by  disease  and  suffering  to  thirty- 
six  persons.  In  January,  16S7,  La  Salle, 
leaving  twenty  men  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  set  out 
with  si.xteen  men  to  march  across  the  conti- 
nent to  Canada  to  obtain  aid  for  the  settle- 
ment. His  remarkable  courage  and  deter- 
mination would  doubtless  have  accomplished 
this  feat,  but  on  the  way  he  was  murdered  by 


two  of  his  men,  who  regarded  him  as  the 
author  of  their  sufferings.  Of  the  rest  of  his 
companions,  five  who  kept  together  reached 
a  small  French  post  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Arkansas,  after  a  journey  of  six  months. 
The  twenty  men  left  at  Fort  St.  Louis  were 
never  heard  of  again.  The  effort  to  colonize 
Texas  completely  failed,  and  all  that  was 
accomplished  by  La  Salle's  enterprise  was 
the  establishment  of  the  claim  of  France  to 
this  region. 

Searching  for  La  Salle. 

To  La  Salle  is  due  the  credit  of  having 
been  the  first  to  comprehend  the  importance 
of  securing  to  France  the  great  region 
watered  by  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries, 
and  it  was  through  his  efforts  that  the  atten- 
tion of  France  was  seriously  directed  to  its 
colonization.  His  remarkable  qualities  must 
always  command  the  admiration  and  his  sad 
fate  elicit  the  sympathy  of  all  generous 
hearts. 

While  La  Salle  was  vainly  striving  to  ac- 
complish some  good  result  with  the  Texas 
colony,  his  friend  and  lieutenant,  Tonti,  in 
obedience  to  his  instructions,  started  from 
the  Illinois  and  descended  the  Mississippi 
almost  to  its  mouth,  hoping  to  meet  him. 
At  length,  despairing  of  seeing  him,  Tonti 
engraved  a  cross  and  the  arms  of  France 
upon  a  tree  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and 
returned  to  the  Illinois. 

In  1699,  twelve  years  after  the  death  of  La 
Salle,  another  and  this  time  a  successful  effort 
was  made  to  secure  Louisiana  to  France. 
Lemoine  d'lbberville,  a  native  of  Canada  and 
a  man  of  ability  and  courage,  resolved  to 
plant  a  colony  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. With  four  vessels  and  two  hundred' 
emigrants,  some  of  whom  were  women  and 
children,  he  sailed  from  Canada  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi.  He  landed  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Pascagoula,  and  with  two  barges 


264 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


manned  by  forty-eight  men  searched  the 
coast  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  He 
found  it  and  ascended  as  high  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Red  River.  Here  he  was  met  by  the 
Indians,  who,  to  his  astonishment,  gave  him 
a  letter  which  had  been  placed  in  their  charge 
fourteen  years  before.  It  was  from  Tonti, 
and  was  addressed  to  La  Salle.  He  had 
given  it  to  the  Indians,  and  had  charged 
them  to  deliver  it  to  the  first  Frenchman 
they  met. 

Shiftless   Colonists. 

D'Ibberville  returned  to  the  gulf  by 
way  of  Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain, 
which  he  named  after  two  of  the  ministers 
of  Louis  XIV.  Deeming  the  shores  of  the 
Mississippi  too  marshy  for  colonization, 
D'Ibberville  formed  a  settlement  at  Biloxi,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Pascagoula,  within  the  limits 
of  the  present  state  of  Mississippi,  and  soon 
afterwards  sailed  for  France  to  obtain  rein- 
forcements and  supplies,  leaving  one  of  his 
brothers,  Sauville  by  name,  as  governor,  and 
the  other,  Bienville,  to  explore  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  country  along  its  banks. 

Early  in  1700  D'Ibberville  returned  from 
France,  and  about  the  same  time  Tonti,  La 
Salle's  former  lieutenant,  now  an  aged  man, 
arrived  from  the  country  of  the  Illinois. 
Acting  upon  Tonti's  advice,  D'Ibberville 
ascended  the  Mississippi  for  four  hundred 
miles,  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Natchez  built  a  fort  which  he  named  Rosalie, 
in  honor  of  the  Duchess  of  Pontchartrain. 
Neither  the  settlement  at  Biloxi  nor  Rosalie 
prospered,  however.  The  colonists  were  a 
shiftless  set,  and  instead  of  seeking  to  culti- 
vate the  soil  and  establish  homes  for  them- 
iselves,  went  farther  west  to  seek  for  gold. 
In  1702  D'Ibberville  removed  the  colony 
from  Biloxi  to  Mobile,  which  was  founded  in 
that  year,  and  became  the  capital  of  Louis- 
iana and  the  centre  of  the   French  influence 


in  the  south.  This  settlement  languished, 
however,  and  in  ten  years  only  two  hundred 
emigrants  were  added  to  its  population. 
It  was  forced  to  depend  upon  the  French 
colonies  in  the  West  Indies  for  subsistenct. 

New  Orleans  Founded. 

In  17 14  the  French  government,  becoming 
convinced  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a 
more  vigorous  effort  to  colonize  Louisiana 
if  it  meant  to  hold  that  country,  granted  a 
monopoly  of  trade  to  Arthur  Crozat,  who 
agreed  to  send  over  every  year  two  ships 
laden  with  emigrants  "and  supplies,  and  also 
a  cargo  of  African  slaves.  The  king,  on  his 
part,  agreed  to  furnish  the  sum  of  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  annually  for  the  protection  of 
the  colony.  In  the  same  year  a  trading- 
house  was  established  at  Natchitoches  on  the 
Red  River,  and  another  on  the  Alabama, 
near  the  present  site  of  Montgomery.  Fort 
Rosalie  was  made  the  centre  of  an  important 
trade,  and  matters  becran  to  wear  a  new 
aspect  in  Louisiana. 

In  1718  Bienville,  who  had  become  satis- 
fied of  the  propriety  of  removing  the  seat  of 
government  from  Mobile  to  the  more  produc- 
tive region  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  put  the 
convicts  to  work  to  clear  up  the  thicket  of 
cane  which  covered  the  site  on  which  he 
meant  to  locate  his  new  city,  and  upon  the 
ground  thus  prepared  erected  a  few  huts,  the 
germ  of  the  great  city  oi  New  Orleans.  It 
grew  more  rapidly  than  any  of  the  settlements 
in  Louisiana.  In  1722  it  contained  about 
one  hundred  log  huts,  and  a  population  of 
seven  hundred.  In  1723  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  removed  from  Mobile  to  New 
Orleans;  and  1727  the  construction  of  the 
levee  was  begun. 

While  these  efforts  were  in  progress  in  the 
lower  Mississippi,  the  French  were  even 
more  active  in  the  west.  Detroit  was  founded 
in  1 70 1,  and  the  villages  of  Kaskaskin   and 


r 


THE    FRENCH    IN     IHE    VALLICV    OF   THE    MISSISSIPP 


265 


Cabokia  were  formed  around  the  stations  of 
the  missionaries  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  The 
French  population  in  America  grew  very 
slowly,  however.  In  1690  the  population  of 
Canada  was  only  twelve  hundred  ;  that,  of 
Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  less  than  one  thou- 
sand ;  and  that  of  Louisiana  less  than  five 
hundred. 

France  had  formed  a  deliberate  and  mag- 
nificent plan  with  respect  to  her  American 
possessions.  She  meant  to  build  up  a  mighty 
empire  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
extending  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  touching  Canada.  Her  efforts 
to  accomplish  this  were  lavish  and  persistent, 
but  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate,  and  the 
almost  constant  wars  with  the  Natchez  and 
Chickasaw  Indians  disheartened  the  settlers, 
and  the  French  population  grew  so  slowly 
that  it  could  not  accomplish  the  destinj- 
idemanded  of  it  by  the  government  at  home. 
'As  late  as  1740  Louisiana  contained  only 
about  five  thousand  whites  and  less  than  two 
thousand  five  hundred  negroes.  The  slow 
increase  of  the  population  made  it  necessary 
to  hold  the  country  by  a  series  of  military 
posts.  By  the  year  1750  more  than  sixty  of 
these  posts  had  been  built  between  Lake 
Ontario  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  way  of 
Green  Bay,  the  Illinois,  the  Wabash,  and  the 
Maumee  rivers,  and  along  the  Mississippi  to 
New  Orleans. 

French  Claims   in  America. 

The  most  important  of  these  forts  were 
held  by  garrisons  of  regular  troops,  who 
were  relieved  once  in  six  years.  They 
accomplished  this  in  the  face  of  the  constant 
hostility  of  their  old  enemies,  the  tribes  of 
the  Five  Nations,  and  the  Natchez  and 
Chicka.saws.  In  1748  the  French  extended 
their  claim  to  the  country  south  of  Lake 
Erie,  as  far  east  as  the  mountains,  which  the)- 


explored,  and  took  formal  possession  of  by 
burying  at  the  most  important  points  leaden 
plates  engraved  with  the  arms  of  France. 
According  to  the  ideas  of  the  times,  their 
claim  was  a  valid  one. 

In  the  meantime  the  settlements  of  Louis- 
iana had  been  obliged  to  struggle  against  the 
constant  hostility  of  the  Natchez  Indians, 
who  occupied  the  country  around  the  present 
city  which  bears  their  name.  They  were  not 
very  numerous,  but  were  more  intelligent 
and  civilized  than  the  tribes  among  whom 
they  dwelt.  They  worshiped  the  sun,  from 
which  deity  their  principal  chief  claimed 
to  be  descended.  They  watched  the  growing 
power  of  the  French  with  alarm,  and  at 
length  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  the  progress 
of  the  whites  by  a  general  massacre. 

Seven  Hundred  Murders. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  November,  1729, 
they  fell  upon  the  settlement  at  Fort  Rosalie 
and  massacred  the  garrison  and  settlers, 
seven  hundred  in  number.  They  were  nol 
long  permitted  to  exult  over  their  success. 
When  the  news  of  the  massacre  reached 
New  Orleans,  Bienville  resolved  to  retaliate 
severely  upon  the  aggressors.  He  applied 
to  the  Choctaws,  the  hereditary  enemies  of 
the  Natchez,  for  assistance,  and  was  furnished 
by  them  with  sixteen  hundred  warriors. 
With  these  and  his  own  troops  Bienville 
besieged  the  Natchez  in  their  fort;  but  they 
escaped  under  the  cover  of  the  night  and  fled 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  They  were  followed 
by  the  French  and  forced  to  surrender, 
after  which  they  were  taken  to  New  Or- 
leans and  sent  to  St.  Domingo,  where  they 
were  sold  as  slaves.  The  Great  Sun  was 
among  the  captives,  and  the  tribe  of  the 
Natchez  was  completely  destroyed. 

It  was  well  known  to  the  French  that  the 
Chickasaws,a  powerful  tribe  dwelling  between 
the  territory  of  the  Natchez  and  the  Ohio  oi» 


266 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


the  north,  and  as  far  as  the  country  of  the 
Cherokees  on  the  east,  had  incited  the 
Natchez  against  them.  Bienville  therefore 
resolved  to  turn  his  arms  against  them. 
They  had  also  given  great  trouble  to  the 
French  by  attacking  and  plundering  their 
trading-boats  descending  the  Mississippi 
from  the  posts  on  the  Illinois.  Bienville  con- 
certed measures  for  a  combined  attack  upon 
the  Chickasaws  with  D'Artaguette,  governor 
of  the  Illinois  country,  and  two  expeditions 
were  despatched  against  the  Indians. 

Bienville,  with  a  strong  force  of  French 
troops  and  twelve  hundred  Choctaw  warriors, 
sailed  in  boats  from  New  Orleans  to  Mobile 


and  ascended  the  Tombigbee  five  hundred 
miles,  to  the  place  now  known  as  Cotton 
Gin  point.  He  landed  here  and  marched 
twenty-five  miles  overland  to  the  principal 
fort  of  the  Chickasaws,  which  he  at  once 
attacked.  He  was  repulsed  with  the  loss  of 
one  hundred  men,  and  was  so  discouraged 
that  he  returned  to  New  Orleans.  D'Arta- 
guette entered  the  Chickasaw  country  with 
fifty  Frenchmen  and  one  thousand  Indians. 
He  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner,  and  was 
burned  at  the  stake  in  May,  1735.  In  1740 
another  effort  was  made  by  the  French  to 
crush  the  Chickasaws,  but  was  equally  un- 
successful. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 
Conflicts  Between  the   Enoflish  and  French. 


Reladons  Between  the  English  and  the  Five  Nations— The  Hostility  of  the  Latter  to  the  French— King  William's  Wai 
— Destruction  of  Dover — The  Jesuit  Missionaries  Incite  the  Indians  to  Attack  the  English — Expedition  Against  Que. 
bee — Attack  on  Dustin's  Farm — Peace  of  Ryswick — Hostility  of  the  English  to  Roman  Catholics — Queen  Anne's 
War— Burning  of  Deerfield— Eunice  Williams— Cruelties  to  the  French— Effort  of  New  England  to  Conquer  Acadia — 
Capture  of  Port  Roval — Failure  of  the  Expedition  Against  Quebec — King  George's  War — Expedition  Against  Louis- 
burg — Its  Composition — Arrival  of  the  Fleet  at  Cape  Breton — Good  Conduct  of  the  Provincials — Capture  of  Louis- 
bui^ — Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle — Unjust  Treatment  of  the  Colonies  by  England — Sentiment  of  the  Americans 
Towards  England. 


THE  territon^  of  the  Five  Nations  lay 
between  the  English  and  French 
colonies.  The  friendship  which 
these  tribes  had  borne  to  the  Dutch 
was  transferred  to  the  English  upon  the  con- 
quest of  New  Netherlands  by  the  latter,  and 
they  remained  the  faithful  and  devoted  allies 
of  Great  Britain  until  after  the  Revolution. 
Though  they  remained  at  peace  with  the 
French  for  some  years  after  the  treaty,  which 
has  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, they  regarded  a  renewal  of  hostilities 
with  them  as  certain,  and  were  on  the  whole 
anxious  to  resume  the  struggle  at  the  earliest 
moment. 

James  II.,  eager  to  establish  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  in  America,  instructed  the 
governor  of  New  York  to  cultivate  friendly 
relations  with  the  French,  and  to  exert  all 
his  influence  to  induce  the  Five  Nations  to 
receive  Jesuit  missionaries.  The  governor, 
however,  saw  that  the  French  were  rapidly 
monopolizing  the  fur  trade,  and  he  encour- 
aged the  Five  Nations  to  regard  them  with 
suspicion  and  dislike.  The  French  by  their 
own  bad  treatment  of  the  Mohawks  put  an 
end  to  the  hope  of  a  lasting  peace  with  them. 
Upon  the  escape  of  James  II.  to  France, 
Louis  XIV.  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  dethroned  king,  which  he  declared  was 


the  cause  of  legitimate  monarchy  as  opposed 
to  the  right  of  the  people  to  self-government ; 
and  the  war  which  was  thus  begun  in  Europe 
spread  to  the  possessions  of  the  rival  powers 
in  America.  The  objects  of  the  two  parties 
in  America  were  very  different.  That  of  the 
people  of  New  England,  who  were  princi- 
pally interested  in  the  struggle,  was  to  secure 
their  northern  frontier  against  invasion  from 
Canada,  and  to  get  possession  of  the  fisheries. 
The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  wished  to 
obtain  entire  control  of  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  which  would  make  them  sole 
masters  of  the  fur  trade,  and  to  extend  their 
power  over  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  thus  obtain  control  of  the  fisheries  also. 
To  accomplish  their  first  object  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  was  indispensable,  and  they 
exerted  every  means  of  which  they  were 
possessed  to  gain  it.  They  renewed  their 
efforts  to  win  over  the  Five  Nations,  but 
without  success.  The  war  between  these 
tribes  and  the  French  was  soon  renewed,  as 
has  been  related,  and  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
August,  1689,  a  band  of  fifteen  hundred  Mo-< 
hawk  warriors  surprised  and  captured  Mon- 
treal, and  put  two  hundred  of  the  inhabitants 
to  death  with  horrible  cruelty.  An  equal 
number  of  whites  were  made  prisoners. 

267 


268 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


In  the  same  year  Count  Frontenac  was 
appointed  governor  of  Canada  for  the  second 
time.  He  came  resolved  to  break  the  power 
of  the  English,  and  reached  Canada  just  in 
time  to  hear  of  the  capture  of  Montreal.  He 
at  once  set  to  work  to  incite  the  Indians  to  a 
series  of  incursions  against  the  English  set- 
tlements which  should  thoroughly  establish 
his  influence  over  the  savage  warriors,  who 
would  obey  none  but  a  successful  chief,  and 
at  the  same  time  strike  terror  to  the  enemies 
of  France. 


VIEW    Ot     iMo.NlKEAL    FROM    MOUNT    ROYAL. 


The  first  blow  was  struck  at  Dover,  in 
New  Hampshire.  The  commander  of  the 
garrison  at  this  place  was  Major  Richard 
Waldron.  Thirteen  years  before,  during 
King  Philip's  war,  two  hundred  eastern 
Indians  came  to  Dover  to  treat  of  peace. 
Waldron  treacherously  seized  them  and  sent 
them  to  Boston,  where  some  of  them  were 
hanged,  and  the  remainder  sold  into  slavery. 
The  savages  had  neither  forgotten  nor  for- 
given the  wrongs  of  their  brothers,  and  now 
they  resolved  to  meet  the  whites  with  their 
own  weapons  of  deceit  and  treachery. 


On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-seventh  of 
June,  1689,  two  Indian  squaws  came  to  Dover 
and  asked  for  a  night's  lodging.  Waldron, 
now  an  old  man  of  eight}',  was  unsuspicious  of 
harm.  Their  request  was  granted  and  the 
squaws  were  lodged  in  his  house.  In  the  dead 
of  the  night  the  women  arose,  unbarred  the 
gates  and  admitted  the  warriors,  who  had 
lain  in  ambush  near  the  town.  Waldron's 
house  was  first  entered,  the  first  duty  of  the 
savages  being  to  discharge  their  debt  of 
vengeance  by  a  cold-blooded  murder. 

^^  The  brave  old  man 

'^      seized  his   sword  and 
^      defended  himself  un- 
Jl      til  he  was  felled  to  the 
-i      floor  by  a  blow  which 
stunned  him.    He  was 
— r     then  seated  in  a  chair 
iiid  placed  on  a  table, 
:id    the    savages  sa- 
.,,.j:;        V,     ^Lited  him  with  jeers. 
"  Who  will  judge  In- 
dians   now?"    they 
asked.    "Who    will 
hang    our     brothers? 
Will      the      pale-face 
Waldron  give  us   life 
for    life?"       As    they 
spoke     they    gashed 
him  across  the  breast 
with  their  knives,  inflicting  wounds  equal  in 
number  to    their    friends  whom  he  had  be- 
trayed.     The    old    man    bore    his    tortures 
firmly    until  he    died ;  the  Indians  then  set 
fire  to  the  house  and  burned  the  rest  of  the 
settlement.    Nearly  half  the  inhabitants  were 
murdered    and   the   remainder  were  carried 
into  captivity. 

The  other  frontier  towns  suffered  severely 
from  Maine  to  New  York.  A  band  of 
French  and  Indians,  in  February,  1690, 
toiled  across  the  wilderness  from  Montreal 
to  central  New    York   on  snow-shoes   and 


CONFLICTS  BETWEEN  THE  ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH. 


269 


surprised  Schenectady.  The  place  was 
burned,  the  majoiit\-  of  the  settlers  were 
killed,  and  many  women  and  children  were 
carried  into  captivity.  A  few  escaped 
through  the  snow  to  Albany.  Deerfield  and 
Haverhill  in  Massachusetts,  Salmon  Falls  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  Casco  in  Maine  met  a 
similar  fate.  The  French  had  resolved  to 
make  the  war  one  of  extermination,  and 
neither  they  nor  their  savage  allies  showed 
any  mercy  to  the  English  in  their  hour  of 
triumph. 

FaiUir?  to  Capture   Montreal. 

The  savage?  were  incited  to  their  bloody 
task  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries.  The  first 
race  of  missionaries,  whose  good  deeds  we 
have  chronicled  in  the  last  chapter,  had  died 
out,  and  their  successors  could  conceive  of 
no  higher  standard  of  duty  than  the  exter- 
mination of  the  English  heretics.  They 
roused  the  fury  of  their  dusky  converts 
against  the  English  as  the  enemies  of  the 
Roman  religion,  and  then  confessing  and 
absolving  the  savage  warriors,  sent  them  forth 
to  murder  and  destroy,  with  the  solemn 
assurance  that  such  acts  on  their  part  would 
win  them  the  favor  of  their  Father  in 
Heaven.  When  peace  was  made  two  Jesuit 
priests, Thury  and  Bigot,  induced  the  Eastern 
Indians  to  break  the  treaty  and  renew  the 
war,  and  even  took  pride  in  acknowledging 
themselves  the  instigators  of  the  atrocities  of 
the  savages.  These  things  were  well  under- 
stood among  the  English,  and  they  came  to 
regard  the  Jesuit  missionaries  as  the  enemies 
of  mankind. 

In  May,  1690,  a  congress  of  delegates 
from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  New 
York  was  held  at  New  York  for  the  purpose 
of  concerting  a  plan  for  an  invasion  of  Can- 
ada. It  was  resolved  to  send  an  army  against 
Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain,  while 
Massachusetts    should    despatch    a  fleet    to 


attack  Quebec.  The  first  expedition,  com- 
posed of  the  troops  of  New  York  and  Con- 
necticut, advanced  to  Lake  Champlain, 
attended  by  a  strong  force  of  Mohawk  allies. 
Frontenac  promptly  assembled  his  French 
and  Indians  for  the  defence  of  Montreal,  and 
succeeded  in  inflicting  a  sharp  defeat  upon 
the  Mohawks,  under  Colonel  Philip  Schuyler, 
who  led  the  advance  of  the  English  army. 
The  Mohawks  were  unable  to  regain  their 
lost  ground  and  the  provincial  troops  were 
delayed  by  the  dissensions  of  their  leaders 
until  the  provisions  ran  short  and  the  small- 
pox broke  out  among  the  men.  It  then 
became  necessary  to  abandon  the  attempt. 

Death  and  Desolation. 

In  the  meantime  Massachusetts  equipped 
a  fleet  of  thirty-two  vessels  and  two  thou- 
sand men  and  despatched  it  to  the  St.  Law- 
rence under  the  command  of  the  governor. 
Sir  William  Phipps,  whose  incompetency 
produced  the  failure  of  the  expedition. 
Frontenac  was  promptly  informed  of  the 
departure  of  the  fleet  by  an  Indian  runner 
from  the  Piscataqua,  who  reached  Montreal 
in  twelve  days.  Frontenac  at  once  set  out 
for  Quebec  and  arrived  there  three  days  in 
advance  of  the  English  fleet,  which  was 
obliged  to  feel  its  way  cautiously  up  the  St. 
Lawrence.  W'henthe  hostile  vessels  arrived 
off  the  city,  Quebec  was  prepared  to  offer  a 
determined  resistance.  After  a  few  harmless 
demonstrations,  Sir  William  Phipps  withdrew 
and  returned  to  Boston,  to  the  great  disap- 
pointment of  the  colony.  A  large  debt  had 
been  incurred  in  this  enterprise  and  a  num- 
ber of  valuable  lives  had  been  lost,  but  noth- 
ing had  been  gained. 

The  Eastern  Indians  continued  their  ag- 
gressions, but  were  severely  punished  by 
Captain  Samuel  Church,  who  had  serveii 
with  distinction  in  King  Philip's  war.  On 
one  occasion  he  was  so  exasperated  by  the 


2/0 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


cruelties  of  the  savages  that  he  put  a  number 
of  his  prisoners,  including  some  women  and 
children,  to  death.  The  savages  mercilessly 
avenged  the  murder  of  their  friends  and  car- 
ried death  and  desolation  along  the  borders 
of  New  England.  Nearly  every  settlement 
in  Maine  was  destroyed  by  them  or  aban- 
doned by  the  inhabitants,  who  fled  to  the 
other  colonies  for  protection.  The  Indians 
prowled  around  the  frontier  posts.  They 
had  been  well  armed  by  the  French,  and 
shot  down  the  men  without  mercy.  The 
women  and  children  were  generally  spared 
and  carried  to  Canada,  where  they  were  sold 
to  the  French  as  slaves.  In  1693  peace  was 
made  with  the  Abenakis,  or  Eastern  Indians, 
but  within  a  year  the  Jesuits  had  succeeded 
in  inducing  the  savages  to  resume  hostilities. 

A  Daring  Escape. 

A  party  of  Indians  attacked  the  house  ofa 
farmer  named  Dustin,  residing  near  Haver- 
hill. He  was  at  work  in  the  field  when  the 
shouts  of  the  savages  warned  him  of  the 
danger  of  his  wife  and  children.  Throwing 
himself  on  his  horse,  he  hastened  to  their 
rescue,  and  on  the  way  met  his  children  fly- 
ing for  safety  pursued  by  the  savages.  He 
threw  himself  in  front  of  the  little  ones,  and 
by  a  few  well-aimed  shots  kept  the  pursuers 
back  until  the  children  reached  a  place  of 
safety.  Hannah  Dustin,  her  youngest  child 
— only  a  few  days  old — her  nurse,  and  a  boy 
from  Worcester,  unable  to  fly,  were  made 
prisoners  by  the  Indians.  The  little  one  was 
killed,  and  the  two  women  and  the  boy  were 
carried  away  by  the  savages  to  their  village, 
situated  on  an  island  in  the  Merrimac,  just 
above  Concord. 

Hannah  Dustin  resolved  to  escape,  and 
communicated  her  plan  to  her  companions. 
jlEach  secured  a  tomahawk,  and  at  night  be- 
'  gan  the  destruction  of  their  captors,  twelve 
in  number.    Ten  Indians  were  killed  and  one 


squaw  was  wounded.  The  twelfth,  a  child, 
was  purposely  spared.  Then  collecting  the 
gun  and  tomahawk  of  the  murderer  of  her 
infant,  and  a  bag  full  of  scalps,  the  heroic 
women  secured  a  canoe,  and  embarking  in  it  , 
with  her  companions,  floated  down  the  Mer- 
rimac and  soon  reached  Haverhill,  whert 
they  were  received  with  astonishment  anc 
delight  by  their  friends. 

This  struggle,  which  is  known  in  Ameri- 
can history  as  "  King  William's  War,"  was 
brought  to  a  close  in  September,  1697,  by  the 
Peace  of  Ryswick.  It  had  lasted  seven  years, 
and  had  caused  severe  suiTering  to  the 
northern  colonies,  without  yielding  them  any 
compensating  advantages. 

The  Five  Nations  were  also  severe  suffer- 
ers. Failing  to  win  them  from  their  alliance 
with  the  English,  Frontenac  several  times 
invaded  their  country  with  an  army  of  French 
troops  and  Indians,  and  ravaged  it  with  great 
cruelty.  Frontenac  led  these  expeditions  in 
person,  though  he  was  seventy-four  years 
old. 

The  people  of  New  York,  regarding  the 
Jesuits  as  the  true  authors  of  the  miseries 
endured  by  the  English  and  their  allies,  en- 
acted a  law  in  1700,  that  every  Romish  priest 
who  voluntarily  came  into  the  province 
should  be  hanged. 

Butchery  at  Deerfield. 

Five  years  after  the  Peace  of  Ryswick,  the 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  or,  as  it  is 
known  in  American  history,  "  Queen  Anne's 
War,"  began  in  Europe.  It  soon  extended 
to  America,  and  embroiled  the  English  and 
French  in  this  country.  The  English  settle- 
ments on  the  western  frontier  of  New  Eng- 
land were  almost  annihilated  by  the  Indians, 
and  the  French  were  unusually  active. 

The  people  of  Deerfield  were  warned  by 
the  friendly  Mohawks  that  the  French  and' 
Indians  were  meditating  an  attack  upon  their 


CONFLICTS   BETWEEN   THE   ENGLISH   AND    FRENCH 
settlements  and  through  the  winter  of  1 703-4 


271 


a  vigilant  watch  was  kept  by  night  and  day. 
The  winter  was  very  severe ;  the  snow  lay 
four  feet  deep,  and  the  clear,  cold  atmosphere 
made  it  almost'  as  hard  as  ice.  Profiting  by 
this,  a  war  party  of  about  two  hundred 
French  and  one  hundred  and  fort>^-two  In- 
dians, under  the  command  of  Hertel  de  Rou- 
ville,  set  out  from  Canada,  and  by  the  aid  of 
snow-shoes  crossed  the  country  on  the  snow 
and  reached  the  vicinity  of  Deerfield  on  the 
last  night  of  February,  1704.  Towards  day- 
break on  the  first  of  March  the  sentinels, 
supposing  that  all  was  safe,  left  their  posts  at 
Deerfield,  and  the  enemy  at  once  silently 
mounted  on  the  snow-drifts  to  the  top  of  the 
palisades  and  entered  the  enclosure,  which 
had  an  area  of  twenty  acres.  A  general 
massacre  followed.  The  town  was  destroyed, 
forty  persons  were  killed,  and  one  hundred 
and  twelve  were  carried  away   into   Canada. 

Fate  of  Eunice  Williams. 

Among  the  captives  were  the  minister 
Williams,  his  wife  Eunice,  and  their  five  chil- 
dren. The  sufferings  of  the  prisoners  on  the 
march  to  Canada  were  fearful.  Two  men 
starved  to  death.  The  infant,  whose  cries 
disturbed  the  captors,  was  tossed  out  into  the 
snow  to  die;  and  the  mother  who  faltered 
from  fatigue  or  anguish  was  despatched  by  a 
blow  from  the  tomahawk.  Eunice  Williams 
had  brought  her  Bible  along  with  her,  and  in 
the  brief  intervals  afforded  by  the  halts  of  the 
savages  for  rest,  drew  from  its  sacred  pages 
the  consolations  she  so  sorely  needed.  Her 
strength  soon  failed,  as  she  had  but  recently 
recovered  from  her  confinement.  Her  hus- 
band sought  to  cheer  her  by  pointing  her  to 
"  the  hou.se  not  made  with  hands,"  and  she 
assured  him  that  she  was  satisfied  to  endure 
i.ny  suffering,  counting  it  gain  for  Christ's 
*sake.  Perceiving  that  her  end  was  near,  she 
commended  her  children  to  God  and  to  their 


father's  care,  and  was  immediately  killed  by 
the  savages,  as  she  could  go  no  farther. 

The  Williams  family  were  taken  to  Can- 
ada, and  a  few  years  later  were  ransomed, 
with  the  exception  of  the  youngest  daughter, 
with  whom  the  savages  refu.sed  to  part.  She 
was  adopted  into  a  village  of  Christian  In- 
dians near  Montreal,  and  became  a  convert 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  subse- 
quently married  a  Mohawk  chief  Years 
afterwards  she  appeared  at  Deerfield  clad  in 
the  dress  of  her  tribe.  She  had  come  to 
visit  her  relatives;  but  no  entreaties  could 
induce  her  to  remain  with  them,  and  she 
went  back  to  her  adopted  people  and  to  her 
children. 

Slaughter  of  the  Helpless. 

The  war  was  conducted  with  brutal  ferocity 
by  the  French.  Hertel  de  Rouville  gained 
eternal  infamy  by  his  butcheries  of  helpless 
women  and  children.  Vaudreuil,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Canada,  urged  on  his  forces  to  deeds 
of  fresh  atrocity,  but  at  length  the  savages 
became  disgusted  with  their  bloody  work, 
and  refused  to  murder  any  more  English. 
The  French  succeeded,  however,  in  inducing 
some  of  them  to  continue  their  assistance, 
and  in  1708  Haverhill  was  surprised  by  the 
French  and  Indians  under  Rouville,  and  its 
inhabitants  massacred  with  the  most  fiendish 
cruelty.  None  of  them  escaped  death  or 
captivity. 

Filled  with  horror  and  indignation,  Colonel 
Peter  Schuyler,  of  New  York,  wrote  to  the 
Marquis  de  Vaudreuil :  "  I  hold  It  my  duty 
towards  God  and  my  neighbor,  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  these  barbarous  and  heathen  cruel- 
tics.  My  heart  swells  with  indignation  when 
I  think  that  a  war  between  Christian  princes, 
bound  to  the  exactest  laws  of  honor  and  gen- 
erosity, which  their  noble  ancestors  have 
illustrated  by  brilliant  examples,  is  degene- 
rating into  a  savage  and  boundless  butchery. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   AMERICA. 


These  are  not  the  methods   for  terminating 
the  war." 

"  Such  fruitless  cruelties,"  says  Bancroft, 
"  inspired  our  fathers  with  a  deep  hatred  of 
the  French  missionaries  ;  they  compelled  the 
employment  of  a  large  part  of  the  inhabitants 
as  soldiers,  so  that  there  was  one  year  during 
this  war  when  even  a  fifth  part  of  all  who 
were  capable  of  bearing  arms  were  in  active 
service.  They  gave  birth  also  to  a  willing- 
ness to  exterminate  the  natives.     The  Indians 


RETURN  OF  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  EUNICE  WILLIAMS 


vanished  when  their  homes  were  invaded  ; 
they  could  not  be  reduced  by  usual  methods 
of  warfare  ;  hence  a  bounty  was  offered  for 
every  Indian  scalp  ;  to  regular  forces  under 
pay  the  grant  was  ten  pounds — to  volunteers 
in  actual  service,  twice  that  sum  ;  but  if  men 
would,  of  themselves,  without  pay,  make  up 
parties  and  patrol  the  forests  in  search  of 
Indians,  as  of  old  the  woods  were  scoured 
for  wild  beasts,  the  chase  was  invigorated  by 


the  promised  '  encourgement  of  fifty  pounds 
per  scalp. ' " 

In  1707  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire 
and  Rhode  Island  made  a  combined  attempt 
to  conquer  Acadia.  A  fleet  was  despatched 
against  Port  Royal,  but  without  success.  In 
1 7 10  a  second  expedition  was  sent  from 
Boston  against  Port  Royal,  aided  this  time 
by  an  English  fleet.  Port  Royal  was  taken, 
the  French  were  driven  out  of  the  greater 
part  of  Acadia,  and  that  province  was  an- 
nexed  to  the  English  do- 
minions and  called  Nova 
Scotia.  The  name  of  Port 
Ro\al  was  changed  to  An- 
mpolis,  in  honor  of  the 
(Jueen  of  England. 

Encouraged  by  this  suc- 
cess, the  English  Govern- 
ment the  next  year  at- 
tempted the  conquest  of 
Lanida  by  two  expeditions, 
one  b\-  land  and  the  other 
b\  sea.  A  powerful  fleet 
ind  a  strong  army  was  des- 
patched from  England  to 
(.0  operate  with  the  colo- 
nists The  effort  was  un- 
successful. The  fleet,  which 
was  badly  handled  by  the 
admiral  in  attempting  to 
ascend  the  St.  Lawrence, 
was  wrecked  with  the  loss 
of  eight  vessels  and  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-four  men,  and  was 
obliged  to  return  to  Boston.  The  failure  of 
the  fleet  to  accomplish  anything  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  land  expedition 
against  Montreal.  In  171 3  the  war  was 
brought  to  an  end  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
by  which  Acadia  was  ceded  permanently  to 
Great  Britain  and  became  a  province  of  thr 
English  crown. 

The  third  Indian  war  broke  out  in    1722 


CONFLICTS  BETWEEN  THE  ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH. 


273 


in  the  northern  colonies,  and  spread  from 
the  disputed  border  on  the  east  to  Maine 
and  New  Hampshire,  where  the  scenes 
which  we  have  so  often  described  were 
enacted  over  again.  The  crack  of  the  rifle, 
the  war-whoop  of  the  Indian,  the  crash  of 
the  tomahawk,  and  the  smoke  of  the  cabin 
played  their  dreadful  part,  as  the}-  had  done 
so  many  times  before,  and  have  done  so 
often  since. 

Father  Sebastien  Rasle  had  dwelt  among 
Indians  for  nearly  forty  years,  living  so  thor- 
oughly their  life,  while  he  preached  and 
ministered  to  them,  that  his  influence  was  un- 
bounded. He  possessed  great  learning,  and, 
being  a  French  Jesuit,  sympathized  so  strongly 
with  the  views  of  the  governor  of  Canada  that 
he  was  worth  a  whole  regiment  of  troops. 
The  Indian  settlement  at  Norridgewock, 
where  it  may  be  said  this  French  chief  was 
sole  ruler,  was  highly  prosperous.  Two 
attempts  were  made  to  break  it  by  capturing 
Rasle,  but  he  escaped  each  time. 

Peace  at  Last. 

In  August,  1724,  however,  it  was  attacked 
by  a  force  of  two  hundred  men,  when  most 
of  the  warriors  were  gone  from  home. 
Those  who  escaped  fled  to  the  woods,  and 
Father  Rasle  was  killed  while  trying  to  divert 
attention  from  the  flying  fugitives.  When 
the  assailants  departed  and  the  Indians  re- 
turned, they  found  the  dead  body  of  Rasle, 
scalped,  hacked  and  mutilated.  They  gave 
it  tender  burial  under  the  altar  of  the  pil- 
laged chapel,  and  uttered  many  a  wild  vow 
of  vengeance  on  those  who  had  robbed  them 
of  their  beloved  leader. 

In  the  hope  of  checking  the  shocking 
brutalities,  the  provinces  sent  representatives 
to  Governor  Vaudreuil  at  Montreal.  He 
treated  them  with  much  courtesy,  but  it  took 
a  long  time  to  bring  him  to  terms.  He 
finally  promised  to  advise  the  Indians  to 
t8 


stop  hostilities.  The  eastern  tribe  learned 
shortly  after  that  preparations  were  on  foot 
to  press  them  more  than  ever,  and  they  con- 
sented to  make  peace,  which,  with  now  and 
then  a  slight  interruption,  continuetl  down  to 
the  French  and  Indian  war. 

In  1744  the  disputes  in  Europe  concerning 
the  succession  of  the  Austrian  throne  cul- 
minated in  a  war,  which  is  known  in  Euro- 
pean history  as  the  War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession,  and  in  America  as  King  George's 
war.  As  usual,  England  and  France  were 
arrayed  on  opposite  sides,  and  their  colonies 
in  America  soon  became  involved  in  hostili- 
ties. The  French  were  the  first  to  receive 
information  from  Europe  of  the  existence  of 
war,  and  began  the  struggle  by  attacking 
and  capturing  the  English  fort  at  Canso  and 
carrying  the  garrison  prisoners  to  Louisburg. 

Louisburg,  the  principal  port  of  the  island 
of  Cape  Breton,  was  at  this  time  the  strongest 
fortress  in  America,  and  from  its  secure  har- 
bor the  French  were  constantly  despatching 
privateers  against  the  merchant  vessels  and 
fishermen  of  New  England.  These  depre- 
dations caused  such  serious  loss  to  the 
eastern  colonies  that  at  length  Governor 
Shirley  proposed  to  the  general  court  of 
Massachusetts  to  undertake  the  capture  of 
Louisburg  as  the  only  means  of  putting  a 
stop  to  them,  and  this  measure  was  laid  by 
the  general  court  before  the  other  colonies. 

Another  Appeal  to  Arms. 

It  was  understood  that  no  aid  was  to  be 
expected  from  the  mother  country,  which 
was  too  busily  engaged  in  conducting  the 
war  in  Europe,  and  that  the  colonies  would 
be  obliged  to  depend  entirely  upon  their 
own  resources  for  their  success.  Neverthe- 
less, the  measure  was  popular,  and  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  colonists  was  aroused  to  the 
highest  point.  Nearly  all  the  northern  col- 
onies had   suffered   severely  at  the  hands  of 


,^a  --"<!: 


^mr^  ^ 


_Ci 


^v 


u/%^^ 


CRUEL   MURDER   OF  RASLE. 


CONFLICTS   BETWEEN   THE   ENGLISH    AND    FRENCH. 


275 


the  French  and  Indians,  and  in  every  ship- 
ping port  were  to  be  found  scores  of  men 
who  had  been  robbed  and  otherwise  mal- 
treated by  the  French  privateers.  Pennsyl- 
\ania  and  New  Jersey,  under  the  influence 
of  the  Quaker  dishke  of  war,  declined  to 
send  troops,  but  furnished  a  fair  supply  of 
money  to  defray  their  share  of  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition ;  New  York  made  a  con- 
tribution of  money  and  of  a  number  of 
pieces  of  artillery;  Connecticut  gave  five 
hundred  men,  and  New  Hampshire  and 
Rhode  Island  each  contributed  a  regiment. 

Moving  Against  the  Enemy. 

Massachusetts,  being  the  most  interested 
in  the  success  of  the  expedition  by  reason  of 
being  the  largest  owner  of  shipping,  under- 
took the  principal  part  of  the  expense  and 
agreed  to  furnish  a  majority  of  the  troops 
and  the  vessels.  There  was  no  difficulty  in 
procuring  volunteers,  but  those  who  offered 
themselves  were  civilians,  ignorant  of  military 
discipline,  and  utterly  unprepared  to  attempt 
the  reduction  of  such  a  fortress  as  that 
against  which  the  expedition  was  directed. 
These  disadvantages,  however,  were  lost  sight 
of  in  the  enthusiasm  aroused  by  the  hope  of 
destroying  the  ability  of  the  French  to  prey 
upon  the  commerce  of  the  colonies. 

Sir  William  Pepperell,a  wealthy  merchant 
of  Maine,  was  elected  commander  of  the  ex- 
pedition, which  rendezvoused  at  Boston  in 
the  early  spring  of  1745.  One  hundred 
vessels  and  a  force  of  over  three  thousand 
men  were  assembled,  and  about  the  first  of 
April  sailed  for  Canso,  which  was  reached 
on  the  seventh.  The  ice  was  drifting  in  such 
quantities  that  the  fleet  could  not  inter  the 
harbor  of  Louisburg,  and  was  obliged  to 
remain  at  Canso  for  more  than  two  weeks. 
Admiral  Warren,  commanding  the  West 
India  squadron,  had  been  invited  to  join  the 
expedition,  but  in  the  absence  of  instructions 


from  England  had  declined  to  do  so.  Al- 
most immediately  afterwards  he  received 
orders  from  home  to  render  Massachusetts 
every  aid  in  his  power,  and  at  once  joined  the 
New  England  fleet  at  Canso  with  four  ship.s 
of  war  and  a  detachment  of  regular  troops. 
At  length,  the  ice  having  moved  south- 
ward, the  New  England  fleet  entered  the 
harbor  of  Louisburg  on  the  thirtieth  of  April. 
The  fortress  was  built  on  a  neck  of  land  on 
the  south  side  of  the  harbor,  and  its  walls 
were  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high  and  forty 
feet  thick  at  the  base,  antl  were  surrounded 
with  a  ditch  eighty  feet  in  width.  Outlying 
forts  protected  the  main  work,  and  there  was 
not  a  foot  of  the  walls  that  was  not  swept  by 
the  fire  of  the  artillery.  Nearly  two  hundred 
and  fifty  cannon  of  all  sizes  constituted  the 
armament  of  the  fortress,  and  the  principal 
outwork,  the  "  royal  battery,"  was  deemed 
capable  of  withstanding  an  attack  of  five 
thousand  men.  The  garrison  numbered  six- 
teen hundred  men.  To  attack  this  fortress 
the  New  England  troops  brought  with  them 
eighteen  cannon  and  three  mortars. 

The  French   Driven  to  the   Woods. 

As  the  fleet  drew  near  the  town  the 
French  marched  down  to  the  beach  to  op- 
pose the  landing  of  the  troops.  Immediately 
the  whale-boats  of  the  ships  were  lowered 
and  manned,  and  at  a  signal  from  the  flag- 
ship darted  for  the  shore  with  a  speed  which 
astonished  and  struck  terror  to  the  French, 
who  were  quickly  driven  to  the  woods.  The 
landing  was  secured,  and  the  next  day  a  de- 
tachment of  four  hundred  men  marched  by 
the  town,  giving  it  three  cheers  as  they 
passed,  and  took  position  near  the  northeast 
harbor,  completely  cutting  off  the  fortress 
from  communication  with  the  country  in  its 
rear.  This  completed  the  investment,  as  the 
fleet  closed  the  harbor,  and  prevented  the 
approach  of  relief  by  sea. 


2^6 


SETTLEMENT   OF  AMERICA. 


That  night  the  troops  in  the  royal  battery 
spiked  the  guns  of  that  work,  abandoned  it, 
and  retreated  into  the  town.  It  was  imme- 
diately occupied  by  the  New  Englanders, 
who  drilled  the  spikes  out  of  the  vent-holes 
of  the  guns,  and  turned  them  against  the 
town.  Batteries  were  erected  by  the  colonial 
troops,  and  their  fire  opened  upon  Louis- 
burg.  The  volunteers  proved  admirable 
soldiers,  exciting  the  surprise  of  the  English 
naval  officers  by  the  readiness  and  facility 
with  which  they  discharged  the  various 
duties  required  of  them.  Numbers  of  them 
were  mechanics  by  profession,  and  their  skill 
was  of  the  greatest  service  in  this  emergency. 

A  New  Hampshire  colonel,  who  was  a 
carpenter,  constructed  sledges  with  which  to 
drag  the  artillery  across  a  morass  to  the 
positions  assigned  the  batteries.  The 
weather  was  mild  and  singularly  dry,  and 
the  men  were  healthy.  "  All  day  long  the 
men,  if  not  on  duty,  were  busy  with  amuse- 
ments— firing  at  marks,  fishing,  fowling, 
wrestling,  racing  or  running  after  balls  shot 
from  the  enemy's,  guns." 

An  Important  Capture. 

In  the  meantime  the  ships  of  Admiral 
Warren  blockaded  the  harbor,  and  not  only 
prevented  French  vessels  from  entering  the 
port,  but  succeeded  in  decoying  into  the 
midst  of  the  English  fleet  the  French  frigate 
"  Vigilante,"  of  sixty  guns,  which  was  cap- 
tured after  a  sharp  engagement  of  several 
hours.  She  was  loaded  with  stores  for  the 
fortress,  and  these  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
victors. 

The  French  commander,  who  had  shown 
but  little  energy  during  the  siege,  was  now 
.so  thoroughly  disheartened  that  on  the  sev- 
jenteenth  of  June,  just  seven  weeks  after  the 
commencement  of  the  investment,  he  surren- 
dered the  town  and  fortifications.  As  the 
colonial  troops  entered  the  place  to  take  pos- 


session of  it  they  were  astonished  at  the 
strength  of  the  works.  "  God  has  gone  out 
of  the  way  of  His  common  providence,  in  a 
remarkable  and  miraculous  manner,"  they 
said,  "  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  French  to 
give  up,  and  deliver  this  strong  city  into  our 
hands."  The  capture  of  Louisburg  by  the 
undisciplined  volunteers  of  America  was  the 
greatest  success  achieved  by  England  during 
the  war.  The  colonists  were  justly  proud  of 
it.  Bells  were  rung  and  bonfires  lighted  in 
all  the  colonies,  and  the  people  rejoiced 
greatly  at  the  success  of  their  brethren  and 
friends.  England,  with  characteristic  selfish- 
ness, claimed  the  glory  exclusively  for  the 
squadron  of  Admiral  Warren. 

Humiliating  Treaty. 

France  was  greatly  alarmed  at  the  capture 
of  Louisburg,  which  seriously  threatened  her 
dominion  in  America,  and  measures  were  at 
once  begun  for  its  recovery,  and  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  English  colonies.  In  1746, 
a  large  fleet  was  despatched  to  America 
under  the  Duke  d'Anville,  but  many  of  the 
vessels  were  lost  at  sea,  and  the  fleet  was 
greatly  weakened  by  pestilence.  In  the 
midst  of  these  misfortunes  the  Duke  d'An- 
ville suddenly  died,  and  his  successor  lost  his 
mind,  and  committed  suicide.  The  expedi- 
tion made  no  serious  demonstration  against 
the  English,  and  resulted  in  total  failure.  In 
1747,  another  fleet  was  sent  out  from  France 
for  the  same  purpose,  but  was  captured  after 
a  severe  fight  by  an  English  fleet  under 
Admirals  Anson  and  W^arren. 

In  spite  of  these  successes,  however,  the 
frontiers  of  the  northern  colonies  suffered 
considerably,  and  the  English  government 
resolved  to  attempt  once  more  the  conquest 
of  Canada.  All  the  colonies  were  required 
to  furnish  men  or  money  to  this  enterprise, 
and  eight  thou.sand  men  were  enlisted.  The 
British    government  delayed,    however,  and 


CONFLICTS   BKTVVKEN   THE   ENGLISH   AND    FRENCH. 


277 


finally  abandoned  the  enterprise.  On  the 
eighteenth  of  October,  1748,  the  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle  closed  the  war. 

The  treaty  required  that  all  places  taken 
by  either  party  during  the  war  should  be 
restored,  and  Louisburg  was  delivered  up  to 
the  French,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the  New 
England  colonies,  who  saw  all  the  results  of 
their  sacrifices  thrown  away,  and  their  com- 
merce and  fisheries  once  more  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  the  French.  England  had  never 
regarded  the  interests  of  her  colonies  as 
worth  considering,  however,  and  it  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  she  should  manifest  any 
concern  for  them  now. 

Dangerous  Neighbors. 
It  was  commonly  believed  in  America,  and 
with  good  reason,  that  the  king  did  not  desire 
that  New  England  should  enjoy  the  security 
necessary  to  her  prosperity.  His  majesty 
was  beginning  to  be  jealous  of  his  American 
subjects,  who  had,  as  Admiral  Warren  ex- 
pressed it,  "  the  highest  notion  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  an  Englishman,"  and  he  was 
resolved  to  keep  them  so  weak  that  they 
should  not  forget  their  dependence  upon 
him.  Peter  Kalm,  a  Swedish  traveller,  who 
visited  New  York  in  1748,  thus  records  the 
prevailing  sentiment  in  America  at  this 
period  ;  "  The  English  colonies  in  this  part 
of  the  world  have  increased  so  much  in 
wealth  and  population  that  they  will  vie 
with  European  England.  But  to  maintain 
the  commerce  and  the  power  of  the  metropo- 
lis they  arc  forbid  to  establish  new  manufac- 
tures, which  might  compete  with  the  English ; 
they  may  dig  for  gold  and  silver  only  on  con- 
dition of  shipping  them  immediately  to  F'ng- 
land  ;  they  have,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
fixed  places,  no  liberty  to  trade  to  any  ports 
not  belonging  to  the  English  dominions,  and 
foreigners  are  not  allowed  the  least  com- 
merce with  these  American  colonies.  And 
there  are  many  similar  restrictions. 


"  These  oppressions  have  made  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  English  colonies  less  tender  to 
their  motherland.  This  coldness  is  increased 
by  the  many  foreigners  who  are  settled  among 
them  ;  for  Dutch,  Germans  and  French  are 
here  blended  with  England,  and  have  no 
special  love  for  old  England.  Besides,  some 
people  are  always  discontented  and  love 
change;  and  exceeding  freedom  and  pros- 
perity nurse  an  untamable  spirit.  I  have 
been  told,  not  only  by  native  Americans, 
but  by  English  emigrants,  publicly,  that 
within  thirty  or  fifty  years  the  English  colo- 
nies in  North  America  may  constitute  a 
separate  state  entirely  independent  of  Eng- 
land. But  as  this  whole  country  is  towards 
the  .sea  unguarded,  and  on  the  frontier  is 
kept  uneasy  by  the  French,  these  dangerous 
neighbors  are  the  reason  why  the  love  of 
these  colonies  for  their  metropolis  does  not 
utterly  decline.  The  English  government 
has,  therefore,  reason  to  regard  the  French 
in  North  America  as  the  chief  power  that 
urges  their  colonies  to  submission." 

During  the  last  year  of  the  war  an  incident 
occurred  at  Boston  which  might  have  opened 
the  eyes  of  the  ministry  to  the  growing  de- 
termination of  the  Americans  to  resist  any 
interference  with  their  liberties.  Desertions 
from  the  English  ships-of  war  in  Boston  har- 
bor had  become  so  frequent  that  Sir  Charles 
Knowles,  the  commanding  officer,  sent  his 
boats  up  to  Boston  one  morning  and  seized 
a  number  of  seamen  in  the  vessels  at  the 
wharves,  and  a  number  of  mechanics  and 
laborers  engaged  in  work  on  shore.  The 
people  of  Boston  indignantly  demanded  of 
the  governor  the  release  of  the  impressed 
men.  As  his  excellency  declined  to  inter- 
fere in  the  matter,  the  people  seized  the  com- 
manders and  officers  of  the  ships  who  hap- 
pened to  be  in  the  town,  and  kept  them  pris- 
oners until  they  agreed  to  release  the  men 
they  had  unlawfully  seized. 


BOOK  III 

The  French  and  Indian  War 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Outbreak  of  Hostilities 


England  Claims  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio — Organization  of  the  Ohio  Company — The  French  Extend  Their  PosU  Into  the 
Oliio  Country — Washington's  Mission  to  the  French  at  Fort  Duquesne — His  Journey — Reception  by  the  French — His 
Journey  Home — A  Perilous  Undertaking — Organization  of  the  Virginia  Forces — Washington  Made  Second  in  Com- 
mand— The  French  Drive  the  English  from  the  Head  of  the  Ohio — Fort  Duquesne  Built  by  Them — Washington 
Crosses  the  Mountains — The  Fight  at  Great  Meadows — Beginning  of  the  French  and  Indian  War — Surrender  of  Fort 
Necessity  to  the  French — Unjust  Treatment  of  the  Colonial  Officers — Congress  of  the  Colonies  at  New  York — Frank- 
hn's  Plan  of  a  Union  of  the  Colonies — Its  Failure — Reasons  ol  the  British  Government  for  Rejecting  It — England 
Assumes  the  Direction  of  the  War — Airival  of  General  Braddock — Plan  of  Campaign — Obstinacy  of  Braddock — He 
Passes  the  Mountains — Defeat  of  Braddock — -Heroism  of  Washington — Retreat  of  Dunbar  Beyond  the  Mountains — 
Vigorous  Action  of  Pennsylvania — Armstrong  Defeats  the  Indians  and  Burns  the  Town  of  Kittanning. 


THE  wars  between  the  English  and 
French  in  America  which  we  have 
just  considered  were  but  a  prelude 
to  the  great  struggle  which  was  to 
decide  which  of  these  powers  should  con- 
trol the  destinies  of  the  new  world.  The 
English,  as  we  have  seen,  were  growing 
stronger  and  more  numerous  along  the  At- 
lantic coast,  and  were  directing  their  new 
settlements  farther  into  the  interior  with 
each  succeeding  year.  The  French  held 
Canada  and  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
but  their  tenure  was  that  of  a  military  occu- 
pation rather  than  a  colonization. 

Between  the  possessions  of  these  hostile 
nations  lay  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  a  beauti- 
ful and  fertile  region,  claimed  by  both,  but 
occupied  as  yet  by  neither.  The  French  had 
e.xplored  the  country,  and  had  caused  leaden 
plates  engraved  with  the  arms  of  France  to 
be  deposited  at  its  principal  points  to  attest 
their  claim  ;  and  had  opened  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  Indians. 
278 


The  region  had  been  frequently  visited  by 
the  traders,  who  brought  back  reports  of  its 
remarkable  beauty  and  fertility  and  of  its 
excellent  climate.  The  British  government 
regarded  this  region  as  a  portion  of  Virginia, 
and  one  of  the  chief  desires  of  the  Earl  of 
Halifax,  the  prime  minister  of  England,  was 
to  secure  the  Ohio  valley  by  planting  an 
English  colony  in  it.  A  company  was  or- 
ganized in  Virginia  and  Maryland  for  this 
purpose  and  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with 
the  Indians,  and  was  warmly  supported  by 
the  Earl  of  Halifax.  It  was  named  the  Ohio 
Company,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing a  favorable  charter  from  the  king,  who, 
in  March,  1749,  ordered  the  governor  of 
Virginia  to  assign  to  the  Ohio  Company  five 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  lying  be- 
tween the  Monongahela  and  Kanawha 
rivers,  and  along  the  Ohio 

The  company  were  required  to  despatch, 
within  seven  years  at  least,  one  hundred  fam- 
ilies to  the  territory  granted  them,  to  locate 


without  delay  at  least  two-nfths  of  the  lands 
they  desired  to  occupy,  and  to  build  and  gar- 
rison a  fort  at  their  own  cost.  They  were 
granted  an  exemption  from  quit-rents  and 
other  dues  for  ten    years,  and    this  freedom 


OUTBREAK   OF    HOSTILITIES.  279 

needed  for  their  traffic  with  the  Indians,  the 
Ohio  Company  built  a  trading-post  at  Wills' 
Creek,  within  the  limits  of  Maryland,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  Cumberland.  Here 
one    of  the   easiest  of  the  passes  over  the 


1 


S'^^TM^XT^ 


FRENCH     I  \rr,ORF.R>    BrKYING    LEADEN   PLATES. 


from  taxation  was  extended  by  the  company 
to  all  who  would  settle  in  their  domain. 

A  number  of  Indian  traders  had  located 
themselves  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  in 
order   to    supply   these    with     the    articles 


Alleghanies  began,  and  by  means  of  it  the 
traders  could  easily  transport  their  goods  to 
the  Indian  country  west  of  the  mountains  and 
return  with  the  furs  their  traffic  enabled  them 
to  collect. 


28o 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


Being  anxious  to  explore  the  country  west 
of  the  mountains,  the  company  employed 
Christopher  Gist,  one  of  the  most  experi- 
enced Indian  traders,  and  instructed  him  "  to 
examine  the  western  country  as  far  as  the 
falls  of  the  Ohio,  to  look  for  a  large  tract  of 
good  level  land  to  mark  the  passes  in  the 
mountains,  to  trace  the  courses  of  the  rivers, 
to  count  the  falls,  to  observe  the  strength  and 
numbers  of  the  Indian  nations." 

A  Land  of  Beauty, 

Gist  set  out  on  his  perilous  mission  on  the 
last  day  of  October,  1750,  and  crossing  the 
mountains  reached  the  Delaware  towns  on 
the  Alleghany  River,  from  which  he  passed 
down  to  Logstown,  a  short  distance  below 
the  head  of  the  Ohio.  "  You  are  come  to 
settle  the  Indians'  lands ;  you  shall  never  go 
home  safe,"  said  the  jealous  people  ;  but  in 
spite  of  their  threats  they  suffered  him  to 
proceed  without  molestation.  He  traversed 
the  country  to  the  Muskingum  and  the 
Scioto,  and  then  crossing  the  Ohio  explored 
the  Kentucky  to  its  source,  and  returned  to 
Wills'  Creek  in  safety.  He  reported  that  the 
region  he  had  traversed  merited  all  the  praise 
that  had  been  bestowed  upon  it ;  that  it  pos- 
sessed a  pleasant  and  healthy  climate,  and 
was  a  land  of  great  beauty.  The  soil  was 
fertile  and  the  streams  abundant  and  excel- 
lent. The  land  was  covered  with  a  rich 
growth  of  the  most  valuable  and  beautiful 
trees,  and  abounded  in  small  level  districts 
and  meadows  covered  with  long  grass  and 
white  clover,  on  which  the  elk,  the  deer,  and 
the  buffalo  grazed  in  herds.  Wild  turkeys 
and  other  game  abounded,  and  the  country 
offered  every  attraction  to  settlers  who  were 
willing  to  improve  it. 

Gist  also  reported  that  the  agents  of  the 
French  were  actively  engaged  in  seeking  to 
induce  the  western  tribes  to  make  war  upon 
the  English  and  pre\-ent  them   from  obtain- 


ing a  footing  west  of  the  mountains.  The 
purposes  of  the  English  were  well  known  to 
the  French,  who  viewed  them  with  alarm,  as 
the  successful  occupation  of  the  Ohio  valle)- 
by  the  English  would  cut  off"  the  communi- 
cation established  by  the  French  between 
Canada  and  the  Mississippi.  This  the  French 
were  resolved  to  prevent  at  any  cost.  The 
Indians  regarded  both  of  the  white  nations 
as  intruders  in  their  country.  They  were 
willing  to  trade  with  both,  but  were  averse 
to  giving  up  their  lands  to  either.  "  If  the 
French,"  said  they,  "  take  possession  of  the 
north  side  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  English  of 
the  south,  where  is  the  Indian's  land  ?  " 

A  Line  of  Forts. 

The  possession  of  the  Ohio  valley  was 
thus  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
French.  Their  fortified  post  of  Fort  Front- 
enac  gave  them  the  command  of  Lake  On- 
tario, which  they  further  secured  by  con- 
structing armed  vessels  for  the  navigation  of 
the  lake.  They  retained  their  hold  upon 
Lake  Erie  by  strengthening  Fort  Niagara, 
which  La  Salle  had  built  at  the  foot  of  that 
lake.  They  entered  into  treaties  with  the 
Shawnees,the  Delawares  and  other  powerful 
tribes  between  the  lake  and  the  Ohio,  and 
steadily  pushed  their  way  eastward  towards 
the  mountains.  They  began  their  advance 
into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  by  building  a 
fort  at  Presque  Isle,  now  the  city  of  Erie,  in 
Pennsylvania,  another  on  French  Creek,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Waterford, 
and  a  third  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of 
Franklin,  at  the  confluence  of  French  Creek 
with  the  Alleghany. 

These  rapid  ad\'ances  eastward  alarmed  the 
English  government,  which  instructed  the 
governor  of  Virginia  to  address  a  remon- 
strance to  the  French  authorities  and  to 
warn  them  of  the  consequences  which  must 
result  from  their  intrusion  into  the  territor\- 


jT 


;LNL    in     mi     AlLl 


fc.N\     MoLMMNs 


282 


THE   FRENCH    AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


of  the  English.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary 
for  the  governor  to  despatch  his  communica- 
tion to  the  nearest  French  post  by  the  hands 
of  some  messenger  of  sufficient  resolution  to 
overcome  .the  natural  dangers  of  such  an 
undertaking,  and  of  sufficient  intelligence  to 
gain  information  respecting  the  designs  and 
strength  of  the  French  ;  and  Governor  Din- 
widdie  was  somewhat  at  loss  to  find  such  a 
person.  Fortunately  the  man  needed  was  at 
hand,  and  the  attention  of  the  governor 
being  called  to  him,  his  excellency  decided 
to  intrust  him  with  the  delicate  and  danger- 
ous mission. 

The  Coming  Hero. 

The  person  selected  for  this  task  was  a 
young  man  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his 
age,  George  Washington  by  name.  He  was 
a  native  of  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  twenty-second  of 
February,  1732.  He  was  a  great-grandson 
of  the  Colonel  John  Washington,  whom  we 
have  noticed  as  the  leader  of  an  expedition 
against  the  Indians  in  the  time  of  Sir 
William  Berkeley.  His  father,  Augustine 
Washington,  was  a  wealthy  planter,  but  his 
death,  when  George  was  eleven  years  old, 
deprived  his  son  of  his  care,  and  also  of  the 
means  of  acquiring  an  education.  He  soon 
acquired  all  the  learning  that  it  was  possible 
to  gain  at  a  country  school,  from  which  he 
passed  to  an  academy  of  somewhat  higher 
grade,  where  he  devoted  himself  principally 
to  the  study  of  mathematics.  His  half- 
brother,  Lawrence,  who  was  fourteen  years 
older  than  himself,  had  received  a  careful 
education  and  directed  the  studies  of  his 
younger  brother,  to  whom  he  was  devotedly 
attached. 

Though  deprived  of  the  care  of  his  father 
at  such  an  early  age,  it  was  the  good  fortune 
of  George  Washington  to  possess  in  his 
mother   a   guide    well    qualified    to  fill    the 


place  of  both  parents  to  her  fatherless  child- 
ren. She  was  a  woman  of  rare  good  sense, 
of  great  decision  of  character,  and  one  whose 
life  was  guided  by  the  most  earnest  Chris- 
tian principle.  Her  tenderness  and  sweet 
womanly  qualities  won  the  devoted  love  of 
her  children,  and  her  firmness  enforced  their 
obedience.  From  her  George  inherited  a 
quick  and  ardent  temper,  and  from  her  he  ' 
learned  the  lesson  of  self-control  which  en- 
abled him  to  go\'ern  it. 

Washington's   Bc\vhood. 

As  a  boy,  Washington  was  noted  for  his 
truthfulness,  his  courage  and  his  generosity. 
He  was  both  liked  and  respected  by  his 
schoolmates,  and  such  was  their  confidence 
in  his  fairness  and  good  judgment  that  he 
was  usually  chosen  the  arbiter  of  their  boy- 
ish disputes.  He  joined  heartily  in  their 
sports  and  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  athletic 
exercises.  He  was  a  fearless  rider  and  a 
tjood  hunter,  and  by  his  fondness  for  manly 
sports  developed  his  naturally  vigorous  body 
to  a  high  degree  of  strength.  He  was  cheer- 
ful and  genial  in  temper,  though  reserved  and 
grave  m  manner.  He  early  acquired  habits 
of  industry  and  order,  and  there  are  still 
existing  many  evidences  of  the  careful  and 
systematic  manner  in  which  he  discharged 
every  duty  assigned  him  at  this  early  age. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  it  was  decided  that 
he  should  enter  the  navy,  and  his  brother 
Lawrence,  who  had  served  with  credit  in  that 
branch  of  the  royal  service,  had  no  difficulty 
in  obtaining  for  him  a  midshipman's  war- 
rant. The  ship  he  was  to  join  lay  in  the  Po- 
tomac, and  his  trunk  was  sent  on  board;  but 
at  the  last  moment  his  mother,  dreading  the 
effect  of  the  temptations  of  a  seaman's  life 
upon  a  boy  so  young,  appealed  to  him  by 
his  affection  for  her  to  remain  with  her 
Washington  was  sorely  disappointed,  but  he 
yielded  cheerfully  to  his  mother's  wish. 


OUTBREAK  01- 
The  marriage  of  his  brother  Lawrence 
gave  to  the  young  man  a  second  home  at 
Mount  Vernon,  where  he  passed  a  large  part 
of  his  time.  Here  he  was  brought  into  con- 
stant contact  with  the  most  cultivated  and 
refined  society  of  Virginia,  an  association 
which  had  a  happy  influence  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  his  character.  There  also  he  formed 
the  acquaintance  and  won  the  friendship  of 
Lord  Fairfax,  the  grandson  of  Lord  Culpep- 
per, and  the  inheritor  of  Culpepper's  vast 
estates  in  Virginia,  which  comprised  about 
one-seventh  of  the  area  of  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia as  it  existed  prior  to  the  separation  of 
West  Virginia  in  1861.  Lord  Fairfax  con- 
ceived a  great  fondness  for  the  young  man, 
and  took  a  deep  interest  in  his  future  welfare. 

Industry  and  Diligence. 

Washington,  upon  leaving  school,  had 
chosen  the  profession  of  a  surveyor  as  his 
future  avocation,  and  soon  after  his  first 
meeting  with  Lord  Fairfax  was  employed  by 
that  nobleman  to  survey  the  lands  belonging 
to  him,  many  of  which  had  been  occupied 
by  settlers  without  right  or  title.  It  was  an 
arduous  and  responsible  task,  and  Washing- 
ton, who  was  just  entering  his  seventeenth 
year,  seemed  almost  too  young  for  it;  but 
"  Lord  Thomas  "  had  satisfied  himself  of  his 
young  friend's  capability  for  it,  and  the  result 
justified  the  opinion  he  had  formed.  His 
work  was  done  with  care  and  accuracy,  and 
his  measurements  were  so  exact  that  they 
are  still  relied  upon. 

His  life  as  a  surveyor  was  in  many  respects 
a  hard  one,  but  he  enjoyed  it.  It  gave  new 
vigor  to  his  naturally  robust  constitution 
and  his  splendid  figure,  and  while  yet  a 
youth  he  acquired  the  appearance  and  habits 
of  mature  manhood.  He  al.so  learned  forest 
life  in  all  its  various  phases,  and  by  his 
constant  intercourse  with  the  hunters  and 
Indians,  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  character 


HOSTILITIES. 


283 


and  habits  of  these  wild  men  which  in  after 
\'ears  was  of  infinite  value  to  him. 

During  his  surveying  expeditions  Wash- 
ington was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Greenwaj- 
Court,  the  seat  of  Lord  Fairfax,  where,  in 
addition  to  the  other  attractions,  there  was  a 
well-selected  library,  of  which  the  young 
man  regularly  availed  him.self  His  readin,; 
was  of  a  serious  and  useful  nature  ;  "  Addi 
son's  Spectator  "  and  the  "  History  of  Eng- 
land "  were  among  his  favorite  works. 

Though  the  heir  to  a  considerable  estate, 
Washington  supported  himself  during  this 
period  by  his  earnings  as  a  surveyor.  "  His 
father  had  bequeathed  to  the  eldest  son, 
Lawrence,  the  estate  afterwards  called  Mount 
Vernon.  To  Augustine,  the  second  son,  he 
had  given  the  old  homstead  in  Westmoreland 
County.  And  George,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  was  to  inherit  the  house  and  lands 
in  Suffolk  County.  As  yet,  however,  he 
derived  no  benefit  from  this  landed  property. 
But  his  industry  and  diligence  in  his  labor- 
ious occupation  supplied  him  with  abundant 
pecuniary  means.  His  habits  of  life  were 
simple  and  economical ;  he  indulged  in  no 
gay  and  expensive  pleasures." 

Military  Education. 
In  175 1,  in  order  to  prepare  for  any 
emergency  to  which  the  hostility  of  the 
French  and  Indians  might  give  rise,  the  col- 
ony of  Virginia  was  divided  into  military 
districts,  each  of  which  was  placed  in  charge 
of  an  adjutant  and  inspector,  with  the  rank 
of  major,  whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  the 
militia  in  readiness  for  instant  service. 
Washington  had  at  an  early  day  evinced  a 
great  fondness  for  military  exercises,  and  as 
a  boy  had  often  drilled  his  school-fellows  in 
the  simplest  manceuvres  of  the  troops. 

As   he  advanced  towards   manhood,  hi-; 
brother  Lawrence,  Adjutant  Muse,  of  Wt- 
moreland,  and  Jacob  Vanbraam,  a  fencii 
master,  and  others,  had  given  him  numerou 


THE   FRENCH   AND 
Though  but  nine 


2S4 

lessons  in  the  art  of  war 
teen  years  old,  he  was  regarded  by  his 
acquaintance  as  one  of  the  best-informed 
persons  upon  military  matters  in  the  colony, 
and  at  the  general  desire  of  those  who  knew 
him  he  was  commissioned  a  major  in  the 
colonial  forces,  and  placed  in  command  of 
one  of  the  military  districts.  He  discharged 
his  duties  with  ability  and  zeal,  and  gave 
such  satisfaction  that  when  Governor  Din- 
widdle, in  1752,  divided  the  province  into 
four  military  districts,  Major  Washington 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  northern  dis- 
trict. "  The  counties  comprehended  in  this 
di\-ision  he  promptly  and  statedly  traversed, 
and  he  soon  effected  the  thorough  discipline 
of  their  militia  for  warlike  operations."  He 
was  discharging  the  duties  of  this  position 
when  selected  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  to 
bear  his  message  to  the  commander  of  the 
French  forces  on  the  Ohio. 

Governor  Dinwiddle  intrusted  to  his  young 
envoy  a  letter  addressed  to  the  commander 
of  the  French  forces  on  the  Ohio,  in  which 
he  demanded  of  him  his  reasons  for  invading 
the  territory  of  England  while  Great  Britain 
and  France  were  at  peace  with  each  other. 
Washington  was  instructed  to  observe  care- 
fully the  numbers  and  positions  of  the 
French,  the  strength  of  their  forts,  the  na- 
ture of  their  communications  with  Canada 
and  with  their  various  posts,  and  to  endeavor 
to  ascertain  the  real  designs  of  the  French  in 
occupying  the  Ohio  valley,  and  tlie  proba- 
bilities of  their  being  vigorously  supported 
from  Canada. 

Perilous  Journey. 

"  Ye're  a  braw  lad,"  said  the  governor,  as 
he  delivered  his  instructions  to  the  young 
major,  "  and  gin  you  play  your  cards  weel, 
my  boy,  ye  shall  hae  nac  cause  to  rue  your 
bargain." 

Washington  received  his  instructions  on 
the  thirtieth   of  October,  1753,  and  on  the 


INDIAN   WAR. 


same  day  set  out  for  Winchester,  then  & 
frontier  post,  from  which  he  proceeded  to 
Wills'  Creek,  where  he  was  to  cross  the 
mountains.  Having  secured  the  services  of 
Christopher  Gist  as  guide,  and  of  two  inter- 
preters and  four  others,  Washington  set  out 
on  his  journey  about  the  middle  of  Novem-, 
ber.  They  crossed  the  mountains  and  jour- 
neyed through  an  unbroken  country,  with  no 
paths  save  the  Indian  trails  to  serve  as 
guides,  across  rugged  ravines,  over  steep 
hills,  and  across  streams  swollen  with  the 
recent  rains,  until  in  nine  days  they  reached 
the  point  where  the  Alleghany  and  Monon- 
gahela  unite  and  form  the  Ohio.  Washing- 
ton carefully  examined  the  place  and  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  advantages  offered 
for  the  location  of  a  fort  by  the  point  of  land 
at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers.  The  judg- 
ment expressed  by  him  at  the  time  was  sub- 
sequently confirmed  by  the  choice  of  this 
spot  by.  the  French  for  one  of  their  most 
important  posts — Fort  Duquesne. 

Interview  With  "  Half-King." 
Washington  had  been  ordered  by  the  gov- 
ernor to  proceed  direct  to  Logstown,  where 
he  was  to  hold  an  interview  with  the  Dela- 
ware chief  known  as  the  Half  King,  to 
acquaint  the  Indians  with  the  nature  of  his 
mission  and  ascertain  their  disposition  to- 
wards the  English.  While  he  was  at  this 
place  he  met  several  French  deserters  from 
the  posts  on  the  lower  Ohio,  who  told  him 
the  location,  number  and  strength  of  the 
French  posts  between  Quebec  and  New 
Orleans  by  way  of  the  Wabash  and  the 
Maumee,  and  informed  him  of  the  intention 
of  the  French  to  occupy  the  Ohio  from  its 
head  to  its  mouth  with  a  similar  chain  of 
forts. 

The  Half  King  confirmed  the  story  of  the^ 
deserters.  He  had  heard  that  the  French 
were  coming  with  a  strong  force  to  drive  the 


OUTBRKAK   OF   HOSTILITIES. 


285 


English  out  of  the  land.  A  "  grand  talk  " 
was  held  with  the  chiefs  in  council  by  Wash- 
ington, and  they  answered  him,  by  the  Half 
King,  that  what  he  had  said  was  true  ;  they 
were  brothers,  and  would  guard  him  on 
his  way  to  the  nearest  French  post.  They 
wished  neither  the  English  nor  the  French 
to  settle  in  their  country  ;  but  as  the  French 
were  the  first  intruders,  they  were  willing  to 
aid  the  English  in  their  efforts  to  expel 
them.  They  agreed  to  break  off  friendly 
relations  with  the  French  ;  but  Washington, 
who  knew  the  Indian  character  well,  was  not 
altogether  satisfied  with  their  promises. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  November  he  set  out 
from  Logstown  with  his  companions,  at- 
tended by  the  Half  King  and  three  other 
Indians,  and  on  the  fourth  arrived  at  the 
French  post  at  Venango.  The  officer  in 
command  of  this  fort  had  no  authority  to 
receive  his  letter  and  referred  him  to  the 
Chevalier  St.  Pierre,  the  commander  of  the 
next  post.  They  treated  the  English  with 
courtesy  and  invited  Washington  to  sup 
with  them.  When  the  wine  was  passed 
around  they  drank  deeplj-  and  soon  lost 
their  discretion. 

Loud  Boasting. 

The  sober  and  vigilant  Washington  noted 
their  words  with  great  attention  and  recorded 
them  in  his  diary.  "  They  told  me,"  he 
writes,  "  that  it  was  their  absolute  design  to 
take  possession  of  the  Ohio,  and,  by  G — d, 
they  would  do  it;  for,  that  although  they 
were  sensible  the  English  could  raise  two 
men  for  their  one,  they  knew  their  motions 
were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent  any 
undertaking  of  theirs.  They  pretend  to 
have  an  undoubted  right  to  the  river,  from  a 
discovery  made  by  one  La  Salle  sixty  years 
ago;  and  the  rise  of  this  expedition  is  to 
prevent  our  settling  on  the  river  or  waters  of 
it,  as  they   heard  of  some  families  moving 


out  in  order  thereto."  The  French  officers 
then  informed  Washington  of  their  strength 
south  of  the  lakes,  and  of  the  number  and 
location  of  their  posts  between  Montreal  and 
Venango. 

The  French  exerted  every  stratagem  to 
detach  the  Indians  from  Washington's  party 
and  they  met  with  enough  success  to  justifv- 
Washington's  distrust  of  them.  All  had 
come  to  deliver  up  the  French  speech-belts, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  break  off  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  French.  The  Delaware  chiefs 
wavered  and   failed  to   fulfill  their  promise ; 


THE    H.VLF    KING. 

"  but  the  Half  King  clung  to  Washington 
like  a  brother,  and  delivered  up  his  belt  as 
he  had  promised." 

The  party  left  Venango  on  the  se\enth  of 
December,  and  reached  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  the 
next  post,  on  the  eleventh.  It  was  a  strong 
work,  defended  by  cannon,  and  near  by 
Washington  saw  a  number  of  canoes  and 
boats,  and  the  materials  for  building  others, 
sure  indications  that  an  expedition  down  the 
river  was  about  to  be  attempted.  He  ob- 
tained an  interview  with  St.  Pierre,  the  com- 
mander, an  officer  of  experience  and  integri- 
ty, greatly  beloved  as  well  as  feared  by  the 
Indians.     He  received  the  young  envoy  with 


286 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


courtesy,  but  refused  to  discuss  questions 
of  right  with  him.  "  I  am  here,"  he  said, 
"  by  the  orders  of  my  general,  to  which  I 
shall  conform  with  exactness  and  resolu- 
tion." 

On  the  fourteenth,  St.  Pierre  delivered  to 
Washington  his  answer  to  the  letter  of  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle,  and  next  day  the  party  set 
out  on  its  return.  They  descended  French 
Creek  in  canoes,  at  no  little  risk,  as  the 
stream  was  full  of  ice.  At  Venango,  which 
was  reached  on  the  twenty-second,  they 
found  their  horses,  which  were  so  feeble  that 
it  was  doubtful  whether  they  would  be  able 
to  make  the  journey  home. 

"  I  put  myself  in  an  Indian  walking-dress," 
says  Washington,  "  and  continued  with  them 
three  days,  until  I  found  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  their  getting  home  in  any  reason- 
able time.  The  horses  became  less  able  to 
travel  every  day  ;  the  cold  increased  very 
fast,  and  the  roads  were  becoming  much 
worse  by  a  deep  snow  continually  freezing  ; 
therefore,  as  I  was  uneasy  to  get  back  to 
make  report  of  my  proceedings  to  his  honor 
the  governor,  I  determined  to  pro.'^ecute  my 
journey  the  nearest  way  through  the  woods 
on  foot." 

A  Shot  that  Missed. 

Taking  Gist  as  his  only  companion,  and 
directing  their  way  by  the  compass,  Wash- 
ington set  out  on  the  twenty-sixth,  by  the 
nearest  way  across  the  country,  for  the  head 
of  the  Ohio.  The  next  day  an  Indian  who 
had  lain  in  wait  for  them  fired  at  Washington 
at  a  distance  of  only  fifteen  steps,  but  missed 
him,  and  was  made  a  prisoner  by  him.  Gist 
was  anxious  to  kill  the  savage  on  the  spot, 
but  Washington  would  not  allow  this,  and 
they  kept  the  fellow  until  dark,  and  then 
released  him.  They  travelled  all  night  and 
all  the  ne.xt  day  in  order  to  make  sure  of 
escaping  from  the  enemies  they  felt  certain 
their  freed  captive  would  set  upon  their  trail. 


At  dark  on  the  twenty-eighth  they  reached 
the  Alleghany,  and  spent  the  night  on  the 
banks  of  that  stream.  The  next  morning 
they  set  to  work  with  one  poor  hatchet  to 
construct  a  raft,  on  which  to  pass  the  river, 
which  was  full  of  floating  ice.  They  com- 
pleted their  raft  about  sunset  and  launched  it 
upon  the  stream.  It  was  caught  in  the 
floating  ice,  and  Washington  was  hurled  off 
into  the  water  and  nearly  drowned.  Unable 
to  reach  the  opposite  shore,  they  made  for 
an  island  in  mid-stream  and  passed  the  night 
there.  The  cold  was  intense,  and  Gist  had 
all  his  fingers  and  several  of  his  toes  frozen. 
The  next  morning  the  river  was  a  solid  mass 
of  ice,  hard  enough  to  bear  their  weight. 
They  at  once  crossed  to  the  opposite  bank 
and  continued  their  journey,  and  on  the 
sixteenth  of  January,  1754,  were  at  Williams- 
burg, where  Washington  delivered  to  the 
governor  of  Virginia  the  reply  of  the  French 
commander,  and  reported  the  results  of  his 
journey. 

Eager  for  New  Territory. 

The  French  commander  returned  a  cour- 
teous but  evasive  answer  to  Governor  Din- 
widdle's communication,  and  referred  him 
for  a  definite  settlement  of  the  matter  to  the 
Marquis  Duquesne,  the  governor  of  Canada. 
It  was  clear  from  the  tone  of  his  letter  that 
he  meant  to  hold  on  to  the  territory  he  had 
occupied,  and  the  governor  of  Virginia  was 
satisfied  from  Major  Washington's  report  of 
his  observations  that  St.  Pierre  was  about  to 
extend  the  line  of  French  posts  down  the 
Ohio.  The  authorities  of  Virginia  resolved 
to  anticipate  him,  and  in  the  spring  of  1754 
the  Ohio  Company  sent  a  force  of  about 
forty  men  to  build  a  fort  at  the  head  of  the 
Ohio,  on  the  site  to  which  Washington  had 
called  attention. 

In  the  meantime,  measures  were  set  on 
foot   in    Virginia    for  the  protection  of  the 


OUTBREAK  OF 
frontiers.  A  regiment  of  troops  was  ordered 
to  be  raised,  and  it  was  the  general  wish  that 
Major  Washington  should  be  appointed  to 
the  command.  He  declined  the  commission 
when  tendered  him,  on  the  ground  of  his 
youth  and  inexperience,  and  was  made  lieu- 
tenant-colonel, the  command  of  the  regiment 
being  conferred  upon  Colonel  Joshua  Fry. 
Washington  was  ordered  to  repair  to  the 
west  to  take  charge  of  the  defence  of  the 
frontiers,  and  in  April,  1754,  reached  Wills' 
Creek  with  three  companies  of  his  regiment. 

Washington  Pushes  Forward. 
Just  at  this  moment  news  arrived  that  the 
party  sent  to  build  a  fort  at  the  head  of  the 
Ohio  had  been  driven  away  by  the  French. 
A  force  of  one  thousand  men,  with  artillery, 
under  Captain  Coutrecceur,  had  descended 
the  Alleghany  and  had  surrounded  the  Eng- 
lish. One  hour  was  given  them  to  surren- 
der, and  being  utterly  unable  to  offer  any 
resistance,  they  capitulated  upon  condition  of 
being  allowed  to  retire  to  Virginia.  Imme- 
diately upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  English, 
the  French  forces  occupied  the  unfinished 
work,  completed  it,  and  named  it  Fort  Du- 
quesne.  This  was  a  more  important  act 
than  either  party  believed  it  at  the  time.  It 
was  the  beginning  of  the  iinal  struggle  by 
which  the  power  of  France  in  America  was 
broken.  In  the  history  of  Europe  this 
struggle  is  known  as  the  "  Seven  Years' 
War;"  in  our  own  history  as  the  "  French 
and  Indian  War." 

Hostilities  were  now  inevitable,  and  Wash- 
ington, who  was  on  his  march  to  the  Ohio 
when  the  news  of  the  aggression  of  the 
French  was  received,  resolved  to  push  f^r-  | 
,  ward  without  delay.  Colonel  Fry  had  fallen 
sick,  and  the  direction  of  affairs  on  the  bor- 
der had  passed  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the 
young  lieutenant-colonel.  He  intended  to 
proceed  to  the  junction  of  Red  Stone  Creek 


HOSTILITIES. 


287 


and  the  Monongahela,  the  site  occupied  by 
the  present  town  of  Brownsville,  to  erect  a 
fort  there  and  hold  it  until  he  could  be  rein- 
forced. His  force  was  poorly  provided  with 
clothing  and  tents,  and  was  deficient  in  mill 
tary  supplies  of  all  kinds.  The  country  to 
be  traversed  was  a  wild,  unbroken  region, 
without  roads  or  bridges,  and  through  it  the 
artillery  and  wagons  were  to  be  transported. 
The  little  force  moved  slowly  and  with  diffi- 
culty, and  Washington  pushed  on  in  ad- 
vance with  a  small  detachment,  intending  to 
secure  the  position  on  the  Monongahela  and 
await  the  arrival  of  the  main  body,  when  the 
whole  force  could  descend  the  river  in  flat- 
boats  to  Fort  Duquesne. 

On  the  twentieth  of  May  he  reached  the 
Youghiogheny  and  there  received  a  message 
from  his  ally,  the  Half  King,  telling  him  that 
the  French  were  in  heavy  force  at  Fort 
Duquesne.  This  report  was  confirmed  at 
the  Little  Meadows  by  the  traders,  and  by 
another  message  from  the  Half  King  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  May,  warning  Washington 
that  a  force  of  French  and  Indians  had  left 
Fort  Duquesne  on  a  secret  expedition. 
Washington  was  sure  that  this  expedition 
was  destined  to  attack  him,  and  advanced  to 
the  Great  iMeadows  and  took  position  there. 

The  First  Blood  Shed. 
On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh 
Gist  arrived  and  reported  that  he  had  seen 
the  trail  of  the  French  within  five  miles  of 
the  Great  Meadows.  In  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  a  runner  came  in  from  the  Half 
King,  and  with  a  message  that  the  French 
were  close  at  hand.  Taking  with  him  forty 
men,  Washington  set  off  for  the  Half  King's 
camp,  and  by  a  difficult  night  march  through 
a  tangled  forest,  in  the  midst  of  a  driving 
rain,  reached  it  about  daylight.  The  runners 
of  the  Half  King  found  the  French  encamped 
in   a  deep   glen   not  far  distant,  and   it  was 


THE   FRENCH    AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


decided  to  attack  them  at  once.  The  Half 
King  and  his  warriors  placed  themselves 
under  Washington's  orders,  and  the  march 
was  resumed  towards  the  French  camp.  The 
French  were  surprised,  and  an  action  of  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  ensued.  The  French 
lost  ten  men  killed,  among  whom  was  their 
commander,  Jumonville,  and  twenty-one 
prisoners.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed 
on  the  American  continent  in  the  long 
struggle  which  won  America  for  the  free 
institutions  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

Washington  was  very  anxious  to  follow 
up  the  advantage  he  had  gained,  and  had 
already  appealed  to  the  governors  of  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania  for  assistance,  but  no 
aid  reached  him.  Unable  to  advance  in  the 
face  of  the  rapidly  increasing  forces  of  the 
French,  he  threw  up  a  stockade  fort  at  Great 
Meadows,  which  he  named  Fort  Necessity, 
from  the  fact  that  the  provisions  of  the  troops 
were  so  nearly  exhausted  that  the  danger  of 
a  famine  was  imminent. 

A  Dutchman's  Blunder. 
On  the  third  of  July  six  hundred  French 
and  one  hundred  Indians  suddenly  appeared 
before  the  fort  and  occupied  the  hills  sur- 
rounding it.  The  attacking  party  were  able 
to  shelter  themselves  behind  trees  and  could 
command  the  fort  from  their  safe  position, 
while  the  English  were  greatly  exposed,  and 
it  was  evident  to  the  most  inexperienced  that 
the  fort  was  untenable.  Nevertheless,  the 
work  was  held  for  nine  hours  under  a  heavy 
fire,  and  amid  the  discomforts  of  a  severe 
rain-storm.  At  length  De  Villiers,  the 
French  commander,  fearing  that  his  am- 
munition would  be  exhausted,  proposed  a 
parley  and  offered  terms  to  Washington. 
The  English  had  lost  thirty  killed,  and  the 
French  but  three.  The  terms  of  capitulation 
proposed  by  De  Villiers  were  interpreted  to 
Washington,  who  did  not  understand  French, 


and  in  consequence  of  the  interpretation, 
which  was  made  by  "  a  Dutchman  little 
acquainted  with  the  English  tongue,"  Wash- 
ington and  his  officers  "  were  betrayed  into  a 
pledge  which  they  would  never  have  con- 
sented to  give,  and  an  act  of  moral  suicide 
which  they  could  never  have  deliberately 
committed. 

'•  They  understood  from  Vanbraam's  inter- 
pretation, that  no  fort  was  to  be  built  beyond 
the  mountains  on  lands  belonging  to  the 
King  of  France  ;  but  the  terms  of  the  articles 
are,  '  neither  in  this  place  or  beyond  the 
mountains.'"  The  Virginians  were  allowed 
to  march  out  of  the  fort  with  the  honors  of 
war,  retaining  their  arms  and  all  their  stores, 
but  leaving  their  artillery.  This  they  did  on 
the  next  morning,  July  fourth,  1754.  The 
march  across  the  mountains  was  rendered 
painful  by  the  lack  of  provisions,  and  after 
much  suffering  the  troops  arrived  at  Fort 
Cumberland  in  Maryland.  Although  the 
expedition  had  been  unsuccessful,  the  conn 
duct  of  Washington  had  been  marked  by  so 
much  prudence  and  good  judgment  that  he 
received  the  thanks  of  the  general  assembly 
of  Virginia. 

Washington's  Cutting  Reply. 

Governor  Dinwiddle  had  already  thrown 
many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  defence  of 
the  colony,  and  he  now  refused  to  reward  the 
provincial  officers  with  the  promotions  they 
had  so  well  earned.  In  order  to  avoid  this 
he  dissolved  the  Virginia  regiment,  and  re- 
organized it  into  independent  companies,  no 
officer  of  which  was  to  have  a  higher  rank 
than  that  of  captain.  It  was  also  ordered 
that  officers  holding  commissions  from  the 
king  should  take  precedence  of  those 
holding  commissions  from  the  colonial  gov- 
ernment.  ^ 

Washington,  feeling  that  he  could  no 
longer  remain  in  the  service  with  self-respect, 


OUTBREAK   OF   HOSTILITIES. 


289 


resigned  his  commission  and  withdrew  to 
Mount  Vernon.  Soon  afterwards  Governor 
Sharpe,  of  Maryland,  having  been  appointed 
by  the  king  commander  in-chief  of  the  forces 
of  the  southern  colonies,  proposed  to  Wash- 
ington, through  a  friend,  to  return  to  the 
army  and  accept  the  rank  of  colonel,  but  with 
the  actual  authority  of  captain.  Washington 
declined  the  offer  with  characteristic  dignity. 
"  If  you  think  me,"  he  wrote,  "  capable  of 
holding  a  commission  that  has  neither  rank 
nor  emolument  anne.xed  to  it,  you  must 
maintain  a  very  contemptible  opinion  of  my 
weakness,  and  believe  me  more  empty  than 
the  commission  itself." 

In  the  meantime,  although  peace  still 
remained  nominally  unbroken  between  Eng- 
land and  France,  each  nation  was  perfectly 
convinced  of  the  certainty  of  a  conflict  in 
America,  and  each  began  to  prepare  for  it. 
France  sent  large  reinforcements  to  Canada, 
and  the  English  went  on  rapidly  with  their 
plans  for  the  conquest  of  that  country.  The 
British  government  was  very  an.xious  that 
the  colonies  should  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
struggle,  though  it  was  fully  determined  to 
send  a  royal  army  to  their  assistance,  and 
urged  upon  them  to  unite  in  some  plan  for 
Aeir  common  defence. 

Alliance  with  the  Six  Nations. 
For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  wishes 
of  the  home  government,  a  convention  of 
delegates  from  seven  of  the  colonies  assem- 
bled at  Albany,  New  York,  on  the  nineteenth 
of  June,  1754.  "  The  Virginia  government  was 
represented  by  the  presiding  officer,  Delan- 
cey,  the  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York  ;  " 
but  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Mary- 
land were  represented  by  their  own  delegates. 
The  first  object  of  this  convention  was  to 
secure  the  friendship  of  the  powerful  con- 
federacy of  the  Six  Nations,  on  the  northern 
19 


border,    and    this    was    successfully    accom- 
plished. 

The  leading  man  of  this  convention  was 
Benjamin  Franklin.  He  was  a  native  of  Bos- 
ton, and  the  son  of  a  tallow  chandler.  While 
still  a  youth  he  had  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
and  by  the  force  of  his  own  genius  had  risen 
from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  great  prom- 
inence among  the  public  men  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  the  literary  and  scientific  men  of  his 
day. 


BF,NJ.\MIN    Fk.VNKLIN. 

He  had  chosen  the  avocation  of  a  printer  ; 
and  by  his  industry,  energy  and  integrity  haiS 
accumulated  property  enough  to  make  him 
independent.  He  was  among  the  most  active 
men  in  America  in  promoting  the  advance- 
ment of  literary,  scientific  and  benevolent 
institutions,  and  had  already  won  a  world- 
wide reputation  by  his  discoveries  in  science, 
and  especially  by  his  investigations  in  elec- 
tricity and  lightning.  He  was  not  inexperi- 
enced in  public  affairs.      He   had  ser\ed  as 


290 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


clerk  to  the  general  assembly  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, as  postmaster  of  Philadelphia,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  theprovincial  assembly  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  1753  had  been  appointed  by  the  king 
postmaster-general  of  the  American  colonies. 
In  each  of  these  positions  he  had  served  with 
distinction,  and  now,  at  the  ripe  age  of  forty- 
eight,  he  had  come  to  take  part  in  the  most 
[important  convention  ever  held  in  America. 
Franklin  had  long  been  of  the  opinion  that 
the  true  interests  of  the  colonies  required 
their  union  in  all  measures  relating  to  their 
common  welfare.  Believing  that  the  force  of 
circumstances  would  soon  drive  them  into 
such  a  union,  he  sought  to  accomplish  that 
end  through  the  medium  of  this  convention. 
Accordingly  he  presented  to  the  convention 
a  plan  for  the  union  of  all  the  American 
colonies,  which  union  he  intended  should  be 
perpetual. 

Proposed  Confederacy. 

He  proposed  that  while  each  colony  should 
retain  the  separate  and  independent  control 
of  its  own  affairs,  all  should  unite  in  a  per- 
petual union  for  the  management  of  their 
general  affairs.  This  confederacy  was  to 
be  controlled  by  a  general  government,  to 
consist  of  a  governor-general  and  a  council. 
The  seat  of  the  federal  government  was  to  be 
Philadelphia.which  city  he  regarded  as  central 
to  all  the  colonies.  The  governor-general 
was  to  be  appointed  and  paid  by  the  king, 
and  was  to  have  thepower  of  vetoing  all  laws 
which  should  seem  to  him  objectionable. 
The  members  of  the  council  were  to  be 
elected  triennially  by  the  colonial  legisla- 
tures, and  were  to  be  apportioned  among  the 
colonies  according  to  their  respective  popula- 
tion. 

"  The  governor-general  was  to  nominate 
military  officers,  subject  to  the  advice  of  the 
council,  which,  in  turn,  was  to  nominate  all 
civil  officers.  No  money  was  to  be  issued 
but  by  their  joint  order.     Each  colony  was 


to  retain  its  domestic  constitution ;  the 
federal  government  was  to  regulate  all  rela- 
tions of  peace  or  war  with  the  Indians,  affairs 
of  trade,  and  purchases  of  lands  not  within 
the  bounds  of  particular  colonies  ;  to  estab- 
lish, organize  and  temporarily  to  govern  new 
settlements ;  to  raise  soldiers,  and  equip  ves- 
sels of  force  on  the  seas,  rivers  or  lakes;  to 
make  laws,  and  levy  just  and  equal  taxes. 
The  grand  council  were  to  meet  once  a  year 
to  choose  their  own  speaker,  and  neither  to  be 
dissolved  nor  prorogued,  nor  continue  sitting 
longer  than  six  weeks  at  any  one  time,  but 
by  their  own  consent." 

The  Union  Opposed. 

This  plan  met  with  considerable  opposi- 
tion, was  thoroughly  discussed,  and  was 
finally  adopted  by  the  convention.  It  was 
not  altogether  acceptable  to  the  colonies, 
each  of  which  dreaded  that  the  establishment 
of  a  central  government  would  result  in  the 
destruction  of  the  liberties  of  the  individual 
provinces.  Connecticut  promptly  rejected 
it.  New  York  received  it  with  coldness,  and 
Massachusetts  showed  a  more  active  opposi- 
tion to  it.  Upon  its  reception  in  England  it 
was  at  once  thrown  aside  by  the  royal  gov- 
ernment. The  Union  proposed  by  the  plan 
was  too  perfect  and  would  make  America 
practically  independent  of  Great  Britain,  and 
so  the  board  of  trade  did  not  even  bring  it 
before  the  notice  of  the  king. 

Franklin  regarded  the  failure  of  his  plan 
of  union  with  great  regret.  In  after  years  he 
wrote :  "  The  colonies  so  united  would  have 
been  sufficiently  strong  to  defend  themselves. 
There  would  then  have  been  no  need  of 
troops  from  England ;  of  course  the  subse- 
quent pretext  for  taxing  America,  and  the 
bloody  contest  it  occasioned,  would  have 
been  avoided.  But  such  mistakes  are  not 
new ;  history  is  full  of  the  errors  of  statea 
and  princes." 


OUTBREAK   OF    HOSTILITIES. 


291 


The  plan  for  the  union  of  the  colonies 
having  failed,  the  British  government  re- 
solved to  take  into  its  own  hands  the  task  of 
carrying  on  the  war,  with  such  assistance  as 
the  colonies  might  be  willing  to  afford.  A 
million  of  pounds  was  voted  for  the  defence 
of  the  British  possessions  in  America,  and 
four  strong  fleets  were  sent  to  sea,  together 
with  numerous  privateers,  which  nearly  de- 
stroyed the  French  We-^t  Indian  trade. 

In  1755,  Major 
General  Edward 
Braddock  was  ap- 
pointed comman- 
der-in-chief of  the 
English  forces  in 
America.  He  had 
served  under  the 
Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, in  his  expe- 
dition into  Scot- 
land against  the 
Pretender  Charles 
Edward,  in  1746, 
and  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most 
promising  officers 
in  his  majesty's 
service.  Braddock 
sailed  from  Cork, 
in  Ireland,  early  in 
January-,  1755,  and 
on  the  twentieth  of 

February  arrived  at  Alexandria,  in  Virginia. 
He  was  soon  followed  by  two  regiments  of 
infantr\',  consisting  of  five  hundred  men  each, 
the  largest  force  of  regulars  Great  Britain 
had  ever  assembled  in  America. 

A  conference  of  the  colonial  governors  with 
the  new  commander-in-chief  was  held  at 
Alexandria,  and  a  plan  of  campaign  was 
decided  upon.  Four  expeditions  were  to  be 
despatched  against  the  French.  The  first, 
under  Braddock  in  person,  was  to  advance 


upon  Fort  Duquesne;  the  second,  under 
Governor  Shirley  of  Massachusetts,  was  to 
attempt  the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara ;  the 
third,  under  William  John,  the  Indian  agent 
among  the  Mohawks,  and  a  man  of  great 
influence  over  them,  was  to  be  directed 
against  Crown  Point ;  and  the  fourth  was  to 
capture  the  French  posts  near  the  head  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  expel  the  French 
from  Acadia. 


WILLS     CREEK    NARROWS,    MD. 


It  was  now  evident  that  the  war  was  about 
to  commence  in  good  earnest,  and  the  colo- 
nies exerted  themselves  to  support  the  efforts 
of  the  mother  country  to  the  extent  of  their 
ability. 

General  Braddock  was  thoroughly  pro- 
ficient in  the  theory  of  his  profession,  but 
his  experience  of  actual  warfare  had  been 
limited  to  a  single  campaign,  and  that  a  brief 
one.  He  possessed  the  entire  confidence  of 
his    superiors  in   England,  and   his  faith  in 


292 

himself  was  boundless.  He  believed  that  the 
regulars  of  the  British  army  were  capable  of 
accomplishing  any  task  assigned  them,  and 
entertained  a  thorough  contempt  for  the  pro- 
vincial troops  that  were  to  form  a  part  of  his 
command.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Virginia 
he  offered  Washington  a  position  on  his  staff 
as  aid-de-camp,  with  the  rank  of  colonel, 
which  was  promptly  accepted. 

Had  General  Braddock  been  a  different 
man  the  presence  of  Washington  in  his  mili 
tary  family  might  have  been  of  the  greatest 
service  to  him,  for  the  experience  of  the 
young  colonel  would  have  made  him  an  in- 
valuable counselor.  Braddock  was  in  a 
strange  country,  and  was  charged  with  the 
conduct  of  a  campaign  in  which  the  ordinary 
rules  of  warfare  as  practiced  in  Europe  could 
not  be  adhered  to.  He  knew  nothing  of  the 
difficulties  of  marching  his  army  through  a 
tangled  wilderness  and  over  a  mountain  range 
of  the  first  magnitude.  Unfortunately  for 
him,  he  was  not  aware  of  his  ignorance,  and 
would  neither  ask  for  nor  listen  to  advice  or 
information  upon  the  subject. 

Franklin's  Opinion  of  Braddock. 
"  He  was,  I  think,  a  brave  man,"  says 
Franklin,  "  and  might  probably  have  made  a 
figure  as  a  good  ofincer  in  some  European 
war.  But  he  had  too  much  self-confidence, 
too  high  an  opinion  of  the  validity  of  regular 
troops,  and  too  mean  a  one  of  both  Ameri- 
cans and  Indians."  During  one  of  his  inter- 
views with  him  Franklin  undertook  to  im- 
press upon  him  the  necessity  of  guarding 
against  the  danger  of  Indian  ambuscades. 
"  He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,"  says  Frank- 
lin, "  and  replied :  '  These  savages  may  in- 
deed be  a  formidable  enemy  to  your  raw 
American  militia;  but  upon  the  king's 
regular  and  disciplined  troops,  sir,  it  is 
impossible  they  should  make  any  impres- 
sion.' " 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


The  army  assembled  at  Wills'  Creek,  to 
which  place  General  Braddock  repaired  in 
his  coach.  The  bad  roads  had  put  him  in  a 
passion,  and  had  broken  his  coach,  and  he 
was  in  no  mood  upon  his  arrival  to  pursue  a 
sensible  course.  He  was  advised  to  employ 
Indians  as  scouts  on  the  march,  or  to  use 
them  to  protect  a  force  of  Pennsylvanians 
who  were  making  a  road  over  the  mountains 
for  the  passage  of  the  army,  but  he  refused  to 
do  either.  Washington  urged  him  to  aban- 
don his  wagon-train,  to  use  pack-horses 
in  place  of  these  vehicles,  and  to  move  with 
as  little  baggage  as  possible.  Braddock 
ridiculed  this  suggestion.  Neither  he  nor 
any  of  his  officers  would  consent  to  be 
separated  from  their  cumbrous  baggage,  or 
to  dispense  with  any  of  the  lu.xuries  they  had 
been  used  to. 

Famous  "  Captain  Jack." 

A  month  was  lost  at  Wills'  Creek,  and  in 
June  the  army  began  its  march.  It  was 
greatly  impeded  by  the  difficulty  of  drag- 
ging the  wagons  and  artillery  over  roads 
filled  with  the  stumps  of  trees  and  with 
rocks.  Such  little  progress  was  made  that 
Braddock,  greatly  disheartened,  privately 
asked  Washington  to  advise  him  what  to  do. 
As  it  was  known  that  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Duquesne  was  small,  Washington  advised 
him  to  hasten  forward  with  a  division  of  the 
army,  in  light  marching  order,  and  seize  the 
fort  before  reinforcements  could  arrive  from 
Canada. 

Braddock  accordingly  detached  a  division 
of  twelve  hundred  men  and  ten  pieces  of 
cannon,  with  a  train  of  pack-horses  to  carry 
the  baggage,  and  pushed  on  in  advance  with 
them,  leaving  Colonel  Dunbar  to  bring  up 
the  main  division  as  promptly  as  possible. 
A  famous  hunter  and  Indian  fighter  named 
Captain  Jack,  who  was  regarded  as  the  most 
experienced    man  in   savage  warfare  in  the 


OUTBREAK   OF   HOSTILITIES. 


colonies,  now  offered  his  services  and  those 
of  his  men  to  Braddock  to  act  as  scouts. 
Braddock  received  him  with  frigid  courtesy, 
and  refused  his  offer,  saying  that  he  "  had 
experienced  troops  upon  whom  he  could 
rely  for  all  purposes." 

Braddock's  Blunder. 

Instead  of  pushing  on  with  energy  with 
his  advance  division,  Braddock  moved  very 
slowly,  gaining  but  a  little  more  than  three 
miles  a  day.  "  They  halt,"  wrote  Washing- 
ton, "  to  level  every  mole  hill  and  to  erect  a 
bridge  over  every  brook."  On  the  eighth  of 
July  the  army  reached  the  east  bank  of  the 
Monongahela,  about  fifteen  miles  above  Fort 
Duquesne,  having  taken  about  double  the 
necessary  time  in  the  march  from  Wills' 
Creek.  On  the  same  day  Washington,  who 
had  been  ill  for  some  days,  and  was  still  un- 
well, rejoined  Braddock. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth  of  July 
the  march  was  resumed.  The  Monongahela 
was  forded  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Youghiogheny,  and  the  advance  con- 
tinued along  the  southern  bank  of  that  river. 
About  noon  the  Monongahela  was  forded 
again,  and  the  army  was  planted  upon  the 
strip  of  land  between  the  rivers  which  form 
the  Ohio.  Washington  was  well  convinced 
that  the  French  and  Indians  were  informed  of 
the  movements  of  the  army  and  would  seek 
to  interfere  with  it  before  its  arrival  before 
the  f  )rt,  which  was  only  ten  miles  distant, 
and  uiged  Braddock  to  throw  in  advance  the 
Virginia  Rangers,  three  hundred  strong,  as 
they  were  experienced  Indian  fighters. 

Braddock  angrily  rebuked  his  aide,  and  as 
if  to  make  the  rebuke  more  pointed,  ordered 
the  Virginia  troops  and  other  provincials  to 
take  position  in  the  rear  of  the  regulars. 
The  general  was  fully  convinced  of  the  ability 
of  his  trained  troops  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves.    Thev  made  a  gallant  show  as  they 


293 

I  marched  along  with  their  gay  uniforms, 
I  their  burnished  arms  and  flying  colors,  and 
their  drums  beating  a  lively  march.  Wash- 
ington could  not  repress  his  admiration  at 
the  brilliant  sight,  nor  his  anxiety  for  the 
result. 

In  the  meantime  the  French  at  Fort  Du- 
quesne had  been  informed  by  their  scouts  of 
Braddock's  movements,  and  had  resolved  to 
ambuscade  him  on  his  march.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  the  ninth  a  force  of  about  two 
hundred  and  thirty  French  and  Canadians 
and  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  Indians, 
under  De  Beaujeu,  the  commandant  at  Fort 
Duquesne,  was  despatched  with  orders  to 
occupy  a  designated  spot  and  attack  the 
enemy  upon  their  approach.  Before  reach- 
ing it,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
they  encountered  the  advanced  force  of  the 
English  army,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Thomas  Gage,  and  at  once  attacked  them 
with  spirit. 

Galling  Fire. 

The  English  army  at  this  moment  was 
moving  along  a  narrow  road,  about  twelve 
feet  in  width,  with  scarcely  a  scout  thrown 
out  in  advance  or  upon  the  flanks.  The 
engineer  who  was  locating  the  road  was  the 
first  to  discover  the  enemy,  and  called  out : 
"  French  and  Indians  !  "  Instantly  a  heavy 
fire  was  opened  upon  Gage's  force,  and  his 
indecision  allowed  the  French  and  Indians 
to  seize  a  commanding  ridge,  from  which 
they  maintained  their  attack  with  spirit. 
There,  concealed  among  the  trees,  they  were 
almost  invisible  to  the  English,  who  were 
fully  exposed  to  their  fire,  as  they  occupied  a 
broad  ravine,  covered  with  low  shrubs,  im- 
mediately below  the  eminence  held  by  the 
French. 

The  regulars  were  quickly  thrown  into 
confusicn  by  the  heavy  fire  and  the  fierce 
yells  of  the  Indians,  who  could  nowhere  b^ 


294 


THE    FRENCH   AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


seen,  and  their  losses  were  so  severe  and 
sudden  that  they  became  panic-stricken. 
They  were  ordered  to  charge  up  the  hill  and 
drive  the  French  from  their  cover,  but  re- 
fused to  move,  and  in  their  terror  fired  at 
random  into  the  woods.  In  the  meantime 
the  Indians  were  rapidly  spreading  along  the 
sides  of  the  ravine  and  continuing  their  fire 
from  their  cover  among  the  trees  with  fear- 
ful accuracy. 


that  not  one  of  his  commands  was  obeyed, 
and  his  defeat  was  complete. 

The  only  semblance  of  resistance  main- 
tained by  the  English  was  by  the  Virginia 
Rangers,  whom  Braddock  had  insulted  at 
the  beginning  of  the  day's  march.  Immedi- 
ately upon  the  commencement  of  the  battle, 
they  had  adopted  the  tactics  of  the  Indians, 
and  had  thrown  themselves  behind  trees, 
from  which  shelter  they  were  rapidly  picking 


DISASTROUS    DEFEAT    OF    GENERAL    BRADDOCK. 


The  advance  of  the  English  was  driven 
back,  and  it  crowded  upon  the  second  divi- 
sion in  utter  disorder.  A  reinforcement  of 
eight  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  Burton, 
arrived  at  this  moment,  but  only  to  add  to 
the  confusion.  The  French  pushed  their 
lines  forward  now  and  increased  the  disorder 
of  the  English,  who  had  by  this  time  lost 
nearly  all  their  officers.  Braddock  now  came 
up  and  gallantly  exerted  himself  to  restore 
order,  but  "  the  king's  regulars  and  discip- 
lined troops "  were   so  utterly  demoralized 


off  the  Indians.  Washington  entreated 
Braddock  to  allow  the  regulars  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  Virginians,  but  he  refused, 
and  stubbornly  endeavored  to  form  them  in 
platoons  under  the  fatal  fire  that  was  being 
poured  upon  them  by  their  hidden  assailants. 
Thus  through  his  obstinacy  many  useful 
lives  were  needlessly  thrown  away  before  he 
would  admit  his  defeat. 

The  officers  did  not  share  the  panic  of  the 
men,  but  behaved  with  the  greatest  gallantry. 
They  were  the  especial  marks  of  the  Indian 


OUTBREAK   OF   HOSTILITIES. 


295 


sharpshooters,  and  many  of  them  were  killed 
or  wounded.  Two  of  Braddock's  aides  were 
seriously  wounded,  and  their  duties  devolved 
upon  Washington  in  addition  to  his  own. 
He  passed  repeatedly  over  the  field,  carrying 
the  orders  of  the  commander  and  encourag- 
ing the  men.  When  sent  to  bring  up  the 
artillerj',  he  found  it  surrounded  by  Indians, 
its  commander,  Sir  Peter  Halket,  killed,  and 
the  men  standing  helpless  from  fear.  Spring- 
ing from  his  horse,  he  appealed  to  the  men 
to  save  the  guns,  pointed  a  field-piece  and 
discharged  it  at  the  savages,  and  entreated 
the  gunners  to  rally.  He  could  accomplish 
nothing  by  either  his  words  or  example. 
The  men  deserted  the  guns  and  fled.  In  a 
letter  to  his  brother,  Washington  wrote :  "  I 
had  four  bullets  through  my  coat,  two  horses 
shot  under  me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  though 
death  was  levelling  my  companions  on  every 
side  around  me.'"  * 

Braddock  had  five  horses  shot  under  him, 
and  at  length  himself  received  a  mortal 
wound.  As  he  fell,  Captain  Stewart,  of  the 
Virginia  troops,  caught  him  in  his  arms. 
He  was  borne  from  the  field,  though  he 
begged  to  be  left  to  die  on  the  scene  of  his 
defeat.  His  fall  was  fortunate  for  the  army, 
which  it  saved  from  destruction. 

A  Fatal  Rout. 

The  order  was  given  to  fall  back,  and  the 
"regulars  fled  like  sheep  before  the  hounds." 
The  French  and  Indians  pressed  forward  in 
pursuit,  and  all  would  have  been  lost  had 
not  the  Virginia  Rangers  themselves  been  in 
the  rear,  and  covered  the  flight  of  the  regu- 
lars with  a  determination  which  checked  the 
pursuers.  The  artillery,  wagons,  and  all  the 
camp  train  was  abandoned,  and  the  savages, 


stopping  to  plunder  these,  allowed  the  fugi- 
tives  to  recross  the  river  in  safety. 

Having  seen  the  general  as  comfortable  as 
circumstances  would  permit,  Washington 
rode  all  that  night  and  the  next  day  to  Dun- 
bar's camp  to  procure  wagons  for  the 
wounded  and  soldiers  to  guard  them. 
With  these  he  hastened  back  to  the  fugi- 
tives. 

The  Engl  sh  General's  Death. 

Braddock,  unable  to  ride  or  to  endure  the 
jolting  of  a  wagon,  was  carried  in  a  litter  as 
far  as  the  Great  Meadows.  He  seemed  to 
be  heart-broken  and  rarely  spoke.  Occa- 
sionally he  would  say,  as  if  speaking  to  him- 
self, with  a  deep  sigh,  "  Who  would  have 
thought  it?"  It  is  said  that  he  warmly 
thanked  Captain  Stewart  for  his  care  and 
kindness,  and  apologized  to  Washington  for 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  received  his 
advice.  He  had  no  wish  to  live,  and  he  died 
at  Fort  Necessity  on  the  night  of  the  thir- 
teenth of  July.  He  was  buried  the  next 
morning  before  daybreak  as  secretly  as  pos- 
sible for  fear  that  the  savages  might  find  and 
violate  his  grave.  Close  by  the  national 
road,  about  a  mile  west  of  Fort  Necessity, 
a  pile  of  stones  still  marks  his  resting- 
place. 

The  losses  of  the  English  in  the  battle 
were  terrible.  Out  of  eighty-six  officers, 
twenty-six  were  killed  and  thirt>'-six 
wounded.  Upward  of  seven  hundred  of  the 
regulars  were  killed  and  wounded.  The 
Virginia  Rangers  had  suffered  terrible  losses, 
for  they  had  not  only  borne  the  brunt  of  the 
battle,  but  had  lost  many  of  their  number  by 
the  random  fire  of  the  frightened  regulars. 
Dunbar,  who  succeeded  Braddock  in  the  com- 
mand, still  had  fifteen  hundred  effective  men 

*  Washington  attributed  his  wonderful  escape  from  even  a  wound  to  the  overruling  providence  of  God.  The  Indians  , 
regarded  the  matter  in  the  same  light.  About  fifteen  years  after  the  battle,  while  examining  some  lands  near  the  mou'h 
of  the  Great  Kanawha   River,  Washington  was  visited  by  an  old  chief.     The  chief  told  h.m  '•  he  was  present  at  the 


296 


THE    FRENCH   AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


left  to  him  ;  but  he  was  too  badly  frightened  to 
iittempt  to  retrieve  the  disaster,  which  a  com- 
petent officer  might  have  done  with  such  a 
force.  He  broke  up  his  camp,  destroyed  his 
stores,  and  retreated  beyond  the  mountains. 
Disregarding  the  entreaties  of  the  colonists 
not  to  leave  the  frontiers  exposed  to  the 
savages,  he  continued  his  retreat  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  went  into  winter  quarters 
there,  to  get  ready  for  future  operations. 


---m^^^J^ 


OF    KITTANNING    BV    GENERAL    ARMSTRONG 


The  effect  of  these  reverses  upon  the 
colonists  was  most  marked.  When  they 
understood  that  Braddock's  splendid  force 
of  disciplined  regulars  had  been  routed  by  a 
mere  handful  of  French  and  Indians,  their 
respect  for  the  invincibility  of  British  troops 
was  destroyed  ;  and  their  confidence  in  their 
own   prowess  was   greatly  increased  by  the 


proud  reflection  that  the  only  thing  that  had 
been  done  to  save  the  army  of  Braddock 
from  total  destruction  had  been  accomp- 
lished by  the  provincials.  Washington's 
conduct  was  a  subject  of  praise  in  all  the 
colonies  and  brought  his  name  conspicuously 
before  the  whole  people  of  America.  In  a 
sermon  preached  a  few  months  after  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  a 
learned  clergyman,  spoke  of  him  as  "  that 
heroic  youth,  Colonel  Wash- 
ington, whom  I  cannot  but 
hope  Providence  has  hitherto 
preserved  in  so  signal  a  man- 
ner for  some  important  service 
his  country." 

The  retreat  of  Dunbar  left 
the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  at  the  mercy  of 
the  savages,  who  maintained 
a  desultory  but  destructive 
warfare  along  the  entire  bor- 
der The  defence  of  this  ex- 
posed region  was  intrusted  to 
Colonel  Washington  ;  but  he 
hid  so  few  men  as  to  make 
his  undertaking  a  hopeless 
one  The  frontier  settlements 
of  Virginia  were  destroyed; 
the  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah  was  ravaged  with 
merciless  fury,  and  the  more 
protected  regions  were  kept  in  a  state  of 
constant  uneasiness  and  alarm.  Governor 
Dinwiddle  was  repeatedly  appealed  to  to 
furnish  more  men,  but  refused,  and  endea- 
vored to  excuse  his  delinquency  by  saying  : 
"  We  dare  not  part  with  any  of  our  white 
men  to  any  distance,  as  we  must  have  a 
watchful  eye  over  our  negro  slaves." 


battle,  and  among  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French ;  that  he  singled  him  out  and  repeaiedly  tired  his  rifle  at  him  ;  that  he 
also  ordered  his  young  warriors  to  make  him  their  only  mark ;  but  that  on  finding  all  their  bullets  turned  aside  by  some 
invisible  and  inscrutable  interposition,  he  was  convinced  that  the  hero  at  whom  he  had  so  often  and  so  truly  aimed  must 
be,  for  some  wise  purpose,  speci.illy  protected  by  the  Great  Spirit.       He  now  came,  therefore,  to  testify  his  veneration." 


^/^ 


A 


OUTBREAK   OF   HOSTILITIES. 


297 


Pennsylvania  met  the  troubles  with  greater  ( 
vigor  and  resolution.  About  thirty  miles 
above  Fort  Duquesne,  on  the  Alleghany 
River,  was  the  Indian  village  of  Kittanning, 
the  home  of  a  noted  chief  named  Captain 
Jacobs.  Together  with  the  Delaware  chief 
Shingis,  he  had,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
French,  kept  up  a  continual  warfare  upon  the 
frontier  settlements.  A  military  force  for 
the  defence  of  the  frontier  was  raised  by  the 
■colony  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  as  colonel.  He  soon 
resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  John 
Armstrong,  a  man  better  suited  to  the  posi- 
tion, and  who  subsequently  became  a  major 
general  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

Armstrong  resolved  to  destroy  Kittanning 
and  the  tribe  inhabiting  it  as  the  best  means 


of  putting  a  stop  to  their  outrages,  and  called 
for  volunteers  for  the  enterprise.  Three 
hundred  men  responded.  Toward  the  last 
of  September,  1756,  they  crossed  the  moun- 
tains on  horseback,  and  in  a  few  days  reached 
the  vicinity  of  Kittanning.  Dismounting  and 
leaving  their  horses  in  charge  of  a  guard,  they 
silently  surrounded  the  village.  The  Indians 
spent  the  night  in  carousing  within  hearing 
of  the  whites,  and  retired  to  rest  at  a 
very  late  hour.  Just  before  daybreak  the 
whites  attacked  the  village  and  set  it  on 
fire.  It  was  completely  destroyed,  and 
Jacobs  and  all  but  a  handful  of  his  men 
were  slain.  The  few  survivors  fled  farther 
west,  and  the  Pennsylvania  frontier  was  re- 
lieved of  the  sufferings  it  had  so  long 
endured. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


Sanguinary  Struggles  on  the  Frontier 


Expedition  Against  Acadia — Brutal  Treatment  of  the  Acadians — They  Are  Expelled  from  Their  Country — A  Sad  Story — 
Fate  of  the  Acadians — Johnson  at  Lake  Geoi^e — -March  of  Dieskau — Battle  of  Lake  George — Failure  of  Shirley's 
Expedition — Arrival  of  the  Earl  of  Loudon — Montcalm  in  Canada — Capture  of  Oswego  by  the  French— Outrages  of 
the  Earl  of  Loudon  Upon  New  York  and  Philadelphia — Expedition  Against  Louisburg — How  the  Earl  of  Loudon  Beat 
the  French — Capture  of  Fort  William  Henry  by  Montcalm — Massacre  of  the  Prisoners  by  the  Indians — Efforts  of 
Montcalm  to  Save  Them — The  Royal  OfEcers  Attempt  to  Cover  Their  Failures  by  Outraging  the  Colonies. 


WHILE  the  events  we  have  re- 
lated were  transpiring  in  the 
Ohio  valley  other  expeditions 
were  despatched  against  the 
French.  One  of  these  was  directed  against 
that  part  of  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  which 
still  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French.  It 
lay  at  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and 
was  defended  by  two  French  forts.  This 
region  was  the  oldest  French  colony  in  North 
America,  having  been  settled  sixteen  years 
before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  but  was 
regarded  by  the  English  as  within  their 
jurisdiction. 

In  May,  1755,  an  expedition  of  three  thou- 
sand New    England  troops  was  despatched 
from  Boston,  under  Colonel  John  Winslow, 
to  attack  these  forts  and  establish  the  Eng- 
lish authority  over  the  French  settlements. 
Upon  reaching  the  Bay  of  Fundy  Winslow 
was  joined  by  three  hundred  English  regulars 
under  Colonel   Monckton,  who  assumed  the  I 
command.     The  forts  were  taken  with  com-  | 
paratively  little  effort,  and  the  authority  of  1 
England    was  extended    over  the  whole  of 
Nova    Scotia.      The    Acadians    agreed    to 
acknowledge   the   authority    of    their    new 
masters,  and  to   observe  a  strict  neutrality 
between  France    and   England   in  the  war; 
and  the  English  on  their  part  promised  not 
to  require  of  them  the  usual  oaths  of  allegi-  I 
ance,   to   excuse   them    from   bearing   arms  ' 
298 


against  France,  and  to  protect  them  in  the 
exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion. 

The  Acadians  numbered  about  seventeen 
thousand  souls.  They  were  a  simple  and 
harmless  people,  and  were  enjoying  in  a 
marked  degree  the  blessings  of  industry  and 
thrift.  They  had  begun  their  settlements  by 
depending  upon  the  fur  trade  and  the  fish- 
eries for  their  support,  but  had  abandoned 
these  pursuits  for  that  of  agriculture,  which 
was  already  yielding  them  rich  rewards  for 
their  skill  and  labor.  They  were  proud  of 
their  farms,  and  took  but  little  interest  in 
public  affairs,  scarcely  knowing  what  was 
transpiring  in  the  world  around  them.  It  is 
hard  to  imagine  a  more  peaceful  or  a  happier 
community  than  this  one  at  the  time  they 
passed  under  the  baleful  rule  of  England. 
Crime  was  unknown  among  them,  and  they 
seldom  carried  their  disputes  before  the  Eng- 
lish magistrates,  but  settled  them  by  the 
arbitration  of  their  old  men.  They  en- 
couraged early  marriages  as  the  best  means 
of  preserving  the  morality  of  their  people  ; 
and  when  a  young  man  married,  his  neigh- 
bors turned  out  in  force  and  built  him  a 
house,  and  for  the  first  year  of  his  marriage 
aided  him  to  establish  himself  firmly,  while 
the  bride's  relatives  helped  her  to  furnish  the 
home  thus  prepared. 

Thus  the  people  were  taught  to  regard  and 
practice  neighborly  kindness  as  ose  of  the 


SANGUINARY   STRUGGLES   ON   THE   FRONTIER. 


299 


cardinal  Christian  virtues.  They  were  de- 
voted Catholics,  and  practiced  their  religion 
without  bigotry.  They  were  attached  to  the 
rule  of  France  by  language  and  religion,  and 
would  have  been  glad  to  see  her  authoritj' 
re-established  over  them  ;  but  they  submitted 
peacefully  to  the  rule  of  the  English  and 
faithfully  observed  the  terms  of  their  sur- 
render. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Acadians  their  pos- 
sessions soon  began  to  excite  the  envy  of  the 
English.  Lawrence,  the  governor  of  Nova 
Scotia,  expressed  this  feeling  in  his  letter  to 
Lord  Halifax,  the  English  premier.  "  They 
possess  the  best  and  largest  tract  of  land  in 
this  province,"  he  wrote  ;  "  if  they  refuse  the 
oaths,  it  would  be  much  better  that  they 
were  away."  The  English  authorities  had 
prepared  a  cunningly  devised  scheme  for  dis- 
possessing these  simplepeople  of  their  homes, 
and  they  now  proceeded  to  put  it  in  execu- 
tion. The  usual  oaths  of  allegiance  had  not 
been  tendered  to  the  Acadians  upon  their 
surrender,  as  it  was  known  that  as  French- 
men and  Catholics  they  could  not  take  them, 
as  they  required  them  to  bear  arms  against 
their  own  brethren  in  Canada,  and  to  make 
war  upon  their  religion. 

Cruel  Treatment. 

It  was  resolved  now  to  offer  the  oaths  to 
them,  and  thus  either  drive  them  into  rebel- 
lion or  force  them  to  abandon  their  homes. 
When  this  intention  was  known,  the  priests 
urged  them  to  refuse  the  oaths.  "  Better 
surrender  your  meadows  to  the  sea,"  they 
declared,  "  and  your  houses  to  the  flames, 
than,  at  the  peril  of  your  souls,  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  British  government."  As 
for  the  Acadians  themselves,  "  they,  from 
their  very  simplicity  and  anxious  sincerity, 
were  uncertain  in  their  resolves  ;  now  gath- 
ering courage  to  flee  beyond  the  isthmus,  for 
ether  homes  in  New  P" ranee,  and  now  yearn- 


ing for  their  own  houses  and  fields,  their 
herds  and  pastures." 

The  officers  sent  by  the  English  authori- 
ties to  enforce  their  demands  conducted 
themselves  with  a  haughtiness  and  cruelty 
which  added  greatly  to  the  sorrows  of  the 
Acadians.  Their  titles  to  their  lands  were 
declared  null  and  void,  and  all  their  papers 
and  title-deeds  were  taken  from  them.  Their 
property  was  taken  for  the  public  service 
without  compensation,  and  if  they  failed  to 
furnish  wood  at  the  times  required,  the  Eng- 
lish soldiers  "  might  take  their  houses  for 
fuel."  Their  guns  were  seized,  and  they 
were  deprived  of  their  boats  on  the  pretext 
that  they  might  be  used  to  communicate 
with  the  French  in  Canada.  At  last,  wearied 
out  with  these  oppressions,  the  Acadians 
offered  to  swear  allegiance  to  Great  Britain. 
This,  however,  formed  no  part  of  the  plan  of 
their  persecutors,  and  they  were  answered 
that  by  a  British  statute  persons  who  had 
been  once  offered  the  oaths,  and  who  had 
refused  them,  could  not  be  permitted  to  take 
them,  but  must  be  treated  as  Popish  recu- 
sants. 

This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  and  the 
English  now  resolved  to  strike  the  decisive 
blow.  A  proclamation  was  issued,  requiring 
"  the  old  men,  and  young  men,  as  well  as  all 
lads  over  ten  years  of  age,"  to  assemble  on 
the  fifth  of  September,  1755,  at  a  certain 
hour,  at  designated  places  in  their  respective 
districts,  to  hear  the  "  wishes  of  the  king." 
In  the  greater  number  of  places  the  order 
was  obeyed.  What  happened  at  the  village 
of  Grand  Pre,  the  principal  settlement,  will 
show  the  course  pursued  by  the  English  in 
all  the  districts.  Four  hundred  and  eighteen 
of  the  men  of  the  place  assembled.  They 
were  unarmed,  and  were  marched  into  the 
church,  which  was  securely  guarded. 

Winslow,  the  New  England  commander, 
then  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "  You  are 


300 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


convened  together  to  manifest  to  you  his 
majesty's  final  resolution  to  the  French  in- 
habitants of  this  his  province.  Your  lands 
and  tenements,  cattle  of  all  kinds,  and  live 
stock  of  all  sorts,  are  forfeited  to  the  crDwn, 
and  }-ou  yourselves  are  to  be  removed  from 
this  his  pro\ince.  I  am,  through  his  majes- 
ty's goodness,  directed  to  allow  you  liberty 
to  carry  ofir  your  money  and  household 
goods,  as  many  as  j-ou  can,  without  discom- 
moding the  vessels  you  go  in."  He  then 
declared  them,  together  with  their  wives  and 
children,  a  total  of  nineteen  hundred  and 
twenty-three  souls,  the  king's  prisoners. 

English  Barbarity. 

The  announcement  took  the  unfortunate 
men  by  surprise,  and  filled  them  with  the 
deepest  indignation  ;  but  they  were  unarmed 
and  unable  to  resist.  They  were  held  close 
prisoners  in  the  church,  and  their  homes, 
which  they  had  left  in  the  morning  full  of 
hope,  were  to  see  them  no  more.  They 
were  kept  without  food  for  themselves  or 
their  children  that  day,  and  were  poorly  fed 
during  the  remainder  of  their  captivity. 
They  were  held  in  confinement  until  the 
tenth  of  September,  when  it  was  announced 
that  the  vessels  were  in  readiness  to  carry 
them  away.  They  were  not  to  be  allowed 
to  join  their  brethren  in  Canada  lest  they 
should  ser\-eas  a  reinforcement  to  the  French 
in  that  province,  but  were  to  be  scattered  as 
paupers  through  the  English  colonies,  among 
people  of  another  race  and  a  different  faith. 

On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  the  captives 
were  drawn  up  six  deep.  The  English,  in- 
tending to  make  their  trial  as  bitter  and  as 
painful  as  possible,  had  resolved  upon  the 
barbarous  measure  of  separating  the  families 
of  their  victims.  The  young  men  and  boys 
were  driven  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  from 
the  church  to  the  ship  and  compelled  to 
embark.     They    passed    amid    the    rows  of 


their  mothers  and  sisters,  who,  kneeling, 
prayed  Heaven  to  bless  and  keep  them.  Then 
the  fathers  and  husbands  were  forced  by  the 
bayonet  on  board  of  another  ship,  and  as  the 
vessels  were  now  full,  the  women  and  child- 
ren were  left  behind  until  more  ships  could 
come  for  them.  They  were  kept  for  weeks 
near  the  sea,  suffering  greatly  from  lack  of 
proper  shelter  and  food,  and  it  was  December 
before  the  last  of  them  were  removed. 
Those  who  tried  to  escape  were  ruthlessly 
shot  down  by  the  sentinels.  "  Our  soldiers 
hate  them,"  wrote  an  English  officer,  "  and 
if  they  can  but  find  a  pretext  to  kill  them, 
they  will." 

In  some  of  the  settlements  the  designs  of 
the  English  were  suspected  and  the  procla- 
mation was  not  heeded.  Some  of  the  people 
fled  to  Canada ;  others  sought  shelter  with 
the  Indians,  who  receiv-ed  them  with  kind- 
ness ;  others  still  fled  to  the  woods,  hoping 
to  hide  there  till  the  storm  was  over.  The 
English  at  once  proceeded  to  lay  waste  their 
homes ;  the  country  was  made  desolate  in 
order  that  the  fugitives  might  be  compelled 
through  starvation  to  surrender  themselves. 

Families  Scattered. 

Seven  thousand  Acadians  were  torn  from 
their  homes  and  scattered  among  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Georgia.  Families  were  ut- 
terly broken  up,  never  to  be  reunited.  The 
colonial  newspapers  for  many  years  were 
filled  with  mournful  advertisements,  inquir- 
ing for  a  lost  husband  or  wife;  parents 
sought  their  missing  children,  and  children 
their  parents  in  this  way.  But  of  all  these 
inquiries  few  were  answered.  The  exiles 
were  doomed  to  a  parting  worse  than  death, 
and  their  captors  had  done  their  work  so 
well  that  human  ingenuity  could  not  undo  it. 
Some  of  those  who  had  been  carried  to 
Georgia  attempted  to  return  to  their  homes. 


SANGUINARY   STRUGGLES   ON   THE   FRONTIER. 


30 « 


They  escaped  to  sea  in  boats,  and  coasted 
from  point  to  point  northward  until  they 
reached  New  England,  when  they  were 
sternly  ordered  back.  Their  homes  were 
their  own  no  longer. 

More  than  three  thousand  Acadians  fled 
to  Canada,  and  of  these  about  fifteen  hundred 
settled  south  of  the  Ristigouche.  Upon  the 
surrender  of  Canada  they  were  again  sub- 
jected to  the  persecutions  of  the  English. 
"Once  those  who  dwelt  in  Pennsylvania 
presented  a  humble  petition  to  the  Earl  of 
Loudon,  then  the  British  commander-in- 
chief  in  America,  and  the  cold-hearted  peer, 
offended  that  the  prayer  was  made  in  French, 
seized  their  five  principal  men,  who  in  their 
own  land  had  been  persons  of  dignity  and 
substance,  and  shipped  them  to  England. 
with  the  request  that  they  might  be  kept 
from  ever  again  becoming  troublesome  by 
being  consigned  to  service  as  common  sailors 
on  board  ships  of  war. 

Unparalleled  Oppression. 
"  No  doubt  existed  of  the  king's  approba- 
tian.  The  lords  of  trade,  more  merciless 
than  the  savages  and  than  the  wilderness  in 
winter,  wished  very  much  that  every  one  of 
the  Acadians  should  be  driven  out ;  and 
when  it  seemed  that  the  work  was  done, 
congratulated  the  king  that  'the  zealous 
endeavors  of  Lawrence  had  been  crowned 
with  an  entire  success.'  I  know  not  if  the 
annals  of  the  human  race  keep  the  record  of 
sorrows  so  wantonly  inflicted,  so  bitter  and 
so  perennial,  as  fell  upon  the  French  inhab- 
itants of  Acadia.  'We  have  been  true,' 
they  said  of  themselves,  '  to  our  religion,  and 
true  to  ourselves  ;  yet  nature  appears  to  con- 
sider us  only  as  the  objects  of  public  ven- 
geance.' The  hand  of  the  English  official 
seemed  under  a  spell  with  regard  to  them  ; 
and  was  never  uplifted  but  to  curse  them."  * 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  Staler,  vol.  iv.,  p.  206. 


While  these  sorrows  were  being  heaped 
upon  the  helpless  Acadians  by  England,  the 
provincial  forces  were  serving  the  cause  else- 
where with  more  credit  to  their  manhood. 
As  has  been  stated,  the  expedition  against 
the  French  fort  at  Crown  Point,  on  Lake 
Champlain,  had  been  intrusted  to  Gcn.ral 
William  Johnson.  His  army  consisted  prin- 
cipally of  troops  from  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut.  They  were  joined  at  Albany 
by  a  regiment  from  New  Hampshire.  The- 
troops  rendezvoused  at  the  head  of  boat 
navigation,  on  the  Hudson,  in  July,  1755, 
under  the  command  of  General  Lyman. 
They  numbered  about  si.x  thousand  men.  A 
fort  was  built  and  named  by  the  troops,  in 
honor  of  their  commander.  Fort  Lyman. 
Johnson'3  Expedition. 

In  August  Johnson  arrived  with  the  stores 
and  artillery,  and  assumed  the  command  of 
the  expedition.  He  ungenerously  changed 
the  name  of  the  fort  to  Fort  Edward.  Leav- 
ing a  strong  force  to  garrison  it,  he  moved 
with  five  thousand  men  to  the  head  of  Lake 
George,  from  which  he  intended  to  descend 
the  lake  in  boats. 

The  French  had  been  informed  of  John- 
son's movements  by  their  scouts.  Baron 
Dieskau,  the  governor  of  Canada,  placed  the 
entire  arms-bearing  population  of  the  Mon- 
treal district  in  the  field  and  resolved  to 
prevent  Johnson  from  reaching  Crown  Point 
by  attacking  hun  in  his  own  country.  With 
a  force  of  two  hundred  French  regulars  and 
about  one  thousand  two  hundred  Indians,  he 
.set  out  across  the  country  to  attack  Fort 
Edward.  Upon  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  fort  the  Indians  learned  that  it  was  de- 
fended by  artillery,  of  which  they  were 
greatly  afraid,  and  refused  to  attack  it.  Dies- 
kau was,  therefore,  compelled  to  change  his 
plan,  and  resolved  to  strike  a  blow  at  John- 
son's camp,  which  he  was  informed  was 
without  cannon. 


302 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


In  the  meantime  the  scouts  of  the  English 
had  detected  the  movement  against  Fort 
Edward.  Ignorant  of  the  change  in  Dies- 
kau's  plans  Johnson  sent  a  force  of  one 
thousand  men,  under  Colonel  Ephraim  Will- 
iams of  Massachusetts,  and  two  hundred 
Mohawks,  under  their  famous  chief  Hen- 
drick,  to  the  relief  of  the  ft.>rt.  Their  march 
was    reported  to  the    French,    who    placed 


themselves  in  ambush  along  the  road  they 
were  pursuing,  and  attacked  them  as  soon  as 
they  had  fairly  entered  the  defile.  The  Eng- 
lish were  at  once  thrown  into  confusion. 
Hendrick  was  shot  down  at  the  first  fire,  and 
■Williams  fell  a  few  moments  later.  The 
English  and  Mohawks  then  began  a  rapid 
retreat  to  their  camp,  closely  pursued  by 
their  assailants. 

The  sound  of  the  firing  was  soon  heard  in 


Johnson's  camp,  and  as  it  drew  nearer  it 
became  apparent  that  the  detachment  was 
retreating.  The  troops  were  gotten  under 
arms,  and  the  trees  in  front  of  the  camp  were 
hurriedly  felled  to  form  a  rude  breastwork. 
A  few  cannon  had  just  arrived  from  the 
Hudson,  and  these  were  placed  to  command 
the  road  by  which  the  French  were  ap- 
proaching. These  arrangements  were  just 
completed  when  the  fugitives  of  Williams' 
command  appeared  in  full  retreat,  with  the 
French  and  Indians  but  a  few  hundred  yards 
behind  them.  Dieskau  urged  his  men  for- 
ward with  the  greatest  energy,  intending  to 
force  his  way  into  the  English  camp  along 
with  the  fugitives.  The  artillery  was  care- 
fully trained  upon  the  road  by  which  he  was 
advancing,  and  the  moment  the  fugitives 
were  past  the  guns  they  opened  with  a  ter- 
rific fire  of  grape,  which  caused  the  Canadians 
and  Indians  to  break  in  confusion,  and  take 
to  the  woods  for  shelter. 

Stolen  Honors. 

The  regulars  held  their  ground,  and  main- 
tained a  determined  contest  of  five  hours,  in 
which  they  were  nearly  all  slain.  The  In- 
dians and  Canadians  did  little  execution,  as 
they  stood  in  dread  of  the  artillery.  At 
length  Dieskau,  seeing  that  his  effort  had 
failed,  drew  off  his  men,  and  retreated.  He 
was  pursued  for  some  distance  by  the  Eng- 
lish. Towards  evening  he  was  suddenly  at- 
tacked by  the  New  Hampshire  regiment, 
which  was  marching  from  Fort  Edward  to 
Johnson's  assistance.  The  French  were 
seized  with  a  panic  at  this  new  attack,  and 
abandoning  their  brave  commander  fled  for 
their  lives.  Dieskau,  who  had  been  severely 
wounded  several  times,  was  taken  prisoner. 
He  was  kindly  treated,  and  was  subsequently 
sent  to  England,  where  he  died.  ' 

General  Johnson  was  slightly  wounded  at 
the  commencement  of  the  battle,  and  with- 


SANGUINARY   STRUGGLKS   ON   THE   FRONTIER. 


303 


drew  from  the  field,  leaving  the  command  to 
General  Lyman,  to  whom  the  victory  was 
really  due.  Notwithstanding  this  Johnson 
did  not  even  mention  Lyman's  name  in  his 
report  of  the  battle,  but  claimed  all  the  honor 
for  himself.  He  was  rewarded  by  the  king 
with  a  baronetcy,  and  the  gift  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars.  General  Lyman  was  not 
even  thanked  for  his  services. 

Great  Military  Preparations. 

Johnson  made  no  ctTort  to  improve  his 
victoiy.  The  expedition  against  Crown 
Point,  which  might  now  have  been  under- 
taken with  a  better  prospect  of  success,  was 
abandoned,  and  Johnson  contented  himself 
with  building  a  useless  log  fort  at  the  head 
of  Lake  George,  which  he  named  Fort  Will- 
iam Henry.  Late  in  the  fall  he  placed  a 
garrison  in  this  fort,  and  then  returned  to 
Albany,  where  he  disbanded  his  army. 

The  expedition  under  Governor  Shirley, 
against  Fort  Niagara,  was  equally  unsuccess- 
ful. By  the  month  of  August  Shirley  had 
advanced  no  farther  than  Oswego.  Here  he 
received  the  news  of  Braddock's  defeat,  which 
so  disheartened  him  that,  after  building  and 
garrisoning  two  forts  at  Oswego,  he  returned 
to  Albany.  By  the  death  of  Braddock  Shir- 
ley succeeded  to  the  chief  command  of  all 
the  royal  forces  in  America. 

In  December,  1755,  Shirley  held  a  con- 
ference with  the  colonial  governors,  at  New 
York,  to  decide  upon  the  campaign  for  the 
next  year.  It  was  agreed  that  three  expedi- 
tions should  be  undertaken  in  1756:  one 
against  Niagara  ;  a  second  against  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  and  a  third  against  Crown  Point.  In 
the  meantime  Lord  Loudon  was  appointed 
by  the  king  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces 
in  America.  He  sent  over  General  Aber- 
crombie  as  his  lieutenant.  Abercrombie  ar- 
rived in  June  with  several  regiments  of 
British  regulars.     He  relieved  General  Shir- 


ley from  command,  but  nothing  was  to  be 
done  until  the  arrival  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  who  did  not  reach  America  until  July. 

Lord  Loudon  was  a  more  pompous  and  a 
slower  man  than  Braddock,  and  more  incom- 
petent. A  force  of  seven  thousand  men  was 
assembled  at  Albany  for  the  expedition 
against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and 
Loudon  at  once  repaired  thither,  and  as- 
sumed the  command.  The  colonists  were 
confident  that  something  of  importance 
would  now  be  accomplished  ;  but  they  were 
destined  to  disappointment.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief and  his  subordinates  spent 
their  time  in  settling  the  relative  rank  of  the 
royal  and  provincial  officers. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  all  that  had 
been  accomplished  during  the  war  had  been 
gained  by  the  colonial  forces,  there  was  an 
iniquitous  regulation  which  gave  the  pre- 
cedence to  the  lowest  officer  holding  a  royal 
commission  over  one  holding  a  higher  rank 
from  any  of  the  colonies.  This  led  to  many 
disputes,  and  the  colonists  saw  themselves 
robbed  of  the  honors  they  had  so  fairly  won. 
This  was  only  one  of  the  many  wrongs  by 
which  Great  Britain  succeeded  in  alienating 
the  people  of  America  from  their  attachment 
to  her. 

Successes  of    Montcalm. 

In  the  meantime  Dieskau  had  been  suc- 
ceeded as  governor  of  Canada  by  the 
Marquis  de  Montcalm,  the  ablest  of  the 
rulers  of  New  France.  He  was  a  man  of 
genuine  ability  and  of  indomitable  energy. 
He  reached  Quebec  in  1756,  and  at  once  set 
out  for  Ticonderoga,  which  he  placed  in  a 
state  of  defence.  Perceiving  the  exposed 
condition  of  the  English  forts  at  Oswego  he 
resolved  to  capture  them.  Collecting  a  force 
of  five  thousand  Frenchmen,  Canadians  and 
Indians,  he  crossed  the  lake  from  Frontenac, 
and  reached  Oswego  on  the  fifth  of  August. 


304 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


He  soon  drove  the  English  out  of  Fort 
Oswego ;  but  Fort  Ontario,  the  second 
work,  opposed  a  more  vigorous  resistance 
to  him. 

The  garrison  held  out  until  their  com- 
mander. Colonel  Mercer,  was  killed,  and  they 
had  lost  all  hope  of  receiving  aid  from 
Albany,  when  they  capitulated.  An  immense 
amount  of  military  stores,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  pieces  of  cannon,  and  all  the  boats 
and  vessels  Shirley  had  prepared  for  the  ex- 
pedition against  Niagara  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Montcalm.  The  Iroquois  had  viewed  the 
erection  of  the  forts  at  Oswego  by  the  Eng- 
lish with  great  jealousy,  and  in  order  to  con- 
ciliate them  Montcalm  wisely  destroyed  the 
works,  and  withdrew  into  Canada. 

Master  of   Twenty  Legions. 

Loudon  had  detached  a  force  under 
Colonel  Webb  to  the  assistance  of  the 
Oswego  forts,  but  it  was  sent  so  late  that  it 
was  met  on  the  way  by  the  news  of  the  cap- 
ture of  the  forts.  Colonel  Webb,  in  dismay, 
fell  back  rapidly,  and  obstructed  the  road  to 
Albany. 

Having  failed  to  accomplish  anything 
against  the  enemy  Lord  Loudon  now  under- 
took to  subjugate  the  colonics  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  He  was  firmly  convinced 
that  the  colonists  needed  to  be  taught  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  the  royal  commander, 
and  as  he  had  been  made  a  sort  of  viceroy  of 
all  the  colonies,  he  thought  the  present  a 
fitting  occasion  to  teach  them  this  lesson. 
He  demanded  of  the  cities  of  Albany,  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  free  quarters  for  his 
troops  during  the  winter.  The  mayor  of 
New  York  refused  the  demand  "  as  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  England  and  the  liberties  of 
America."  "  G — d  d — n  my  blood,"  said  the 
viceroy  to  the  mayor  ;  "  if  you  do  not  billet 
my  officers  upon  free  quarters  this  day,  I'll 
order  here  all  the  troops   in    North  America 


under  my  command,  and  billet  them  myself 
upon  the  city." 

There  was  no  reasoning  with  "  the  master 
of  twenty  legions,"  and  the  magistrates  were 
obliged  to  get  up  a  subscription  for  the  free 
support,  during  the  winter,  of  an  army  that 
had  passed  a  whole  campaign  without  com- 
ing in  sight  of  the  enemy.  In  Philadelphia 
the  matter  was  settled  very  much  in  the 
same  way.  Albany  was  also  obliged  to  sub- 
mit, but  the  magistrates  took  occasion  to 
tell  the  royal  officers  that  they  did  not  want 
their  services,  as  they  could  defend  their 
frontiers  themselves.  "  The  frontier  was  left 
open  to  the  French  ;  this  quartering  troops 
in  the  principal  towns,  at  the  expense  of  the 
inhabitants,  by  the  illegal  authority  of  a 
military  chief,  was  the  great  result  of  the 
campaign  "  It  was  becoming  clear  to  the 
colonists  that  their  safety  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  French  and  savages  was  not  to- 
be  gained  by  the  royal  troops,  but  by  their 
own  efforts. 

Mock  Battles  and  Sieges. 

A  congress  of  governors  was  held  at 
Boston  in  January,  1757,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  there  should  be  but  one  expedition  this 
year,  and  that  this  should  be  sent  under  the 
Earl  of  Loudon  against  Louisburg.  The 
frontier  posts,  especially  Forts  Edward  and 
William  Henry,  were  to  be  defended,  and 
Washington,  with  the  Virginia  troops,  was  to- 
guard  the  border  of  that  colony  against  the- 
expeditions  of  the  French  from  Fort  Du- 
quesne.  The  last  was  a  difficult  and  almost 
impossible  duty,  for  the  French  from  Fort 
Duquesne  could  choose  their  point  of  attack 
anywhere  on  the  long  and  exposed  frontier, 
while  the  force  under  Washington  was  utterly 
inadequate  to  the  task  of  watching  the  entire 
line. 

Leaving  Bouquet  to  guard  the  frontier  of 
Carolina  against  the  Cherokees,  and  Webb  to> 


SANGUINARY   STRUGGLES   ON   THE   FRONTIER 


305 


hold  the  country  between  Lake  George  and 
the  Hudson,  Lord  Loudon,  on  the  twentieth 
of  June,  1757,  sailed  from  New  York  with 
six  thousand  regulars  to  attack  Louisburg. 
He  proceeded  to  Halifax,  where  he  was 
joined  by  a  fleet  of  eleven  ships  of  war  and 
four  thousand  troops,  bringing  his  whole 
force  to  ten  thousand  regulars  and  six- 
teen ships  of  the  line  and  a  number  of 
frigates. 

The  campaign  of 
this  redoubtable 
warrior  is  thus  des- 
cribed by  Bancroft: 
•'  He  landed  (at  Ha- 
lifax), levelled  the 
uneven  ground  for 
a  parade,  planted 
a  vegetable  garden 
as  a  precaution 
against  the  scurvy, 
exercised  the  men 
in  mock  battles  and 
sieges  and  storm- 
ings  of  fortresses, 
and  when  August 
came,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  army  was 
broken,  and  Hay,  a 
major-general,  ex- 
pressed contempt 
so  loudly  as  to  be 
arrested,  the  troops 
were  embarked,  as 
if  for  Louisburg. 
But  ere  the  ships 

sailed,  the  reconnoitring  vessels  came  with 
the  news  that  the  French  at  Cape  Breton 
had  one  more  ship  than  the  English,  and 
ihe  plan  of  campaign  was  changed.  Part  of 
the  soldiers  landed  again  at  Halifax,  and  the 
Earl  of  Loudon.,  leaving  his  garden  to  the 
weeds,  and  his  place  of  arms  to  briars,  sailed 
for  New  York. 
20 


■cry 
As 


The  Marquis  of  Montcalm  was  a 
different  man  from  the  Earl  of  Loudon, 
a  man  he  was  superior  to  him  in  every  way ; 
as  a  commander  he  was  active,  quick  and 
resolute ;  while  Loudon  was  incompetent, 
slow  and  pompous.  Montcalm  had  stationed 
himself  at  Ticonderoga,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
watch  the  English,  and  he  resolved  to  take 
advantage  of  Lord  Loudon's  absence  to 
attack   Fort  William   Henry,  at  the  head  of 


?_j 


SITE   OF    FOKT    WlLLl.AM    HF.NKV    ON    LAKE  GEORGI 


Lake  George.  In  the  first  place,  previous  to 
starting  on  this  enterprise,  he  made  his  court 
to  thf  Oneidas,  the  Senecas  and  other  sav- 
age tribes,  and  gained  them  over  to  his 
interests.  These  native  warriors  crossed  the 
waters  of  Lake  Champlain  in  two  hundred 
canoes  with  pennons  flying,  and  all  the  pomp 
I  of  savage  warfare.     Assemblintr  beneath  the 


3o6 


THE   FRENXH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


battlements  of  Ticonderoga,  in  the  midst  of 
woods  and  mountains,  they  sang  the  war- 
song,  danced  the  war-dance,  and  listened  to 
the  eloquence  of  their  orators.  On  the  sec- 
ond of  August  Montcalm  appeared  before 
the  fort  with  a  force  of  about  six  thousand 
French  and  Canadians  and  seventeen  hun- 
dred   Indians,   and   laid    siege   to   it.     The 


MONTCALM. 

garrison  consisted  of  about  three  thousand 
men,  under  Colonel  Monroe,  a  gallant  offi- 
cer. Montcalm  summoned  him  to  surrender 
the  fort,  but  Monroe  returned  an  indignant 
refusal  to  this  demand,  and  sent  to  General 
Webbe,  at  Fort  Edward,  fifteen  miles  dis- 
tant, to  ask  for  assistance.  Webbe  might 
CT;ily  have  saved  the   fort,  as  he  had  four 


thousand  men  under  his  command,  but  he 
made  no  effort  to  do  so. 

Colonel  Putnam,  afterwards  famous  in  the 
Revolution,  eagerly  sought  and  at  last  re- 
ceived permission  to  march  with  his  regi- 
ment to  Monroe's  assistance,  but  he  had 
proceeded  only  a  few  miles  when  Webbe 
commanded  him  to  return  to  Fort  Edward. 
In  the  place  of  assistance,  the 
timid  Webbe  then  sent  to  Mon- 
roe a  letter  greatly  exaggerating 
the  force  of  the  French  and  ad- 
vising him  to  surrender.  This 
letter  was  intercepted  by  Mont- 
calm, who  was  on  the  point  of 
raising  the  siege,  and  he  for- 
warded it  to  Monroe,  with  a 
renewed  demand  for  his  sur- 
render. The  brave  veteran  held 
out,  however,  until  nearly  all  his 
guns  were  disabled  and  his  am- 
munition nearly  exhausted.  He 
then  hung  out  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  IMontcalm,  who  was  too  true 
a  rero  not  to  appreciate  valor  in 
a  iiie,  granted  him  liberal  terms. 
The  garrison  were  allowed  to 
march  out  with  the  honors  of 
war  upon  giving  their  parole  not 
to  serve  against  France  for  eight- 
een months.  They  were  to  re- 
tain their  private  property  and 
were  to  liberate  all  their  pris- 
oners. On  the  ninth  of  August 
the  fort  was  surrendered  to  the 
French. 
Montcalm  had  kept  the  savages  from 
liquor,  in  order  to  be  able  to  restrain  them 
in  the  hour  of  \ictory.  They  now  sought 
and  obtained  rum  from  the  English,  and 
spent  the  night  in  dancing  and  singing.  The 
next  mornmg,  as  the  English  marched  out 
of  their  camp,  the  Indians  fell  upon  them  and 
began  to  plunder  them.     From  robbery  the 


308 

excited  savages  soon  passed  to  murder, 
and  many  of  the  English  were  killed  and 
others  made  prisoners.  The  French  officers 
threw  themselves  into  the  melee  and  exerted 
themselves  gallantly  to  control  the  Indians. 
Many  of  them  were  wounded  in  these  efforts. 
Montcalm  in  an  agony  implored  the  Indians 
to  respect  the  treaty.  "  Kill  me,"  he  cried, 
as  he  struggled  to  restrain  the  savages,  "but 
spare  the  English,  who  are  under  my  protec- 
tion." He  called  to  the  English  soldiers  to 
defend  themselves.  The  retreat  to  Fort 
Edward  became  a  disorderly  fight.  Only 
about  six  hundred  men  reached  there  in  a 
body.  More  than  four  hundred  had  sought 
shelter  in  the  French  camp,  and  were  sent 
by  Montcalm  to  their  friends  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  strong  escort.  He  also  sent  one 
of  his  officers  to  ransom  those  who  had  been 
taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians.  The  vast 
stores  accumulated  at  Fort  William  Henry 
were  carried  away  by  the  French,  and  the 
work  itself  demolished. 

Triumph  of  the  iTench. 

The  loss  of  Fort  William  Henry  greatly 
frightened  General  Webbe  at  Fort  Edward. 
In  spite  of  his  force  of  six  thousand  men,  and 
the  withdrawal  of  the  French  to  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  he  seriously  contemplated  a  retreat  to 
beyond  Albany.  Lord  Loudon,  who  had 
arrived  at  New  York,  was  equally  impressed 
with  the  danger,  and  proposed  to  take  posi- 
tion with  his  army  on  Long  Island,  for  the 
defence  of  the  continent. 

The  campaign  was  over,  and  the  French 
were  everywhere  triumphant.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  Acadia,  they  held  all  the  country 
they  had  occupied  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  The  English  had  lost  the  forts  at 
Oswego  and  William  Henry,  and  immense 
quantities  of  supplies.  They  had  been  en- 
tirely expelled  from  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio 
and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  hostile  parties 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 

of  the  Indians  were  enabled  to  extend  their 
ravages  far  into  the  interior  of  the  colonies. 
America  was  thoroughly  disgusted  with 
the  incompetency  and  cowardice  of  the  royal 
commanders.  The  old  spell  of  British  invin- 
cibility was  broken,  and  the  colonists  were 
rapidly  losing  their  respect  for  the  troops 
sent  over  from  England  to  protect  them. 
Men  were  coming  to  the  conclusion  that 
their  connection  with  Great  Britain  was  sim- 
ply a  curse  to  the  colonies.  They  regarded 
the  conduct  of  the  war  thus  far  by  the  royal 
officials  as  simply  "  a  mi.xture  of  ignorance 
and  cowardice,"  and  were  satisfied  that  they 
were  amply  able  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  French  and  Indians  without  any  assist- 
ance whatever  from  England. 

Attempts  to  Force  Submission. 

The  royal  officials  sought  to  cover  their 
failures  by  complaints  against  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  hearty  disgust  and  contempt 
with  which  the  colonists  regarded  their 
pusillanimous  conduct  was  reported  by  them 
to  the  home  goverment  as  evidence  of  a 
mutinous  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  Americans. 
Throughout  the  colonies  they  pursued  one 
uniform  system  of  seeking  to  force  the  prov- 
inces into  submission  to  their  own  illegal 
acts,  and  to  compel  them  to  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  crown, 
"Everywhere,"  says  Bancroft,  "tba  royal 
officers  actively  asserted  the  authojity  of  the 
king  and  the  British  nation  over  America. 
Did  the  increase  of  population  lead  the  leg- 
islature to  enlarge  the  representative  body? 
The  right  to  do  so  was  denied,  and  represen- 
tation was  held  to  be  a  privilege  conceded  by 
the  king  as  a  boon,  and  limited  by  his  will. 
Did  the  British  commander  believe  that  the 
French  colonies  through  the  neutral  islands 
derived  provisions  from  the  continent  ?  By 
his  own  authority  he  proclaimed  an  embargo 
in  every  American   port." 


CHAPTER   XXIV 
End  of  the   French  and   Indian  War 


A  Cliangefor  the  Better — William  Pitt,  Prime  Minister — Vigorous  Measures  Adopted — Recall  of  the  Eail  of  Loudon-" 
Capture  of  I.ouisburg — Abercrombie  on  Lake  George — Advances  Against  Ticonderoga — Death  of  Lord  Howe — 
Failure  of  the  EngIi^h  Attack  Upon  Ticonderoga — Disgraceful  Conduct  of  Abercrombie — His  Retreat — Capture  of 
Fort  Frontenac — Advance  of  General  Forbes — Grant's  Defeat — The  Virginians  Again  Save  the  Regulars — Capture  of 
Fort  Duquesne — Washington  Retires  from  the  Army — Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  Occupied  by  the  English — 
Capture  of  Fort  Niagara — ^The  Expedition  Against  Quebec— Failure  of  the  First  Operations — Despondency  of 
Wolfe— He  Discovers  a  Landing  Place — The  Army  Scales  the  Heights  of  Abraham — Montcalm's  Surprise — Battle  of 
the  Plains  of  Abraham — Death  of  Wolfe — Defeat  of  the  French— Death  of  Montcalm — Surrender  of  Quebec — 
Capture  of  Montreal — Treaty  of  Paris — Canada  Ceded  to  England — France  Loses  All  Her  American  Possessions — 
The  Cherokee  War — Hostility  of  the  Indians  to  the  English — Pontiac's  War — Death  of  Pontiac — Bouquet  Relieves 
Fort  Duquesne— Results  of  the  War. 


THE  gross  mismanagement  of  affairs 
in  America  aroused  a  storm  of  in- 
dignation in  England,  and  King 
George  was  obliged  to  yield  to  the 
popular  sentiment  and  change  his  ministers. 
At  the  head  of  the  new  ministry  he  placed 
William  Pitt,  the  leader  of  the  popular  party, 
who  was  destined  to  become  one  of  the 
greatest  of  English  statesmen.  His  great 
talents  had  raised  him  from  the  insignificant 
position  of  ensign  in  the  guards  to  the  lead- 
ership of  the  government  of  Great  Britain, 
and  were  now  to  be  the  means  of  retrieving 
the  disasters  of  his  country  and  regaining 
for  her  her  lost  power  and  prestige. 

A  truly  great  man,  Pitt  knew  how  to  ad- 
mire and  sympathize  with  merit  in  others, 
and  was  not  biinded  by  the  glitter  of  rank, 
nor  hampered  by  an  aristocratic  faith  in  the 
divinitj'  of  royalty.  He  appreciated  and 
sympathized  with  the  Americans  more  per- 
fectly than  any  of  his  predecessors  in  office, 
and  began  his  career  with  the  wise  determi- 
nation to  encourage  and  develop  their  patri- 
otism by  a  generous  and  systematic  assist- 
ance of  their  efforts.  He  caused  the 
government  of  Great  Britain  to  assume  tiie 
expenses  of  the  war,  and  announced  that  the 


sums  expended  by  the  colonies  for  the  public 
defence,  since  the  commencement  of  hostili- 
ties, would  be  refunded,  and  that  henceforth 
the  British  government  would  provide  the 
funds  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

The  colonies  were  each  required  to  furnish 
troops,  but  Pitt  "  stipulated  that  the  colonial 
troops  raised  for  this  purpose  should  be  sup- 
plied with  arms,  ammunition,  tents  and  provi- 
sions in  the  same  manner  as  the  regular  troops 
and  at  the  king's  expense  ;  so  that  the  only 
charge  to  the  colonies  would  be  that  of  levy- 
ing, clothing,  and  paj'ing  the  men.  The 
governors  were  also  authorized  to  issue  com- 
missions to  provincial  officers,  from  colonels 
downwards,  and  these  officers  were  to  hold 
rank  in  the  united  army  according  to  their 
commissions.  Had  this  liberal  and  just  sys- 
tem been  adopted  at  the  outset,  it  would  have 
put  a  verj'  different  face  upon  the  affairs  of 
the  colonies."*  These  energetic  and  just 
measures  were  promptly  responded  to  by  the 
colonies,  which  placed  a  force  of  twenty- 
eight  thousand  men  in  the  field.  To  these 
Pitt  added  twenty-two  thousand  British  reg- 
ulars, making  a  total  of  fifty  thousand  men. 


'  Sparks'  IVritings  of  IVashi 


n,  vol.  ii.,  p.  289 — Xttte. 


3IO 


THE   FRE^XH    AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


the  largest  army  that  had  ever  been  assem- 
bled in  America,  and  exceeding  in  number 
the  entire  male  population  of  Canada. 

The  Earl  of  Loudon  was  recalled,  and  in- 
stead of  a  single  supreme  command  three 
separate  expeditions  were  organized  under 
different    officers.     An    expedition    against 


WILLIAM    PITT. 

Louisburg  was  placed  under  the  orders  of 
Lord  Jeffrey  Amherst,  an  able  and  upright 
soldier,  assisted  by  Brigadier  General  James 
Wolfe;  who,  though  only  thirty-one  years 
old,  had  spent  eighteen  years  in  the  army, 
and  had  served  at   Dettingcn,  Fontenoy  and 


Laffeldt.  He  was  considered  one  of  the 
ablest  commanders  in  the  English  service, 
and  was  universally  beloved.  To  General 
Forbes  the  task  of  conquering  the  Ohio  val- 
ley was  assigned  ;  and  the  expedition  against 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  was  intrusted 
to  General  Abercrombie.  Pitt  had  little  faith 
in  Abercrombie,  who 
had  been  Lord  Loudon's 
most  trusted  lieutenant; 
but  retained  him  to 
please  Lord  Bute,  and 
associated  with  him,  as 
his  second  in  command, 
the  young  and  gifted 
Lord  George  Howe,  in 
the  hope  that  Howe's 
genius  would  redeem 
Abercrombie's  fa  u  1 1  s , 
and  lead  him  to  victory. 
The  expedition  against 
Louisburg  consisted  of 
a  fleet  of  twenty  ships  of 
the  line  and  eighteen 
frigates,  under  Admiral 
Boscawen,  and  an  army 
of  fourteen  thousand 
men,  under  General  Am- 
herst. The  fleet  reached 
Cabarus  Bay  on  the  se- 
cond of  June,  1758.  The 
fortifications  of  Louis- 
burg were  somewhat  di- 
lapidated, but  were  held 
by  a  garrison  of  thirty- 
two  hundred  men,  com- 
manded by  Chevalier 
Drucour,  an  ofificer  of 
experience  and  determination.  These  frigates 
were  sunk  across  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  to 
close  it  against  the  English,  and  within  the 
basin  lay  five  ships  of  the  line,  one  fifty-gun 
ship  and  two  frigates,  which  took  part  in  the 
defence  of  the  place. 


END   OF   THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


311 


The  surf  was  so  heavy  that  Amherst  was 
unable  to  land  his  troops  until  the  eighth. 
The  first  division  was  led  by  Wolfe,  under 
the  cover  of  the  fire  of  the  fleet.  He  forbade 
a  gun  to  be  fired  from  his  command,  and, 
upon  nearing  the  shore,  leaped  into  the 
water,  followed  by  his  men,  and  in  the  face 
of  a  sharp  resistance,  drove  the  French  from 
their  outposts  into  the  town.  The  place  was 
now  regularly  invested,  and,  after  a  bombard- 
ment of  fifty  days,  during  which  the  shipping 
in  the  harbor  was  destroyed,  the  town  and 
fortifications  were  surrendered  to  the  English 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  Jul}'.  With  Louis- 
burg  the  French  gave  up  the  islands  of  Cape 
Breton  and  Prince  Edward.  Five  thousand 
prisoners  and  an  immense  quantity  of  mili- 
tary supplies  were  secured  by  the  English. 

Halifax  being  already  the  chief  naval  sta- 
tion of  the  English  in  these  waters,  Louis- 
burg  was  abandoned.  Amherst,  Wolfe  and 
Boscawen  were  honored  by  the  English  gov- 
ernment for  their  victory.  The  season  was 
too  far  advanced  after  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg  to  admit  of  the  commencement  of 
operations  against  Quebec,  and  Amherst  was 
suddenly  called  away  from  the  coast  to  take 
charge  of  the  army  on  Lake  George. 

Down    Lake  George. 

Abercrombie  had  assembled  a  force  of 
seven  thousand  English  regulars  and  nine 
thousand  Americans  at  the  head  of  Lake 
George.  Among  the  American  troops  were 
Stark  and  Putnam,  afterwards  famous  in  the 
war  for  independence,  the  former  serving  as 
a  captain  in  the  New  Hampshire  regiment, 
the  latter  as  a  major  of  Connecticut  troops, 
Abercrombie  was  commander-in-chief,  but 
the  troops  had  little  confidence  in  him.  They 
were  devoted  to  Lord  Howe,  who  was  the 
real  leader  of  the  expedition.  On  the  fifth 
of  July  the  army  broke  up  its  camp,  and 
embarking  in  ten   hundred  and    thirty-five 


boats,  with  the  artillery  on  rafts,  descended 
the  lake  to  its  lower  end,  from  which  they 
were  to  advance  overland  upon  Fort  Carillon, 
which  the  French  had  erected  on  the  pro- 
montory of  Ticonderoga.  The  next  morning 
Lord  Howe  pushed  forward  with  the  ad- 
vanced guard,  and  encountered  a  scouting 
party  of  the  French.  A  sharp  conflict  en- 
sued. The  French  were  easily  driven  back, 
but  Lord  Howe  was  killed  almost  at  the  first 
fire.  His  death  cast  a  gloom  over  the  army, 
which  promised  ill  for  the  success  of  the 
undertaking. 

Gallant  Attack. 

Abercrombie  continued  to  advance,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  ninth  sent  Clerk,  his 
chief  engineer,  to  reconnoitre  the  French 
position  at  Ticonderoga.  Clerk  reported 
that  the  French  works  were  feeble,  and  im- 
perfectly armed.  Stark,  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  some  of  the  English  officers  saw  that 
they  were  both  strong  and  well  provided 
with  artillerj'.  They  so  reported  to  Aber- 
crombie, but  he  accepted  the  statement  of  his 
engineer,  and,  without  waiting  for  his  artil- 
lery, ordered  an  assault  upon  the  French 
lines  that  very  day. 

The  Marquis  of  Montcalm  was  command- 
ing in  person  at  Ticonderoga,  and  had  dis- 
posed his  small  force  of  thirty-si.x  hundred 
and  fifty  men  in  a  line  of  breastworks  thrown 
up  about  half  a  mile  beyond  the  fort,  and 
extending  across  the  promontory  on  which 
that  work  stood.  The  death  of  Lord  Howe 
had  deprived  the  English  of  their  only  leader 
capable  of  contending  against  this  accom- 
plished commander,  and  the  incompetency 
of  Abercrombie  was  to  render  easy  what 
might  have  been,  under  other  circumstances, 
a  most  difficult  undertaking. 

Abercrombie  could  have  brought  up  his 
artillery  by  the  next  day,  but  he  was  un- 
willing to   wait  for  it,  as  he  anticipated  an 


312 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


easy  victory.  He  stationed  himself  in  a  place 
of  safety  about  two  miles  from  the  field,  and 
ordered  his  troops  to  assail  the  French  in- 
trenchnients  with  the  bayonet.  The  attack 
was  made  in  gallant  style,  and  was  continued 
with  energy  during  the  afternoon.  The 
English  performed  prodigies  of  valor,  but 
■were  not  able  to  overcome  the  strength  of 
the  French  works,  or  the  activity  with  which 
the  defenders  maintained  their  position.  Un- 
like the  English  commander,  Montcalm  was 
everywhere  along  his  line,  cheering  his  men 
with  his  presence  and  example,  and  distribut- 
ing refreshments  to  them  with  his  own  hands. 
Without  a  commander  who  dared  place 
himself  under  fire,  with  no  one  on  the  spot 
to  direct  their  movements,  the  valor  of  the 
English  was  thrown  away.  A  volley  from 
an  advanced  party  of  their  own  men  com- 
pleted their  confusion,  and  they  broke  help- 
lessly and  fell  back  in  disorder  towards  Lake 
George.  Abercrombie  made  no  effort  to 
rally  them ;  he  was  too  badly  frightened  for 
that;  and  led  the  army  towards  the  landing- 
place,  on  Lake  George,  with  such  haste  that 
but  for  the  energetic  action  of  Colonel  Brad- 
street  the  troops  would  have  rushed  pell-mell 
into  the  boats,  without  any  semblance  of 
order,  and  with  a  still  greater  loss  of  life. 

The  English  Retreat. 
The  English  lost  nearly  two  thousand  men 
in  the  attack  upon  the  French  works,  but 
they  still  had  left  a  force  of  more  than  lour 
times  the  strength  of  the  French,  and  their 
artillery  had  not  been  engaged.  With  this 
force  they  might  have  taken  Ticonderoga, 
but  Abercrombie  was  too  much  terrified  to 
attempt  anything  of  the  kind.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  ninth  he  embarked  his  troops  and 
Jiastcned  to  the  head  of  Lake  George. 
Montcalm  was  astounded  at  his  retreat,  but 
as  he  had  too  small  a  force,  and  his  men 
were  exhausted,  he   made  no  effort  at  pur- 


suit. Arrived  at  the  head  of  Lake  George, 
the  frightened  Abercrombie  sent  the  artillery 
and  ammunition  back  to  Albany  for  safety, 
and  occupied  his  army  with  the  erection  of 
Fort  George,  near  the  ruins  of  Fort  William 
Henry.  The  news  of  this  disaster  caused 
General  Amherst  to  hasten  with  four  regi  • 
ments  and  a  battalion  from  Louisburg  to 
Lake  George.  He  reached  the  camp  of 
Abercrombie  on  the  fifth  of  October.  In 
November  orders  arrived  from  England  ap- 
pointing Amherst  commander-in-chief  of  the 
royal  forces  in  America,  and  recalling  Aber- 
crombie, who  returned  to  England  to  attempt 
to  excuse  his  cowardice  by  villifying  Amer- 
ica and  the  Americans.  He  could  not  de- 
ceive Pitt,  however,  whose  indignation  at  his 
pusillanimous  conduct  was  only  restrained 
by  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute  in  the  royal 
councils. 

Sudden  Flight. 

After  Abercrombie's  retreat,  Colonel  Brad- 
street,  of  New  York,  at  his  earnest  solicita- 
tion, obtained  leave  from  the  council  of  war 
to  undertake  an  expedition  against  Fort 
Frontenac,  which,  being  situated  at  the  foot 
of  Lake  Ontario,  commanded  both  the  lake 
and  the  St.  Lawrence.  Its  possession  was 
of  the  highest  importance  to  the  French,  as 
it  was  their  main  depot  for  the  supply  of  the 
posts  on  the  upper  lakes  and  the  Ohio  with 
military  stores.  Collecting  a  force  of  twenty- 
seven  hundred  men,  all  Americans,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  troops  from  New  York  and 
Massachusetts,  Bradstreet  hastened  to  Os- 
wego before  his  movements  were  known  to 
the  enemy.  From  Oswego  he  crossed  the 
lake  in  open  boats,  and  landed  on  the  Can- 
ada side  within  a  mile  of  Fort  Frontenac. 

His  sudden  arrival  struck  terror  to  the 
garrison,  and  the  greater  part  secured  their 
safety  by  an  instantaneous  flight.  The  next 
day  the  fort  surrendered.     The  victors  cap- 


END   OF   THE   FRENCH    AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


313 


tured  with  it  a  vast  quantity  of  military 
stores  destined  for  the  forts  in  the  interior, 
and  a  fleet  of  nine  armed  vessels,  with  which 
the  French  controlled  the  lake.  Two  of  the 
vessels  were  laden  with  a  part  of  the  stores 
and  sent  to  Oswego,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  vessels  and  stores,  together  with  the 
fort,  were  destroyed.  The  English  then  re- 
crossed  the  lake  to  Oswego.  The  capture  of 
Fort  Frontenac  was  an  event  of  great  im- 
portance, as  it  led,  as  we  shall  see  further 
on.  to  the  abandonment  by  the  French  of 
their  posts  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

For  the  reduction  of  Fort  Duquesne  a 
force  of  seven  thousand  men  was  assembled 
under  General  Forbes.  Of  these,  fi\e  thou- 
sand were  from  PennsyKania  and  Virginia, 
the  troops  from  the  latter  colony  being  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Washington.  The 
Penns\ivania  troops  assembled  at  Raystown, 
on  the  Juniata,  and  the  Virginians  at  Fort 
Cumberland.  Washington  urged  upon 
Forbes  the  advantages  of  adopting  the  old 
road  cut  by  Braddock's  army  in  his  advance 
to  the  Ohio,  but  Forbes,  at  the  suggestion  of 
some  land-speculators,  decided  to  construct 
a  new  and  a  better  road  farther  to  the  north. 
As  regarded  the  future  settlement  of  the 
west  this  was  an  excellent  plan,  but  as  far  as 
it  concerned  the  immediate  object  of  the 
campaign  it  was  a  mistake,  as  it  in\'olved  a 
large  e.xpenditure  of  labor  and  a  great  waste 
of  time. 

While  this  road  was  being  constructed 
General  Bouquet,  with  the  advanced  guard, 
crossed  Laurel  Hill  and  established  a  post  at 
Loyal  Hanna.  The  new  road  progressed 
very  slowly,  only  forty-five  miles  being  con- 
structed in  six  weeks.  Bouquet  had  with 
him  a  force  of  about  two  thousand  men, 
chiefly  Highlanders  and  Virginians.  Learn- 
ing from  his  scouts  that  Fort  Duquesne  was 
held  by  a  garrison  of  only  eight  hundred 
men,  of  whom  three  hundred  were  Indians, 


Bouquet,  without  orders  from  General 
l'"orbes,  resolved  to  attempt  the  capture  of 
the  fort  by  a  sudden  blow. 

He  detached  a  force  of  eight  hundred 
Highlanders  and  a  company  of  Virginians, 
under  Major  Grant,  to  reconnoitre  Fort 
Duquesne.  The  French  were  fully  informed 
of  all  of  Grant's  movements,  but  they  allowed 
him  to  approach  unmolested,  intending  to 
disarm  his  vigilance  and  then  attack  him. 
Grant  affected  the  usual  contempt  for  the 
provincial  troops,  and  upon  arriving  before 
the  fort,  placed  Major  Lewis  with  the  Vir- 
ginians to  guard  the  baggage,  and  sent  his 
regulars  forward  to  reconnoitre  and  make  a 
sketch  of  the  work.  He  was  greatly  en- 
couraged by  the  fact  that  the  French  allowed 
him  to  approach  without  firing  a  gun  at  him, 
and  in  his  self-complacency  marched  right 
into  an  ambuscade  which  the  enemy  had 
prepared  for  him. 

The  Regulars'  Narrow  Escape. 

The  French  commander  had  posted  the 
Indians  along  the  sides  of  the  defile  by  which 
Grant  was  advancing,  and  at  a  given  signal 
the  garrison  made  a  sudden  sally  from  the 
fort  against  the  Highlanders,  while  the  In- 
dians opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  them  from 
their  place  of  concealment.  The  regulars 
were  quickly  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
their  officers  were  found  incapable  of  con- 
ducting such  a  mode  of  warfare.  Attracted 
by  the  firing.  Major  Lewis,  with  a  company 
of  Virginians,  hastened  to  the  scene  of  the 
encounter,  and  by  engaging  the  enemy  hand- 
to-hand  enabled  the  regulars  to  save  them- 
selves from  a  general  massacre.  The  de- 
tachment was  routed  with  heavy  loss,  and 
both  Grant  and  Lewis  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  fugitives  retreated  to  the  point  where 
the  baggage  had  been  left.  It  was  guarded 
by  Captain  Bullit,  whom  Lewis  had  left  there 
with  one  company  of  Virginians. 


314 


THE   FRENCH   AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


By  the  gallant  and  skillful  resistance  of 
this  little  force  the  French  and  Indians  were 
checked,  and  finally  driven  back  in  confusion. 
The  English  then  continued  their  retreat 
with  all  speed  to  Loyal  Hanna.  Again  the 
provincials  had  saved  the  regulars  from  total 
destruction.  General  Forbes  had  the  mag- 
nanimity to  acknowledge  and  compliment 
the  Virginians  for  their  services,  and  Cap- 
tain Bullit  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major. 

General  Forbes  was  greatly  disheartened 
by  the  news  of  Grant's  disaster.  A  council 
of  war  was  called  to  deliberate  upon  the 
future  operations  of  the  army,  and  decided 
that  as  it  was  now  November,  and  they  were 
still  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne,  with  an 
unbroken  forest  between  them  and  the  fort, 
nothing  more  could  be  accomplished  until 
the  spring.  The  enterprise  was  on  the  point 
of  being  abandoned  when  fortunately  three 
prisoners  were  brought  in,  from  whom  Wash- 
ington drew  the  information  that  the  garri- 
son of  Fort  Duquesne  was  reduced  to  a  very 
small  force,  that  the  Indians  had  all  deserted 
the  French,  and  that  the  expected  reinforce- 
ments and  supplies  from  Canada  had  not 
arrived.  It  was  evident  that  a  well-executed 
effort  would  result  in  the  capture  of  the 
fort. 

The  Fort  Abandoned. 

This  information  decided  General  Forbes 
to  continue  the  expedition.  A  force  of 
twenty-five  hundred  picked  troops  was 
placed  under  Washington's  command,  and 
he  was  ordered  to  push  forward  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  and  prepare  the  road  for  the  ad- 
vance of  the  main  army.  Washington  was 
ably  seconded  in  his  movements  by  the  en- 
ergetic Armstrong,  and  the  march  was 
pressed  with  such  vigor  that  in  ten  days 
the  army  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Duquesne. 


The  French  now  saw  that  the  fall  of  the 
fort  was  inevitable.  They  had  but  five  hun- 
dred men,  and  Bradstreet's  capture  of  Fort 
Frontenac  had  cut  them  off  from  the  rein- 
forcements and  supplies  they  had  expected 
from  Canada.  Unwilling  to  stand  a  siege, 
the  result  of  which  was  certain,  they  aban- 
doned the  fort  on  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  November,  and  embarking  in  flat 
boats,  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  join  their 
countrymen  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth,  Wash- 
ington, with  his  gallant  band,  entered  the 
fort  and  planted  the  British  flag  on  the  ram- 
parts just  abandoned  by  the  French. 

At  the  universal  desire  of  the  army,  Forbes 
named  the  place  Fort  Pitt,  which  has  since 
been  changed  to  Pittsburgh.  The  splendid 
city  which  occupies  the  site  is  the  proudest 
monument  that  has  been  built  to  the  memory 
of  the  "  Great  Commoner." 

Two  regiments,  composed  of  Pennsyl- 
vanians,  Virginians  and  Marylanders,  under 
Mercer,  were  left  to  garrison  Fort  Pitt,  which 
was  restored  to  its  former  strength.  General 
Forbes  then  returned  east  of  the  mountains, 
and  Washington  resigned  his  commission 
and  retired  to  private  life.  The  object  of  the 
campaign  was  accomplished,  and  he  could 
now  enjoy  the  rest  to  which  five  years  of 
constant  service  had  entitled  him. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne  was  the 
most  important  event  of  the  war.  It  put  an 
end  to  the  French  occupation  of  the  valley 
of  the  Ohio  and  settled  the  claim  of  Great 
Britain  to  that  valuable  region.  The  Indians, 
having  no  longer  the  support  and  encour- 
agement which  they  had  derived  from  the 
French  at  this  post,  ceased  their  hostile 
efforts,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  war 
the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania 
were  at  peace.  The  capture  of  the  fort  was| 
followed  by  a  large  emigration  west  of  the 
mountains,  which,  beginning  the  next  spring. 


IINGTOX    PIAXTIXG   TME   FLAG   ON   FORT   DUQUESNE.  315 


3i6 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


soon  placed  a  large  and  energetic  population 
of  Englishmen  and  their  families  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Ohio.  The  Indians,  disheartened 
by  the  defeat  of  the  French,  began  to  form 
treaties  of  peace  or  neutrality  with  the  Eng- 
'^lish. 

Washington's  Valor. 

Washington's  services  in  this  campaign 
were  acknowledged  with  pride  throughout 
the  colonies,  but  the  British  government 
took  no  notice  of  them.  Not  even  Pitt, 
with  all  his  appreciation  of  America,  thought 
it  worth  while  to  offer  him  any  promotion  or 
reward,  as  had  been  done  in  the  case  of 
other  meritorious  provincial  commanders. 
Soon  after  his  withdrawal  from  the  army  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  burgesses,  to 
which  he  had  been  elected.  That  body 
ordered  its  speaker  to  publicly  thank  Colonel 
Washington  in  the  name  of  the  house  and  of 
the  people  of  Virginia  for  his  services  to  his 
country.  The  speaker  discharged  this  duty 
with  ease  and  dignity,  but  when  Washington 
attempted  to  reply  he  blushed  and  stam- 
mered and  was  unable  to  speak  a  word.  The 
speaker  relieved  his  confusion  by  coming  to 
his  assistance  with  the  kind  remark  :  "  Sit 
down,  Mr.  Washington  ;  your  modest}'  equals 
your  valor,  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of 
any  language  I  possess." 

The  English  cau.se  was  now  more  success- 
ful than  it  had  ever  been,  and  Canada  was 
exhausted  by  the  efforts  she  had  put  forth 
for  her  defence.  This  was  clear  to  Mont- 
calm, who  had  no  hope  of  holding  New 
France  against  the  attacks  of  Great  Britain, 
and  it  was  also  clear  to  the  far-seeing  mind 
of  Pitt.  The  British  minister,  therefore,  re- 
solved that  the  next  campaign  should  be 
decisive  of  the  war.  He  promptly  reim- 
bursed the  colonies  for  the  expenses  incurred 
by  them  during  the  past  year,  and  found  no 
difficulty  in  enlisting  them  heartily  in  his 
schemes. 


Three  expeditions  were  ordered  for  the 
year  1759.  Amherst  was  to  advance  by 
way  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  after  capturing 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  was  to  lay 
siege  to  Montreal ;  Wolfe  was  to  ascend  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  attack  Quebec,  and  was  to 
be  joined  by  Amherst  if  the  latter  should  be 
successful  in  his  efforts  against  Montreal; 
and  General  Prideaux  was  to  proceed  by 
way  of  Oswego  to  capture  Fort  Niagara,  and 
then  descend  Lake  Ontario  and  join  Amherst 
at  Montreal. 

Amherst  moved  promptly  against  Ticon- 
deroga, which  post  was  abandoned  by  the 
French  upon  his  approach.  Crown  Point 
fell  into  his  hands  in  the  same  manner,  but 
here  the  advance  of  the  English  was  stayed. 
No  boats  had  been  provided  to  transport  the 
army  down  Lake  Champlain,  and  Amherst 
was  forced  to  halt  until  these  could  be  pro- 
cured. He  was  thus  able  to  invest  Mon- 
treal, or  to  co-operate  with  Wolfe  in  the 
movement  against  Quebec. 

The  American  Gibraltar. 

General  Prideaux  began  his  march  to  Os- 
wego about  the  same  time,  and  proceeding 
from  Oswego,  laid  siege  to  Fort  Niagara. 
He  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  siege,  and 
the  command  devolved  upon  Sir  William 
Johnson,  who  pressed  the  attack  with  vigor. 
On  the  twenty-third  of  July,  1758,  the  fort 
capitulated ;  but  Johnson  was  obliged  to 
abandon  the  attempt  to  descend  the  St.  Law- 
rence to  Wolfe's  assistance  from  a  lack  of 
boats  and  provisions. 

The  expedition  against  Quebec  assembled 
in  June,  1758,  at  Louisburg,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Wolfe.  It  consisted  of 
eight  thousand  troops  and  a  fleet  of  twenty- 
two  ships  of  the  line,  besides  frigates  and' 
some  smaller  vessels.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of 
June  the   Isle   of  Orleans  was  reached,  and 


END   OF  THE   FRENCH    AND    INDIAN   WAR. 


317 


the  troops  were  imme- 
diately landed.  A  short 
distance  up  the  river 
Quebec  rose  defiantly, 
its  seemingly  impregna- 
ble citadel  of  St.  Louis 
crowning  the  lofty  hills 
that  rose  from  the  river's 
brink.  For  the  defence  of 
the  place  Montcalm  had 
six  greatly  reduced  bat- 
talions of  regulars  and  a 
force  of  Canadian  militia. 
A  few  Indians  remained 
faithful  to  him;  but  the 
majority  of  the  tribes, 
doubtful  of  the  issue  of 
the  contest,  preferred  to 
remain  neutral.  The 
French  commander,  see- 
ing the  inferiority  of  his 
force  to  that  of  the  Eng- 
lish, put  his  trust  chiefly 
in  the  natural  strength 
of  his  position,  which  he 
believed  would  enable 
him  to  hold  it  even  with 
his  small  force. 

The  situation  of  Que- 
bec was  peculiar.  It  lay 
on  a  peninsula,  between 
the  river  St.  Charles  on 
the  north  and  the  St. 
Lawrence  on  the  south 
and  east.  On  these  sides 
it  was  perfectly  protected 
by  the  river,  leaving  the 
west  side  alone  exposed. 
The  lower  town  was 
situated  on  the  beach, 
stood  on  the  cliffs  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  water,  and  above  this  still  rose  the  castle 
of  St.  Louis.  Above  the  city  the  high  pro- 
montory on  which  the  upper  town  was  built 


while    the    upper 


stretched  away  for  several  miles  in  an 
elevated  plain,  and  from  the  river  to  this 
plain  the  rocks  rose  almost  perpendicularly. 
Every  landing-place  was  carefully  guard- 
ed, and   the   whole   rantrc  of  cliffs    seemed 


3i« 

bristling  with  cannon.  The  French  com- 
mander did  not  believe  it  possible  for  an 
army  to  scale  these  cliffs.  Montcalm  located 
his  camp  below  the  city,  between  the  St. 
Charles  and  the  Montmorenci  rivers,  and 
covered  the  ri\-er  front  of  his  position  with 
many  floating  batteries  and  ships  of  war, 
which  presented  a  formidable  appearance. 


THE   FRP:XCH    and    INDIAN    WAR. 


GENERAL   JAMES    WOLFE. 

The  naval  superiority  of  the  English  at 
once  gave  them  the  command  of  the  river. 
The  French  were  driven  from  Point  Levi, 
opposite  the  city,  and  upon  it  Wolfe  erected 
batteries,  from  which  he  bombarded  the 
lower  town  and  soon  laid  it  in  ashes.  The 
upper  town  and  the  citadel  were  beyond  the 
range  of  his  guns,  and  could  not  be  injured 
by  this  fire. 


Wolfe  now  decided  to  storm  the  French 
camp  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  in  the  month  of  July  attacked 
them  from  the  direction  of  the  Montmorenci, 
but  owing  to  the  haste  of  the  first  division, 
which  advanced  to  the  assault  before  it  could 
be  properly  supported  by  the  second,  the 
attack  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  five  hun- 
dred men.  This  repulse  greatly  dis- 
heartened the  English  commander, 
whose  sensitive  spirit  suffered  keenly 
under  the  dread  that  his  enterprise 
was  doomed  to  failure.  He  obtained 
news  of  the  capture  of  Fort  Niagara 
and  the  occupation  of  Ticonder- 
oga  and  Crown  Point,  and  eagerly 
watched  for  the  approach  of  the 
promised  assistance  from  Amherst. 
It  never  came,  and  Wolfe  saw  that 
he  must  take  Quebec  by  his  own 
efforts  or  not  at  all.  He  attempted 
several  diversions  above  the  city  in 
tlie  hope  of  drawing  Montcalm  from 
his  intrenchments  into  the  open 
field,  but  the  latter  merely  sent  De 
Bougainville  with  fifteen  hundred 
men  to  watch  the  shore  above 
Quebec  and  prevent  a  landing. 
Wolfe  fell  into  a  fever,  caused  by 
his  anxiety,  and  his  despatches  to 
his  government  created  the  gravest 
uneasiness  in  England  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  enterprise. 

Though  ill,  W^olfe  examined  the 
river  with  eagle  eyes  to  detect  some 
place  at  which  a  landing  could  be  attempted. 
His  energy  was  rewarded  by  his  discovery  of 
the  cove  which  now  bears  his  name.  From 
the  shore  at  the  head  of  this  cove  a  steep  and 
difficult  pathway,  along  which  two  men  could 
scarcely  march  abreast,  wound  up  to  the 
summit  of  the  heights  and  was  guarded  by  a 
small  force  of  Canadians.  Wolfe  at  once 
resolved  to  effect  a  landing  here  and  ascend 


END   OF   THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


319 


the  heights  by  this  path.  The  greatest 
secrecy  was  necessary  to  the  success  of  the 
undertaking,  and  in  order  to  deceive  the 
French  as  to  his  real  design,  Captain  Cook, 
afterwards  famous  as  a  great  navigator,  was 
sent  to  take  soundings  and  place  buoys 
opposite  Montcalm's  camp,  as  if  that  were 
to  be  the  real  point  of  attack.  The  morning 
of  the  thirteenth  of  September  was  chosen 
for  the  movement,  and  the  day  and  night  of 
the  twelfth  were  spent  in  preparations  for  it. 

"To  Conquer  or  Die." 

At  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  thir- 
teenth a  force  of  about  five  thousand  men 
under  Wolfe,  with  Monckton  and  Murray,  set 
off  in  boats  from  the  fleet,  which  had  ascended 
the  river  several  days  before,  and  dropped 
down  to  the  point  designated  for  the  land- 
ing. Each  officer  was  thoroughly  informed 
of  the  duties  required  of  him,  and  each 
shared  the  resolution  of  the  gallant  young 
commander,  to  conquer  or  die.  As  the 
boats  floated  down  the  stream,  in  the  clear, 
cool  starlight,  Wolfe  spoke  to  his  officers  of 
the  poet  Gray,  and  of  his  "  Elegy  in  a 
Country  Churchyard."  "  I  would  prefer," 
said  he,  "  being  the  author  of  that  poem  to 
the  glory  of  beating  the  French  to-morrow." 
Then  in  a  musing  voice  he  repeated  the 
lines : 

"The  boast  of  heraldy,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  the  inexorable  hour; 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

In  a  short  while  the  landing-place  was 
reached,  .and  the  fleet,  following  silently, 
took  position  to  cover  the  landing  if  neces- 
sary. Wolfe  and  his  immediate  command 
leaped  ashore  and  secured  the  pathway. 
The  light  infantry,  who  were  carried  by  the 
tide  a  little  below  the  path,  clambered  up  the 
side  of  the  heights,  sustaining  themselves  by 
clinging  to  the  roots  and  shrubs  which  lined 


the  precipitous  face  of  the  hill.  They 
reached  the  summit  and  drove  off  the  picket- 
guard  after  a  slight  skirmish.  The  rest  of 
the  troops  ascended  in  safety  by  the  path" 
way,  and  a  battery  of  two  guns  was  aban- 
doned on  the  left  to  Colonel  Howe.  Having 
gained  the  heights,  Wolfe  moved  forward 
rapidly  to  clear  the  forest,  and  by  daybreak 
his  army  was  drawn  up  on  the  Heights  of 
Abraham,  in  the  rear  of  the  city^ 

Montcalm  was  speedily  informed  of  the 
presence  of  the  English.  "  It  can  be  but  a 
small  party  come  to  burn  3,  few  houses  and 
retire,"  he  answered  incredulously.  A  brief 
examination  satisfied  him  of  his  danger,  and 
he  exclaimed  in  amazement :  "  Then  they 
have  at  last  got  to  the  weak  side  of  this 
miserable  garrison.  We  must  give  battle 
and  crush  them  before  mid-day."  He  at 
once  despatched  a  messenger  for  De  Bou- 
gainville, who  was  fifteen  miles  up  the  river, 
and  marched  from  his  camp  opposite  the 
city  to  the  Heights  of  Abraham  to  drive  the 
English  from  them.  The  opposing  forces 
were  about  equal  in  numbers,  though  the 
English  troops  were  superior  to  their  adver- 
saries in  steadiness  and  determination. 

Death  of  a  Hero. 

The  battle  began  about  ten  o'clock  and 
was  stubbornly  contested.  It  was  at  length 
decided  in  favor  of  the  English.  Wolfe, 
though  wounded  several  times,  continued  to 
direct  his  army  until,  as  he  was  leading 
them  to  the  final  charge,  he  received  a 
musket  ball  in  the  breast.  He  tottered  and 
called  to  an  officer  near  him :  "  Support 
me ;  let  not  my  brave  fellows  see  me  drop." 
He  was  borne  tenderly  to  the  rear,  and 
water  was  brought  him  to  quench  his 
thirst.  At  this  moment  the  officer  upon 
whom  he  was  leaning  cried  out :  "  They 
run  !  they  run  !  "  "  Wiio  run  ?  "  asked  the 
dying  hero,  eagerly.     "  The   French,"  said 


320 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


the  officer, "give  way  everywhere."  "  What?" 
said  Wolfe,  summoning  up  his  remaining 
strength,  "  do  they  run  already  ?  Go,  one  of 
you,  to  Colonel  Burton;  bid  him  march 
Webb's  regiment  with  all  speed  to  Charles 
River  to  cut  off  the  fugitives."  Then,  a 
smile  of  contentment  overspreading  his  pale 
features,  he  murmured :  "  Now,  God  be 
praised,  I  die  happy,"'  and  expired.     He  had 


De  Bougainville  arrived  with  his  division, 
but  Townshend  declined  to  renew  the  en- 
gagement. 

Montcalm  had  borne  himself  heroically 
during  the  battle,  and  had  done  all  that  a 
brave  and  skillful  commander  could  do  to 
win  the  victory.  As  he  was  endeavoring  to 
rally  his  troops  at  their  final  repulse,  he  was 
wounded  for  the  second  time,  and  was  car- 


DEATH    OF    GENERAL   WOLFE    BEFORE    QUEBEC. 


done   his  whole  duty,  and  with  his  life  had 
purchased  an  empire  for  his  country. 

Monckton,  the  second  in  rank,  having 
been  wounded,  the  command  devolved  upon 
General  Townshend,  a  brave  officer,  but 
incapable  of  following  up  such  a  success  with 
vigor.  He  recalled  the  troops  from  the 
pursuit  and  contented  himself  with  the  pos- 
session of  the  battle-field.     At  this  moment 


ried  into  the  city.  The  surgeon  informed 
him  that  his  wound  was  mortal.  "  So  much 
the  better,"  he  answered  cheerfully  ;  "  I  shall 
not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec  " 
De  Ramsay,  the  commandant  of  the  po-t 
asked  his  advice  about  the  defence  of  the 
city.  "  To  your  keeping,"  answered  Mont- 
calm, "  I  commend  the  honor  of  France.  I 
will   neither  give   orders    nor    interfere  any 


END    OF   THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


321 


further.  I  have  business  of  greater  moment 
to  attend  to.  My  time  is  short.  I  shall  pass 
the  night  with  God,  and  prepare  myself  for 
death." 

He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  English  com- 
mander, commending  the  French  prisoners 
to  his  generosit}-,  and  at 
five  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  fourteenth  his 
spirit  passed  awa)-.  Suc- 
ceeding generations  have 
Daid  to  his  memory  the 
honors  it  deserves,  and 
on  the  spot  where  the 
fate  of  Quebec  was  de- 
cided the  people  of  Ca- 
nada have  erected,  to 
commemorate  the  hero- 
ism of  the  conqueror  and 
the  conquered,  a  noble 
monument  inscribed  with 
the  names  of  Wolfe  and 
M0NTC.A.LM. 

The  French  lost  fi\-e 
hundred  killed  and  one 
thousand  prisoners,while 
the  loss  of  the  English 
was  six  hundred  in  killed 
and  wounded.  Five  days 
afterward,  on  the  eight- 
eenth of  September,  the 
city  and  garrison  of  Que- 
bec surrendered  to  Gen- 
eral Townshend.  The 
capture  of  this  great 
stronghold  was  hailed 
with  rejoicings  in  both 
America  and  England. 
Congratulations  were 
showered  upon  Pitt,  who  modestly  put  them 
aside  with  the  reverent  remark :  "  I  will 
aim  to  serve  my  country ;  but  the  more  a 
man  is  versed  in  business,  the  more  he  finds 
the  hand  of  Providence  everywhere." 


In  April,  1 760,  De  Levi,  the  French  com- 
mander at  Montreal,  attacked  Quebec  with  a 
force  often  thousand  men,  hoping  to  reduce 
it  before  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from 
England.  Murray,  the  English  commander, 
marched    out  with    tlu\;e   thousand   men  to 


KING    GEORGE    III. 

attack  him,  and  in  a  severe  battle  on  the 
twenty-si.xth  of  April  was  defeated  and 
driven  back  to  the  city  with  a  loss  of  one 
thousand  men.  The  French  then  laid  siege 
to    Quebec,  but   on    the  ninth  of  May  an 


THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


English  fleet  arrived  to  its  relief,  and  De  Levi 
was  obliged  to  withdraw  to  Montreal. 

In  September,  INIontreal  itself  was  invested 
by  a  powerful  force  under  General  Amherst. 
Seeing  that  there  was  no  hope  of  resistance, 
the  French  commander  surrendered  the  town 
<jn  the  eighth  of  September,  1760.  With 
chis  capture  Canada  passed  entirely  into  the 
hands  of  the  English.  Detroit  and  the  other 
posts  on  the  lakes  were  soon  given  up  by  the 
French,  and  the  dominion  of  France  in 
America  was  confined  to  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi.  There  were  no  further  hostili- 
ties between  the  English  and  French. 

Important  Treaty. 

The  French  and  Indian  war  was  closed  by 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  on  the  tenth  of  February-, 
1763.  Ey  this  treaty  Great  Britain  obtained 
all  the  French  territory  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, with  the  exception  of  the  island  of 
New  Orleans,  the  northern  boundary  of 
which  was  the  rivers  Iberville  and  Amite, 
and  Lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain. 
Florida  was  ceded  to  England  by  Spain  in 
exchange  for  Havana.  France  ceded  to 
Spain  the  island  of  New  Orleans  and  all 
Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus 
Great  Britain  was  mistress  of  the  whole  of 
the  vast  region  east  of  the  Mississippi,  with 
the  exception  of  the  island  of  New  Orleans, 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexi- 
co. The  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  was 
claimed  by  Spain.  In  all  the  vast  continent 
of  America  France  retained  not  one  foot  of 
ground. 

In  the  meantime  the  Indians  of  the  south- 
west had  become  involved  in  war  with  the 
whites.  The  Cherokees,  who  had  always 
been  friendly  to  the  English,  had  done  good 
ser\-ice  during  the  early  part  of  the  war  by 
protecting  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  and  had 
ser\'ed  also  in  Forbes'  expedition  against 
Fort   Duquesne.      They   received    for   their 


services  no  reward  or  pay  from  any  source, 
and  as  they  were  setting  out  for  their  homes 
neither  General  Forbes  nor  the  colonial  au- 
thorities supplied  them  with  either  food  or 
money.  To  avoid  starvation  on  their  march 
they  were  compelled  to  plunder  the  barns  of' 
some  of  the  settlers,  and  this  led  to  a  conflictj 
which  rapidly  spread  into  a  border  war. 

The  Cherokees  Driven  to  Arms. 

Lyttleton,  the  governor  of  South  Carolina, 
exerted  himself  to  prevent  the  restoration  of 
peace,  and  with  success,  as  he  desired  the 
credit  of  exterminating  the  Cherokees.  He 
was  opposed  by  the  legislature  and  people  of 
the  colony,  but  in  1759  he  sent  a  force  into 
their  countrj^  which  committed  such  ravages 
that  the  Cherokees,  driven  to  despair,  re- 
solved upon  a  war  of  extermination.  They 
made  a  league  with  the  Muscogees,  and  sent 
to  the  French  in  Louisiana  for  military  stores. 
The  Carolinians  asked  aid  of  General  Am- 
herst, who  sent  them  a  force  of  twelve  hun- 
dred men,  principally  highlanders,  under 
General  Montgomery.  Reinforced  by  a  body 
of  Carolinians,  Montgomery  invaded  the 
Cherokee  country  in  1760,  and  laid  it  waste. 
This  tribe  had  made  great  advances  in  civil- 
ization, and  had  settled  in  villages,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  cultivation  of  their  lands.  Their 
homes  were  made  desolate,  and  they  were 
driven  to  the  mountains.  Montgomery  then 
rejoined  Amherst,  in  the  north,  in  obedience 
to  orders ;  but  the  Indians  for  many  years 
maintained  a  desultory  warfare  along  the 
southwestern  border. 

The  surrender  of  Canada  to  the  English 
was  viewed  with  the  greatest  disfavor  by  the 
Indians  of  the  north  and  west,  who  were 
attached  to  the  French,  and  were  unwilling 
to  submit  to  the  rule  of  the  English.  Im- 
mediately after  the  surrender  the  English 
occupied  all  the  French  posts  along  the 
lakes,  and    in   the    Ohio  valley,  with  small 


END   OF  THE   FRENCH   AND   INDIAN   WAR. 


323 


garrisons.  The  contrast  between  these  and 
the  French,  who  had  formerly  held  these 
forts,  soon  impressed  itself  forcibly  upon  the 
minds  of  the  savages.  The  French  had 
been  friendly  and  kind  to  the  Indians,  and 
had  sought  to  convert  them  to  Christianity  ; 
the  English  were  haughty  and  domineering, 
'and  insulted  their  priests,  and  denounced 
their  religion. 

"  King  Pontiac." 

The  French  had  prohibited  the  sale  of  rum 
to  the  Indians  ;  the  English  introduced  it, 
and  finding  it  profitable  ccntinued  it,  with  a 
recklessness  of  consequences  which  did  not 
escape  the  keen  observation  of  the  savages. 
The  demoralization  of  the  red  men  was  rapid, 
and  drunkenness  and  its  attendant  vices 
wrought  sad  changes  in  them.  The  tribes 
were  bitterly  hostile  to  the  men  who  were 
ruining  their  people,  and  all  were  alarmed  by 
the  rapidity  with  which  emigration  had  been 
pouring  over  the  mountains  since  the  capture 
of  Fort  Duquesne.  They  saw  that  they  were 
about  to  be  driven  from  their  homes,  and 
forced  westward,  before  the  advancing  tide  of 
the  whites. 

The  most  determined  opponent  of  the 
English  rule  was  Pontiac,  a  chief  of  the 
Ottawas.  He  was  a  Catawba  by  birth,  had 
been  brought  from  his  native  country  as  a 
prisoner,  and  had  been  adopted  into  the  Ot- 
tawa tribe,  whose  chief  he  had  become  by  his 
bravery  and  skill.  He  was  the  idol  of  his 
own  people,  and  his  influence  over  the  neigh- 
boring tribes  was  boundless.  He  was  styled 
"the  king  and  lord  of  all  the  country  of  the 
northwest,"  and  bitterly  resented  the  English 
occupation  of  his  dominions.  The  first  Eng- 
lish officer  who  came  to  take  possession  of 
the  French  forts  was  received  by  him  with 
the  stern  demand,  "  How  dare  you  come  to 
visit  my  country  without  my  leave  ?" 

This  "  forest  hero  "  now  resolved  to  unite 
all  the  tribes  of  the  northwest  in  a  last  de- 


termined effort  to  drive  out  the  English,  and 
regain  the  independence  of  the  red  man. 
The  plan  of  operations  which  he  adopted 
was  most  comprehensive,  and  was  the  most 
remarkable  exhibition  of  genuine  leadership 
ever  given  by  an  Indian.  He  began  negotia- 
tions with  the  neighboring  tribes,  and  in 
duced  the  Delawares.Shawnees,  the  Senecas, 
Miamis,  and  many  of  the  smaller  tribes,  oc- 
cupying the  great  region  of  the  upper  lakes, 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  a  portion  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  to  join  his  people  in  their 
effort  against  the  English.  He  sent  a 
prophet  to  all  the  tribes  to  declare  to  them 
that  the  Great  Spirit  had  revealed  to  him 
"that  if  the  English  were  permitted  to  dwell 
in  their  midst,  then  the  white  man's  diseases 
and  poisons  would  utterly  destroy  them." 
The  conspiracy  was  pressed  forward  with 
energy,  and  though  it  was  more  than  a  year 
in  forming,  it  was  kept  a  profound  secret. 

The   Plot  Revealed. 

The  principal  post  on  the  upjjer  lakes  was 
Detroit.  It  was  surrounded  bv  a  numerous 
French  population  engaged  in  agriculture 
and  trading.  It  was  the  centre  of  the  trade 
of  this  region,  and  its  possession  was  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  English.  Pontiac 
was  anxious  to  obtain  possession  of  this 
fort  and  sent  word  to  Major  Gladwin,  the 
commandant,  that  he  was  coming  on  a  cer- 
tain day,  with  his  warriors,  to  have  a  talk 
with  him.  The  chief  was  resolved  to  make 
this  visit  the  occasion  of  seizing  the  fort  and 
massacring  the  garrison,  and  he  and  his 
warriors  selected  for  the  attempt  cut  down 
their  rifles  to  a  length  which  enabled  them 
to  conceal  them  under  their  blankets,  in 
order  to  enter  the  fort  with  their  arms. 

The  plot  was  revealed  to  Gladwin  by  an 
Indian  girl,  whose  affections  had  been  won 
by  one  of  the  English  officers,  and  when 
Pontiac  and  his  warriors  repaired  to  the  fort 


324 


END    OF   TIIK    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR. 


325 


for  their  "  talk  "  Gladwin  made  him  aware 
that  his  conspiracy  was  discovered,  and  very 
unwisely  permitted  him  to  leave  the  fort  in 
safety.  Pontiac  now  tlirew  off  the  mask  of 
friendship  and  boldh-  attacked  Detroit. 

Wholesale  Slaughter. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  war.  In 
about  three  weeks'  time  the  savages  sur- 
prised and  captured  every  fort  west  of  Ni- 
agara, with  the  exception  of  Detroit  and 
Pittsburgh.  The  garrisons  were,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  put  to  death.  Over  one  hundred 
traders  were  killed  and  scalped  in  the 
woods,  and  more  than  five  hundred  families 
were  driven,  with  the  loss  of  many  of  their 
numbers,  from  their  settlements  on  the  fron- 
tier. Pontiac  endeavored,  without  success, 
to  capture  Detroit,  and  a  large  force  of  the 
warriors  of  several  of  the  tribes  laid  siege  to 
Pittsburgh,  the  most  important  post  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio.  The  ravages  of  the 
Indians  were  extended  over  the  wide  terri  - 
tory  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  settlements  in  that  region  were  for 
the  time  completely  broken  up. 

General  Bouquet,  with  a  force  of  five 
hundred  men,  consisting  chiefly  of  Scotch 
Highlanders,  was  sent  from  eastern  Penn- 
sylvania to  the  relief  of  Fort  Ligonier, 
which  was  located  at  the  western  base  of  the 
mountains,  near  Pittsburgh.  Their  march 
lay  through  a  region  which  had  been  deso- 
lated by  the  Indians,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  depend  upon  the  stores  they  carried  with 
them.  Upon  reaching  Fort  Ligonier,  Bou- 
quet found  the  communication  with  Pitts- 
burgh cut  off,  and  could  learn  nothing  of  the 
fate  of  the  fort  or  garrison. 

Leaving  his  cattle  and  wagons  at  Ligo- 
nier, he  pushed  forward  with  liis  men  in 
light  marching  order,  determined  to  ascer- 
tain if  Pittsburgh  still  held  out.  He  had  to 
fight    his   way    through    the    Indians,  who 


turned  aside  from  the  siege  of  the  fort  and 
ambushed  the  Highlanders  at  nearly  every 
step.  They  were  overwhelmingly  defeated 
by  the  gallant  Highlanders,  for  Bouquet  was 
now  a  veteran  Indian  fighter,  and  had  learned 
to  fight  the  savages  with  their  own  tactics. 
Their  rout  was  complete,  and  Bouquet  reach- 
ed Pittsburgh  in  safety,  to  the  great  joy  of  the, 
garrison. 

Victory  Over  the  Indians. 

Bouquet's  victory  was  decisive.  The  li. 
dians  were  utterly  disheartened  and  fled 
westward  ;  and  from  that  day  the  Ohio  val- 
ley was  freed  from  their  violence.  The  tide 
of  emigration  once  more  began  to  how  over 
the  mountains,  and  this  time  it  was  to  know 
no  cessation.  The  tribes  concerned  in  Pon- 
tiac's  conspiracy  lost  hope,  and  were  over- 
awed by  the  preparations  of  the  English  for 
their  destruction,  and  began  to  withdraw 
from  the  confederacy  and  make  peace  with 
the  whites.  Pontiac  soon  found  himself  de- 
serted by  all  his  followers,  even  by  his  own 
people;  but  his  proud  spirit  would  not  brook 
the  thought  of  submission.  He  would  make 
no  treaty ;  he  was  the  mortal  foe  of  the 
English,  and  would  never  acknowledge  their 
rule.  Leaving  his  home  and  his  people,  he 
set  out  for  the  country  of  the  Illinois,  for 
purpose  of  stirring  up  the  more  distant  tribes 
to  war.  A  proclamation  from  Lord  Amherst 
offered  a  reward  for  his  murder,  and  he  soon 
fell,  the  victim  of  the  hired  assassin. 

The  long  war  was  over.  It  had  brought 
both  loss  and  gain  to  the  colonies.  It  had 
involved  them  in  an  expenditure  of  sixteen 
million  dollars,  of  which  sum  but  five  million 
dollars  had  been  refunded  by  the  English 
government.  Thus  the  debts  of  the  colonies 
were  greatly  increased.  Thirty  thousand 
men  had  been  killed,  or  had  died  from 
wounds  or  disease  during  the  war,  and  the 
sufferings  of  the  settlers  along  the  extended 


326 


THE   FRENCH   AND   INDLA.N   WAR. 


and  exposed  frontiers  had  been  almost  incal- 
culable. 

On  tlie  other  hand,  the  war  had  greatly- 
increased  the  business  of  the  colonies,  es- 
pecially in  those  of  the  north.  Large  sums 
had  been  spent  in  America  by  Great  Britain  j 
lor  the  support  of  her  armies  and  fleets,  and 
many  fortunes  were  built  up  by  enterprising 
men  during  this  period.  Above  all  the 
Americans  had  been  taught  their  own 
strength,  and  the  value  of  united  action. 
They  had  often  proved  their  superiority  to  the 
regular  troops  of  the  English  army,  and  had 
learned  valuable  lessons  in  the  art  of  war. 
In  the  long  struggle  Washington,  Gates, 
Morgan,  Montgomery,  Stark,  Putnam  and 
others  were  trained  for  the  great  work 
which  was  to  be  required  of  them  in  future 
years. 

The  colonies  were  bound  together  by  a 
common  grievance,  arising  out  of  the 
haughty  contempt  with  which  the  royal 
commanders  treated  the  provincial  troops, 
and  sacrificed  their  interests  to  those  of  the 
regulars.     The  lesson  that  the  colonies  could 


do  without  the  assistance  of  England,  and 
that  their  true  interests  demanded  a  separation 
from  her,  was  deeply  implanted  in  the  minds 
of  many  of  the  leading  men. 

Another  gain  for  the  colonies  was  a  posi- 
tive increase  in  their  liberties  resulting  from 
the  war.  The  necessity  of  securing  the  coi 
dial  co-operation  of  the  Americans  during 
the  struggle  caused  the  royal  governors  to 
cease  their  efforts  to  enforce  arbitrary  laws, 
during  the  existence  of  hostilities,  as  the  en- 
forcement of  such  measures  would  have 
alienated  the  colonists,  and  have  prevented 
them  from  raising  the  needed  supplies  of 
men  and  money.  The  colonial  assemblies 
were  careful  to  take  advantage  of  this  state 
of  affairs.  They  made  their  grants  of  sup- 
plies with  great  caution,  and  retained  in  their 
own  hands  all  the  disbursements  of  the  pub- 
lic funds.  They  thus  accustomed  the  people 
to  the  practices  of  free  government,  and 
taught  them  their  rights  in  the  matter,  so 
that  when  the  war  closed  the  royal  governors 
found  that  they  were  no  longer  able  to  prac- 
tice their  accustomed  tyranny. 


BOOK   IV 

The  American  Revolution 


CHAPTER  XXV 
Causes  of  the  Struggle  for  Independence 

biiasncc  01  Great  Britain  Towards  Her  Colonies — Tlie  Navigation  Acts — Effects  of  Tliese  Laws  Upon  the  Colonies  — 
oreai  Bniain  Seeks  to  Destroy  the  Manufactures  of  America — Writs  of  Assistance — They  Are  Opposed — Home 
Manufactures  Encouraged  by  the  Americans — Ignorance  of  Englishmen  Concerning  America — Great  Britain  Claims 
the  Right  to  Tax  America — Resistance  of  ihe  Colonists — Samuel  Adams — The  Parsons'  Cause — Patrick  Henry — 
England  Persists  in  Her  Determination  to  Tax  America — Passage  of  the  Stamp  Act — Resistance  of  the  Colonies^ 
Meeting  of  the  First  Colonial  Congress — Its  Action — William  Pitt — Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act — Franklin  Before  the 
House  of  Commons — Xew  Taxes  Imposed  Upon  America — Increased  Resistance  of  the  Colonies — Troops  Quartered 
in  Boston — The  "  Massacre'' — The  Non-Importation  Associations — Growth  of  Hostility  to  England — Burning  of  the 
•'  Gaspe  " — The  Tax  on  Tea  Retained  by  the  King — Destruction  of  Tea  at  Boston — Wrath  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment— Boston  Harbor  Closed — Troops  Quartered  in  Boston — The  Colonies  Come  to  the  Assistance  of  Boston-— 
Action  of  the  Virginia  Assembly — General  Gage  in  Boston — The  Regulating  Act — Its  Failure — Gage  Seizes  the 
Massachusetts  Powder — Uprising  of  the  Colony — Meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress — Its  Action — Addresses  to 
te  King  and  People  of  England — The  Earl  of  Chatham's  Indorsement  of  Congress — ^The  King  Remains  Stubborn. 


THE  treaty  of  Paris  placed  England  in 
control  of  the  North  American  con- 
tinent east  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  English  government  ■ivas  of  the 
opinion  that  this  possession  brought  with  it 
the  right  to  treat  America  as  it  pleased,  with- 
out regard  to  the  rights  or  liberties  of  her 
people.  We  have  already  considered  some 
of  the  many  acts  of  injustice  by  which  Great 
Britain  drove  the  colonies  into  rebellion 
against  her.  We  have  now  to  relate  those 
bearing  more  immediately  on  the  separation. 
The  navigation  acts  of  1660  and  1663  were 
passed,  as  we  have  seen,  for  the  purpose  of 
crippling  the  commerce  of  the  colonies,  and 
confirming  their  dependence  upon  England. 
They  were  severely  felt  throughout  all  the  col- 
onies, and  especially  in  New  England,  which 
was  largely  dependent  upon  its  commerce. 
These  acts  were  the  beginning  of  a  policy 
deliberately  adopted  by  England,  and  per- 
sisted in  by  her  for  more  than  a  century,  for 


the  purpose  of  enriching  her  mercantile  class 
by  depriving  the  colonists  of  the  just  rewards 
of  their  labors.  The  Americans  were  re- 
garded  by  the  mother  country  as  inferiors, 
and  as  dependents,  who  had  been  planted  by 
her  in  "  settlements  established  in  distant 
parts  of  the  world  for  the  benefit  of  trade." 
The  natural  right  of  all  men  to  acquire 
property  and  wealth  by  the  exercise  of  their 
industry  was  denied  to  them  ;  they  were  to 
labor  only  that  the  British  merchant  might 
grow  rich  at  their  expense.  Every  species 
of  industry  in  America,  save  the  mere  culti- 
vation of  the  soil,  was  to  be  heavily  taxed 
that  it  might  be  crushed  out  of  existence. 
The  Americans  were  to  be  obliged  to  ship 
their  products  to  England  for  sale,  and  to  be- 
compelled  to  purchase  in  her  markets  the' 
supplies  they  needed.  No  foreign  country . 
might  trade  directly  with  the  colonies.  | 

Such  articles  of  foreign  production  as  were 
needed  must  be  shipped  to  England,  and  then 
327 


.^28 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


traiioferred  to  British  vessels  for  transporta- 
tion to  the  colonies,  in  order  that  they  might 
yield  a  profit  to  the  English  ship-owner.  The 
only  direct  trade  which  was  allowed,  and  was 
not  taxed,  was  the  infamous  traffic  in  negro 
slaves,  against  which  every  colony  protested, 
and  which  Great  Britain  compelled  them  to 
accept.  Even  the  trees  in  the  "  free  woods," 
suitable  for  masts,  were  claimed  by  the  king, 
and  marked  by  his  "surveyor-general  of 
woods."  It  was  a  criminal  offence  to  cut 
one  of  them  after  being  so  marked. 

Restrictions  upon  Trade. 

In  spite  of  these  outrages  the  colonies 
persisted  in  their  efforts  to  establish  manu- 
factures and  a  commerce  of  their  own.  As 
early  as  1643  iron  works  were  established  in 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1721  the  New  England 
colonies  contained  six  furnaces  and  nineteen 
forges.  Pennsylvania  was  still  more  largely 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  this  metal, 
and  exported  large  quantities  of  it  to  other 
colonies. 

By  the  year  1756  there  were  eight  furnaces 
and  nine  forges,  for  smelting  copper,  in  oper- 
ation in  Maryland.  In  172 1  the  British  iron- 
masters endeavored  to  induce  Parliament  to 
put  a  stop  to  the  production  of  iron  in 
America,  but  without  success.  In  1750  they 
were  more  successful.  In  that  year  an  act 
of  Parliament  forbade,  under  heavy  penalties, 
the  exportation  of  ])ig-iron  from  America  to 
England,  and  the  manufacture  by  the  Ameri- 
cans of  bar-iron  or  steel  for  their  own  use. 
All  the  iron  works  in  the  colonies  were 
ordered  to  be  closed,  and  any  that  might 
afterwards  be  erected  were  to  be  destroyed  as 
"  nuisances." 

Some  of  the  colonies  had  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  goods,  and  the  mak- 
ing of  hats  had  become  a  very  large  and 
profitable  business.  In  1732  Parliament  for- 
bade the  transportation  of  woolen   goods  of 


American  manufacture  from  one  colony  to 
another,  and  the  same  restriction  was  placed 
upon  the  trade  in  hats.  As  an  excuse  for 
this  outrage  it  was  argued  that  as  the  Ameri- 
cans had  an  unlimited  supply  of  beaver  and 
other  furs  open  to  them,  they  would  soon  be 
able  to  supply  all  Europe,  as  well  as  them- 
selves, with  hats.  England  was  unwilling 
that  America  should  manufacture  a  single 
article  which  she  could  supply,  and  in  order 
to  cripple  the  industry  of  the  colonies  still 
further  it  was  enacted  by  Parliament  that  no 
manufacturer  should  employ  more  than  two 
apprentices.  In  1733  the  famous  "  Molasses 
Act  "  was  passed,  imposing  a  duty  on  sugar, 
molasses,  or  rum,  imported  into  any  of  the 
British  possessions  from  any  foreign  colony. 
The  object  of  this  act  was  to  benefit  the 
British  West  India  possessions  by  compell- 
ing the  North  American  colonies  to  trade 
with  them. 

Thrilling  Speech  of  James  Otis. 

In  order  to  enforce  the  various  restrictions 
upon  the  trade  of  the  colonies  Great  Britain 
established  in  America  a  large  force  of  cus- 
toms officers,  who  were  given  unlawful 
powers  for  this  purpose.  Parliament  enacted 
that  any  sheriff  or  officer  of  the  customs,  who 
sus/>ecUd th^t  merchandise  imported  into  the 
colony  in  which  he  was  stationed  had  not 
paid  the  duty  required  by  law,  might  apply 
to  the  colonial  courts  for  a  search  warrant,  or 
"  writ  of  assistance,"  and  enter  a  store  or 
private  dwelling  and  search  for  the  goods  he 
suspected  of  being  unlawfully  imported. 

These  writs  were  first  used  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1 76 1,  and  aroused  a  storm  of  indig- 
nation from  the  people,  who  felt  that  their 
most  sacred  rights  were  being  violated  by 
them.  They  were  resisted,  and  the  case  was 
carried  before  the  courts  in  orderto  test  their 
validity.  James  Otis,  the  attorney  for  the 
crown,  resigned   his  office  rather  than  argue 


SCENE    NEAR    THE   SUUKCE    OE    THE    KAKITAN    KIVEl- 


330 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


in  behalf  of  them,  and  with  great  eloquence 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  people.  His  speech 
created  a  profound  impression  throughout 
the  colonies,  and  aroused  a  determination  in 
the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  oppose  the 
other  enactments  of  Parliament  which  they 
felt  to  be  unjust.  This  trial  was  fatal  to  the 
writs,  which  ■  ere  scarcely  ever  used  after- 
wards. "  Then  and  there,"  says  John 
Adams,  "was  the  first  opposition  to  arbi- 
trary acts  of  Great  Britain.  Then  and  there 
American  Independence  was  born." 

Taxing  the  Colonies. 

The  spirit  of  opposition  soon  manifested 
itself  in  the  New  England  colonies.  The 
manufactures,  trade  and  fisheries  of  that  sec- 
tion were  almost  ruined,  and  the  people  had 
no  choice  but  to  defend  themselves.  Asso- 
ciations were  formed  in  all  the  colonies 
pledging  themselves  not  to  purchase  of  Eng- 
lish manufacturers  anything  but  the  absolute 
necessities  of  life.  Families  began  to  make 
their  own  linen  and  woolen  cloths,  and  to 
preserve  sheep  for  their  wool.  Homespun 
garments  became  the  dress  of  the  patriot 
party,  and  foreign  cloths  were  almost  driven 
out  of  use.  It  was  resolved  to  encourage 
home  manufactures  in  every  possible  way 
and  associations  were  formed  for  this  pur- 
pose. These  measures  became  very  pop- 
ular, and  were  adopted  by  the  other  colonies 
in  rapid  succession. 

England  was  blind  to  these  signs  of  alien- 
ation and  danger,  and  such  of  her  public 
men  as  saw  them  regarded  them  as  of  no 
importance.  It  was  resolved  to  go  still 
further,  and  levy  direct  taxes  upon  the  col- 
onies. In  1763  such  a  proposition  was 
brought  forward  by  the  ministers.  It  was 
claimed  by  them  that  as  the  debt  of  England 
had  been  largely  increased  by  the  French 
war,  which  had  been  fought  in  their  defence, 
it  was  but  right  that  they  should  help  to  de- 


fray the  expense  by  paying  a  tax  to  the 
English  government. 

In  the  meantime  the  colonies  had  warmly 
discussed  the  intentions  of  Great  Britain  re- 
specting them,  and  all  strenuously  denied 
the  right  of  the  mother  country  to  tax  them 
without  granting  them  some  form  of  repre- 
sentation in  her  government.  They  claimed 
the  right  to  have  a  voice  in  the  disposal  ot 
their  property,  and  they  regarded  the  design 
of  Parliament  as  but  a  new  proof  of  the  indis- 
position of  the  mother  country  to  treat  them 
with  justice. 

The  feeling  of  the  Americans  towards 
England  at  this  period  has  been  aptly  de- 
scribed as  "  distrust  and  suspicion,  strangely 
mixed  up  with  filial  reverence — an  instinctive 
sense  of  injury,  instantly  met  by  the  in- 
stinctive suggestion  that  there  must  be  some 
constitutional  reason  for  doing  it,  or  it  would 
not  be  done."  In  spite  of  the  injuries  they  had 
received  at  her  hands,  the  Americans  were 
warmly  attached  to  England.  They  gloried 
in  her  triumphs,  were  proud  to  trace  their 
descent  from  her,  and  claimed  a  share  in  her 
great  history  and  grand  achievements.  Had 
England  been  wise  she  might  have  strength- 
ened this  attachment  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  ties  which  bound  the  two  countries  could 
never  have  been  sundered.  But  England 
was  not  only  careless  of  the  rights  of  Amer- 
icans, she  was  grossly  ignorant  of  their 
country  and  of  their  character. 

Ignorant  Rulers. 

"  Few  Englishmen  had  accurate  ideas  of 
the  nature,  the  extent,  or  even  the  position 
of  the  colonies.  And  when  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  hurried  to  the  king  with  the  in- 
formation that  Cape  Breton  was  an  island,  he 
did  what  perhaps  half  his  colleagues  in  the 
ministry,  and  more  than  half  his  colleagues 
in  Parliament,  would  have  done  in  his  place. 
They  knew  that   the    colonies  were  of  vast 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDEXCE. 


33« 


extent ;  that  they  lay  far  away  beyond  tht 
sea  ;  that  they  produced  many  things  wliicl 
Englishmen  wanted  to  buy,  and  consumed 
many  things  which  Englishmen  wanted  to 
sell ;  that  English  soldiers  had  met  Eng- 
land's hereditary  enemies,  the  French,  in 
their  forests  ;  that  English  sailors  had  beaten 
French  sailors  on  their  coasts.  But  they  did 
not  know  that  the  most  flourishing  of  these 
colonies  had  been  planted  by  men  who, 
prizing  freedom  above  all  other  blessings, 
had  planted  them  in  order  to  secure  for 
themselves  and  their  children  a  home  in 
which  they  could  w-orship  God  according  to 
their  own  idea  of  worship,  and  put  forth  the 
strength  of  their  minds  and  of  their  bodies, 
according  to  their  own  conception  of  what 
was  best  for  them  here  and  hereafter."* 

The  few  Americans  who  visited  Great 
Britain  found  themselves  looked  upon  as 
aliens  and  inferiors ;  their  affection  for  the 
land  of  their  fathers  was  met  with  contempt, 
and  they  were  ridiculed  as  barbarians.  The 
English  colonial  officials  made  this  feeling 
apparent  to  those  Americans  who  remained 
at  home.  Everywhere  the  colonists  saw 
themselves  treated  with  injustice.  The  hard- 
earned  glories  of  their  troops  in  the  colonial 
wars  were  denied  them  and  claimed  for  the 
English  regulars,  and  there  was  scarcely  a 
provincial  who  had  borne  arms  but  had  some 
petty  insult  or  injurj-,  at  the  hands  of  the 
royal  authorities,  to  complain  of 

Looking  back  over  their  history,  the 
Americans  could  not  remember  a  time  when 
they  had  not  been  treated  with  injustice  by 
Great  Britain.  They  owed  that  country 
nothing  for  the  planting  of  the  colonies  ;  that 
was  the  work  of  their  ancestors,  who  had 
been  forced  to  fly  from  England  to  escape 
wrong  and  injur>'.     They  had  been  left  to 


*Histarical  Vinv  of  the  A 
W.  Greene,  p.  IS- 


conquer  their  early  difliculties  without  aid, 
and  with  scanty  sympathy  from  England, 
who  had  taken  no  notice  of  them  until  tiiey 
were  sufficiently  prosperous  to  be  profitabir 
to  her. 

Injustice  of  the   Mother  Country, 

Then  she  had  rarely  laid  her  hand  upoB 
them  but  to  wrong  them.  She  had  pur- 
sued such  a  uniformly  unjust  policy  toward.* 
them  that  their  affection  for  her  was  rapidly 
giving  way  to  a  general  desire  to  separate 
from  her.  They  owed  her  nothing ;  they 
were  resolved  to  maintain  their  liberties 
against  her.  Some  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
colony  had  already  begun  to  dream  of  the 
future  greatness  of  America,  and  had  become 
convinced  that  the  true  interests  of  their 
countrj'  required  a  separation  from  England. 

In  spite  of  this  feeling  England  persisted 
in  her  course  of  folly.  In  March,  1764,  the 
House  of  Commons  resolved,  "  that  Parlia- 
ment had  a  right  to  tax  America."  The 
next  month  (April)  witnessed  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  claim  in  the  passage  of  an  act 
of  Parliament  levying  duties  upon  certain 
articles  imported  into  America.  By  the  same 
act  iron  and  lumber  w^ere  added  to  the 
"  enumerated  articles  "  which  could  be  ex- 
ported only  to  England.  The  preamble  to 
this  measure  declared  that  its  purpose  waste 
raise  "  a  revenue  for  the  expenses  of  defend- 
ing, protecting  and  securing  his  majesty's 
dominions  in  America." 

The  colonists  protested  against  this  act  as 
a  violation  of  their  liberties,  and  declared 
that  they  had  borne  their  full  share  of  the 
expense  of  the  wars  for  their  defence,  that 
they  were  now  able  to  protect  themselves 
without  assistance  from  the  king,  and  added 
the  significant  warning  that  "  ta.Kation  with- 
out representation  was  tyranny."  No  one 
yet  thought  of  armed  resistance  ;  the  colo- 
nists were  resolved  to  exhaust  everj'  peaceful 


33^ 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


means  of  redress  before  proceeding  to 
extreme  measures.  As  j-et  the  desire  for 
separation  was  confined  to  a  few  far-seeing 
men. 

Prominent  among  these  was  Samuel 
Adams,  of  Boston,  a  man  in  whom  the 
loftiest  virtues  of  the  old  Puritans  were  min- 


S.ANrUEL    .ADAMS. 

gled  with  the  graces  o''  more  modern  times. 
Modest  and  unassuming-  in  manner,  a  man  of 
incorruptible  integrity  and  sincere  piety,  he 
was  insensible  to  fear  in  the  discharge  of  his 
dut>-.  lie  was  a  deep  student  of  constitu- 
tional law,  and  was  gifted  with  an  eloquence 
which    could    mo\-e    multitudes.     His  clear 


vision  had  already  discerned  the  dangers 
which  threatened  his  country,  and  had  dis- 
covered the  only  path  by  which  she  could 
emerge  from  them  in  safety.  His  plan  was 
simple:  resistance,  peaceable  at  first;  forci- 
ble if  necessary.  Under  his  guidance  the 
people  of  Boston  met  and  protested  against 
the  new  plan  of  taxation, 
and  instructed  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  general 
court  to  oppose  it. 

"  We  claim  British  rights, 
not  by  charter  only,"  said 
the  Boston  resolves;  "we 
are  born  to  them.  If  we 
are  taxed  without  our  con- 
sent, our  property  is  taken 
without  our  consent,  and 
then  we  are  no  more  free- 
men, but  f.'.avcs."  The  gen- 
eral court  of  Massachusetts 
declared  "  that  the  imposi- 
tion of  duties  and  taxes  by 
the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  upon  a  people  not 
repres'";i^ed  in  the  House 
oi  Commons  is  absolutely 
irreconcilable  with  their 
rights."  A  committee  Was 
appointed  to  correspond 
with  the  other  colonies, 
with  a  view  to  bringing 
about  a  concerted  action 
for  the  redress  of  griev- 
ances. In  Virginia,  New 
York,  Connecticut  and  the 
Carolinas  equally  vigorous 
measures  were  taken. 

In  Virginia  the  fir,st  indication  of  the  in- 
tention of  the  people  to  resist  the  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  crown  was  given  in  a  matter 
insignificant  in  itself,  but  clearly  involving 
the  great  principle  at  issue.  In  that  colony 
tobacco    was  the  lawful    currency,  and  the 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


333 


failure  of  a  crop,  or  a  rise  in  the  price  of  to- 
bacco, made  such  payments  often  very  bur- 
densome. In  the  winter  of  1763  the  legisla- 
ture passed  a  law  authorizing  the  people  of 
the  colony  to  pay  their  taxes  and  other  public 
dues  in  money,  at  the  rate  of  twopence  a 
pound  for  the  tobacco  due.  The  clergymen 
of  the  established  church  had  each  a  salary 
fi.xedby  law  at  a  certain  number  of  pounds 
of  tobacco,  and  as  this  measure  involved 
them  in  a  loss  they  refused  to  acquiesce  in  it 
and  induced  Sherlock,  the  bishop  of  London, 
to  persuade  the  king  to  refuse  the  law  his 
signature.  "  The  rights  of  the  clergy  and 
the  authority  of  the  king  must  stand  or  fall 
together,"  was  the  sound  argument  of  the 
bishop.  Failing  of  the  royal  signature  the 
law  was  inoperative. 

The  matter  was  soon  brought  to  an  issue 
in  Virginia.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Maury,  one  of 
the  clerg\'men  affected  by  the  law,  brought 
a  'suit  to  recover  damages,  or  the  difference 
between  twopence  per  pound  and  the  current 
market  price  of  tobacco,  which  was  much 
higher.  This  was  popularly  known  as  the 
"  Parsons'  Cause."  It  was  a  clearly  joined 
issue  between  the  right  of  the  people  to  make 
their  own  laws  on  the  one  side,  and  the  king's 
prerogative  on  the  other. 

The  Man  for  the  Hour. 
The  "  parsons  "  secured  the  best  talent  in 
the  colony  for  the  prosecution  of  their  claims  ; 
the  cause  of  the  "  people  "  was  confided  to  a 
young  man  of  twenty-seven,  whose  youth 
was  supplemented  by  the  additional  disad- 
vantages of  being  poor  and  unknown.  He 
was  Patrick  Henry,  the  son  of  a  plain  far- 
mer, and  a  native  of  the  county  of  Hanover. 
He  had  received  but  little  education,  as  his 
father's  straitened  circumstances  had  com 
pelled  him  to  put  his  son  to  the  task  of 
earning  his  bread  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen 
years.     He  entered  a  country  store,  and  the 


ne.\t  year  went  into  business  with  his  elder 
brother,  William,  who,  being  too  indolent  to 
attend  to  business,  left  the  store  to  the  man- 
agement or  rather  the  mismanagement  of 
Patrick. 

The  young  man  was  brimming  over  with 
good  nature,  and  could  never  find  it  in  hi-. 
heart  to  refuse  any  one  credit,  and  was  t  )>- 
kind-hearted  to  press  unwilling  debtors  to 
payment.  He  let  the  store  "  manage  itself," 
and  amused  himself  by  studying  the  charac- 
ter of  his  customers,  and  with  his  flute  and 
violin.     He  was  also  a  L;rcat  reader,  and  read 


e\ery  work  he  could  buy  or  borrow.  The 
store  survived  about  a  year,  and  the  next 
two  or  mree  years  were  passed  by  Patrick  in 
settling  its  affairs.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  married,  and  began  life  as  a  farmer.  He 
soon  grew  tired  of  this  pursuit,  and  selling 
his  farm  once  more  engaged  in  mercantile 
life.  It  was  not  suited  to  him,  nor  he  to  it. 
He  passed  his  days  in  reading,  this  time 
giving  his  attention  to  works  of  history  and 
philosophy.  Livy  was  his  favorite, and  he  read 
it  through  at  least  once  a  year  for  many  years. 


334 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


His  second  mercantile  enterprise  ended  in 
bankruptcy  in  a  few  years,  and  in  extreme 
want  he  determined  to  tr>'  the  law.  He  ob- 
tained a  license  to  practice  after  a  six  weeks' 
course  of  study,  and  entered  upon  his  new 
career  utterly  ignorant  of  its  duties.  It  is 
said  that  he  could  not  then  draw  up  the 
simplest  legal  paper  without  assistance.  He 
was  then  twenty-four  years  old,  but  it  \vas 
not  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven  that  he  obtained  a  case  worthy  of  his 
powers  for  he  had  genius,  and  it  only  re- 
quired the  proper  circumstances  to  draw  it 
out.  He  had  passed  days  in  communion 
with  nature  in  his  frequent  hunting  and  fish- 
ing excursions,  and  had  drunk  deeply  of 
the  wisdom  she  imparts  to  her  votaries.  He 
had  studied  men  with  the  eye  of  a  master, 
and  he  had  at  last  fallen  into  the  position  from 
which  he  could  rise  to  his  true  place  among 
the  leading  spirits  of  the  age.  In  the  case 
with  which  he  was  now  intrusted,  a  decision 
of  the  court  on  a  demurrer,  in  favor  of  the 
claims  of  the  clergj^  had  left  nothing  unde- 
termined but  the  amount  of  damages  in  the 
cause  which  was  pending. 

Argument  for   Damages. 

"  The  array  before  Mr.  Henry's  eyes," 
says  his  biographer,  William  Wirt,  "  was 
now  most  fearful.  On  the  bench  sat  more 
than  twenty  clergymen,  the  most  learned 
men  in  the  colony,  and  the  most  capable,  as 
well  as  the  severest  critics  before  whom  it 
was  possible  for  him  to  nave  made  his  debut. 
The  court  house  was  crowded  with  an  over- 
whelming multitude,  and  surrounded  with 
an  immense  and  anxious  throng,  who,  not 
finding  room  to  enter,  were  endeavoring  to 
listen  without,  in  the  deepest  attention.  But 
there  was  something  still  more  awfully  dis- 
concerting than  all  this  for  in  the  chair  of 
the  presiding  magistrate  sat  no  other  person 
than  his  own  father.     Mr.  Lyons  opened  the 


cause  very  briefly  :  in  the  way  of  argument 
he  did  nothing  more  than  explain  to  the  jury 
that  the  decision  upon  the  demurrer  had  put 
the  act  of  1750  entirely  out  of  the  way,  and 
left  the  law  of  1748  as  the  only  standard  of 
their  damages ;  he  then  concluded  with  a 
highly  wrought  eulogium  on  the  benevo- 
lence of  the  clergy." 

When  it  came  Patrick  Henn,''s  turn  to 
speak,  he  rose  awkwardly,  amid  a  profound 
silence.  No  one  had  ever  heard  him  speak, 
and  all  were  anxious  to  see  how  he  would 
acquit  himself.  He  clutched  nervously  at 
his  papers,  and  faltered  out  his  opening  sen- 
tences with  a  degree  of  confusion  which 
threatened  every  moment  to  put  an  end  to 
his  effort.  The  people  watched  their  cham- 
pion in  sorrow  and  indignation ;  the  clergy 
exchanged  glances  of  triumph,  and  eyed  the 
speaker  with  contempt;  while  his  father, 
overcome  with  shame,  seemed  ready  to  drop 
from  his  chair.  But  suddenly  there  came  a 
change  over  the  }-oung  advocate.  Warming 
with  his  subject,  he  threw  off  his  embarrass- 
ment and  awkwardness,  and  stood  erect  and 
confident.  His  look  of  timidity  gave  place 
to  one  of  command;  his  countenance  glowed 
with  the  fire  of  genius,  and  startled  the  gazers 
by  the  aspect  of  majesty  which  it  assumed 
for  the  first  time. 

"  He  Has  Spoken  Treason." 

His  tones  grew  clear  and  bold,  his  action 
graceful  and  commanding,  and  the  astounded 
jury  and  audience  were  given  a  display  of 
eloquence  such  as  was  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  colony.  Henry  knew  that 
the  case  was  against  him,  but  he  pleaded  the 
natural  right  of  Virginia  to  make  her  own 
laws  independently  of  the  king  and  Parlia- 
ment. He  proved  the  justness  of  the  law  ; 
he  drew  a  striking  picture  of  the  character 
of  a  good  king,  who  should  be  the  father  ol 
his  oeople,bi't  wb^  "^ecomes  their  tyrant  and 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  IXDEPENDENCE 


oppressor,  and  forfeits  his  claim  to  obedience 
when  he  annuls  just  and  good  laws.  The 
opposing  counsel  cried  out  at  this  bold 
declaration,  "  He  has  spoken  treason,"  but 
was  silenced  by  the  excited  throng. 

"  They  say,"  says  Mr.  Wirt,  "  that  the 
people,  whose  countenances  had  fallen  as  he 
arose,  had  heard  but 
a  very  few  sentences 
be.ore  they  began  to 
look  up  ;  then  to  look 
at  each  other  in  sur- 
prise, as  if  doubting 
the  evidence  of  their 
own  senses ;  then,  at- 
tracted by  some  ges- 
ture, struck  by  some 
majestic  attitude,  fas- 
cinated by  the  spell 
of  his  eye,  the  charm 
of  his  emphasis,  and 
the  varied  and  com- 
manding expression 
of  his  countenance, 
they  could  look  away 
no  more.  In  less  than 
twenty  minutes  they 
might  be  seen  in  every 
part  of  the  house,  on 
every  bench,  in  ever}- 
window,  stooping  for- 
ward from  their 
stands,  in  death-like 
silence;  their  features 
fixed  in  amazement 
and  awe,  all  their 
senses  listening  and 
riveted    upon    the 

speaker,  as  if  to  catch  the  last  strain  of  some 
heavenly  visitant. 

"  The  mockery  of  the  clergy  was  soon 
turned  into  alarm,  their  triumph  into  con- 
fusion and  despair,  and  at  one  burst  of  his 
rapid  and  overwhelming  invective,  they  fled 


335 

from  the  bench  in  precipitation  and  terror. 
.\s  for  the  falher,  such  was  his  surprise,  such 
his  amazement,  such  his  rapture,  that,  forget- 
ting where  he  was,  and  the  character  which  he 
was  filling,  tears  of  ecstacy  streamed  down 
his  cheeks  without  the  power  or  inclination 
to  repress  them." 


COLONEL    B.\RRE. 

The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  oi  one 
penny  damages  for  the  "  parsons,"  anr«  the 
court  overruled  the  motion  of  their  counse! 
for  a  new  trial.  Henry  from  that  moment 
took  his  place  among  the  leaders  of  the 
patriot  party  in  Virginia.     He  had  struck  a 


336 

chord  which  responded  in  every  American 
heart ;  he  had  denied  the  right  of  the  king 
to  make  laws  for  the  colonies. 

The  remonstrance  of  Massachusetts  was 
followed  by  similar  appeals  from  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  Rhode  Island  and  Virginia. 
The  petition  of  New  York  was  couched  in 
such  strong  terms  that  no  member  of  Par- 
liament could  be  found  bold  enough  to  pre- 
sent it.  These  remonstrances  were  unheeded 
by  Parliament,  which  pronounced  them  "  ab- 
surd "  and  "  insolent."  That  body  persisted 
in  its  determination  to  tax  the  colonies,  and 
Grenville,  the  prime  minister,  warned  the 
Americans  that  in  a  contest  with  Great 
Britain  they  could  expect  nothing  but  defeat. 
He  announced  the  intention  of  the  English 
government  to  levy  the  taxes,  and  graciously 
added  that  if  the  colonies  preferred  any  spe- 
cial form  of  ta.xation,  their  wishes  would  be 
met  as  far  as  possible.  In  March,  1765,  the 
measure  known  as  the  "  Stamp  Act  "  passed 
the  House  of  Commons  by  a  vote  of  five  to 
one,  and  was  adopted  almost  unanimously 
by  the  House  of  Lords. 

An  Insane  King. 

It  met  with  a  warm  opposition  i  1  the 
Commons  from  the  friends  of  America,  pro- 
minent among  whom  was  Colonel  Barre, 
who  had  served  with  Wolfe  in  America,  and 
had  learned  to  appreciate  the  American 
character.  The  measure  received  the  royal 
signature  at  once.  The  poor  king  would 
have  signed  anything  he  was  bidden — he 
was  insane.  The  act  imposed  a  duty  on  all 
paper,  vellum  and  paichment  used  in  the 
colonies,  and  required  that  all  writings  of  a 
legal  or  business  nature  should  be  made  on 
"  stamped  paper ; "  otherwise  they  were  de- 
clared null  and  void. 

In  order  to  enforce  the  "  Stamp  Act," 
Parliament,  two  niontlis  later,  passed  "  the 
Quartering  Act."     It  authorized  the  minis- 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


ters  to  send  as  many  troops  as  they  should 
see  fit  to  America,  to  enforce  submission  to  the 
acts  of  Parliament.  Wherever  these  troops 
should  be  stationed,  it  should  be  the  duty  of 
the  people,  at  their  own  expense,  to  furnish 
them  with  quarters,  fuel,  bedding,  cider  or 
rum,  candles,  soap  "and  other  necessaries." 

Exciting   Scene. 

The  news  of  the  passage  of  these  acts  pro- 
duced the  most  intense  excitement  in  Amer- 
ica. The  general  assembly  of  Virginia  was 
in  session  when  the  news  was  received  in 
May.  The  ro\^alist  leaders  were  amazed  at 
the  folly  of  the  ministry,  but  deemed  it  best 
to  take  no  action  in  the  matter.  Patrick 
Henry,  now  a  member  of  the  assembly,  rose 
in  his  place  and  oHcred  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions, declaring  that  the  people  of  Virginia 
were  bound  to  pay  only  such  ta.xes  as 
should  be  levied  by  their  own  assembly,  and 
that  all  who  maintained  the  contrary  should 
be  regarded  as  enemies  of  the  liberties  of  the 
colony. 

These  resolutions  provoked  an  exciting 
debate,  in  which  Henry,  in  a  magnificent 
oration,  exposed  the  tyranny  of  the  British 
government,  and  stirred  the  hearts  of  the 
burgesses  with  a  determination  to  resist. 
"  Caesar  had  his  Brutus,"  exclaimed  the  ora- 
tor in  one  of  his  loftiest  flights,  "  Charles 
the  First  his  Cromwell,  and  George  the 
Third — ."  The  assembly  was  in  an  uproar. 
"  Treason  !  treason  1  "  shouted  the  speaker. 
A  few  joined  in  the  cry,  but  the  majority 
waited  in  breathless  suspense  the  comple- 
tion of  the  sentence  of  Henry,  who,  fi.xing- 
his  eye  upon  the  speaker,  added  in  a  tone 
which  was  peculiar  to  himself,  "  may  profit 
by  their  example.  If  that  be  treason,  make 
the  most  of  it."  The  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  a  large  majority. 

The  next  da\',  during  Henry's  absence, 
the   timid    assembly  rescinded  some  of  the 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPEXDEXCE. 


337 


resolves  and  modified  the  others.  The 
assembly,  for  thus  daring  to  exercise  its  right 
of  expressing  its  opinion,  was  at  once  dis- 
solved by  the  governor,  but  too  late  to  pre- 
vent its  action  from  producing  its  effect. 
Copies  of  the  resolutions  of  Henry  were 
foiwirdcd  to  Phih(klt)hii  where  thc\  weie 
piinttd  ui  1  Li  It 


the  colonies  to  send  delegates  to  a  congress 
to  be  held  at  New  York  in  October.  In  the 
meantime  associations  were  organized  in  a!l 
the  colonies  as  far  south  as  Maryland, 
called  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  for  the  purpose  of 
st  )pping  the  use  of  stamps  The  people 
were  re>(hed  to  take  the  matter  ni  their 
s  1   li  in  i> 


HANGING    A 


They  aroused  the  drooping  spirits  of  the 
people,  and  it  was  resolved  everywhere  that 
the  stamps  should  not  be  used  in  America. 

The  general  court  of  Massachusetts  or- 
dered that  the  courts  should  not  require  the 
use  of  stamps  in  conducting  their  business  ; 
and  in  June,  before  the  Virginia  resolutions 
rcachf"!  Bo'-ton,  issued  a  circular  inviting  all 


In  Boston  the  mob  attacked  the  house  of 
Oliver,  the  secretary  of  the  colony,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  distribute  the  stamps,  and 
conii)ellcd  him  to  resign.  They  also  attacked 
the  houses  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
supporters  of  the  ministry,  but  the  patriots 
sincerely  deplored  and  condemned  these 
violent     proceedings.         At     Wethersfield, 


338 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Connecticut,  five  hundred  farmers  seized  Jared 
Ingersol,  the  stamp  officer  for  that  colony, 
compelled  him  to  resign,  and  then  to  remove 
his  hat  and  give  "  three  cheers  for  liberty, 
property,  and  no  stamps."  Similar  scenes 
■were  enacted   in  the  other  colonies. 

Rights  and  Grievances. 

On  the  seventh  of  October,  1765,  the 
Ftrsl  Colonial  Congress  met  at  New  York. 
It  was  composed  of  delegates  from  the  col- 
onies of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Con- 
necticut, Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  South 
Carolina,  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  New 
Hampshire,  though  not  represented  by  a 
delegate,  gave  her  support  to  its  measures, 
and  Georgia  formally  signified  her  accept- 
ance of  the  work  of  this  body.  Timothy 
Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts,  was  chosen 
president.  The  session  extended  over  three 
weeks,  and  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a 
"  Declaration  of  the  Rights  and  Grievances 
of  the  Colonies ; "  a  petition  to  the  king  ; 
and  a  memorial  to  both  Houses  of  Par- 
liament. 

In  the  Declaration  of  Rights  the  Congress 
took  the  ground  that  it  was  a  violation  of 
their  rights  to  tax  them  without  granting 
them  a  representation  in  the  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain,  and  that  as  such  representa- 
tion was  impossible  because  of  the  distance 
between  the  two  countries,  no  taxes  could  be 
legally  imposed  upon  the  colonies  but  by 
their  own  assemblies.  The  measures  of  the 
Congress  were,  as  soon  as  possible,  indorsed 
by  all  the  colonial  assemblies,  and  thus  the 
colonies  were  drawn  into  that  union  which, 
in  their  own  language,  became  "  a  bundle  of 
I  sticks,  which  could  neither  be  bent  nor 
broken." 

At  length  the  first  of  November  arrived, 
the  day  on  which  the  Stamp  Act  was  to  go 
into  operation.  Not  a  man  could  be  found 
to  execute  the  law,  all  the  stamp  officers  hav- 


ing resigned  through  fear  of  popular  vio- 
lence. Governor  Colden,  of  New  York,  de- 
clared he  was  resolved  to  have  the  stamps 
distributed,  but  the  people  of  the  city  warned 
him  that  he  would  do  so  at  his  peril,  and 
burned  him  in  effigy.  Colden  became 
alarmed  at  these  demonstrations,  and  on  the 
fifth  of  November  delivered  the  stamps  to 
the  mayor  and  council  of  New  York. 

A  Day  of  Mourning. 

In  all  the  colonies  the  first  of  November 
was  observed  as  a  day  of  mourning.  Bells 
were  tolled,  flags  hung  at  half-mast,  and 
business  suspended.  The  merchants  of 
New  York,  Boston  and  Philadelphia  united 
in  an  agreement  to  import  no  more 
goods  from  England,  to  countermand  the 
orders  already  sent  out,  and  to  receive  no 
goods  on  commission  until  the  Stamp  Act 
should  be  repealed.  Their  action  was 
promptly  sustained  by  the  people,  who 
pledged  themselves  to  buy  no  articles  of 
English  manufacture,  and  to  encourage 
home  productions.  Circulars  were  sent 
throughout  the  colonies  urging  the  people 
to  unite  in  such  action,  and  were  heartily 
responded  to.  Business  went  on  without  the 
use  of  stamps,  and  the  courts  ignored  them 
in  their  proceedings. 

The  news  of  these  proceedings  should 
have  warned  the  English  ministers  of  their 
folly;  it  only  made  them  more  determined 
to  persist  in  it.  They  resolved  not  to  repeal 
the  Stamp  Act.  To  comply  with  the  request 
of  the  colonists,  now  that  they  had  resisted 
the  law,  would,  they  declared,  be  simply  a 
surrender  to  rebellion.  "  Sooner  than  make 
our  colonies  our  allies,"  said  one  of  their 
number,  "  I  would  wish  to  see  them  re- 
turned to  their  primitive  deserts."  The 
friends  of  America,  led  by  the  aged  and 
infirm  William  Pitt,  made  a  determined  ef- 
fort to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 


CAUSES    OF   TME   SlRUcUi 

and  they  were  now  supported  by  all  the  in- 
fluence of  the  English  merchants,  who  fouiul 
their  trade  rapidly  falling  off  in  consequence 
of  the  non-intercourse  resolves  adopted  by 
the  Americans. 

Swathed  in  flannels,  Pitt  proceeded  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  in  a  speech  of  great 
vigor  urged  the  House  to  repeal  the  obnox- 
ious and  unconstitutional  measure.  In  reply 
to  Grenville,  the  prime  minister,  who  accused 
liim  of  exciting  sedition  in 
America,  he  said,  "Sir,  I  have 
been  chargedwith  giving  birth 
to  sedition  in  America.  Sorry 
I  am  to  have  the  liberty  of 
speech  in  th.is  House  imputed 
as  a  crime.  But  the  imputa- 
tion will  not  deter  me ;  it  is 
a  liberty  I  mean  to  e.xercise. 
The  gentleman  tells  us  that 
America  is  obstinate ;  that 
America  is  almost  in  rebellion 
I  rejoice  that  America  has 
resisted."  The  House  started 
at  these  words,  but  Pitt  con 
tinued  firmly,  "  If  they  ha 
submitted,  they  would  ha\  l 
voluntarily  become  slaves 
They  have  been  driven  to 
madness  by  injustice.  My 
opinion  is  that  the  Stamp 
Act  should  be  repealed,  abso- 
lutely, totally,  immediately." 
Edmund  Burke,  then  a  rising 
young  man,  eloquently  sustained  the  ajijjcal 
of  the  great  commoner. 

The  Commons  had  already  begun  to 
waver,  but  before  yielding  entirely  liicy 
wished  to  ascertain  from  competent  witnesses 
the  exact  temper  and  disposition  of  the 
Americans.  For  this  purpose,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  who  was  residing  in  London  at 
the  time  as  the  agent  of  several  of  the  colo- 
nies was  summoned    before  the  bar  of  the 


I'UR    INUEPENHENCE 


339 


House  to  give  the  desired  information.  He 
appeared,  in  answer  to  the  summons,  on  the 
thirteenth  of  February,  1766.  He  was 
questioned  b\-  Lord  Gren\ille  and  Charles 
Townshend,  and  by  several  friends  of  the 
ministry,  and  delivered  his  answers  with 
firmness  and  clearness.  He  told  them  that 
the  colonists  could  not  ifdv  for  the  stamps, 
as  there  was  not  encuigh  gold  and  s:l\-er  in 
the  colonies  for  tiiat  purpose;  that  they  had 


incurred  more  than  their  share  of  the  ex- 
pense of  the  last  war,  for  which  Great 
Britain  had  in  no  way  reimbursed  them  ; 
that  they  were  still  burdened  with  heavy 
debts  contracted  in  consequence  of  this  war  ; 
that  they  were  well  disposed  towards  Great 
Britain  before  1763,  and  considered  Parlia- 
ment as  "the  great  bulwark  and  security  of 
tiieir  liberties  and  privileges;  but  that  now 
their   temper  was   much    altered,    and  their 


340 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


respect  for  it  lessened  ;  and  if  the  act  is  not 
repealed,  the  consequence  would  be  a  total 
loss  of  the  respect  and  affection  they  bore  to 
this  country,  and  of  all  the  commerce  that 
depended  on  that  respect  and  affection." 

Franklin  Startles  Parliament. 

He  starded  the  House  b>-  declaring  that 
in  a  few  years  America  would  be  amply  able 
to  supply  herself  with  all  the  necessities  of  life 
then  furnished  her  by  Great  Britain.  "  I  do 
not  know,"  said  he,  "a  single  article  im- 
ported into  the  northern  colonies  but  what 
they  can  either  do  without  or  make  them- 
selves. The  people  will  spin  and  work  for 
themselves,  in  their  own  houses.  In  three 
years  there  may  be  wool  and  manufactures 
enough."  "  If  the  legislature,"  he  was 
asked,  "  should  think  fit  to  ascertain  its  right 
to  lay  taxes,  by  any  act  laying  a  small  tax, 
contrary  to  their  opinion,  would  they  sub- 
mit to  pay  the  tax  ?  "  "An  internal  ta.x,"  he 
replied,  "  how  small  soever,  laid  by  the 
legislature  here,  on  the  people  there,  will 
never  be  submitted  to.  They  will  oppose  it 
to  the  last.  The  people  will  pay  no  internal 
ta.x  by  Parliament."  '.'  May  they  not," 
asked  a  friend  of  Grenville,  "  by  the  same 
interpretation  of  their  common  rights,  as 
Englishmen,  as  declared  by  Magna  Charta 
and  the  Petition  of  Right,  object  to  the  Par- 
liament's right  of  external  taxation  ?  "  * 
"They  never  have  hitherto,"  answered 
Franklin,  promptly.  "  Many  arguments 
have  been  lately  used  here  to  show  them 
that  there  is  no  difference,  and  that  if  you 
have  no  right  to  tix  them  internally,  you 
have  none  to  tax  them  externally,  or 
make  any  other  law  to  bind  them.  At  pres- 
ent they  do  not  reason  so  ;  but  in  time  they 
may  be  convinced  by  these  arguments." 


*  The  levyinjj;    of  duties  by  Parli.iment  on  merchandise 
imported  into  tlie  colomes. 


Franklin's  testimony  was  conclusive.  The 
Stamp  Act  was  repealed  on  the  eighteenth 
of  March,  1766,  not  because  it  was  acknowl- 
edged by  England  as  a  measure  of  injustice, 
but  because  it  could  not  be  enforced  without 
a  collision  with  the  colonies,  which  the  mini 
istry  were  not  as  yet  prepared  for.  The 
people  of  London  greeted  the  repeal  with 
great  joy.  Bonfires  were  lighted,  bells  were 
rung,  the  city  was  illuminated,  and  the  ship- 
ping in  the  Thames  was  decorated  with 
flags.  The  news  was  sent  by  special  mes- 
sengers to  the  nearest  ports,  in  order  that  it 
might  reach  America  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible. 

Rejoicings  in  America. 

In  America  the  news  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act  was  received  with  the  greatest 
joy.  The  bells  were  rung  in  the  principal 
cities,  the  imprisoned  debtors  were  released 
from  captivity,  the  associations  for  non- 
intercourse  with  England  were  dissolved, 
and  everywhere  Pitt  was  hailed  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  liberties  of  America.  New  York, 
Virginia  and  Maryland  each  voted  a  statue 
to  him. 

The  rejoicings  of  the  Americans  were 
premature.  Parliament  in  repealing  the 
Stamp  Act  solemnly  asserted,  by  a  bill  for 
that  purpose,  its  right  and  power  to  "  bind 
the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever."  Eng- 
land was  only  baffled  for  the  moment;  she 
had  not  relinquished  her  designs  upon  the 
liberties  of  America. 

The  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  brought  with 
it  the  fall  of  Grenville's  ministry.  Another 
was  appointed  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Marquis  of  Rockingham ;  but  it  was  short- 
lived and  soon  gave  wa\-.  The  king  then 
summoned  William  Pitt,  who  had  in  the 
meantime  been  created  Earl  of  Chatham,  to 
form  an  independent  ministry,  late  in  1766. 
This   act  was  regarded   with  great  hope  in 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


34T 


America,  as  Pitt  was  universally  considered 
the  colonists'  best  friend.  These  hopes  were 
doomed  to  disappointment.  In  Januarj', 
1767,  Charles  Townshend,  the  chancellor  of 
the  exchequer  in  Pitt's  cabinet,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  absence  of  the  prime  minister, 
declared  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  it 
was  his  intention,  at  all  risks,  to  derive  a 
revenue  from  America  by  laying  taxes  upon 
her,  and  that  he  knew  how  to  raise  this  reve- 
nue from  her. 

Pitt  Withdraws  from  the  Cabinet. 

Having  thus  thrown  down  the  gauntlet  to 
his  official  chief,  it  became  evident  that 
either  the  Earl  of  Chatham  must  relinquish 
the  premiership,  or  Townshend  must  leave 
the  cabinet.  Chatham  was  anxious  to  dis- 
miss him  from  the  chancellorship,  but  as  it 
was  known  that  Townshend  was  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  sympathies  and  wishes 
of  the  king,  no  one  was  willing  to  risk  his 
prospects  by  accepting  the  chancellorship  in 
Townshend's  place  ;  and  Chatham,  unable  to 
fill  his  place,  was  obliged  to  retain  him.  In 
utter  disgust  Chatham  withdrew  from  active 
participation  in  the  affairs  of  the  cabinet,  and 
Townshend  remained  supreme  director  of 
the  colonial  policy  of  England.  In  May, 
Townshend  revealed  his  plan  for  raising  a 
revenue  in  America.  It  was  to  levy  a  duty, 
to  be  collected  in  the  colonies,  on  certain 
articles  of  commerce,  such  as  wine,  oil, 
paints,  glass,  paper,  and  lead  colors,  and 
especially  upon  tea,  which  last  commodity 
he  declared  the  Americans  obtained  cheaper 
from  the  Dutch  smugglers  than  the  English 
themselves. 

He  was  told  that  if  he  would  withdraw  the 
army  from  America  there  would  be  no  neces- 
sity for  taxing  the  colonies.  He  replied,  "  I 
will  hear  nothing  on  the  subject ;  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  keep  an  army  there." 
In  June,  1767,  an  act  was  passed  by  Parlia- 


ment levying  upon  the  colonies  the  duties 
proposed  by  Townshend ;  and  a  board  of 
commissioners  of  the  customs  for  America 
was  established,  with  its  headquarters  at 
Boston.  Soon  after  their  appointment  the 
"  Romney  "  frigate  entered  Boston  Harbor., 
and  the  new  commissioners,  confident  in  her 
protection,  treated  the  people  of  Boston  with 
unbearable  haughtiness.  Her  officers  fre- 
quently stopped  the  New  England  vessels 
as  they  entered  the  harbor,  and  impressed 
seamen  from  their  decks. 

The  colonies  were  moved  with  the  pro- 
foundest  indignation  upon  the  receipt  of  the 
news  of  the  imposition  of  the  new  taxes.  The 
colonial  newspapers,  which  now  numbered 
twenty-five,  were  filled  with  appeals  to  the 
people  to  stand  up  for  their  liberties.  The 
old  associations  for  non-importation  of  Eng- 
lish goods  were  revived,  and  on  ever>^  hand 
the  declaration  was  unanimous  that  the 
Americans  would  neither  eat,  drink,  nor  wear 
anything  imported  from  England.  The  gen- 
eral court  of  Massachusetts  issued  a  circular 
letter  to  the  other  colonial  assemblies  in- 
viting them  to  unite  with  her  in  measures 
for  obtaining  redress. 

The  Colonies  Strike  Back. 

The  English  ministers  were  greatly  in- 
censed at  the  new  resistance  of  the  colonists, 
and  in  June,  1768,  ordered  the  general  court 
of  Massachusetts  to  rescind  its  circular  let- 
ter. Their  demand  was  refused,  and  the 
general  court,  led  by  James  Otis  and  Samuel 
Adams,  e.Kpressed  its  conviction  that  Parlia- 
ment would  better  serve  the  cause  of  peace 
by  repealing  its  obnoxious  laws.  The  circu- 
lar had  been  favorably  received  by  the  other 
colonies,  and  Massachusetts  was  constantly 
receiving  from  them  encouragement  to  persist 
in  her  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  the  minis- 
try. As  a  punishment  for  the  refusal  of  the 
general  court  to  rescind  its  circular,  that  body 


ij 


BRITISH  TROOPS  IN  BOSTON. 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


i43 


was  dissolved  by  the  royal  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Some  of  the  other  colonial  as- 
semblies that  had  shown  sympathy  with 
Massachusetts  were  also  dissolved  by  their 
respective  governors. 

Opposition  in  Boston. 

A  very  bitter  feeling  existed  between  the 
people  and  the  royal  officials,  and,  to  make 
matters  worse,  at  this  crisis  the  revenue  offi- 
cers at  Boston  seized  a  schooner  belonging 
to  John  Hancock,  one  of  the  patriot  leaders, 
on  the  pretext  that  her  owner  had  made  a 
false  entry  of  her  cargo,  which  consisted  of 
wine.  The  schooner  was  towed  under  the 
guns  of  the  "  Romney  "  frigate,  and  a  crowd 
collected  in  Boston  and  attacked  the  houses 
of  the  commissioners  of  customs,  who  were 
forced  to  fly  to  the  fort  on  Castle  Island  for 
safety. 

The  report  of  this  outbreak  was  trans- 
mitted to  England  as  proof  that  Massachu- 
setts was  almost  in  a  state  of  insurrection, 
and  it  was  resolved  by  the  ministry  to  send 
troops  to  overawe  "  the  insolent  town  of 
Boston,"  and  to  hold  Massachusetts  as  a 
conquered  country.  A  regiment  of  regulars 
under  General  Gage  reached  Boston  in  Sep- 
tember, 1768,  but  the  assembly  refused  to 
provide  quarters  or  food,  or  the  other  neces- 
saries which  were  demanded  by  their  com- 
mander in  accordance  with  the  "  Quartering 
Act."  General  Gage  was  obliged  to  encamp 
a  part  of  his  men  on  Boston  Common,  while 
he  lodged  the  rest  temporarily  in  Faneuil 
Hall.  With  considerable  difficulty  he  hired 
several  houses  in  Boston  and  quartered  his 
troops  in  them.  The  assembly  of  New  York 
also  refused  to  provide  food  or  quarters  for 
the  royal  troops,  and  was  dissolved  by  the 
governor  of  the  province. 

The  wrath  of  the  English  <;fficials  was 
concentrated  upon  Boston,  which  was  held 
as  though  it  were  a  conquered  city.  Senti- 
nels were  placed  at  the  street  corners,  and 


the  citizens  were  challenged  by  them  as  they 
went  about  their  daily  duties.  The  ill-feeling 
between  the  citizens  and  the  troops  gave  rise 
to  several  encounters  between  them.  On 
the  evening  of  the  second  of  March,  1770,  a 
sentinel  was  attacked  by  the  mob.  A  de- 
tachment of  troops  was  sent  to  his  aid,  and 
was  stoned  by  the  mob.  At  length  a  soldier 
fired  his  musket  at  the  crowd  and  his  com- 
rades poured  in  a  volley,  killing  three  and 
wounding  five  citizens.  The  city  was  thrown 
into  an  uproar,  the  alarm  bells  were  rung, 
and  crowds  poured  into  the  streets.  The 
danger  of  a  general  collision  was  very  great, 
but  the  people  were  persuaded  to  disperse 
upon  the  promise  of  Hutchinson,  the  gov- 
ernor, that  justice  should  be  done.  This 
outbreak  was  known  at  the  time  as  "  the 
Boston  Massacre." 

The  Soldiers  Driven  Out. 

The  next  morning  a  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens was  lield  at  Faneuil  Hall.  Resolutions 
were  passed,  demanding  the  removal  of  the 
troops  from  the  city  to  the  fort  on  Castle 
Island,  and  the  arraignment  before  the  civil 
courts  of  Captain  Preston,  the  officer  who 
ordered  the  troops  to  fire.  The  soldiers  were 
removed  from  the  town  as  the  only  means  of 
preserving  the  peace,  and  Captain  Preston 
and  si.x  of  his  men  were  arraigned  for  mur- 
der. John  Adams  and  Josiah  Quincy,  two 
leaders  of  the  patriot  party,  undertook  the 
defence  of  the  accused  officer  and  his  men  in 
order  to  make  sure  that  they  should  have  a 
fair  trial.  They  were  acquitted  of  murder 
but  two  of  the  soldiers  were  convicted  of 
manslaughter.  The  calmness  and  delibera- 
tion with  which  this  trial  was  conducted  had 
a  happy  effect  in  England,  and  exhibited  the 
fairness  and  moderation  of  the  colonists  in 
the  most  favorable  light. 

The  British  merchants  now  began  to  feel 
the  effect  of  the  non-importation  associations 


344 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


of  the  Americans,  and  their  trade  suffered 
even  more  than  it  had  done  in  the  times  of 
the  Stamp  Act,  in  consequence  of  the  cessa- 
tion of  orders  for  goods  from  the  colonies. 
They  now  began  to  sustain  the  demand  of 
the  colonists  for  the  repeal  of  the  unjust 
taxes.  Lord  North,  who  was  now  prime 
minister,  was  willing  to  grant  their  demand, 
and  to  remove  all  the  taxes  except  the  duty 
on  tea,  which  he  retained  at  the  express 
command  of  the  king,  who  had  now  recov- 
ered his  reason,  and  was  the  real  director  of 
the  policy  of  his  government.  George  III. 
held  on  with  the  most  stubborn  tenacity  to 
the  assertion  of  his  right  to  tax  the  colonies, 
and  insisted  "  that  there  should  be  alwaj's 
one  tax,  at  least,  to  keep  up  the  right  of  tax- 
ing." This  concession  was  made  in  May, 
1770,  and  for  nearly  a  year  there  was  a  lull 
in  the  excitement.  The  matter  was  not 
settled,  however,  for  the  Americans  had  not 
resisted  the  amount  iif  the  tax,  but  the  impo- 
sition of  any  tax  at  all.  They  were  contend- 
ing for  a  principle,  not  for  the  saving  of  a 
few  dollars. 

Depredations  and  Quarrels. 

The  bad  feeling  which  was  rapidly  grow- 
ing up  between  the  colonists  and  the  mother 
country  was  greatly  increased  by  the  injus- 
tice and  annoyance  heaped  upon  the  colonists 
by  the  royal  officials.  Almost  every  colony 
had  to  complain  of  these  outrages,  and  the 
king's  officers  seemed  to  think  they  could 
not  do  their  cause  better  service  than  by 
exasperating  the  Americans.  In  New  York 
the  people  had  erected  a  liberty  pole  in  the 
fields,  now  the  City  Hall  Park.  One  night 
in  Januarj',  1770,  a  party  of  soldiers  from 
the  fort  cut  down  the  pole.  This  act  was 
bitterly  resented  by  the  citizens,  and  fre- 
quent quarrels  occurred  between  them  and 
the  troops,  though  there  was  no  actual 
bloodshed. 


Early  in  1772  the  armed  schooner 
"  Gaspe  "  was  stationed  in  Narragansett  Bay 
to  enforce  the  revenue  laws.  Her  com- 
mander, Lieutenant  Dudingston,  undertook 
to  execute  his  orders  in  the  most  insulting 
and  arbitrary  manner.  Market  boats  and 
other  vessels  passing  the  "  Gaspe "  were 
compelled  to  lower  their  colors  to  her,  and 
armed  parties  from  the  schooner  were  sent 
ashore  on  the  neighboring  islands,  and  car- 
ried off  such  provisions  as  they  desired. 
Complaint  was  made  by  the  citizens  of  Provi- 
dence to  the  governor  of  Rhode  Island,  who 
referred  the  matter  to  the  chief  justice,  Hop- 
kins, for  his  opinion.  The  chief  justice  de- 
clared "  that  any  person  who  should  come 
into  the  colony  and  exercise  any  authority 
by  force  of  arms,  without  showing  his  com- 
mission to  the  governor,  and,  if  a  custom- 
house officer,  without  being  sworn  into  his 
office,  was  guilty  of  a  trespass,  if  not  piracy." 
It  was  clear  from  the  opinion  of  the  chief 
justice  that  Dudingston  was  exceeding  his 
authority,  and  the  governor  sent  a  sheriff  on 
board  the  "  Gaspe "  to  ascertain  by  what 
orders  the  lieutenant  acted.  Dudingston 
referred  the  matter  to  the  admiral  at  Boston, 
who  replied  :  "  The  lieutenant,  sir,  has  done 
his  duty.  I  shall  give  the  king's  officers 
directions  that  they  send  every  man  taken  in 
molesting  them  to  me.  As  sure  as  the  peo- 
ple of  Newport  attempt  to  rescue  any  vessel 
and  any  of  them  are  taken,  I  will  hang  them 
as  pirates." 

The  Schooner  Captured. 

The  insolence  of  the  admiral  caused  even 
more  indignation  than  the  outrages  of  Dud- 
ing.ston,  and  the  citizens  of  Rhode  Island 
resolved  to  take  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  On  the 
ninth  of  June,  1772,  the  Providence  packet, 
a  swift  sailer,  was  passing  up  the  bay  when 
she  was  hailed  by  the  "  Gaspe."     She  paid 


n 


^ 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDEN'CE. 


343 


no  attention  to  the  hail,  and  bcin.;  of  lic;ht 
draught,  stood  in  near  the  shore.  The 
"  Gaspe '  gave  chase,  and,  attempting  to 
follow  her,  ran  aground  on  Namquit,  a  short 
distance  below  Pautuxet.  Th«"  tide  failing 
soon,  left  her  fast.  The  news  of  her  disaster 
tvas  conveyed  to  Providence  by  the  packet, 
and  a  plan  was  at  once  matured  for  her 
destruction. 

On  the  following  night  a  party  of  men  in 
si.K  or  seven  boats,  led  by  John  Brown,  a 
leading  merchant  of  Providence,  Captain 
Abraham  Whipple,  of  Providence,  Simeon 
Potter,  of  Bristol,  and  others,  left  Providence 
and  dropped  down  towards  the  position  of 
the  "  Gaspe."  They  were  disco\ered  as 
they  approached,  and  were  hailed  by  Dud- 
ingston.  O  le  of  the  party  in  the  boats  fired 
and  Dudingston  fell  wounded.  The  schooner 
was  then  boarded  without  opposition,  her 
crew  were  set  ashore,  and  the  "  Gaspe  "  was 
set  on  fire  and  burned  to  the  water's  edge. 
A  large  reward  was  offered  for  the  perpetrat- 
ors of  this  bold  act.  All  were  known  in 
Providence,  but  in  spite  of  this,  the  royal 
officials  were  not  able  to  secure  the  appre- 
hension of  any  of  them  The  secret  was 
faithfully  kept. 

Objections   Are  Useless. 

The  non-importation  associations  had, 
upon  the  repeal  of  the  duties  we  have  men- 
tioned, limited  their  opposition  to  the  use  of 
tea,  and  the  East  India  Company  in  England 
found  itself  burdened  with  an  enormous 
stock  of  tea,  which  it  could  not  dispose  of  as 
usual  in  consequence  of  the  cessation  of 
sales  in  America.  The  company  therefore 
proposed  to  pay  all  the  duties  on  the  tea  in 
England  and  ship  it  to  America  at  its  own 
risk,  hoping  that  the  fact  of  there  being  no 
duty  to  pay  in  America  would  induce  the 
colonists  to  purchase  it. 

This  plan  met  the  determined  opposition 
of  the  king,  who  would  not  consent  to  re- 


linquish the  assertion  of  his  right  to  tax  the 
Americans.  Lord  North  could  not  under- 
stand th.'='  it  was  not  the  amount  of  the  tax, 
but  the  principle  involved  in  it,  that  was 
o[)posed  by  the  Americans,  and  he  proposed 
that  the  East  India  Company  should  pay 
ihrce-foiirths oi t\\Q  duty  in  E'lgland,  leaving 
the  other  fourth — about  three  pence  on  a 
pound — to  be  collected  in  America.  His 
lordship  was  told  plainly  that  the  Americans 
would  not  purchase  the  tea  on  these  condi- 
tions, but  he  answered:  "  It  is  to  no  pur- 
pose the  making  objections,  for  the  king  will 
have  it  so.  The  king  means  to  try  the 
question  with  the  Americans." 

Trouble  About  Tea. 

There  were  men  in  America  who  fully 
understood  that  the  king  meant  "  to  try  the 
question  with  the  Americans,"  and  were  will- 
ing the  trial  should  come.  Samuel  Adams 
was  satisfied  as  to  what  would  be  the  result, 
and  was  diligently  working  to  prepare  the 
people  for  it.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  public  opinion  in  America  daily 
assume  a  more  enlightened  and  determined 
condition.  A  convention  of  all  the  colonies 
for  taking  action  for  a  common  resistance 
seemed  to  him  a  necessity,  and  he  sent  forth 
circulars  to  the  various  provinces  urging 
them  to  assert  their  rights  upon  every  pos- 
sible occasion,  and  to  combine  for  mutual 
support  and  protection. 

The  news  of  the  agreement  between  the 
East  India  Company  and  the  government 
for  the  exportation  of  tea  increased  the  de- 
termination of  the  colonists  to  resist  the  tax. 
It  was  also  resolved  that  the  tea  should 
neither  be  landed  nor  sold.  A  meeting  was 
held  in  Pliiladelphia  and  resolutions  were 
passed  requesting  those  to  whom  the  tea 
was  consigned  "  to  resign  their  appoint- 
ments." It  was  also  resolved  that  whosoever 
should  "  aid  or  abet  in  unloading,  receiving, 


3;'^ 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


or  vending  the  tea"  should  be  regarded  "  as 
an  enemy  to  his  country."  Meetings  of  a 
similar  nature  were  held  in  New  York  and 
Charleston,  and  similar  resolutions  were 
adopted. 

A  fast-sailing  vessel  reached  Boston  about 
the  first  of  November,  1773,  with  the  news 
that  several  ships  laden  with  tea  had  sailed 
from  England  to  America.  On  the  third  of 
November  a  meeting  was  held  at  Faneuil 
Hall,  and,  on  motion  of  Samuel  Adams,  it 
was  unanimously  resolved  to  send  the  tea 
back  upon  its  arrival.  A  man  in  the  crowd 
cried  out :  "  The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  it  is 
to  throw  it  overboard."  The  meeting  in- 
vited the  consignees  of  the  tea  to  resign  their 
appointments.  Two  of  these  men  were  sons 
of  Governor  Hutchinson,  who  was  intensely 
hated  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts  be- 
cause of  his  double-faced  policy,  which  had 
been  detected  and  exposed  by  Dr.  Franklin. 
Until  this  discovery  Hutchinson  had  induced 
the  people  of  Massachusetts  to  believe  that 
he  was  their  best  friend,  when  in  reality  he 
had  suggested  to  the  British  government 
nearly  all  the  unjust  measures  that  had  been 
directed  against  that  colony. 

An  Ominous  Silence. 

The  first  of  the  tea  ships  reached  Boston 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  November,  1773.  A 
meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held  at  Faneuil 
Hall,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the  vessel 
should  be  moored  to  the  wharf,  and  a  guard 
of  twenty-five  citizens  was  placed  over  her  to 
see  that  no  tea  was  removed.  The  owner  of 
the  vessel  agreed  to  send  the  cargo  back  if 
the  governor  would  give  his  permit  for  the 
vessel  to  leave  Boston.  This  the  governor 
withheld,  and  in  the  meantime  two  other 
ships  arrived  with  cargoes  of  tea  and  were 
ordered  to  anchor  beside  the  first  The  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  meeting  of  citizens 
waited  on  the  consignees,  but  obtained  no 
satisfaction  from  them. 


The  law  required  that  the  tea  must  be 
landed  within  twenty  days  after  its  arrival,  or 
be  seized  for  non-payment  of  duties.  The 
consignees  and  the  governor  had  determined 
to  wait  until  the  expiration  of  this  time,  when 
the  royal  authorities  would  seize  the  tea  and 
remove  it  beyond  the  reach  of  the  citizens. 
The  duties  could  then  be  paid  and  the  tea 
landed  an.  sold.  Their  intentions  were 
fully  understood  by  the  patriots.  When 
the  committee  made  its  report  to  the  meet- 
ing of  citizens,  it  was  received  in  a  dead 
silence,  and  the  meeting  adjourned  without 
taking  any  action  upon  it.  This  ominous 
silence  alarmed  the  consignees.  Hutchin- 
son's two  sons  fled  to  the  fort  and  placed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
troops,  while  the  governor  quietly  left  the 
city. 

Tea  Thrown  Overboard. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  December  another 
meeting  was  held.  The  next  day  the  time 
allowed  by  law  would  expire,  and  the  tea 
would  be  placed  under  the  protection  of  the 
fort  and  the  armed  ships  in  the  harbor.  The 
owner  h:,d  gone  to  see  the  governor,  at 
Milton,  to  obtain  a  pass  for  his  vessels,  with- 
out which  they  could  not  leave  the  harbor. 
This  the  governor  refused,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  not  a  proper  clearance.  He  re- 
turned to  Boston  late  in  the  evening  and  re- 
ported the  result  o.'  his  mission  to  the  meet- 
ing. Then  Samuel  Adams  arose  and  gave 
the  signal  for  the  action  that  had  been  de- 
termined upon  by  saying :  "  This  meeting 
can  do  nothing  more  to  save  the  country." 

Instantly  a  shout  rang  through  the  room, 
and  a  band  of  forty  or  fifty  men  "dressed 
like  Mohawk  Indians,"  with  their  faces 
blackened  to  prevent  recognition,  hastened 
from  the  meeting  to  the  wharf  where  the 
ships  were  moored.  A  guard  was  posted  to 
prevent  the  intrusion  of  spies,  and  the  ships 


CAUSES    or'   THE    STRUGCiLl'.    FOR    INDEPENDEXXE. 


347 


were  at  once  seized.  Three  hundred  and 
forty-two  chests  of  tea  were  broken  open  and 
their  contents  poured  into  the  water.  The 
affair  was  witnessed  in  silence  by  a  large 
crowd  on  the  shore.  When  the  destruction 
of  the  tea  was  completed,  the  "  Indians  "  and 
,ttie  crowd  dispersed  to  their  homes.  Paul 
jKevere  was  despatched  by  the  patriot  lead- 
ers to  carry  the  news  to  New  York  and 
Vhiiadelphia. 


compel  the  Americans  to  submit  to  the  au- 
thority of  Great  Britain.  Boston,  in  particu- 
lar, was  to  be  made  a  terrible  example  to  the 
rest  of  the  colonies.  A  bill  was  introduced 
into  Parliament,  and  passed  by  a  majority  of 
four  to  one,  closing  the  port  of  Boston  to  all 
commerce,  and  transferring  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment to  Salem.  The  British  ministry 
boasted  that  with  ten  thousand  regulars  they 
ci'uld  "  niarcli  thr.ur.rh  the  continent,"  and 


THKOWIXG    THE    TEA    OVER 

At  New  York  and  Philadelphia  the  people 
would  not  allow  the  tea  to  be  landed,  and  at 
Charleston  it  was  stored  in  damp  cellars, 
where  the  whole  cargo  was  soon  ruined.  At 
Annapolis  a  ship  and  its  cargo  were  burned  ; 
the  owner  of  the  vessel  himself  setting  fire  to 
the  ship. 

The  British  government  was  greatly  in- 
censed at  the  refusal  of  the  colonists  to  allow 
the  tea    to    be  landed,    and    determined  to 


BOARD    IN    BO-STON    HARBOR. 

they  were  resolved  to  bring  America  to  hei 
knees  and  make  her  confess  her  fault  in  dust 
and  humiliation. 

In  addition  to  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  Parlia- 
ment passed  other  measures  of  equal  severity. 
By  one  of  these  the  royal  officers  were  ordered 
to  quarter  the  troops  sent  out  from  England 
on  all  the  colonies  at  the  people's  expense ; 
another  provided  that  if  any  officer,  in  the 
execution   of   the    Quartering  Act,  should 


348 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


commit  an  act  of  violence,  he  should  be  sent 
to  England  for  trial.  The  deliberate  pur- 
pose of  this  last  act  was  to  encourage  the 
military  and  other  officials  to  acts  ofviolence 
and  oppression  by  shielding  them  from  pun- 
ishment in  America.  The  liberties  of  the 
American  people  were  thus  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  every  petty  official  bearing  a  royal 
commission.  Another  law,  known  as  the 
"  Quebec  Act,"  granted  unusual  concessions 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Canada,  in  order 
to  attach  them  to  the  royal  cause  in  the  event 
of  a  collision  between  England  and  her  colo- 


Help  for  the  Patriots. 

Boston  was  largely  dependent  upon  her 
•commerce,  and  the  closing  of  her  harbor 
entirely  destroyed  her  trade  and  brought 
great  loss  and  suffering  to  her  people.  The 
outrage  to  which  she  was  thus  subjected  was 
resented  by  the  whole  country,  and  evidences 
of  sympathy  poured  in  upon  her  from  every 
quarter.  Salem  refused  to  allow  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  seat  of  government  within 
her  limits,  and  ciTered  the  use  of  her  port  to 
the  merchants  of  Boston  free  of  charge. 
Marblehead  made  a  similar  offer.  Large 
numbers  of  the  people  of  Boston  were 
thrown  out  of  emploj-ment  by  the  closing  of 
Boston  harbor,  and  their  families,  left  help- 
less, suffered  considerably. 

The  various  colonies  came  forward 
promptly  to  their  relief.  The  neighboring 
towns  sent  in  provisions  and  other  neces- 
■saries  of  life,  and  money  was  subscribed  in 
other  parts  of  the  country.  South  Carolina 
sent  to  Boston  two  hundred  barrels  of  rice, 
and  promised  eight  hundred  more  when  they 
were  wanted.  North  Carolina  sent  a  contri- 
bution of  two  thousand  pounds  in  money, 
and  money  and  provisions  were  sent  from 
Virginia  and  Maryland.  In  the  former  colo- 
ny, the  farmers  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  raised 


a  contribution  of  one  hundred  and  thiity 
seven  barrels  of  flour  and  sent  it  to  Boston. 
Even  the  city  of  London  sent  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  the  relief  of 
Boston.  Cheered  by  these  evidences  of  sym- 
pathy, Boston  resolved  to  hold  out  to  the 
end. 

One  of  the  first  and  most  determined  of  the 
colonies  in  expressing  her  sympathy  for 
Massachusetts  was  Virginia.  Upon  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  news  of  the  closing  of  the  port 
of  Boston,  the  assembly  of  this  colony  passed 
resolutions  of  sympathy  with  Ma.ssachusetts, 
and  appointed  the  first  of  June,  the  day 
designated  for  the  enforcement  of  the  Port 
Bill,  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  For 
this  bold  action  the  governor  dissolved  (ho 
assembl)'. 

General  Gage  Appointed  Governor. 

It  met  the  next  day — May  25th — in  spite 
of  Governor  Dunmore's  prohibition,  in  the 
coffee-room  of  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  and  de- 
clared that  an  attack  on  Massachusetts  was 
an  attack  on  every  other  colony  and  ought 
to  be  opposed  by  the  united  wisdom  of  all. 
The  assembly  urged  that  a  general  congress 
of  all  the  colonies  should  be  held  to  take 
united  action  for  the  redress  of  grievances, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  corres- 
pond with  the  other  colonies  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  about  this  congress.  The  first 
of  June  was  rigidly  observed  in  Virginia  as  a 
fast  day.  George  Mason  charged  his  family 
to  be  careful  to  attend  church  on  that  day 
clad  in  mourning. 

In  the  meantime  Hutchinson  had  been 
replaced  as  governor  of  Massachusetts  by 
General  Gage,  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  British  army  in  Ncrth  America.  He 
landed  in  Boston  on  the  seventeenth  of  May, 
1774,  and  was  well  received  by  the  people.  | 
He  was  a  man  of  mild  character  and  great' 
good-nature,  and  utterly  unfit  for  the  task  of 


CAUSES   OF   THE   STRUGG 

coercing  a  free  people.  The  determined  at- 
titude of  the  patriots  bewildered  him.  He 
brought  with  him  instructions  for  "  the  seiz- 
ure and  condign  punishment  of  Samuel 
Adams,  John  Hancock,  Joseph  Warren  and 
other  leading  patriots,  but  he  stood  in  such 
dread  of  them  that  he  never  so  much  as 
attempted  their  arrest." 
He  was  greatly  per- 
plexed to  know  how  to 
manage  the  people  of 
Boston.  It  was  clear  to 
him  that  they  intended 
to  resist  the  injustice  of 
the  mother  countr)-,  but 
they  kept  so  carefully 
within  the  law  that  he 
could  not  take  hold  of 
their  acts.  They  held 
meetings  and  discussed 
their  grievances,  but  vio- 
lated no  law,  and  dis- 
countenanced violence 
of  all  kinds.  He  was 
authorized  by  the  British 
government  to  fire  upon 
the  colonists  whenever 
he  should  see  fit;  but 
their  prudent  and  peace- 
ful course  gave  him  no 
opportunity  for  so  doing. 
The  government  at 
length  undertook  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  town  meet- 
ings of  the  Americans  by 
forbidding  them  to  hold 
such  meetings  after  a  cer- 
tain day.  They  evaded 
this  law  by  convoking  the  meetings  before  the 
designated  day,  and  "  keeping  them  alive"  by 
adjourning  them  from  time  to  time.  Fancuil 
Hall  and  the  Old  South  Church  were  the 
favorite  places  of  meeting,  but  many  of  these 
assemblies  were  held  under  the  Liberty  Tree. 


LE   FOR   INDEPENDENCE.  349 

In  the  meantime  the  recommendation  of 
Virginia  for  a  general  congress  was  accepted 
by  the  other  colonies,  and  measures  were  set 
on  foot  to  bring  it  about.  The  need  of  such 
an  assembly,  which  should  represent  the 
whole  country,  was  becoming  more  and 
more  apparent  every  day.     In  the  various 


colonies  delegates  were  chosen,  and  it 
was  agreed,  at  the  instance  of  the  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts,  that  the  congress 
should  meet  in  Philadelphia  on  the  fifth 
of  September,  1774.  Martin,  the  royalist 
governor  of  Georgia,  prevented  that  colony 


350 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


from  choosing  delegates  to  the  congress, 
and  General  Gage  attempted  a  similar  inter- 
ference with  the  general  court  of  Massachu- 
setts. Samuel  Adams,  as  usual,  had  antici- 
pated him,  however.  On  the  seventeenth  of 
June,  having  privately  ascertained  the  senti- 
ments of  the  members,  he  locked  the  door 
of  the  room  in  which  the  meeting  of  the 
assembly  was  held,  and  so  kept  out  the 
governor's  secretary,  who  came  to  dissolve 
the  session,  and  who  knocked  in  vain  for 
admission.  Thus,  safe  from  executive  inter- 
ference, the  general  court  proceeded  to  ap- 
point ils  delegates  to  the  congress  and  to 
make  provision  for  their  support.  This  ac- 
complished, the  doors  were  opened  and  the 
members  submitted  to  the  dissolution  pro- 
nounced by  Governor  Gage. 

Organized  Opposition. 

The  act  of  Parliament  by  which  the  British 
government  undertook  to  prohibit  the  town 
meetings  of  Massachusetts  was  known  as  the 
"  Regulation  Act."  It  was  introduced  into 
Parliament  by  Lord  North  in  April,  and  re- 
ceived the  royal  assent  in  May,  1754.  It 
was  an  infamous  measure.  It  annulled  the 
charter  of  the  colony,  and  "  without  previous 
notice  to  Massachusetts,  and  without  a  hear- 
ing, it  arbitrarily  took  awsy  rights  and  lib- 
erties which  the  people  had  enjoyed  from  the 
foundation  of  the  colony,  except  in  the  evil 
days  of  James  II."  All  the  power  of  the 
colony  was  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  the 
royal  governor  bv  conferring  upon  him  the 
appointment  of  all  the  courts  of  justice  and 
every  official  connected  with  them.  The 
courts  were  all  to  be  remodelled  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  king,  and  Gage  at  once  set  to 
work  to  appoint  the  new  judges. 

The  whole  colony  united  in  a  determined 
resistance  to  them.  In  many  of  the  towns 
the  citizens  would  not  allow  the  new  courts 
to  be  opened,  and  in  Boston  no  man  could  be 


found  to  serve  as  a  juror  in  the  courts  ap- 
pointed for  that  city.  A  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Boston  was  held  at  Faneuil  Plall  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  August,  1774,  and  was 
attended  by  delegates  from  the  counties  of 
Worcester,  Middlesex  and  Essex.  It  adopted 
a  series  of  resolutions  denying  the  authority 
of  Parliament  to  change  any  of  the  laws  of  the 
province,  and  declared  that  the  new  govern- 
ment set  up  by  Gage  under  the  Regulating 
Act  was  unconstitutional,  and  that  the  new 
officers,  should  they  attempt  to  act,  would 
become  the  enemies  of  the  province  although 
they  bore  the  commission  of  the  king. 

The  People  Aroused. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  the 
colony  a  provincial  congress  with  large  ex- 
ecutive powers  was  advised  by  the  conven- 
tion. Gage  found  himself  unable  to  enforce 
the  new  laws.  "  The  chief  justice  and  his 
colleagues,  repairing  in  a  body  to  the  gov- 
ernor, represented  the  impossibility  of  exer- 
cising their  office  in  Boston  or  in  any  other 
part  of  the  province;  the  army  was  too 
small  for  their  protection;  and  besides,  none 
would  act  as  jurors.  Thus  the  authority  of 
the  new  government,  as  established  by  act 
of  Parliament,  perished  in  the  presence  of 
the  governor,  the  judges  and  the  army."* 
Thus  defeated,  Gage  began  to  increase  the 
number  of  troops  at  Boston. 

On  the  first  of  September  Gage  sent  a  de- 
tachment to  Quarry  Hill,  near  Charlestown, 
and  seized  the  public  magazine  in  which  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  kept  its  powder 
for  its  militia,  and  brought  it  to  Boston.  The 
news  of  this  seizure  roused  the  people  of  the 
surrounding  counties  to  a  high  state  of  in- 
dignation. A  body  of  several  thousand  of 
the  best  citizens  of  Middlesex,  "  leaving  their 
guns  in  the  rear,"   marched  to  Cambridge  to 


CAUSES  OF  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE. 


protest  against  tlie  outrage.  They  com- 
pelled Dan-^Dith,  a  county  judge  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Gage's  council ;  Phipps,  the  high 
sheriff;  and  Oliver,  the  lieutenant-governor, 
to  resign  their  places.  They  attempted  no 
violence,  and  inasmuch  as  Gage  had  acted 
within  the  letter  of  the  law  in  removing  the 
powder,  dispersed  quietly,  satisfied  for  the 
time  with  their  protest.  Their  demonstra- 
tion thoroughly  alarmed  Gage,  who  kept  the 
troops  in  Boston  under  arms  all  night, 
posted  cannon  to  command  the  approaches 
to  the  town,  and  doubled  all  the  guards.  At 
the  same  time  he  wrote 
to  England  for  reinforce- 
ments. 

The  news  of  the  seiz- 
ure of  the  Massachusetts 
powder  spread  rapidly 
through  the  province  and 
into  the  adjoining  colo- 
nies. The  seizure  was 
made  on  Thursday  morn- 
ing, an^  by  Saturday 
morning  twenty  thou- 
sand men  were  under 
arms  and  advancing 
upon  Boston.  They  were 
stopped  by  expresses 
from  the  patriots  at 
Boston,  but  their  prompt 
action  showed  the  spirit  of  the  province. 
When  the  news  reached  Israel  Putnam, 
in  his  home  in  Connecticut,  the  old  hero 
at  once  called  on  the  militia  to  go  with 
him  to  the  aid  of  Boston,  where  the  report 
said  the  people  had  been  fired  on  by  the 
royal  troops  and  shipping.  His  call  was 
answered  by  thousands,  but  later  advices 
from  Boston  put  a  stop  to  the  march. 

"But  for  counter  intelligence,"  wrote  Put- 
nam to  the  patriots  at  Boston,  "  we  should 
have  had  forty  thousand  men,  well  equipped 
and  ready  to  mnrch  this  morning.     Send  a 


351 
corn- 


written  express  to  the  foreman  of  tl; 
mittee  when  you  have  occasion  of  our 
martial  assistance ;  we  shall  attend  your 
summons,  and  shall  glory  in  having  a  share 
in  the  honor  of  ridding  our  country  of  the 
yoke  of  tyranny  which  our  forefathers  have 
not  borne,  neither  will  we.  And  we  much 
desire  you  to  keep  a  strict  guard  over  the 
remainder  of  your  powder,  for  that  must  be 
the  great  means,  under  God,  of  the  salvation 
of  our  country." 

The  excitement  was  not  without  its  good 
results,  however.     It  led  every  man  to  ex- 


CARPENTERS    HALL,    PHILADELPHL\. 


amine  the  condition  of  his  means  of  resist- 
ance, and  to  suppl}'  his  deficiencies  in  arms 
and  equipments.  The  royal  authority  was 
at  an  end  outside  of  Boston,  and  active  roy- 
alists found  it  best  to  seek  safety  within  that 
city. 

The  general  congress,  or,  as  it  is  better 
known,  the  Old  Continental  Congress,  met 
in  Carpenter's  Hall,  in  Philadelphia,  on  the 
fifth  of  September,  1774.  It  numbered  fifty- 
five  members,  consisting  of  delegates  from 
every  colony  save  Georgia,  whose  governor 
had    prevented    the    election    of  delegates. 


352 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Among  the  members  were  many  of  the  most 
eminent  men  in  the  land.  From  Virginia 
came  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry 
and  Richard  Henry  Lee;  from  Maisachu- 
setts,  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Adams  ;  from 
New  York,  Philip  Livingston,  John  Jay  and 
Wilham  Livingston;  from  Rhode  Island, 
the  venerable  Stephen  Hopkins ;  from  Con- 
necticut, Roger  Sherman ;  from  South  Caro- 
lina, Edward  and  John  Rutledge  and  Chris- 
topher Gadsden  ;  and  from  New  Jersey,  the 
Rev.  John  Witherspoon,  the  president  of 
Princeton  College.  The  members  of  this 
illustrious  body  were  not  strangers  to  each 
other,  though  the  majority  of  them  met  now 
for  the  first  time.  They  had  corresponded 
with  each  other  and  had  discussed  their 
wrongs  so  thoroughly  that  each  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  sentiments  of  his  col- 
leagues, and  all  were  bound  together  by  a 
common  sympathy. 

Prayer  and  Patriotism. 

The  congress  was  organized  by  the  elec- 
tion of  Peyton  Randoljih,  of  Virginia,  as 
speaker.  Charles  Thomson,  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  the  principal 
of  the  Quaker  High  School  in  Philadelphia, 
was  then  chosen  secretary.  It  was  proposed 
to  open  the  sessions  with  prayer.  Some  of 
the  members  thought  this  might  be  inexpe- 
dient, as  all  the  delegates  might  not  be  able 
to  join  in  the  same  form  of  worship.  Up 
rose  Samuel  Adams,  in  whose  great  soul 
there  was  not  a  grain  of  sham.  He  was  a 
strict  Congregationalist.  "  I  am  no  bigot," 
he  said.  "  I  can  hear  a  prayer  from  a  man 
^f  piety  and  virtue,  whatever  may  be  his 
cloth,  provided  he  is  at  the  same  time  a 
friend  to  his  country."  On  his  motion,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Duche,  an  Episcopal  clergyman  of 
Philadelphia,  was  invited  to  act  as  chaplain. 
'Mr.  Duche  accepted  the  invitation. 

When  the  congre-;s  a-^sembled  the  ne,xt 
morning,  all  was  anxiety  and  apprehension. 


for  the  rumor  of  the  attack  upon  Boston, 
which  had  reached  Putnam  and  aroused 
Connecticut,  had  gotten  as  far  as  Philadel- 
phia. The  chaplain  opened  the  session  by 
reading  the  thirty-fifth  Psalm,  which  seemed, 
as  John  Adams  said,  ordained  by  Heaven  to 
be  read  that  morning,  and  then  broke  forth 
into  an  extempore  prayer  of  great  fervor  and 
eloquence. 

A  Recital  of  Wrongs. 

At  the  close  of  the  prayer  a  deep  silence 
prevailed  in  the  hall.  It  was  broken  by 
Patrick  Henry,  who  rose  to  open  the  day's 
proceedings.  He  began  slowly  and  hesi- 
tatingly at  first,  "  as  if  borne  down  by  the 
weight  of  his  subject,"  but  as  he  proceeded 
he  rose  grandly  to  the  duty  of  the  occasion, 
and  in  a  speech  of  masterly  eloquence  he  re- 
cited the  wrongs  of  the  American  colonies  at 
the  hands  of  Great  Britain,  and  declared  that 
all  government  in  America  was  dissolved, 
and  urged  upon  the  congress  the  necessity, 
of  forming  a  new  government  for  the  colo- 
nies.  Towards  the  close  of  his  speech  he 
struck  a  chord  which  answered  in  every 
heart.  "  British  oppression,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  has  effaced  the  boundaries  of  the  several 
colonics ;  the  distinctions  between  Virgin- 
ians, Pennsylvanians,  New  Yorkers  and  New 
Englanders  are  no  more.  I  am  not  a  Vir- 
ginian, but  an  American."  The  deputies 
were  astonished  at  his  eloquence,  as  well  as 
at  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  with  which 
they  were  intrusted. 

The  congress  continued  its  sessions  for 
seven  weeks.  It  had  no  authority  to  bind 
the  colonies  to  any  course;  its  powers  were 
merely  advisory,  and  it  did  not  transcend  its 
authority.  It  drew  up  a  Declaration  oi 
Rights,  in  which  it  defined  the  latural  rights 
of  man  to  be  the  enjoyment  of  life,  liberty 
and  property.  It  claimed  for  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  British  subjects,  the  right  to  partici- 


CAUSES   OF   THE   STRUGGLE   I'OR   IXDEPI-.NDICNCE 


353 


pate  in  the  making  of  their  laws,  and  the 
le\\in<j  of  taxes  upon  tlieir  own  people. 
The  right  of  trial  by  jury  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  scene  of  the  alleges.!  offence, 
and  the  right  of  holding  public  meetings 
and  petitioning  for  the  redress  of  grievan.:es 
were  solemnly  asserted.  A  protest  was 
entered  against  the  maintaining  of  standing 
armies  in  America  without  the  consent  of 
the  colonies,  and  against  eleven  specified 
acts  passed  since  the  opening  of  the  reign  of 
George  III.,  as  violative  of  the  rights  of  the 
colonies.  The  declaration  concluded  with 
the  solemn  warning,  "  To  these  grievous 
acts  and  measures  Americans  cannot  sub- 
mit." 

Prompt  Measures. 

Congress  then  addressed  itself  to  a  plan 
for  obtaining  redress.  It  was  agreed  to 
form  an  "American  Association,"  whose 
members  were  to  pledge  themselves  not  to 
trade  with  Great  Britain  or  the  West  Indies, 
or  with  persons  engaged  in  the  slave  trade  ; 
not  to  use  tea  or  any  British  goods  ;  and  not 
to  trade  with  any  colony  which  should  re- 
fuse to  join  the  association.  For  the  purpose 
of  enforcing  the  objects  of  this  association, 
committees  were  to  be  appointed  in  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  country  to  see  that  its 
provisions  were  carried  into  effect. 

Other  papers  were  adopted  by  the  con- 
gress, setting  forth  its  views  more  clearly. 
A  petition  to  the  king  was  prepared  by 
John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  also 
drafted  an  address  to  the  people  of  Canada. 
A  memorial  to  the  people  of  the  colonies 
was  written  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  by  John  Jay,  of  New  York.  These 
papers  were  forwarded  to  England  to  be  laid 
before  the  British  government,  and  on  tlie 
twenty-sixth  of  October  the  congress  ad- 
journed to  ireet  on  the  tenth  of  May,  1773. 
23 


In  January,  1775,  Lord  North  presented 
the  papers  adopted  by  congress  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  at  the  same  time 
tiiey  were  laid  before  the  House  of  Lords 
by  Lord  Dartmouth.  The  venerable  Earl  of 
Chatham  made  this  the  occasion  of  a  jjower- 
ful  appeal  to  the  majority  in  Parliament  to 
reverse  their  arbitrary  course  towards  the 
Americans  before  it  should  be  too  late. 

Referring  to  the  papers  laid  before  the 
House,  he  said :  "  When  your  lordships 
look  at  the  papers  transmitted  us  from 
America,  when  you  consider  their  decency, 
firmness  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but  respec" 
their  cause  and  wish  to  make  it  your  own. 
For  myself,  I  must  avow,  that  in  all  my 
reading — and  I  have  read  Thucydides,  and 
have  studied  and  admired  the  master  states 
of  the  world — for  solidity  of  reason,  force  of 
sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  conclusion  under  a 
complication  of  difficult  circumstances,  no 
nation  or  body  of  men  can  stand  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  general  congress  at  Philadelphia. 
The  histories  of  Greece  and  Rome  give  us 
nothing  equal  to  it,  and  all  attempts  to  im- 
pose ser\'itude  upon  such  a  mighty  conti- 
nental nation  must  be  in  vain.  We  shall  be 
forced  ultimately  to  retract ;  let  us  retract 
while  we  can,  not  when  we  must.  These 
violent  acts  must  be  repealed ;  you  will 
repeal  them  ;  I  pledge  myself  for  it,  I  stake 
my  reputation  on  it,  that  you  will  in  the  end 
repeal  them.  Avoid,  then,  this  humiliating 
necessity." 

The  king  was  furious  when  the  words  of 
the  greatest  statesman  of  his  kingdom  were 
repeated  to  him.  Neither  the  wisdom  nor 
the  eloquence  of  Chatham  could  turn  the 
king  or  the  ministers  from  their  mad 
course.  They  had  but  one  plan  for  Amer- 
ica now.  She  must  submit  humbly  to  their 
will ;  if  she  should  resist,  she  must  be 
crushed  into  submission.  The  king  meant 
to  try  the  question  with  the  Americans. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


Progress  of  the  War 

iage  Fortifies  Boston  Neck — He  Summons  the  General  Court — Recalls  Lis  Proclamation — The  Provincial  Congress 
of  Massachusi-tts — It  takes  Measures  for  Defence — The  Militia  Organized — The  Minute  Men — Friends  of  America  in 
England— Gage  Resolves  to  Seize  the  Stores  at  Concord— Midnight  March  of  the  British  Troops— The  Alarm  Given— 
.skirmishes  at  Lexington  and  Concord— Retreat  of  the  Briti<;h— A  Terrible  March— Uprising  of  New  Kngland- Boston 
Invested— Dunmore  Seizes  the  Virginia  Powder — Is  Made  to  Pay  for  It — Uprising  of  the  Middle  and  Southern 
Colonies — The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence — Capture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point — Meeting  of 
the  Second  Continental  Congress — Congress  Resolves  to  Sustain  Massachusetts — Renewed  Efforts  for  Peace — Congress 
Assumes  the  General  Government  of  the  Colonies— A  Federal  Union  Organized— Its  Character— A  Continental  Army 
Formed— George  Washington  Appointed  Commander-in-Chief- General  Officers  Appointed— Condition  of  the  Army 
Before  Boston — Inaction  of  Gage — Battle  of  Breed's  Hill — A  Glorious  Defence — The  Battle  Equivalent  to  a  Victory 
in  its  Effects  u[  on  the  Country- Arrival  of  Washington  at  Cambridge — He  Takes  Command  of  the  Army — He  Reor- 
ganizes the  Anr.y — Difficulties  of  the  Undertaking — The  Invasion  of  Canada  Resolved  Upon — March  of  Montgomery 
and  Arnold— Rapid  Successes  of  Montgomery— He  Captures  Montreal— March  of  Arnrild  Through  the  Wilderness- 
Arrival  Before  Quebec— Forms  a  Junction  with  MontLOnery — The  Siege  of  Quebec — The  Ice  Forts — Failure  of  the 
Attack — Death  of  Montgomei7^Retreat  of  the  Americms  from  Canada — Lord  Dunmore's  War  in  Virginia — Destruc- 
tion of  Norfolk— The  Thirteen  United  Colonies— Burning  of  Falmouth— Naval  Matters — Action  of  Great  Britain— 
The  War  to  be  Carri.>d  On— The  Hessians. 


WHlLf,  the  Continental  Congress 
was  in  session,  matters  were 
in  a  most  serious  state  in 
Massachusetts.  General  Gage, 
alarmed  by  the  threatening  aspect  of  the 
Americans,  began  to  fortify  Boston  Neck, 
the  narrow  peninsula  which  united  the  city 
with  the  mainland.  A  regiment  was  stationed 
at  these  works  to  prevent  communication 
between  the  citizens  and  the  people  in  the 
country.  Tiie  news  of  this  action  spread 
rapidly.  At  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
?.  company  of  volunteers  seized  the  fort  and 
carried  off  one  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of 
powder  and  .several  cannon.  At  Newport 
forty-four  cannon  were  seized  by  the  people 
and  sent  to  Providence  for  safe-keeping. 

In  the  midst  of  this  e.xcitement,  Gage, 
thinking  such  a  step  might  conciliate  the 
people,  summoned  the  general  court  to  meet 
at  Salem  ;  but,  alarmed  at  the  growing  spirit 
of  liberty,  countermanded  the  order.  The 
members  of  the  general  court  met,  however, 


at  Salem,  on  the  fifth  of  October,  1774,  but 
finding  no  one  to  organize  them  adjourned 
to  Concord,  where  they  resolved  themselves 
into  a  provincial  congress,  of  which  John 
Hancock  was  elected  president.  This  con- 
gress existed  as  the  government  of  the  people, 
and  was  independent  of  the  authority  of  the 
king.  They  protested  their  loyalty  to  King_ 
George  and  their  desire  for  peace,  and  endea- 
vored to  induce  Gage  to  desist  from  fortify- 
ing Boston  Neck.  Gage  refused  to  comply 
with  their  demand,  and  warned  them  to  desist 
from  their  unlawful  course.  The  provincial 
congress  paid  no  attention  to  his  warning, 
but  proceeded  to  call  out  the  militia  to  the 
number  of  twelve  thousand.  They  were 
allowed  to  remain  at  their  homes,  but  were 
required  to  be  ready  for  service  at  a  minute's 
warning.  Hence  they  were  known  as 
"Minute  Men." 

Two  committees  of  safety  were  appointed  : 
one  to  call  out  the  minute  men  when  theii 
services  were  needed ;  the  other  to  supply 
354 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR. 


355 


them  with  provisions  and  ammunition.  Two 
general  officers,  Artemas  Ward  and  Seth 
Pomeroy,  were  appointed.  The  other  New 
England  colonies  were  invited  to  increase  the 
number  of  minute  men  to  twenty  thousand. 
The  sum  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  was 
voted  for  the  military  service,  and  Massa- 
chusetts prepared  for  the  worst.  In  every 
colony  military  preparations  were  set  on  foot, 
and  the  whole  of  America  began  to  prepare 
for  the  coming  storm  which  all  thinking  men 
now  saw  was  close  at  hand. 

The  papers  drawn  up  by  the  Continental 
Congress  had  been  widely  circulated  in  Eng- 
l?nd,  and  had  aroused  a  great  deal  of  s\-m- 
pathy  for  America,  and  it  was  hoped  by  many 
that  the  new  Parliament,  which  met  in  Janu- 
ary, 1775,  would  see  the  necessity  of  doing 
justice  to  the  colonies.  The  cause  of  America 
was  eloquently  pleaded  by  the  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham and  others,  but  the  King  and  the  Minis- 
ters were  resolved  to  compel  the  submission 
of  the  Americans,  and  the  majority  in  Parlia- 
ment sustained  them.  A  measure  known  as 
the  "  New  England  Restraining  Bill  "  was 
introduced  by  Lord  North,  which  deprived 
the  people  of  New  England  of  the  privilege 
of  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 

The  Colonies  Act  Promptly. 

In  March  news  arrived  that  all  the  colonies 
had  endorsed  the  action  of  the  Continental 
Congress  and  had  pledged  themselves  to 
support  it.  To  punish  them  the  provisions 
of  the  Restraining  Bill  were  extended  to  every 
colony  save  New  York,  Delaware  and  North 
Carolina.  These  colonies  were  exempted  in 
the  hope  of  inducing  them  to  desert  the 
American  cause.  The  measure  failed  of  its 
object,  and  the  three  favored  colonies  re- 
mained firm  in  the  support  of  the  Congress. 

General  Gage  now  resolved  to  take  a 
decisive  step.  He  learned  that  the  patriots 
had  established  a  depot  of  provisions  and 


military  stores  at  Concord,  eighteen  miles  from 
Boston,  and  resolved  to  seize  these  supplies 
at  once.  The  military  force  under  his  com- 
mand at  Boston  numbered  three  thousand 
men,  and  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  not 
only  to  seize  these  stores,  but  also  to  arrest 
John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  who  were 
lodging  at  Lexington.  Accordingly,  on  the 
night  of  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1775,  he 


THE    MINUTE    MAN. 

detached  a  force  of  eight  hundred  men  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Smith,  and  shortly  before 
midnight  had  them  conveyed  across  Charles 
River  to  Cambridge,  from  which  place  they 
began  their  march  to  Concord.  Gage  had 
conducted  the  whole  movement  with  the 
greatest  secrecy,  but  his  preparations  had 
been  detected  by  the  patriot  leaders  in  B(jston, 
and  Hanrock  and  Adam?  had  been  warned 


356 


THE   AMERICAiN    REVOLUTION. 


of  their  danger.  The  British  had  hardly 
embarked  in  their  boats  when  two  lanterns 
were  displayed  from  the  tower  of  the  Old 
North  Church. 

Paul  Revere,  the  chosen  messenger,  who 
had  been  awaiting  this  signal,  at  once  set  off 
from  Charlestown  and  rode  in  haste  to  Lex- 
ington to  warn  the  patriots  of  the  approach 
of  the   British    troops.     At   the   same   time 


not  gone  far  when  they  heard  in  advance  of 
them  the  firing  of  alarm  guns  and  the  tolling 
of  bells.  The  British  oiificers  were  astonished 
at  the  rapidity  with  which  their  movement 
had  been  discovered;  but  they  could  not 
doubt  the  meaning  of  these  signals.  The 
country  was  being  aroused,  and  their  situa- 
tion was  becoming  serious.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Smith  sent  a  messenger  to  General 


%'       i^ 


THE    BATTLE    OF    LEXINGTON,    APRIL 

William  Dawes  left  Boston  by  the  road  over 
the  Neck,  and  rode  at  full  speed  towards 
Lexington,  arousing  the  country  as  he  went 
along  with  his  stirring  tidings.  Other  mes- 
sengers were  sent  forward  by  these  men,  and 
tiic  alarm  spread  rapidly  through  thecountry. 
From  Cambridge  the  British  pushed  for 


ward  rapidly  towards  Lexington.     They  had     alarm 


9.  1775- 
Gage  for  reinforcements,  and  ordered  Major 
Pitcairn  to  push  forward  with  a  part  of  the 
force  and  seize  the  two  bridges  at  Concord. 
Pitcairn  obeyed  his  orders  promptly,  and 
arrested  every  one  whom  he  met  or  over- 
took save  a  countryman,  who  escaped  and 
reached    Lexington    in    time    to    srive    the 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR. 


357 


Pitcairn's  division  reached  Lexinj^ton  at 
daN-break  on  the  nineteenth  of  April.  The>- 
found  seventy  or  eighty  minute  men,  and 
several  other  persons,  assembled  on  the 
common.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  inten- 
tions of  the  British,  and  supposed  they  merely 
wished  to  arrest  Adams  and  Hancock,  who 
had  left  the  village  upon  the  first  alarm. 

"  Disperse,  ye  Rebels  !" 

As  he  saw  the  group  Pitcairn  ordered  his 
men  to  halt  and  load  their  muskets,  and  called 
out  to  the  Americans  :  "  Disperse,  ye  villains, 
ye  rebels,  disperse  ;  lay  down  your  arms ; 
why  don't  }ou  lay  down  your  arms  and  dis- 
perse ?"  The  Americans  stood  motionless 
and  silent,  "  witnesses  against  agression  ;  too 
few  to  resist ;  too  brave  to  fly."  Pitcairn, 
seeing  that  his  order  was  not  obeyed,  dis- 
charged his  pistol  and  ordered  his  men  to 
fire.  A  few  straggling  shots  followed  this 
order,  and  then  the  regulars  poured  a  close 
heavy  volley  into  the  Americans,  killing 
seven  and  wounding  nine  of  them.  Parker, 
the  commander  of  the  minute  men,  seeing 
that  the  affair  was  to  be  a  massacre  instead 
of  a  battle,  ordered  his  men  to  disperse.  The 
British  then  gave  three  cheers  for  their  vic- 
tory. In  a  little  while  Colonel  Smith  arrived 
with  the  remainder  of  his  command,  and  the 
whole  party  then  pushed  on  towards  Con- 
cord. 

The  alarm  had  already  reached  Concord, 
and  in  a  little  while  news  was  received  of 
the  massacre  at  Lexington.  The  minute 
men  jiromptly  assembled  on  the  common, 
near  the  church,  and  awaited  the  approach 
of  the  enemy.  The  minute  men  from  Lin- 
coln came  in  at  an  early  hour,  and  a  few 
from  Acton.  About  seven  o'clock  the  British 
were  seen  advancing  in  two  divisions,  and  as 
it  was  evident  that  they  were  about  four 
times  as  numerous  as  the  Americans,  the 
latter  retreated   to  the  summit  of  a  hill  on 


the  opposite  side  of  the  Concord  River,  and 
there  awaited  the  arrival  of  reinforcements, 
which  were  coming  in  from  the  surrounding 
countr}\ 

The  British  occupied  the  town,  and  post- 
ing a  force  of  one  hundred  men  to  hold  the 
North  Bridge,  began  their  search  for  arms 
and  stores.  The  greater  part  of  these  had 
been  secreted,  but  the  soldiers  found  a  few 
that  could  not  be  removed,  and  gave  the 
rest  of  their  time  to  plundering  the  houses 
of  the  town.  "  This  slight  waste  of  stores," 
says  Bancroft,  "  was  all  the  advantage  for 
which  Gage  precipitated  a  civil  war." 

Arrival  of  the  Minute  Men. 

Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  the  Ameri- 
can force  had  increased  by  the  arrival  of  the 
minute  men  from  Acton,  Bedford,  Westford, 
Carlisle,  Littleton  and  Chelmsford,  to  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty.  Below  them,  in  full 
view,  were  the  regulars  plundering  their 
homes,  and  from  the  town  rose  the  smoke  of 
the  fires  the  soldiers  had  kindled  for  the 
destruction  of  the  few  stores  they  had  man 
aged  to  secure.  Not  knowing  whether  they 
meant  to  burn  the  town  or  not,  the  officers 
of  the  minute  men  resolved  to  advance  and 
enter  Concord.  Barret,  the  commanding 
officer,  cautioned  the  men  not  to  fire  unless 
attacked.  As  their  approach  was  discovered 
the  British  began  to  take  up  the  planks  of 
the  North  Bridge,  and  to  prevent  this  the 
Americans  quickened  their  pace.  The  regu- 
lars then  fired  a  volley,  which  killed  two  of 
the  minute  men.  The  fire  was  returned,  and 
two  of  the  soldiers  were  killed  and  several 
woLMided.  These  volleys  were  followed  by 
some  desultory  skirmishing,  and  about  noon 
Colonel  Smith  drew  off  his  men  and  began 
to  retreat  by  the  way  he  had  come. 

One  of  those  killed  at  the  bridge  was 
Isaac  Davis,  the  captain  of  the  minute  men 
of  Acton.     He  had  bidden  his  young  wife  a 


358 

touching  good-bye,  as  he  ran  to  lead  his 
men  to  the  fight.  A  little  later  his  dead 
body  was  brought  to  her  door. 

With  the  retreat  of  the  British  from  Con- 
cord the  real  work  of  tlie  day  began.  The 
[Country  was  thoroughly  aroused,  and  men 
'came  pouring  in  from  every  direction,  eager 
to  get  a  shot  at  the  regulars.  The  road  by 
which  the  ro\-al  forces  were  retreating  was 
narrow  and  crooked,  and  led  through  forests 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


the  strife  as  the  regulars  entered  its  limits. 
Far  and  wide  the  alarm  was  spreading 
through  the  country,  and  the  people  were 
getting  under  arms.  By  noon  a  messenger 
rode  furiously  into  the  distant  town  of  Wor- 
cester and  shouted  the  alarm.  Instantly  the 
minute  men  of  the  town  got  under  arms,  and 
after  joining  their  minister  in  prayer,  on  the 
common,  took  up  the  march  for  Cambridge. 
The    whole   province    was    rising,  and    the 


>--i^%^c 


DEATH    OF    ISAAC    DAVIS. 


and  thickets,  and  was  bordered  by  the  stone 
walls  which  enclosed  the  farms.  At  every 
step  the  militia  and  minute  men  hung  upon 
the  enemy,  and  kept  up  an  irregular  but 
'fatal  fire  upon  them  from  behind  trees, 
fences  and  houses.  Flanking  parties  were 
thrown  out  to  clear  the  way,  but  without 
success.  The  number  of  the  Americans 
increased  at  every  step      Each  town  took  up 


enemies      of    the    fugitive    regulars     were 
increasing  every  moment. 

Smith  hurried  his  command  through  Lex- 
ington at  a  rapid  rate,  and  a  short  distance 
beyond  the  town  met  Lord  Percy  advancing 
to  his  assistance  with  twelve  hundred 
infantry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  Percy 
formed  his  men  into  a  square,  enclosing  the 
fugitives,    who    dropped    helplessly   on    the 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR. 


359 


ground,  "  their  tongues  hanging  out  of  their 
mouths  Hke  those  of  dogs  after  a  chase,'' 
and  with  his  cannon  kept  the  Americans  at 
ba)-.  He  could  not  think  of  holding  his 
position,  however,  and  after  a  halt  of  half 
an  hour  resumed  the  retreat,  first  setting  fire 
to  some  houses  in  Lexington. 

The  fighting  now  became  more  energetic 
than  ever.  From  either  side,  from  in  front  and 
the  rear,  the  Americans  kept  up  a  constant 
fire  upon  the  British,  who  revenged  them- 
selves by  murdering  some  helpless  people 
along  the  road  and  burning  houses.  Below 
West  Cambridge  the  British  broke  into  a 
run,  and  at  length,  about  sunset,  succeeded 
in  escaping  across  Charlestown  Neck,  where 
they  were  safe  under  the  fire  of  their  ship- 
ping. Had  the  militia  from  Marblehead  and 
Salem,  who  were  on  the  march,  been  more 
alert,  the  entire  British  force  would  have 
been  captured,  as  they  were  in  no  condition 
to  resist  a  determined  attack  in  front. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  during  the  day 
was  forty-nine  killed,  thirty-four  wounded 
and  five  missing.  The  British  lost  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing  two  hundred  and 
seventy-three  men,  or  more  than  fell  in 
Wolfe's  army  in  the  battle  of  the  Heights  of 
Abraham.  Many  of  the  officers,  including 
Colonel  Smith,  were  wounded. 

The  News  Spreads  Like  Wiidfire. 

The  nev.s  of  the  conflicts  at  Lexington  and 
Concord  spread  rapidly  through  New  Eng- 
land, and  was  sent  by  express  messengers  to 
New  York  and  the  colonies  farther  south. 
In  New  England  it  produced  a  general  upris- 
ing of  the  people,  and  in  ten  days  Boston 
was  blockaded  by  an  irregular  army  of  twenty 
thousand  provincial  troops,  whose  encamp- 
ments extended  from  Roxbury  to  the  Mystic 
River,  above  Charlestown,  a  distance  of  ten 
miles.  John  Stark,  who  had  served  with 
gallantry  in  the  old  French  war,  was  on  his 


way  to  Boston  in  ten  minutes  after  he  was 
informed  of  the  fighting. 

Israel  Putnam,  a  veteran  soldier,  and  as 
true  a  hero  as  ever  lived,  was  ploughing  in 
his  field  when  the  courier  rode  by  with  tlie 
tidings  of  the  battle.  He  left  his  plough, 
sprang  on  his  horse,  and  after  rousing  his 
neighbors  rode  from  his  home,  in  Connecti- 
cut, to  Cambridge,  without  even  stopping  to 
change  his  clothes.  The  Massachusetts  Con- 
gress took  energetic  measures  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  army  before  Boston,  and  in  a  few 
'^qys  this  force  began  to  assume  a  more  regu- 
lar character. 

Arms  and  Ammunition  Seized. 

Matters  had  also  reached  a  crisis  in  Vir- 
ginia. On  the  night  of  the  twentieth  of 
April  Lord  Dunmore  seized  the  powder  in 
the  magazine  at  Williamsburg,  and  sent  it, 
under  guard  of  a  party  of  marines,  on  board 
an  armed  schooner  in  the  James  river.  The 
inhabitants,  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
first,  took  arms  to  compel  the  restoration  of 
the  powder,  but  were  persuaded  to  refrain 
from  violence.  In  a  few  days- the  news  from 
Le.Kington  and  Concord  was  received,  and  it 
was  the  general  belief  that  Dunmore's  course 
was  only  a  part  of  a  general  plan  to  disarm 
the  colonies. 

On  the  second  of  May  Patrick  Henr>' 
summoned  the  independent  companies  ot 
Hanover  to  meet  him  at  a  certain  place,  and 
led  them  towards  Williamsburg,  determined 
to  compel  the  governor  to  restore  the  powder 
or  pay  its  full  value  in  money.  On  the  march 
they  were  met  by  a  messenger  from  Dunmore, 
who  paid  them  the  full  value  of  the  powder 
in  money.  This  money  was  soon  after  for- 
warded to  Congress.  The  companies  then 
disbanded  and  returned  home.  Dunmore, 
thoroughly  frightened,  fled  with  his  family 
on  board  a  manof-war,  and  declared  "  Pat- 
rick Henry  and  his  associates  to  be  in  rebel- 


36o 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


lion."  Afraid  to  meet  the  Virginians  in  an 
open  fight,  he  threatened  to  arm  their  slaves 
against  them,  and  inaugurated  a  general 
massacre. 

The  middle  and  southern  colonies  were 
prompt  to  follow  the  example  of  New  Eng- 
land. The  people  of  New  York  seized  the 
provisions  intended  for  the  king's  troops  at 
Boston,  shut  up  the  custom-house,  and  for- 
bade any  vessels  to  leave  the  harbor  for  ports 
or  colonies  acknowledging  the  authority  of 
Great  Britain.  The  arms  and  ammunition 
belonging    to  the   city  were   seized   by  the 


CAPTURE    OI     TI(  INDl  I  nPA    h\ 


volunteers,  and  measures  were  set  on  foot  for 
a  general  resistance  to  the  authority  of  the 
king.  New  Jersey  was  equally  determined, 
and  in  Pennsylvania  enthusiastic  meetings  of 
citizens  resolved  "to  associate  for  the  pur- 
pose of  defending,  with  arms,  their  lives,  their 
property,  and  liberty." 

Military  companies  were  formed  and  trained 
in  the  exercise  of  arms.  The  people  of  Mary- 
land compelled  their  royalist  governor  to 
surrender  to  them  all  the  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion of  the  province.  The  militia  officers  of 
South  Carolina  at  once  resigned  their  com- 


missions from  the  governor,  and  regiments 
of  militia  for  the  defence  of  the  colony  were 
raised  and  drilled.  At  Charleston  the  royal 
arsenal  was  seized,  and  its  contents  distributed 
among  the  people.  Georgia  also  placed  her- 
self in  the  ranks  of  her  patriot  sisters,  and 
seizing  the  ammunition  and  arms  within  her 
limits  prepared  for  resistance. 

North  Carolina  took  a  more  decisive  stand 
than  any  of  the  colonies.  The  spirit  of  resist- 
ance ran  high  within  her  borders.  A  con- 
vention of  the  people  of  Mecklenburg  county 
was  held  at  Charlotte  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
May,  and  adopted 
a  series  of  resolu- 
tions declaring 
themselves  inde- 
pendent of  the 
control  of  Great 
Britain,  and  re- 
nouncing all  alle- 
giance to  her.  This 
w  as  the  f a  m  o  u  s 
'Mecklenburg  De- 
claration of  Inde- 
pendence." The 
uhole  country, 
ft  )in  New  Hamp- 
shire to  Georgia, 
was  united  in  its 
determination  to 
resist  the  injustice  of  Great  Britain  with 
arms.  Massachusetts  had  struck  the  first 
blow,  but  every  colony  was  now  prepared 
and  determined  to  bear  its  part  in  the  great 
struggle  for  freedom. 

The  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety 
were  anxious  to  secure  the  important  posts 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  on  Lake 
Champlain.  The  possession  of  these  posts 
would  n^)t  only  enable  the  Americans  to 
command  the  entrance  to  Canada,  but  would 
give  them  the  large  quantities  of  military 
supplies  stored  in  these  forts.     The  project 


PUTNAM'S  ESCAPE  AT  HORSE  NECK 


PROGRt:SS   OF   THE 


was  entered  into  with  great  energy  by  Bene- 
dict Arnold,  then  commanding  a  company 
before  Boston,  and  by  Ethan  Allen,  of  Ver- 
mont. Allen  was  the  leader  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  a  military  organization  in 
Vermont,  which  had  been  formed  to  resist 
the  authority  of  New  York,  which  claimed 
Vermont  as  a  part  of  its  territory. 

The  people  of  Vermont,  however, 
preferred  the  authority  of  New 
Hampshire  to  that  of  New  York. 
The  dispute  had  become  quite 
animated  when  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution  drew  the  attention  of 
all  parties  to  more  stirring  events. 
Arnold,  upon  hearing  that  Allen 
was  preparing  to  seize  the  forts,  set 
out  at  once  for  Vermont,  and  over- 
took the  Green  Mountain  Bo\-s  near 
the  head  of  Lake  Champlain.  Pro- 
ducing a  colonel's  commission  he 
ordered  Allen  to  surrender  the  com- 
mand to  him,  but  the  latter  refused, 
and  was  sustained  by  his  men,  and 
Arnold  at  length  agreed  to  serve  as 
a  volunteer. 

Securing  a  few  boats  Allen  cros- 
sed the  lake  with  his  little   force, 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy  in 
number,  and  at   daybreak,  on  the    U 
morning  of  May  lo,  surprised  Fort  ^^^'^-^^ 
Ticonderoga,  and   made    prisoners 
of  the   garrison   before  they  were 
fairly    awake.      Not    a    blow    was 
struck.   The  astounded  commander 
of  the  fort  asked  Allen  by  whose  authority  he 
acted.     "  In  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah 
and  the    Continental     Congress,"    was    the 
instant  reply,   delivered  in   stentorian  tones. 
The  commandant  instantly  submitted.     On 
the  twelfth   of   May   Seth  Warner,    Allen's 
lieutenant,     surprised      Crown     Point,    and 
secured  the  fort.     Arnold  secured  a  number 
of  boats  and,  descending  the  lake,   captured 


WAR.  361 

s,  in  the  "  Sorel."     Sixty  priij-.iers 
m  in   this    expedition,   and  besides 


St.  John' 
were  tak' 

two  of  the  most  important  military  posts  in 
America  the  patriots  secureil  two  hundred 
cannon,  and  a  large  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion. 

On  the  tenth  of  Ma>-,  the  day  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Ticonderoga,  the  second  Continental 


'<^7^ 


SIGNERS  OF  THE  MECKLEXHUNd  DECLAR.VTION. 

Congress  met  at  Philadelphia.  This  time 
they  assembled  in  the  State  House,  a  place 
more  suited  to  the  dignity  of  such  a  body , 
and  calculated  to  give  more  publicity  to  their 
proceedings.  No  change  was  at  first  made 
in  the  ofificers  of  the  preceding  session,  bui 
in  a  few  days  Peyton  Randolph  resigned  his 
position  to  return  home  to  attend  the  Vir- 
ginia legislature,  which  had  been  summoned 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


by    the    governor.     Thomas   Jefferson   was 
appointed  to  fill  his  position  as  a  delegate. 

John  Hancock  of  Massachusetts,  who  had 
been  .specially  exempted  by  the  king  from  all 
offers  of  amnesty,  was  chosen  president  of 
the  Congress.  Three  new  members  of  note 
now  entered  the  Congress.  They  were  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  a  delegate  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  George  Clinton  and  Robert  R. 
Li\-ingston,  delegates  from  New  York. 
Franklin  had  just  returned  from  England, 
where  he  had  resided  for  several  years  as  the 
agent  for  some  of  the  colonies.  He  had 
been  in  constant  official  contact  with  the  lead- 
ing men  of  Great  Britain  and  was  thoroughly 
informed  as  to  the  policy  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment respecting  America.  He  was,  there- 
fore, a  most  valuable  acquisition  to  the  Con- 
gress. 

Justice  Demanded   of  Great  Britain. 

The  circumstances  under  which  this  Con- 
gress assembled  were  very  different  from 
those  which  had  attended  the  meeting  of  its 
predecessor.  Then  there  was  hope  that  the 
remonstrances  of  the  colonies  would  open 
the  ej-es  of  the  British  government  to  the 
folly  of  its  course  ;  but  those  remonstances 
had  been  received  with  fresh  outrages,  their 
petitions  had  "  been  spurned  with  contempt 
from  the  foot  of  the  throne,"  and  the  British 
3rmy  had  begun  the  war  at  Lexington  and 
Concord.  Massachusetts,  driven  beyond  the 
point  of  forbearance,  had  taken  up  arms,  and 
had  besieged  the  royal  troops  in  Boston.  A 
state  of  war  actually  existed  and  Congress 
must  either  sustain  Massachusetts,  and  so 
involve  every  colony  in  the  struggle,  or 
leave  her  to  meet  the  power  of  Great  Britain 
unaided. 

The  whole  country  was  in  favor  of  stand- 
ing by  Massachusetts,  and  the  delegates  in 
Congress  reflected  its  Leling.  It  was,  there- 
fore, resolved  by  Congress  to  place    all  the 


colonies  in  a  state  of  defence,  and  to  prepare 
for  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  should 
it  be  found  impossible  to  avert  it.  At  the 
same  time,  as  a  last  means  of  preserving 
peace,  a  new  petition  was  addressed  to  the 
king  stating  the  grievances  of  the  colonieSj 
and  asking  for  justice  at  his  majesty's  hands. 
Addresses  were  also  issued  to  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  Ireland  and  Jamaica.  To  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  they  declared,  after 
relating  their  wrongs,  and  their  failure  to- 
obtain  redress :  "  We  are  reduced  to  the 
alternati\'e  of  choosing  an  unconditional  sub- 
mission to  the  tryanny  of  irritated  ministers^ 
or  resistance  by  force.  The  latter  is  our 
choice.  We  have  counted  the  cost  of  this 
contest,  and  we  find  nothing  so  dreadful  as- 
voluntary  slavery."  In  the  petition  to  the 
king  Congress  denied  that  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  colonies  to  cast  off  their  allegi- 
ance ;  but  asserted  their  intention  to  main 
tain  their  rights.  When  this  petition  was- 
presented  to  the  king  in  September,  he 
refused  to  take  any  notice  of  it. 

The  Federal  Union. 

In  view  of  the  altered  position  of  affairs- 
Massachusetts  consulted  the  Congress  as  to 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  regular  sys- 
tem of  government,  and  was  advised  to 
make  such  regulations  for  that  purpose  as 
were  necessary,  and  to  continue  them  as  a. 
temporary  expedient  until  it  should  be 
known  whether  the  king  would  allow  the 
colony  to  resume  the  government  guaran- 
teed to  it  by  its  charter.  In  order  to  avoid 
the  trouble  which  would  ensue  from  an  inter- 
ruption of  the  regular  postal  communication 
between  the  colonics.  Congress  assumed  the 
power  of  organizing  a  general  system  of 
mails  for  the  whole  country,  and  appointed 
Dr.  Franklin  postmaster-general. 

From  these  acts  Congress  advanced  to- 
others   siill    more   important.     A   "  l-'ederal 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR. 


36J 


Union "  of  the  colonies  was  organized,  in 
which  each  colony  retained  the  exclusive 
control  of  its  internal  affairs,  but  delegated 
to  Congress  authority  to  direct  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  col- 
onies, such  as  the  power  to  declare  war, 
make  peace,  and  negotiate  treaties  of  alliance 
and  friendship  with  foreign  countries.  In  the 
exercise  of  these  powers  Congress  assumed 
the  general  government  of  America.  A  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer  to  God,  for  his  assist- 
ance in  the  struggle  for  freedom,  was  enjoined 
upon  all  the  colonies.  All  persons  were  for- 
bidden to  furnish  provisions  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. 

Who  shall  Command  the  Army  ? 

Measures  were  adopted  for  the  organiza- 
tion and  enlistment  of  an  army,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  fortifications  at  suitable 
points,  and  procuring  arms  and  ammunition. 
In  order  to  raise  the  funds  needed  for  carry- 
ing out  these  objects  "  Bills  of  Credit,"  to 
the  amount  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  were 
issued,  and  for  their  redemption  Congress 
pledged  the  faith  of  the  "  United  Colonies." 
The  provincial  congress  of  Massachusetts 
requested  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia  to 
adopt  the  New  England  forces  before  Boston 
as  the  "Continental  Army,"  and  this  request 
wasatonce  complied  with.  As  General  Ward, 
the  commander  of  these  troops,  held  his 
commission  from  Massachusetts,  it  was 
necessary  for  Congress  to  appoint  a  com- 
mander-in-chief commissioned  by  itself 

With  respect  to  this  appointment  the  mem- 
bers were  divided.  Some  thought  that  as 
the  troops  were  all  New  England  men,  the 
commander  should  be  chosen  from  the  same 
section.  Others  favored  the  appointment  of 
a  commander  who  would  inspire  the  confi- 
dence of,  and  be  acceptable  to,  the  entire 
country.  The  name  of  General  Ward  was 
suggested  by  the  first  party  ;  but  a  majorit)^ 


of  the  delegates  favored  the  appointment  of 
Colonel  Washington,  who  was  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
military  affairs,  in  which  capacity  he  had 
proposed  the  plan  for  the  organization  of  the 
army,  and  had  suggested  the  most  important 
measures  for  defence.  He  had  profoundly 
impressed  the  delegates  with  his  great  and 
commanding  character,  his  military  ability, 
and  his  wisdom  as  a  statesman. 

Washington  Appointed. 

Patrick  Henry,  on  his  return  home  from 
the  first  Congress,  had  been  asked  who  was 
the  greatest  man  in  that  body.  His  reply 
expressed  the  views  of  li.s  colleagues  respect- 
ing Washington.  "  If  you  speak  of  elo- 
quence," he  said,  "  Mr.  Rutledge,  of  South 
Carolina,  is,  by  far,  the  greatest  orator  ;  but 
if  you  speak  of  solid  information  and  sound 
judgment  Colonel  Washington  is  unques- 
tionably the  greatest  man  on  that  floor." 
Dr.  Warren  wrote  from  Massachusetts  to 
Samuel  Adams,  in  Congress,  about  this  time, 
that  the  appointment  of  Colonel  Washing- 
ton as  commander-in-chief  would  give  great 
satisfaction  to  many  leading  men  in  Massa- 
chusetts. John  Adams  was  anxious  for  the 
appointment,  and  having  satisfied  himself  of 
the  wishes  of  the  greater  part  of  the  delegates, 
ventured  openly  to  allude  to  Washington  as 
the  proper  person  for  the  position,  and  spoke 
of  him  as  a  gentleman  whose  "  skill  and 
experience  as  an  officer,  whose  independent 
fortune,  great  talents,  and  excellent  universal 
character,  would  command  the  approbation 
of  all  America,  and  unite  the  cordial  exer- 
tions of  the  colonies  better  than  an\'  otiier 
person  in  the  Union." 

On  the  14th  of  June  M.  Johnson,  of 
Maryland,  formally  nominated  Washington 
to  the  office  of  commander-in-chief,  and  he 
was  unanimously  cliosen  by  ballot.  The 
next  day  his  election  was  communicated  to 


'M 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


hiai  by  the  President  of  Congress.  Washing- 
ton rose  in  his  place,  thanked  the  House  for 
the  unexpected  honor  conferred  upon  him, 
assured  them  of  his  devotion  to  the  cause, 
and  announced  his  acceptance  of  the  great 
trust  confided  to  liini.  He  declared  his 
iiitention  to  refuse  the  pay  affixed  to  tlie 
office,  which  had  been  placed  at  five  hundred 
dollars  a  month,  and  added :  "  I  will  keep  an 
exact  account  of  my  expenses.  These.  I 
doubt  not,  thev  will  discharge,  and  that  i-iall 


Gates. 


GENERAL    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

I  desire."  Congress,  on  its  part,  pledged  its 
hearty  support  to  the  new  commander,  and 
resolved  "to  maintain  and  assist,  and  adhere 
to  him  with  th.ir  lives  and  fortunes  in  the 
defence  of  American  liberty." 

Washington  lost  no  time  in  proceeding  to 
assume  the  command  conferred  upon  him. 
After  a  few  days  spent  in  preparation  in 
Philadelphia  he  left  that  city  on  the  twenty- 
first  of  June  for  the  headquarters  of  the 
army,  accompanied  by  Generals  Lee  and 
Schuj-ler. 


A  few  days  after  the  election  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief Congress  appointed  four 
major-generals,  one  adjutant-general,  with 
the  rank  of  brigadier,  and  eight  brigadier- 
generals  for  the  subordinate  commands  in 
the  American  army. 

Major-Generals. 
The  major-generals  were  Artemas  Ward, 
Charles  Lee,  Philip  Schuyler  and  Israel  Put- 
nam.    The    adjutant-general    was    Horatio 
The  brigadiers  were  Setli  Pomeroy, 
Richard  Montgomery,  David  Woos- 
tcr,  William  Heath,  Joseph  Spencer, 
John  Thomas,  John  Sullivan   and 
Nathaniel  Greene. 

In  the  meantime  the  blockade  of 
Boston  had  been  continued  by  the 
provincial  army  under  General 
Ward.  These  forces  numbered 
about  fifteen  thousand  men,  and 
had  come  from  their  respective 
towns  in  independent  companies, 
and  were  without  any  regular  or- 
ganization. They  had  no  uniform, 
but  the  majority  wore  their  ordinary 
home-spun  working  clothes  ;  they 
were  deficient  in  arms ;  a  few  had 
nniskets,  but  the  majority  had  rifles 
and  fowling-pieces.  The  artillery 
consisted  of  nine  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
Gridley,  who  had  directed  the  artil- 
lery at  the  siege  of  Louisburg.  The  Massa- 
chusetts troops  were  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral Ward ;  those  from  New  Hampshire  by 
Colonel  Stark ;  the  Connecticut  troops  by 
Putnam ;  and  the  regiment  from  Rhode 
Island  by  Nathaniel  Greene,  a  young  black- 
smith. 

Save  for  the  solemnity  of  the  cause,  and 
the  earnestness  and  determination  which 
animated  the  whole  force,  there  was  little  to 
save  this  quaint  assemblage  from  the  ridicule 
which  the  royal  officers  heaped  upon  it.     It 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   WAR. 


365 


did  to  ordinary  view  seem  the  height  of 
folly  to  oppose  such  an  ill-provided  and 
unorganized  mass  to  the  splendidly  equipped 
veterans  who  served  King  George. 

Yet  this  force  "  with  calico  frocks  and 
fowling-pieces"  hemmed  in  within  the  nar- 
row limits  of  Boston 
the  splendid  army  of 
ten  thousand  men, 
commanded  by  such 
generals  as  Howe, 
Burgoyne  and  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  which 
Gage  had  concen- 
trated in  Boston.  Bur- 
goyne could  not 
repress  his  astonish- 
ment upon  reaching 
Boston.  "What!"  he 
exclaimed,  "ten  thou- 
sand peasants  keep 
five  thousand  .king's 
troops  shut  up!  Well, 
let  us  get  in  and  we'll 
soon  find  elbow  room." 
Inspite  of  his  immense 
superiority',  however, 
Gage  did  not  venture 
to  attack  the  Ameri- 
can lines.  He  con- 
tented himself  with 
issuing  a  proclama- 
tion declaring  the 
province  under  mar- 
tial law,  and  offering 
a  free  pardon  to  all 
rebels  who  should 
return  to  their  allegi- 
ance, with  the  exception  of  Samuel  Adams 
and  John  Hancock.  These  rebels  were 
cut  off  from  all  hope  of  the  king's  mercy, 
and  were  given  to  understand  that  they 
could  e.xpect  nothing  but  the  most  sum- 
mary punishment. 


General  Gage  now  determined  to  extend 
his  lines  and  to  occupy  Dorchester  Heights, 
overlooking  South  Boston,  and  Bunker  Hill, 
an  eminence  rising  beyond  Charlestown,  on 
the  north  of  Boston.  The  execution  of  this 
design  was  fixed  for  the  eighteenth  of  June, 


GENERAL  BURGOYN 


and  in  tlie  meantime  Gage's  intention  became 
known  in  the  American  camp.  To  prevent 
it,  it  was  resolved,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety,  to  seize 
and  fortify  these  eminences,  beginning  with 
Bunker   Hill.     The  more   prudent  opposed 


366 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


this  undertaking  as  too  rash;  it  uas  certain 
to  bring  on  a  general  engagement  of  the 
opposing  forces,  and  the  Americans  were  too 
poorly  provided  with  arms  and  ammunition 
to  hope  for  success.  Others  insisted  that  no 
time  should  be  lost  in  securing  the  Heights. 

A  Daring  Enterprise. 

Putnam  was  confident  they  could  be  held 
with  proper  intrenchments,  and  that  thus  pro- 
tected the  troops  could  be  relied  upon  to 
hold  their  position.  The  great  scarcity  of 
ammunition  rendered  the  undertaking  one 
of  peculiar  daring  and  it  was  necessary  to 
select  for  the  command  an  officer  whose  firm- 
ness and  discretion  could  be  depended  upon. 
The  choice  fell  upon  Colonel  William  Pres- 
cott,  of  Massachusetts,  and  a  brigade  was 
placed  under  his  orders. 

Soon  after  the  sunset  on  the  sixteenth  of 
June  a  force  of  about  eleven  hundred  men, 
armed  principally  with  fowling-pieces,  and 
carrying  their  scanty  stock  of  powder  and 
ball  in  their  old-fashioned  powder  horns  and 
pouches,  assembled  on  Cambridge  Com- 
mon. Langdon,  the  President  of  Harvard 
College,  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the  army, 
offered  up  an  impressive  prayer,  and  then 
the  order  was  given  to  march,  and  the  col- 
umn moved  off  in  the  darkness.  No  one 
knew  the  object  of  the  expedition,  but  the 
[)resence  of  several  wagons  loaded  with 
Intrenching  tools,  made  it  evident  that  the 
movement  was  one  of  importance.  Charles- 
town  Neck  was  strongly  guarded,  but  the 
detachment  passed  it  in  safety  and  reached 
the  summ-t  of  Bunker  Hill  without  being 
observed. 

The  Committee  of  Safety  had  suggested 
that  Bunker  Hill  should  be  secured,  but 
Prescott's  orders  from  General  Ward  were  to 
fortify  Breed's  Hill,  a  lower  eminence  but 
nearer  to  Boston,  and  commanding  the  har- 
bor more  oerfectiy.     It  was  a  more  exposed 


position  than  the  other,  but  Prescott  decided 
to  obey  his  orders.  Colonel  Gridley,  who 
was  an  experienced  engineer,  marked  out  a 
redoubt  about  eight  rods  square,  and  in  the 
clear  June  starlight  the  men  set  to  work 
with  a  will  to  construct  the  fortification 
before  the  morning  should  reveal  them  to 
the  British.  It  was  midnight  when  the 
men  began  their  labors.  A  strong  guaid 
was  thrown  out  along  the  shore  of  the 
harbor  to  prevent  a  surprise,  and  the  men 
could  distinctly  hear  the  call  of  the  senti- 
nels on  the  men-of-war  in  the  harbor. 
During  the  night  Putnam  came  over  to  the 
hill  to  encourage  the  Connecticut  troops. 

Heavy  Guns  Open  Fire. 

The  early  morning  light  revealed  to  the 
astonished  royalists  the  half-finished  redoubt 
on  Breed's  Hill  and  the  Americans  still  bus- 
ily at  work  upon  it.  The  sloop-of-war 
"  Lively,"  lying  off  the  present  navy  yard, 
without  waiting  for  orders,  opened  a  steady 
fire  upon  the  redoubt,  and  her  example  was 
soon  followed  by  the  other  war  vessels  and  the 
floating  batteries  in  the  harbor.  A  battery 
of  heavy  guns  was  posted  on  Copp's  Hill 
in  Boston,  and  opened  on  the  redoubt. 

This  fire  was  well  calculated  to  demoralizt 
a  raw  force  such  as  that  within  the  redoubt, 
but  it  produced  no  effect  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans, who  went  on  with  their  task  quietly 
and  with  energy.  Gridley  soon  withdrew 
from  the  hill,  and  Prescott,  thus  deserted, 
and  witliout  an  engineer,  prepared  to  extend 
his  line  to  the  best  of  his  abilit)^  He  pro- 
longed it  from  the  east  side  of  the  redoubt 
northward  for  about  twenty  rods  towards  the 
bottom  of  the  hill ;  but  the  men  were  pre- 
vented from  completing  it  by  the  heavy  fire 
of  the  B  itish  artillery.  One  man  ventured 
beyond  the  redoubt  early  in  the  day,  and 
was  killed  by  a  shell.  Prescott  ordered  him 
to  be   instantly  buried,  lest  the  sight  of  his 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    WAR. 


1^7 


body  might  dishearten  the  men.  To  inspire 
the  troops  with  confidence,  Prescott  sprang 
upon  the  parapet  and  walked  slowly  up  and 
down  the  work  examining  it  and  issuing 
his  orders. 

Boston  Aroused  by  the  Cannonading. 

In  the  meantime  the  firing  had  aroused 
the  people  of  Boston,  who  crowded  the 
house-tops,  and  every  available  point  from 
which  a  view  of  the  action  could  be  obtained. 
General  Gage  reconnoitred  the  American 
position  from  Boston,  through  his  glass,  and 
observed  Prescott,  who  was  standing  on  the 
redoubt  inspecting  the  work.  "  Who  is  that 
■officer  in  command?"  he  asked  of  Councillor 
Willard,who  was  by  his  side.  "Will  he  fight?" 
Willard  had  recognized  Prescott,  who  was  his 
ibrother-in-law,  and  replied :  "  He  is  an  old 
soldier,  and  will  fight  to  the  last  drop  of  his 
blood."  Gage  thereupon  determined  to  dis- 
lodge the  Americans  from  their  position 
without  loss  of  time,  and  summoned  a  coun- 
cil of  his  officers  at  his  headquarters,  in 
which  it  was  decided  to  cross  Charles  River, 
■effect  a  landing  at  Moulton's  Point,  and 
attack  the  works  in  front.  Generals  Clinton 
and  Grant  advocated  an  attack  from  the 
-direction  of  Charlestown  Neck,  which  would 
iiave  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  whole 
American  force  ;  but  Gage  refused  to  place 
his  attacking  column  between  the  American 
-army  at  Cambridge  and  the  detachment  on 
■the  hill. 

The  bustle  in  Boston  as  the  British  pre- 
pared for  the  attack  could  be  distinctly  seen 
■by  the  Americans,  and  urgent  messages  were 
sent  to  General  Ward  for  reinforcements  and 
pro"isions.  Putnam  hurried  to  Ward's  head- 
quarters to  urge  this  demand;  but  Ward, 
who  was  greatly  oppressed  by  the  scarcity 
-of  powder  in  the  camp,  hesitated  to  weaken 
.he  main  body,  and  it  was  not  until  eleven 
-o'clock  on  the  morning    of  the  seventeenth 


of  June  that  he  gave  orders  for  the  regi- 
ments of  Stark  and  Reed  to  advance  to  Pre- 
scott's  assistance.  The  arrival  of  these 
troops  greatly  cheered  the  little  band  under 
Prescott,  who  had  been  working  all  night, 
and  were  greatly  in  need  of  food. 

In  the  meantime  Prescott  had  posted  the 
Connecticut  troops  behind  a  rustic  breast- 
work which  he  had  constructed  on  the 
north  of  the  redoubt.  A  stone  fence  ran 
down  the  side  of  the  hill  towards  a  swamp 
in  this  direction.  Behind  this  the  Ameri- 
cans placed  a  post  and  rail  fence  which  they 
had  torn  up,  and  filled  the  interval  between 
them  with  new-mown  hay,  thus  forming  a 
rude  shelter.  A  part  of  the  reinforcements 
joined  Knowlton  at  this  breastwork,  and  the 
remainder  halted  on  Bunker  Hill  to  enable 
Putnam  to  hold  that  point,  the  posses- 
sion of  which  he  considered  essential  to  the 
.safety  of  the  force  on  Breed's  Hill.  About 
two  o'clock  General  Warren  arrived.  He 
held  the  commission  of  a  major-general,  and 
both  Prescott  and  Putnam  offered  to  relin- 
quish the  command  to  him,  but  he  refused 
it,  saying  he  had  come  to  serve  as  a  volun- 
teer, and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  at  the 
redoubt. 

Reinforcements  for  the  British. 

At  noon  twenty-eight  barges  filled  with 
regulars,  under  the  command  of  Generals 
Howe  and  Pigott,  left  Boston,  and  crossing 
the  harbor,  landed  at  Moulton's  Point,  under 
the  cover  of  a  heavy  fire  from  the  shipping. 
General  Howe  now  discovered  that  the 
American  position  was  stronger  than  he  had 
supposed,  and  sent  over  to  General  Gage  for 
reinforcements.  While  awaiting  their  arrival 
he  refreshed  his  men  with  provisions  and 
grog.  His  reinforcements  having  arrived, 
General  Howe  found  himself  at  the  head  of 
over  two  thousand  veteran  troops  splendidly 
equipped  in  every  respect.     Opposed  to  him 


368 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


were  about  fifteen  hundred  imperfectly  armed 
Americans.  Gage  had  threatened  that  if 
Charlestown  Heights  were  occupied  by  the 
provincials  he  would  burn  the  town  of 
Charlestown.  He  now  proceeded  to  execute 
his  barbarous  threat,  and  fired  the  town  by 
mear^  of  shells  from  the  battery  on  Copp's 
Hill     hoping  that  the   flames   and   smoke 


to  storm  the  redoubt,  while  the  other  was 
led  by  General  Howe  in  person  against  the 
rail  fence,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the 
American  left  flank  and  cutting  off  the 
retreat  of  the  force  in  the  redoubt.  Prescott 
passed  along  his  line  as  he  saw  the  advance 
of  the  enemy,  and  encouraged  his  men  with 
his   cheering  words.     "  The  red  coats,"  he 


would  screen  the  approach  of  his  attacking 
party  under  General  Howe.  A  change  of 
wind  prevented  this,  however,  and  carried 
the  smoke  in  the  opposite  direction. 

About  half-past  two  o'clock  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  seventeenth  of  June  General 
Howe  gave  the  order  to  advance.  One 
division,  under   General  Pigott,  was  ordered 


w^^tej^^' 


said,  "  will  never  reach  the  redoubt  if  yoc 
will  but  withhold  your  fire  till  I  give  the 
order,  and  be  careful  not  to  .shoot  over  their 
heads."  Putnam  had  come  down  to  the 
rail  fence  to  encourage  the  men  posted 
there,  and  as  he  saw  the  advance  of  the 
enemy,  called  out  to  the  troops :  "  Wait 
till   you   sec   the   white  of  their  eyes ;    aioi 


PROGRESS   OF   THE  WAR. 


at  their  waistband ;  pick  off  the  handsome 
coats." 

The  British  advanced  in  splendid  style  up 
the  side  of  the  hill,  firing  rapidly  as  they 
moved  on.  The  Americans  awaited  their 
advance  in  a  deep  silence.  As  Pigott's  division 
came  within  forty  yards  of  the  redoubt,  the 
defenders  levelled  their  guns  and  took  a 
steady  aim.  A  minute  or  two  later  Prescott 
jave  the  command,  "Fire!"  A  sheet  of 
flame  broke  from  the  rampart  and  tore  great 
gaps  in  the  English  line,  which  reeled  and 
staggered  back  down  the  hill.  The  officers 
exerted  themselves  gallantly  to  rally  the 
men,  and  once  more  the  line  advanced.  This 
rime  the  Americans  suffered  them  to  come 
nearer,  and  again  drove  them  back  with  a 
fatal  fire  before  which  whole  ranks  went 
dov/n.  They  broke  in  such  confusion  that 
Pigott  himself  ordered  a  retreat.  The  division 
under  General  Howe  was  equally  unfortu- 
nate. It  v.'as  suffered  to  advance  within 
thirty  yards  of  the  rail  fence,  and  was  then 
driven  back  by  a  fire  which  broke  it  in  con- 
fusion. The  British  retired  to  the  shore 
from  which  they  had  started. 

The  Whole  Line  Driven  Back. 

Greatly  astonished,  but  not  disheartened 
by  his  repulse.  General  Howe  reformed  his 
line,  and  after  an  interval  of  fifteen  minutes 
moved  off  again  against  the  works,  his  plan 
being  the  same  as  that  of  the  first  assault. 
This  time  the  Americans  reserved  their  fire 
as  before,  and  once  more  sent  the  whole 
British  line  reeling  and  broken  down  the  hill. 
Officers  on  the  English  side  who  had  been  in 
many  engagements  subsequently  declared  that 
they  had  never  seen  such  firing  in  any  battle 
in  which  they  had  been  engaged.  A  deafen- 
ing cheer  from  the  patriot  line  greeted  the 
repulse  of  the  enemy.  "  If  we  can  drive  them 
back  once  more,"  cried  Prescott,  "  they  can- 
not rally  again."  A  shout  from  the  redoubt 
24 


309 
red 


answered  him.     "  We  are  ready  for  the 
coats  again  !  " 

General  Clinton  had  witnessed  the  repulse 
of  the  regulars  from  his  position  on  Copp's 
Hill,  and  was  filled  with  astonishment  and 
indignation  at  the  sight.  Without  waiting 
for  orders  he  crossed  over  to  Charlestown 
with  reinforcements,  and  offered  his  services  i 
to  General  Howe  as  a  volunteer.  Many  of 
the  English  officers  were  opposed  to  another 
attack  ;  but  as  it  was  learned  that  the  ammu- 
nition of  the  Americans  was  very  low,  Howe 
resolved  to  storm  the  works  with  the 
bayonet,  and  this  time  to  break  through  the 
open  space  between  the  redoubt  and  the  rail 
fence  breastwork.  His  men  were  ordered  to 
lay  aside  their  knapsacks,  and  many  of  them 
threw  off  their  coats  also.  A  raking  fire  of 
artillery  drove  the  Americans  from  the 
breastwork  extending  from  the  redoubt  into 
that  work  for  shelter,  and  the  order  was 
given  to  the  regulars  to  advance  with  fixed 
bayonets. 

Hand-to-hand  Struggle. 

The  Americans  were  nearly  out  of  ammu- 
nition, and  in  the  whole  command  there  were 
not  fifty  men  with  bayonets  to  their  guns. 
They  met  the  advance  of  the  enemy  with  a 
sharp  fire,  but  their  powder  having  given 
out,  were  not  able  to  check  them.  Pressing 
on  the  British  assailed  the  redoubt  on  three 
sides  with  the  bayonet.  A  desperate  hand- 
to-hand  struggle  followed  ;  the  Americans 
fighting  with  clubbed  guns  and  with  stones. 
It  was  impossible  to  hold  the  work,  how- 
e\cr,  and  Prescott  gave  the  order  to  retreat. 
The  men  fell  back  in  good  order.  The  aged 
General  Pomeroy,  who  was  serving  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  ranks,  clubbed  his  gun  and 
retreated  with  his  face  to  the  regulars,  keep- 
ing them  at  bay  by  his  detcrmineil  action. 

The  detachment  at  the  rail  fence,  under 
Knowlton,  Stark  and  Reed,  held  their  posi- 
tion   until    their   comrades    had    withdrawn 


370 


DEATH    OF    MAJOR    ITI  CAIRN. 


PROGRESS    OF   THE   WAR. 


371 


from  the  redoubt,  and  then  retreated  in  good 
order  down  the  hill,  thus  preventing  the 
enemy  from  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  Pres- 
cott's  party.  One  of  the  last  to  leave  the 
redoubt  was  General  Warren,  who  had 
borne  himself  with  great  gallantry  in  the 
engagement.  He  had  scarcely  left  the 
trenches  when  he  fell  .shot  through  the 
head,  thus  consecrating  the  spot  with  his 
blood,  and  leaving  to  his  country  a  noble 
memory  which  she  has  ever  held  in  grateful 
honor. 

Putman  had  gone  to  the  rear  before  the 
final  attack  of  the  enemy  to  collect  men  for 
a  reinforcement.  On  his  return  he  met  the 
retreating  provincials  passing  over  Bunker 
Hill.  Without  orders  from  any  one,  he 
rallied  such  as  would  obey  him,  and  for  the 
first  time  during  the  day  assumed  the  com- 
mand. With  these  forces,  and  a  detachment 
which  arrived  too  late  to  take  part  in  the 
battle,  he  withdrew  to  Prospect  Hill,  where 
he  began  to  fortify  his  position.  The  British 
made  no  effort  to  pursue  him,  but  contented 
themselves  with  occupying  Breed's  and  Bun- 
ker Hills. 

Heavy  Losses  on  Both  Sides. 

In  this  battle  the  Americans  lost  four 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners.  The  British,  out  of  a  force  of 
less  than  three  thousand,  lost  one  thousand 
and  fifty-four,  including  eighty-three  officers, 
thirteen  of  whom  were  killed.  Among  the 
killed  was  Major  Pitcairn,  who  had  ordered 
his  men  to  fire  on  the  patriots  at  Lexington. 
The  victory  was  dearly  bought  by  the  British. 

In  its  moral  effects  the  battle  was  worth  as 
much  to  the  Americans  as  a  success.  It 
taught  them  that  undisciplined  provincials 
could  hold  their  ground  against  the  king's 
regulars,  and  inspired  them  with  a  confidence 
in  their  own  ability  to  maintain  the  struggle. 
They  had  held  their  ground    against  twice 


their  number,  and  were  driven  from  it  only 
when  their  ammunition  failed.  General  Gage 
was  deeply  impressed  with  this  lesson,  and 
made  no  attempt  to  assume  the  offensive 
When  the  news  of  the  battle  reached  Eng- 
land the  ministers  were  greatly  dissatisfied 
w^ith  their  victory.  Gage  was  recalled,  and  1 
General  Howe  was  appointed  his  successor. 

Preparations  for  the  Conflict. 

Washington,  who  had  started  on  his  jour- 
ney to  New  England  before  the  arrival  of  the 
news  of  the  battle,  was  met  on  the  way  by 
the  courier  who  bore  the  tidings  to  Congress. 
He  hastened  his  journey,  and  reached  Cam- 
bridge on  the  second  of  July.  The  next 
day  he  formally  assumed  the  command  of 
the  army.  He  was  received  with  enthusiasm 
which  was  most  gratifying  to  him,  and  at 
once  set  to  work  to  place  the  army  in  a 
proper  condition  for  the  service  required  of 
it.  He  was  fully  aware  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  task  he  had  undertaken,  and  his  letters 
written  at  the  time  indicate  a  deep  reliance 
upon  God  for  assistance  in  discharging  it. 

The  army  numbered  about  fourteen  thous- 
and men,  and  was  without  organization,  with- 
out uniforms,  poorly  armed,  and  imperfectly 
clothed.  It  must  be  disciplined,  supplied 
with  arms  and  clothing,  and  with  ammuni- 
tion. At  the  same  time  the  enemy  in  Bos- 
ton must  be  watched  and  kept  in  check. 
To  make  the  army  effective  its  force  must  be 
raised  to  twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  and  the  petty  jealousies  which  divided 
it  must  be  removed. 

It  was  resolved  to  maintain  the  present 
position  of  the  army  before  Boston,  and  to 
capture  or  drive  out  the  British  force  in  ■ 
that  city.  Washington  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Cambridge,  which  was  his  centre, 
and  was  under  the  immediate  command  of 
General  Putnam.  The  right  wing,  under 
General  Ward    h<-Ul  Ro.Kburv,  and  the  left, 


37^ 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLailON. 


under  General  Charles  Lee,  was  at  Prospect 
Hill.  About  this  time  the  army  was  joined 
by  a  force  of  riflemen  from  Virginia,  Mary- 
land, and  Pennsylvania,  under  Daniel  Mor- 
gan, who  was  destined  to  achieve  distinction 
during  the  war.  He  was  rough  and  unedu- 
cated, but  was  one  of  the  truest  sons  of 
America.  He  was  never  found  wanting  in 
iny  position  in  which  he  was  placed,  and 
was  a  man  upon  whose  devotion  and  integ- 


BUNKER    HILL    MONUMENT. 

rity  absolute  reliance  could  be  placed  by  his 
commanders. 

The  winter  was  passed  in  the  organization 
of  the  army.  The  want  of  ammunition  pre- 
vented Washington  from  assuming  the  offen- 
sive, though  he  greatly  desired  to  do  so.  It 
was  necessary  to  observe  the  greatest  care 
to  prevent  this  state  of  affairs  from  becoming 
known  to  the  Britisli,  and  at  the  same  time 
every  effort  was  made  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency. These  efforts  were  partially  success- 
ful. 


It  was  proposed  to  attack  Canada  soon 
after  the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point.  This  proposal  met  with 
little  favor  in  Congress  until  it  was  known 
that  the  British  were  assembling  a  force  of 
regulars  and  enlisting  the  Indians  in  Canada 
for  the  invasion  of  New  York.  Then,  as  a 
measure  of  self-defence,  the  proposed  invasion 
cf  that  country  was  sanctioned,  and  prepara- 
tions for  it  were  actively  begun.  Two  expe- 
ditions were  deter- 
mined upon ;  one 
by  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  the 
other  across  the 
wilderness,  by  way 
of  the  Kennebec 
and  Chaudiere  Riv- 
ers. The  first  was 
intrusted  to  Gener- 
al Philip  Schuyler, 
who  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  Wash- 
ington to  the  com- 
mand in  New  York, 
and  the  latterto  Col- 
onel Arnold,  who 
was  in  the  camp  at 
Cambridge,  eager 
for  some  opportu- 
nity to  distinguish 
himself. 
A  force  of  New  York  and  New  England 
troops  was  assembled  on  Lake  Champlain 
under  Schuyler,  who  was  ably  seconded  by 
Brigadier  General  Richard  Montgomerj^  who 
had  served  under  Wolfe  in  the  old  French 
war.  Schuyler  moved  down  the  lake  t)  the 
Isle  aux  Noix,  in  the  Sorel  River,  and  occu- 
pied that  island.  In  September  he  made  an 
attempt  to  capture  St.  John's,  but  finding  it 
much  stronger  than  he  had  supposed,  re- 
sumed his  former  position.  Falling  seriously 
ill  soon  after,  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw  to 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    WAR. 


3?  5 


Albany,  and  relinquished  the  command  to 
Montgomery.  Reaching  Albany,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  supplies,  ammunition  and 
reinforcements,  and  sent  them  to  Mont- 
gomery. 

An  Important  Success. 

Tliat  energetic  officer  at  once  assumed  the 
ofiensive,  and  captured  St.  John's,  on  the 
Sorel  River,  on  the  third  of  November,  after 
a  spirited  resistance,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  Sir  Guy  Carleton  to  relieve  it.  On  the 
thirteenth  of  November  Montgomery  arrived 
before  Montreal,  which  surrendered  upon  his 
first  summons.  This  capture  enabled  the 
American  commander  to  supply  his  men 
■with  woolen  clothes,  of  which  they  were  very 
much  in  need.  Although  it  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  winter,  and  his  force  was  reduced 
to  three  hundred  men,  poorly  clad  and  lack- 
ing almost  every  kind  of  supplies,  Montgom- 
ery set  out  without  delay  to  join  Arnold 
before  Quebec. 

Arnold  had  left  the  camp  at  Cambridge  in 
September  with  a  force  ofeleven  hundred  men, 
including  three  companies  of  riflemen  under 
Morgan.  He  was  to  ascend  the  Kennebec 
and  march  across  the  wilderness  to  Quebec, 
where  he  was  to  unite  his  force  with  the  army 
from  New  York.  The  march  across  the 
unbroken  wilderness  of  Maine  and  Canada  is 
one  of  the  most  memorable  in  history.  It 
consumed  two  months  of  time,  and  was 
marked  by  intense  suffering  and  unceasing 
and  severe  labor.  The  troops  had  to  cut 
their  way  through  an  unbroken  wilderness^ 
.'brd  icy  streams,  climb  mountains  and  brave 
the  rigors  of  the  Canadian  winter.  Their 
provisions  gave  out,  and  thry  were  reduced 
to  the  nece,ssity  of  eating  their  dogs  and 
chewing  their  moccasins. 

At  length,  on  the  ninth  of  November, 
Arnold,  with  about  six  hundred  and  fifty 
■effective  men,  reached  the  St.  Lawrence,  at 


Point  Levi.  Could  he  have  crossed  over  to 
Quebec  at  once,  that  city  must  have  fallen 
into  his  hands ;  but  he  was  unable  to  do  so, 
as  he  had  no  boats  ;  and  in  a  few  days  Sir 
Guy  Carleton  arrived  from  Montreal,  which 
he  had  abandoned  to  Montgomery,  and  put 
the  city  in  a  state  of  defence. 

Eluding  the  two  armed  vessels  which  held 
the  river,  Arnold  crossed  his  command  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
climbing  the  cliffs  by  the  path  which  Wolfe 
had  ascended,  occupied  the  Heights  of  Abra- 
ham, and  endeavored  to  draw  the  garrison 
out  of  their  works  to  meet  him.  They 
declined  his  challenge,  and  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  besiege  the  city  without  artillerj^  he 
moved  to  a  point  twenty  miles  up  the  river, 
where  he  met  Montgomery,  from  whom  he 
obtained  clothing  for  his  men,  who  had  lost 
nearly  all  their  clothes  in  their  march  through 
the  wilderness, 

A  Difficult  March. 

Montgomery  now  assumed  the  command 
of  the  united  forces,  which  numbered  less 
than  a  thousand  men,  and  on  the  fifth  of 
December  laid  siege  to  Quebec.  Having  no 
materials  for  the  proper  construction  of  a 
battery,  a  novel  expedient  was  adopted. 
Gabions  were  filled  with  ice  and  snow,  over 
which  water  was  poured.  The  cold  soon 
froze  this  to  a  solid  mass  ;  but,  as  the  ice  was 
brittle,  it  afforded  no  protection  against  the 
fire  of  the  enemy's  guns.  The  Americans 
soon  found  their  artillery  too  light  to  make 
any  impression  upon  the  walls  of  the  city, 
and,  as  a  last  resort,  it  was  determined  to 
attempt  the  capture  of  the  place  by  an  assault, 
which  was  ordered  for  the  thirty-first  of 
December.  The  attack  was  made  with 
spirit,  but  was  unsuccessful. 

Montgomery  was  shot  down  while  leading 
the  attack  on  the  lower  town,  and  his  column 
was   driven    back.      Arnold    was    severely 


3/4 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


wounded  in  the  assault  upon  the  upper  town, 
and  the  command  passed  to  Morcjan,  the 
next  in  rank.  Morgan  succeeded  in  carry- 
ing the  two  batteries  which  defended  the 
entrance  to  Quebec,  and  in  forcing  his  way 
into  the  town ;  but,  being  overpowered  by 
numbers,  was  compelled  to  surrender.  He 
and  his  men  were  treated  with  especial  kind- 
ness by  Sir  Guy  Carleton  in  recognition  of 
their  bravery.  The  attack  having  proved  a 
failure,  Arnold,  whose  force  had  been  reduced 


GENERAL   RICHARD    MONTGOMERY. 

to  nve  hundred  men,  fell  back  to  a  position 
about  three  miles  above  Quebec,  and  held  it 
all  winter,  hoping  to  receive  such  reinforce- 
ments as  would  enable  him  to  take  Quebec, 

In  April,  1776,  GL^neral  Wooster  joined 
Arnold  with  reinforcements,  and,  assuming 
the  command,  made  another  unsuccessful 
effort  to  capture  Quebec.  Wooster  was  soon 
recalled,  and  was  succeeded  by  General 
Thomas.  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  governor  of 
Canada,  was  heavily  reinforced,  and  Thomas 


was  obliged  to  abandon  the  attempt  on 
Quebec  and  retreat.  His  movement  was  so 
hasty  that  he  left  his  baggage,  artillery  and 
sick  in  Carleton's  hands.  The  British  com- 
mander, with  a  humanity  rare  among  his 
countrymen  during  this  struggle,  treated  the 
sick  prisoners  with  great  kindness.  Thomas 
fell  back  as  far  as  the  Sorel,  where  he  died 
of  the  small-pox,  which  was  making  great 
ravages  among  the  troops.  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton continued  to  advance,  and  defeated  a 
portion  of  the  army  under  General  Thomp- 
son at  Three  Rivers.  Thompson  and  a 
number  of  his  officers  and  men  were  made 
prisoners. 

The  remainder  secured  their  retreat  and 
joined  General  Sullivan  on  the  Sorel.  The 
wreck  of  the  army  now  fell  back  from  Canada 
to  Crown  Point  in  a  most  miserable  and  dis- 
heartened condition.  Thus  ended  the  inva- 
sion of  Canada,  the  most  disastrous  e.\pedi- 
tion  attempted  by  the  Americans  during  the 
vv^ar;  yet  still  one  the  failures  of  which  were 
greatly  offset  by  the  heroic  daring  of  the 
troops  engaged.  Carleton  was  able  to  occupy 
the  entrances  to  Canada  with  a  strong  force^ 
and  to  make  any  future  attempt  at  invasion 
impossible. 

Norfolk  Bombarded. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in 
Canada,  Virginia  was  also  the  scene  of  war. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1775  Lord 
Dunmore,  the  royalist  governor  of  Virginia, 
who  had  taken  refuge  on  board  a  man-of- 
war,  issued  a  proclamation  offering  freedom 
to  the  negro  slaves  and  indentured  white  ser- 
vants of  the  patriots  who  would  join  him  in 
the  servile  war  he  meant  to  inaugurate. 
With  a  force  collected  in  this  manner,  he 
landed  at  Norfolk  and  took  possession  of  the 
town.  Fugitive  slaves  joined  him  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  and  it  seemed  likely  that 
he  would  be  able  to  carry  out  his  threat  and 


PROGRESS   OF   Till-:   WAR. 


373 


scourge  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  with  a 
warfare  of  massacre  and  servile  violence. 

Several  regiments  were  raised  in  Virginia 
to  drive  him  out  of  the  province.  The  second 
of  these,  under  Colonel  Woodford,  seized  the 
narrow  peninsula  which  connects  Norfolk 
with  the  mainland,  and  on  the  ninth  of 
December  was  attacked  by  Dunmore's  forces, 
which  were  summarily  defeated.  In  revenge. 
Dunmore  returned  in  Januarj^  1776,  and 
bombarded  and  burned  Norfolk,  then  the 
largest  and  richest  town  and  the  principal 
shipping  port  of  Virginia. 

On  the  fifth  of  September,  1775,  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  resumed  its  sessions. 
Delegates  from  Georgia  appeared  and  were 
admitted  to  seats  in  the  Congress,  and  the 
colonies  assumed  the  style  of  the  Thirteen 
Utiited  Colonies.  Matters  were  not  very 
encouraging  when  Congress  met.  The  army 
was  in  need  of  everything  that  could  con- 
tribute to  its  efficienc}',  and  the  New  England 
coast  was  harassed  with  the  armed  vessels  of 
Great  Britain,  which  laid  its  towns  under 
exaction,  or  subjected  them  to  bombard- 
ment, and  committed  other  gross  outrages 
upon  the  inhabitants.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
October  the  town  of  Falmouth,  now  Port- 
land, in  Maine,  was  burned  by  Lieutenant 
Mowatt  of  the  British  navy.  The  olher 
towns,  warned  by  the  fate  of  Falmouth,  pro- 
ceeded to  fortify  themselves,  and  escaped 
with  nothing  worse  than  an  occasional 
engagement  with  some  royal  cruiser. 

Naval  matters  very  largely  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country  at  this  period. 
The  only  way  in  which  the  needed  supplies 
could  be  obtained  was  by  purchase  abroad  or 
the  capture  of  the  enemy's  ships.  Maryland, 
Virginia  and  South  Carolina  promptly  estab- 
lished naval  boards  for  the  purpose  of  fitting 
cut  cruisers  for  this  service  ;  and  among  the 
first  acts  of  Washington,  after  assuming  the 
command    of  the    army,   was    to    send    out 


armed  vessels  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
New  England  waters  to  seize  the  supply 
ships  of  the  English  on  their  way  to  Canada 
and  Boston.  A  number  of  vessels  were 
captured  by  these  cruisers,  and  a  considera- 
ble quantity  of  arms,  ammunition  and  other 
stores  thus  accumulated. 

Securing  War  Supplies. 

Congress  appointed  a  secret  committee 
to  import  powder  from  the  West  Indies,  and 
to  erect  mills  in  the  interior  for  its  manufac- 
ture ;  and  foundries  for  casting  cannon. 
Licenses  were  issued  to  privateers,  and  a 
naval  committee  was  appointed  to  superin- 
tend the  formation  of  a  marine  force  for  the 
defence  of  the  harbors,  and  was  charged  with 
the  building  of  thirteen  frigates.  In  Decem- 
ber a  secret  committee  was  appointed  to 
open  and  conduct  a  correspondence  with 
foreign  nations,  or  with  friends  of  the  cause 
in  Europe. 

Parliament,  in  the  meantime,  had  not  been 
idle,  but  had  enacted  stringent  measures  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  and  the  punish- 
ment of  the  colonists.  The  measures  adopted 
by  the  British  government  were  cruel  and 
barbarous.  The  Americans  were  to  be 
treated  as  criminals  and  as  deserving  of 
death.  They  were  made  subject  to  the  pains 
and  penalties  of  treason  if  captured,  and 
could  in  no  case  expect  the  treatment  of 
prisoners  of  war.  The  crews  of  all  vessels 
captured  in  trading  to  the  colonies  were  con- 
demned beforehand  to  serve  in  the  marine 
corps  of  the  ro)'al  navy.  It  was  decided 
to  increase  the  British  army  in  America  to 
forty  thousand  men. .  Twenty-five  thousand 
of  these  troops  were  to  be  raised,  and  the 
effort  to  enlist  men  was  begun  in  England, 
but  without  success.  Recruits  could  not  be 
found  in  sufficient  numbers  to  repay  the 
effort.  The  ministry  could  not  hope  for 
better  success  in  Ireland,  as  they  had  been 


3/6 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


warned  by  General  Howe  that  the  Irish  were 
strong  sympathizers  with  the  Americans  and 
could  not  be  relied  upon  to  fight  against  them. 
In  this  emergency  the  government  resolved 
to  employ  German  troops  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  America,  and  negotiations  were  opened 
with  Brunswick  and  Hesse  Cassel,  two  petty 
German  States.  The  result  was  that  Great 
Britain  hired  seventeen  thousand  troops 
from  these  .states  for  the  conquest  of  the 
English-speaking  people  of  America.  These 
mercenaries  were  generally  known  as  Hes- 
sians, and  became  the  objects  of  the  bitter 
hatred  of  the  Americans — a  hatred  which 
they  fully  earned  by  their  subsequent  cruel- 
ties towards  the  colonists. 


These  measures  were  not  adopted  by  the 
British  government  without  opposition. 
There  was  a  determined  minority  in  B^ng- 
land,  consisting  of  such  men  as  Burke,  Barre 
and  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  who  manfully 
sought  to  obtain  justice  for  the  colonies  up 
to  the  last  moment  at  which  a  settlement  was 
possible.  The  corporation  of  London  and 
the  mercantile  interests  of  the  country 
generally  were  opposed  to  the  measures 
of  the  government,  and  sought  to  procure 
a  just  and  peaceful  settlement ;  but  all  ef- 
forts were  in  vain.  The  king  and  the 
ministry  were  resolved  upon  the  subjuga- 
tion of  America ;  nothing  else  would  satisfy 
them. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


The   Declaration  of  Independence 

■The  Siege  of  Boston— Difficulties  of  the  American  Army— Activity  of  the  Privateers — Clinton's  Expedition— Colonel 
Knox  Arrives  from  Ticonderoga  with  Cannon— Seizure  of  Dorchester  Heights  by  Washington— The  Bri'.ish  Evacuate 
Boston— Royalist  Plots  in  New  York— Paper  Money  Issued  by  Congress— Gates  Sent  to  the  North— The  British 

Attack  Charleston — Battle  of  Fort  Moidtrie — The  Howes  in  New  York  Bay — Change  in  the  Character  of  the  War 

Growing  Sentiment  in  Favor  of  Independence — Virginia  Proposes  that  the  Colonies  Assert  their  Independence — 
Action  of  Congress — The  Declaration  of  Independence— Articles  of  Confederation  Adopted  by  Congress — Lord 
Howe's  Efforts  at  Conciliation — Addresses  a  Letter  to  Washington — Battle  of  Long  Island — Defeat  of  the  Americans 
— Retreat  from  Long  Island — Evacuation  of  New  York  by  the  Americans — Less  of  Fort  Washington — Washington 
Retreats  Through  New  Jersey — He  Crosses  the  Delaware — Darkest  Period  of  tlie  War— Washington's  Determination 
to  Continue  the  War — Lord  Howe's  Proclamation — Its  Effect — Congress  at  Baltimore— Carleton  Invades  New  York 
— Defeats  Arnold  on  Lake  Champlain — Carleton  Retires  into  Canada — Battle  of  Trenton — Happy  Effects  of  the 
Victory — Congress  Confers  Dictatorial  Powers  u\Km  Washington — Commissioners  Sent  to  France. 


THE  winter  of  1775-76  was  passed  by 
the  army  before  Boston  in  inaction. 
There  was  not  ammunition  enough 
in  the  camp  to  enable  Washington 
to  attack  Boston,  and  the  British  were  well 
content  to  remain  within  their  lines  without 
seeking  to  raise  the  siege.  Washington 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  obtain  ar:il- 
lery  and  powder.  Henry  Knox,  a  bookseller 
of  Boston,  who  had  entered  the  military  ser- 
vice of  the  colonies,  had  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  commander-in-chief  by  his  skill  in  the 
use  of  artillery  and  in  planning  the  works 
erected  for  the  delence  of  the  camp.  Knox 
now  proposed  to  go  to  Ticonderoga  and  bring 
away  from  that  place  and  from  Crown  Point 
all  the  artillery  and  powder  that  could  be 
spared,  and  his  plan  was  at  once  approved  j 
by  Washington,  who  urged  Congress  to  com-  | 
mission  him  a  colonel  of  artillery. 

At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Schuyler,  the 
commander  in  New  York,  to  give  Knox  every 
assistance  in  his  power  in  his  effort  to  bring 
the  artillery  from  Lake  Champlain  to  Boston. 
Great  difficulties  were  experienced  during 
the  winter  in  inducing  the  troops  to  renew 
their  enlistments.     It  required  all  the  ingenu- 


ity and  tact  of  which  Washington  was  master 
to  remove  the  prejudices  and  jealousies  which 
had  grown  up  in  the  camp  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  blockade  of  Boston,  and 
which  threatened  to  disband  the  army.  He 
succeeded  in  a  greater  degree  than  he  had 
expected.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  1776 
he  had  about  ten  thousand  men  in  camp, 
many  of  whom  were  raw  troops  newly  enlisted 
and  without  arms.  Still  they  were  a  more 
harmonious  and  contented  force  than  the  first 
army.  Towards  the  close  of  1775  the  priva- 
teers made  extensive  captures  from  the 
British.  Captain  Manly,  of  the  schooner 
"  Lee,"  captured  a  British  brig  off  Cape  Ann, 
laden  with  arms,  artillery  and  military  stores 
for  the  British  army  at  Boston.  These  were 
sent  at  once  to  Washington,  and  proved  of 
the  greatest  service.  Among  the  captures 
was  an  immense  mortar,  which  Putnam  named 
the  "  Congress,"  and  placed  in  position  at 
Lechmere  Point,  on  the  north  of  Boston. 

Matters  were  gloomy  indeed.  The  people 
were  very  anxious  that  Boston  should  be 
attacked,  but  such  a  course  was  impossible. 
As  late  as  the  tenth  of  February,  1776, 
Washington  wrote  :  "  Without  men,  without 
377 


Tin:  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


arms,  without  ammunition,  little  is  to  be 
done."  To  increase  the  discouragement  of 
the  patriots  news  came  of  the  defeat  of  the 
attempt  to  conquer  Canada.  The  British 
were  collecting  a  fleet  for  a  demonstration 
against  some  point  on  the  .\tlantic  coast, 
and  as  it  was  not  certain  where  the  blow 
would  fall,  a  feeling  of  general  uneasiness 
prevailed  along  the  entire  seaboard. 

This  expedition  sailed  from  Boston,  under 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  about  the  first  of  Febru- 
ar\-,     Washington,  who  had  for  some  time 


GENEIUVL    HENRY    KNOX. 

suspected  that  it  was  designed  to  capture 
New  York,  had  already  sent  General  Charles 
Lee  to  raise  troops  to  occupy  that  important 
city  and  hold  it  against  the  British.  Lee 
executed  his  task  with  energy,  and  on  the 
fourth  of  February  entered  New  York  and 
encamped  in  the  suburbs,  in  what  is  now 
the  City  Hall  Park.  Governor  Tryon,  who 
had  taken  refuge  on  board  a  man-of-war, 
threatened  to  bombard  the  city  if  the  Ameri- 
can forces  should  enter  it;  but  Lee  informed 
him  that  the  first  shot  fired  at  New  York 


would  be  the  signal  for  the  execution  of  the 
leading  friends  of  the  royal  cause  in  that  cit>\ 
This  decisive  answer  induced  Tryon  to  delay 
his  barbarous  purpose.  That  afternoon  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  with  his  fleet,  entered  the 
harbor.  Finding  that  he  had  come  too  late 
to  secure  the  city,  Clinton  declared  that  he 
had  merely  called  at  the  harbor  to  pay  a  visit 
to  his  friend  Tryon,  and  in  a  few  days  he 
sailed  away  for  North  Carolina,  where  the 
royalist  Governor  Martin,  who,  like  Tryon, 
had  taken  refuge  on  board  a  man-of-war,  had 
been  endeavoring  to  stir  up  an  insurrection 
of  the  Tories,  as  the  royalists  were  called. 
The  command  of  this  movement  was  to  be 
assumed  by  Clinton.  Martin  also  expected 
a  fleet  under  Sir  Peter  Parker  from  Ireland. 

Decisive   Defeat  of  the  Tories. 

To  gain  time,  and  stir  up  the  Tories  to 
prompt  action,  he  commissioned  two  retired 
officers  of  the  British  army,  Scotchmen, 
named  McDonald  and  McLeod,  who  had 
recently  settled  in  North  Carolina,  to  raise 
troops  among  the  friends  of  the  king  in  the 
interior.  They  succeeded  in  raising  about 
fifteen  hundred  men,  and  set  off  for  the  coast 
to  join  Martin.  The  patriots  at  once  rallied 
in  considerable  forco  to  oppose  their  march, 
and  intercepted  them  at  Moore's  Creek 
Bridge,  near  Wilmington.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  February  a  sharp  engagement  was 
fought  here,  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of 
the  Tories.  McLeod  was  killed  and  McDonald 
was  taken  prisoner.  Eighteen  hundred 
stand  of  arms,  one  hundred  and  fifty  swords, 
two  medicine-chests,  and  the  sum  of  fifteen 
thousand  pounds  sterling  in  gold  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  victors,  and  went  far  toward 
supplying  their  deficiencies.  The  contem- 
plated rising  of  the  Tories  was  put  down 
in  the  interior  counties,  and  Martin  find- 
ing his  hopes  of  raising  troops  in  North 
Carolina    destroyed,  withdrew  with  Clinton 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


379 


,o  the  Cape  Fear  to  await  the  arrival  of  the 
fleet  of  Sir  Peter  Parker. 

In  the  meantime  a  Union  flag  had  been 
provided  for  the  army  before  Boston,  and 
was  formally  displayed  for  the  first  time  in 
the  American  camp  on  the  first  of  January, 
1776.  It  retained  the  English  cross  in  the 
upper  left-hand  corner,  in  token  of  the  rela- 
tions still  existing  between  the  colonies  and 
England,  and  bore  on  its  broad  field  thirteen 
stripes  of  alternate  red  and  white,  represent- 
ing the  thirteen  colonies  united  for  the  defence 
of  their  liberties.  Towards  the  close  of 
February  the  stock  of  powder  was  consider- 
ably increased,  and  a  little  later  Colonel  Knox 
arrived  from  Ticonderoga  with  the  cannon 
and  ammunition  from  that  post. 

He  had  transported  them  on  sledges  across 
the  long  stretch  of  country  between  Lake 
Champlain  and  Boston,  and  had  overcome 
difficulties  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  task 
which  seemed  at  first  insurmountable.  The 
arrival  of  these  guns  gave  Washington  a  fair 
supply  of  heavy  ordnance  and  put  an  end  to 
the  long  delay  which  had  prevailed  in  the 
American  camp.  The  regular  army  had  been 
increased  to  fourteen  thousand  men,  and  had 
been  reinforced  by  six  thousand  militia  from 
Massachusetts. 

Ready  for  Decisive  Action. 

All  now  was  bustle  and  activity.  The 
newly  arrived  cannon  were  mouuted  to  com- 
mand the  city,  and  Washington  was  at  length 
able  to  attempt  the  long  desired  demonstra- 
tion against  the  enemy  in  Boston.  As  early 
as  December,  1775,  Congress  had  urged  him 
to  undertake  the  capture  of  Boston,  and  had 
authorized  him  to  destroy  the  city  if  he  could 
expel  the  British  in  no  other  way,  and  John 
Hancock,  who  was  a  large  property-owner, 
regardless  of  the  fate  of  his  possessions,  had 
written  to  him  :  "  Do  it,  and  may  God  crown 
your  attempt  with   success."     All   through 


the  winter  Washington  had  been  held  back 
from  such  an  attempt  by  the  advice  of  his 
council  of  war,  which  hesitated  to  assume 
the  offensive  with  an  insufficient  supply  of 
ammunition  and  artillery.  Putnam  had  suc- 
ceeded in  fortifying  the  neighboring  heights 
on  the  mainland,  but  had  been  obliged  to 
do  much  of  this  work  at  night  to  avoid  the 
fire  of  the  enemy's  shipping.  The  last 
obstacle  to  decisive  action  was  now  removed. 
Washington  resolved  to  seize  the  eminence 
on  the  south  of  Boston,  known  as  Dorchester 
Heights.  It  commanded  the  town  from  that 
quarter  and  also  the  shipping  in  the  harbor. 
Its  possession  by  the  Americans  would  force 
Sir  William  Howe  either  to  evacuate  the 
city  or  risk  a  general  engagement  for  its 
recover)'. 

Heavy  Fire  of  Shot  and  Shell. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  of  March  a 
heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  the  British  lines 
by  the  American  batteries  and  also  upon 
Boston.  A  number  of  houses  were  set  on 
fire,  and  the  attention  of  the  British  was  fully 
occupied  in  extinguishing  the  flames.  The' 
bombardment  was  renewed  the  next  night. 
At  dark  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  of 
March  the  Americans  renewed  their  fire  with 
redoubled  vigor,  and  were  replied  to  with 
spirit  by  the  British,  and  during  the  whole 
night  the  roar  of  cannon  went  on,  covering 
the  movements  of  the  Americans  from  ob- 
servation by  the  enemy.  The  force  assigned 
for  the  seizure  of  Dorchester  Heights  was 
placed  under  the  command  of  General 
Thomas,  and  in  case  the  movement  should  be 
discovered,  and  the  enemy  should  seek  to  dis- 
lodge this  detachment  from  the  Heights, 
General  Putnam  was  ordered  to  cross  Charles 
River  with  a  column  of  four  thousand  picked 
troops  and  attack  the  city  from  that  quarter. 

Under  the  cover  of  the  heavy  cannonade 
the  column  of  General  Thomas  passed  the 


3  So 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


narrow  isthmus  in  safety,  and  reached  the 
Heights  by  eight  o'clock  undiscovered  by 
the  enemy.  They  at  once  set  to  work,  though 
the  ground  was  frozen  to  a  depth  of  more 
than  eighteen  inches,  and  by  morning  had 
thrown  up  a  series  of  earthworks  which 
entirely  commanded  both  the  cit)-  and  the 
harbor.  General  Howe  was  greatly  aston- 
ished as  he  examined  these  works  through 
his  glass  when  the  mists  of  the  morning 
cleared  away.  "  The  rebels,"  he  said,  "  have 
done  more  work  in  a  night  than  n:;y  whole  army 
would  have  done  in  a  month."     The  British 


MEDAL  STRUCK   BY   CONGRESS   IN   HONOR   OF  THE   RECAPTURE  OF   BUST 

admiral  declared  that  his  ships  could  not 
remain  in  the  harbor,  as  the  possession  of  the 
Heights  by  the  Americans  placed  the  fleet 
entirely  at  their  mercy.  It  was  evident  to 
all  the  British  commanders  that  the  Heights 
must  be  recovered  or  the  city  abandoned 
and  General  Howe  determined  to  storm  the 
American  works  that  night,  and  made  prep- 
arations for  an  attack.  This  movement  was 
prevented  by  a  severe  storm,  which  put  a 
stop  to  the  cooperation  of  the  fleet,  and  when 
the  storm  had  died  away  the  works  had  been 
so  greatly  strengthened  as  to  render  an  assault 
hopeless. 


A  council  of  war  was  held,  and  it  was 
resolved  to  abandon  the  town.  As  such  a 
step  required  some  time,  Howe  secured  the 
safety  of  his  army  by  declaring  that  he  would 
burn  the  town  if  his  troops  were  fired  on 
during  their  embarkation.  A  deputation  of 
the  citizens  proceeded  to  the  American  camp 
and  informed  General  Washington  of  Howe's 
determination,  and  in  order  to  save  the  city 
from  further  suffering  the  British  were  allowed 
to  depart  in  peace.  They  consumed  eleven 
days  in  their  embarkation.  They  embarked 
about  fifteen  hundred  Tories  with  them,  and 
after  plundering  a  num- 
ber of  stores  and  private 
houses,  and  robbing  the 
inhabitants  of  a  consid- 
erable supply  of  pro- 
visions, they  embarked 
on  the  seventeenth  of 
March,  and  dropping 
down  the  bay  anchored 
at  Nantasket  Roads. 
They  had  scarcely  left 
the  city  when  the  Ameri- 
can army,  under  Wash- 
ington, marched  in  and 
occupied  the  place.  The 
long  siege  often  months 
was  at  an  end,  and  Bos- 
ton was  again  free.  The  patriot  army  was 
received  with  enthusiasm,  and  matters  soon 
began  to  resume  their  accustomed  condition. 
By  the  capture  of  Boston  the  Americans 
obtained  possession  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
pieces  of  artillery,  four  mortars,  and  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  ammunition,  pro\-isions 
and  clothing,  which  the  British  could  not 
carry  away.  After  the  departure  of  the 
British  fleet  from  Nantasket  Roads  several 
transports  with  troops,  not  aware  of  the. 
evacuation,  entered  the  harbor,  and  were 
captured.  Several  storeships,  laden  with 
military   supplies   of  all  kinds,  also  arrived 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


381 


from  England,  and  were  captured  in  the  same 
way.  These  captures  were  of  the  highest 
importance  to  the  patriots.  Their  supply  of 
ammunition  was  in  this  way  increased  more 
than  sevenfold. 

The  capture  of  Boston  was  justly  esteemed 
the  most  important  success  of  the  war.  It 
freed  New  England  from  the  presence  of  the 
English,  and  enabled  her  to  contribute  men 
and  money  to  the  defence  of  the  middle 
colonies.  On  motion  of  John  Adams,  Con-  \ 
gress  adopted  a  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  to  I 


defence.  He  soon  discovered  that  the  Tories 
in  the  city  were  in  constant  communication 
with  Governor  Tryon  and  the  British  ships 
in  the  harbor.  Severe  measures  were  at  once 
adopted  to  stop  this  intercourse.  A  con- 
spiracy for  the  recovery  of  the  city  by  Tryon 
was  discovered,  and  his  agents  were  found 
tampering  with  the  American  soldiers.  One 
Thomas  Hickey,  a  deserter  from  the  British 
army,  was  hanged  "  for  mutiny,  sedition  and 
treachery,"  and  this  vigorous  measure  at 
once  put  a  stop  to  the  plots  of  the  Tories. 


CONTINENTAL    BILLS. 


Washington  and  the  army,  and  ordered  a 
gold  medal  to  be  struck  in  commemoration 
of  the  deliverance  of  Boston. 

The  British  fleet  remained  in  Nantaskct 
roads  for  several  days  after  the  evacuation  of 
.Boston,  and  then  bore  away  for  Halifax. 
Washington  was  fearful  that  its  destination 
was  New  York,  and  leaving  General  Ward 
with  five  regiments  to  hold  Boston,  hastened 
southward  with  the  main  body  of  the  army.  I 
He  reached  New  York  on  the  thirteenth  of 
of  April,  and  set  to  work  with  vigor  to  put 
the    city   and   its    approaches   in   a  state   of  ' 


Congress,  in  February,  1776,  found  itself 
obliged  to  issue  four  millions  of  dollars  of 
additional  paper  money  in  order  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  which  were  heavier  than 
had  been  supposed.  For  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  finances,  an  auditor-general  and 
assistants  were  appointed  to  act  under  the 
financial  committee  of  Congress,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  this  branch  of  the  public 
service  assumed  the  form  of  a  treasury 
department.  In  April  a  war  office  was 
established  by  Congress  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  committee  of  its  members.     John 


382 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Adams  was  made  chairman  of  this  committee, 
and  resigned  his  post  of  chief-justice  of 
Massachusetts  to  accept  it. 

The  retreat  of  Sulh'van  from  Canada  now 
became  known,  and  the  conduct  of  that 
officer  was  approved  by  Congress,  which 
passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  him.  At  the  same 
time  it  appointed  Major-General  Horatio 
Gates  to  the  command  of  the  army  in  his 
place.  Gates  was  an  Englishman  by  birth, 
and  liad  joined  the  colonial  movement  in  the 
hope  of  winning  honors  and  fame  by  his 
sen-ices.  He  had  served  in  the  British  army 
during  the  colonial  period,  but  had  failed  to 
receive  the  rewards  he  deemed  himself 
entitled  to,  and  had  resigned  his  commission 
in  disgust,  and  had  come  to  America  to  reside 
a  few  years  before  the  rupture  with  England. 
His  experience  and  skill  made  him  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  American  army,  but  his 
ambition  and  jealousy  were  destined  to 
cause  it  considerable  trouble.  Gates  at  once 
claimed  that  his  command  embraced  not  only 
the  troops  on  Lake  Champlain,  but  also  the 
w  hole  northern  army  under  Schuyler.  The 
matter  was  referred  to  Congress,  and  it  was 
decided  that  Gates  was  independent  of  the 
control  of  Schuyler  only  while  in  Canada. 
Elsewhere  he  was  subject  to  Schuyler's  com- 
mand. 

Expedition  Against  Charleston. 

In  the  meantime  Congress  had  sent  Gen- 
eral Charles  Lee  to  the  south  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  troops  assembling  to  oppose  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  who  was  waiting  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  river  for  the  arrival 
of  the  fleet  of  Sir  Peter  Parker  from  Ireland. 
This  fleet  joined  Clinton  in  May,  and  a  little 
later  Congress  learned  by  means  of  inter- 
cepted letters  that  Charleston,  in  South 
Carolina,  was  the  object  of  attack.  The 
command  of  the  strong  military  force  which 
the  fleet  briiught  was  to  he  held  by  Sir  1  lenry 


Clinton,   to  whom  the  general  direction  of 
the  expedition  was  intrusted. 

Lee  hastened  at  once  to  Charleston.  He 
found  there  a  force  of  about  six  thousand 
men,  from  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia  ;  but 
the  city  was  not  defended  by  a  single  fortifi- 
cation. Had  Clinton  assailed  it  at  once,  it 
must  have  fallen  into  his  hands,  as  he  arrived 
in  the  harbor  on  the  fourth  of  June,  the  very 
day  that  Lee  reached  the  city  ;  but  he  delayed 
his  attack  until  he  could  fortify  his  own 
position,  and  so  gave  Lee  time  to  erect  works 
for  the  defence  of  the  city. 

Fort  Moultrie  Bombarded. 

The  key  to  the  American  position  was 
Fort  Moultrie,  a  small  work  built  of  palmetto 
logs,  and  situated  on  the  southwest  point  of 
Sullivan's  Island.  It  was  commanded  by 
Colonel  William  Moultrie,  whose  name  it 
bore.  In  front  of  it  lay  the  British  fleet  under 
Sir  Peter  Parker.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
taken  position  with  two  thousand  men  on 
Long  Island,  which  was  separated  from  Sul- 
livan's Island  by  only  a  narrow  creek,  and 
was  building  batteries  to  cover  his  passage 
of  the  creek.  His  plan  was  to  allow  the  fleet 
to  breach  the  walls  of  Fort  Moultrie  and  then 
to  cross  his  troops  to  Sullivan's  Island  under 
the  cover  of  his  batteries,  and  carrj'  the  fort 
by  storm.  Lee,  who  was  ignorant  of  the 
capacity  of  the  soft,  spongy  palmetto  wood 
for  resisting  the  force  of  cannon  shot,  regarded 
the  eflbit  to  hold  Fort  Moultrie  as  madness. 
He  stationed  a  force  under  Colonel  Thomp- 
son on  Sullivan's  Island  opposite  Clinton  to 
dispute  his  passage  of  the  creek,  and  took 
position  on  the  mainland  with  the  rest  of  his 
force  where  he  could  support  either  Moultrie 
or  Thompson,  as  might  be  necessary. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June  the  enemy's 
fleet  opened  fire  on  Fort  Moultrie,  which 
replied  with  s[)irit,  and  for  ten  hours  the  can- 
nnn-ule  w.t;  "i.iintained  with  great  vigor  by 


THE 


DECLARATION    OF 

I 


ooth  sides.  The  enemy's  balls  buried  them 
selves  in  the  soft,  spongy  wood  of  the  pal 
metto  logs,  and  thus  did  little  injury  to  tin 
lort ;  but  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  Amcri 
can  guns  inflicted  great 
damage  upon  the  fleet 
The  British  were  finallj 
compelled  to  withdraw 
with  heavy  loss,  and 
abandoned  and  set  fire 
to  one  of  th:ir  ships 
During  the  engagement 
the  flag  of  the  fort  \\a-. 
shot  away,  and  fell  out- 
side of  the  walls.  Ser- 
geant Jasper,  of  the 
South  Carolina  forces, 
at  once  sprang  over  the 
wall  and  amidst  a  heavy 
fire  secured  the  flag,  tied 
it  to  a  pole,  and  set  it  up 
again  on  the  ramparts. 
This  done,  he  rejoined 
his  comrades  at  the  gun-, 
A  few  days  later  Go\- 
ernor  Rutledge  pre- 
sented Jasper  with  his 
own  sword  and  offered 
him  a  lieutenant's  com- 
mission. Jasper  accepted 
the  sword,  but  declined 
the  commission  on  the 
ground  that  he  could 
neither  read  nor  write 

Clinton  made  repeated 
efforts  to  cross  the  creek 
and  storm  the  fort  during 
the  battle,  but  was  as 
often  driven  back  by  the 
batteries  under  Thompson. 
fleet  having  withdrawn,  he 
men,  and  soon  after  sailed  for  New  York 
to  join  the  troops  assembling  near  that 
«ity. 


INDEPENDENCE.  383 

Washington  was  correct  in  supposing  that 
New  York  was  the  true  destination  of  Sir 
William  Howe  after  leaving  the  Nantasket 
Roads.     That  commander  sailed  first  to  Hali- 


( 

V; 


^ 


'^^r^^'/ 
\ 


^^ 


^ 


SERGEANT   JASPER    AT    FORT    MOULTRI 


At  length, 
embarked 


fax,  where  he  landed  the  civilians  and  other 
useless  incumbrances  he  had  been  obliged  to 
carry  away  from  Boston.  Then,  refitting  his 
command,  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  his 
brother.  Admiral   Lord   Howe,  who  was  on 


3S4 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


his  way  from  England  with  reinforcements. 
In  the  latter  part  of  June  he  sailed  from 
Halifax  for  New  York,  and  arrived  within 
Sandy  Hook  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  June, 
the  very  day  «f  the  attack  on  Fort  Moultrie, 
He  landed  his  forces  on  Staten  Island,  where 
he  was  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the 
Tories. 

A  little  later  he  was  joined  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  from  Charleston,  and  about  the  mid- 
die  of  July  Lord  Howe  arrived  with  rein- 
forcements, a  large  part  of  whom  were 
Hessians,  hired,  as  we  have  stated,  by  the 
King  of  England  from  the  Duke  of  Hesse 
Cassel,  in  German}-.  Their  arrival  raised  the 
strength  of  the  British  army  in  New  York 
Bay  to  thirty  thousand  men.  Their  attack 
upon  the  city  was  merely  a  question  of  time, 
and  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances 
it  was  scarcely  to  be  hoped  that  Washington 
would  succeed  in  maintaining  his  hold  upon 
New  York.  In  the  meantime  an  event  of  the 
highest  importance  had  changed  the  whole 
character  of  the  war  as  regarded  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

England  Will  Not  Relent. 

The  colonists  had  taken  up  arms  to  resist 
the  aggressions  of  the  King  and  Government 
of  Great  Britain  upon  their  liberties  and  to 
compel  the  mother  country  to  respect  the 
rights  guaranteed  to  them  by  their  charters 
and  by  the  British  Constitution.  Thus  far 
the  war  had  been  waged  for  these  ends.  At 
the  outset  of  the  struggle  a  few  far-seeing 
persons,  such  as  Samuel  Adams  and  Patrick 
Henry,  had  been  convinced  that  an  appeal  to 
arms  would  render  the  final  separation  of  the 
colonies  from  England  inevitable,  and  that 
such  an  issue  was  but  the  fulfilment  of  the 
destiny  of  their  country,  and  as  such  to  be 
desired. 

The  great  majority  of  the  people,  however, 
neither  thought  of  nor  wished  for  independ- 


ence. They  would  have  been  satisfied  to 
secure  their  liberties  and  privileges  as  English 
subjects,  and  would  gladly  have  continued 
loyal  to  the  king.  The  events  of  the  war  had 
made  it  plain  to  the  most  skeptical  that  England 
did  not  intend  to  do  justice  to  her  colonies. 
Neither  the  king,  the  ministry,  nor  Parliament 
were  disposed  to  swerve  from  their  purpose 
of  reducing  America  to  absolute  submission 
to  their  will.  They  were  determined  that 
the  colonists  should  bear  every  burden  of 
British  citizenship,  and  enjoy  none  of  its 
privileges  save  what  they  should  see  fit  to 
allow  them.  Americans  were  not  to  enjoy 
either  liberty  or  property  as  lawful   rights. 

The  Feeling  Toward  Great  Britain. 

This  determination  was  so  clear  that  none 
could  mistake  it.  Since  the  commencement 
of  the  struggle  public  opinion  in  America 
had  undergone  a  great  change,  and  the 
party  in  favor  of  a  total  and  final  separation 
from  the  mother  country  had  increased  so 
rapidly  that  it  now  embraced  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  American  people.  Now  that  they 
had  become  convinced  that  they  could  main- 
tain their  liberties  only  by  a  total  and  unqual- 
ified separation  from  Great  Britain,  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  choose  that  course.  Their 
choice  was  made  without  regret.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war  a  very  genuine 
attachment  bound  the  people  of  the  colonies 
to  England;  but  the  course  of  the  royal 
government  and  the  severities  of  the  British 
commanders  in  the  Northern  colonies,  and 
the  outrages  of  the  royal  governors  in  the 
South,  had  entirely  alienated  the  people  from 
their  love  for  England. 

Still  there  were  many  Tories,  or  friends  of 
the  king,  in  America,  and  they  were  active 
and  bitter  in  their  opposition  to  the  patriots. 
From  the  first  the  Americans  regarded  the 
Tories  with  a  feeling  of  hatred  which  increased 
as  the  struggle  went  on,  and  this  feeling  was 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 


38s 


soon  extended  to  all  who  fought  under  the 
royal  flag  or  sought  to  uphold  its  cause. 

Not  only  had  the  people  been  gradually 
coming  to  view  independence  as  desirable 
and  indispensable  ;  the  exercise  by  Congress 
of  the  functions  of  a 
supreme  government 
had  accustomed  them 
to  it,  and  had  shown 
them  their  capacity 
for  conducting  a  gen- 
eral government  for 
the  whole  countrv 
Early  in  March,  1776, 
Congress  granled  let- 
ters of  marque  and  re- 
prisal against  British 
commerce,  and  some 
what  later  sent  Silas 
Deane  as  its  commis- 
sioner to  France  to 
seek  assistance  from 
that  country.  In  May 
it  had  formally  recoi" 
mended  the  colon 
to  disregard  the  rov 
governments  i  1 
adopt  systems  suiU 
to  their  needs,  and  1 
harmony  with  t' 
changed  state  ofaffdi 
To  all  men  it  v  as  c\  1 
dent  that  a  form  il  r>. 
nunciation  of  alic^i 
ance  to  Great  Britiin 
and  the  assertion 
their  independe  net. 
the  colonies  was  mc 
ly  a  question  of  tinii.  inoepi 

It  was,  therefore,  a  sui  pri.se  to  no  one  w  iicn 
the  first  definite  action  looking  towards  inde- 
pendence was  taken.  On  the  fifteenth  of 
May,  1776,  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia 
instructed  the  delegates  of  that  colony  in 
25 


Congress  to  offer  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the 
separation  of  the  colonies  from  England,  and 
the  formal  declaration  of  their  independence. 
On  the  thirtieth  of  May  Massachusetts 
instructed  her  delegates  to  support  tiiis  reso- 

1 


1)1  \Cr    H\IL,    PIIII  \I)EIPIII\ 

lution.  On  the  seventh  of  June  Riclu.iJ 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  offered  a  resolution 
in  Congress,  "that  the  united  colonies  are, 
and  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent 
States,   and    that    their   political   connection 


386 

with  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  dis- 
solved." 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  John 
Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  debated 
witli  great  earnestness.  It  was  adopted  by 
a  bare  majority  of  one — seven  colonies  voting 
for  it,  and  si.N;  against  it.  In  accordance  with 
the  resolution,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
draw  up  a  declaration  of  independence,  and, 
in  order  that  the  delegates  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  ascertain  the  wishes  of  their 
constituents,  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
was  postponed  until  the  first  of  July.     Two 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

with  a  few  verbal  alterations,  was  adopted 
by  the  committee  as  it  came  from  his  hand. 
It  reviewed  in  a  clear  and  comprehensive 
manner  the  cause  which  had  impelled  the 
colonies  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defence  of 
their  liberties,  and  which  now  induced  them 
to  sever  the  ties  that  bound  them  to  Great 
Britain. 

The  declaration  concluded  in  these  mem- 
orable words  :  "  We,  therefore,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to 
the  Supreme  Judge  of  all  the  world  for  the 
rectitude  of  our  inten- 
tions, do,  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority 
of  the  good  people  of 
these  colonies,  solemnly 
publish  and  declare  that 
these  united  colonies  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  free  and  independent 
states ;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  alle- 
giance to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  poli- 
tical connection  between 
tliem  and  the  state  of 
Great  Britain  is,  and 
ought  to  be,  dissolved; 
and    that,   as   free    and 


HOUSE  IN  WHICH  THE  DECLARATION  OK  INDEI-ENDENCE  WAS  WRITfEN,  PHILADELPHIA. 


other  committees  were  also  appointed.  One 
of  these  was  charged  with  the  preparation  of 
a  plan  for  uniting  the  colonics  in  a  single 
government ;  the  other  was  to  report  a  plan 
for  securing  alliances  with  foreign  nations. 
The  committee  charged  with  the  preparation 
of  a  declaration  of  independence  consisted  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  Roger  Sherman  and  Robert  R. 
Livingston. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  Jiuie  the  com- 
mittee reported  the  declaration  to  Congress. 
It  was  written    by  Thomas    Jefferson,  and, 


independent  states,  they  have  full  power  to 
levy  war,  conclude  peace  contract  alliances, 
establish  commerce  and  to  do  all  other  acts 
and  things  which  independent  states  may  of 
right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  decla- 
ration, with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection 
of  a  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge 
to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and 
our  sacred  honor." 

The  declaration  was  debated  in  Congress, 
and  a  few  passages,  which  it  was  feared 
might  offend  the  friends  of  the  colonies  in 
Great  Britain,  were  stricken  out.     The  vote 


SIGNING  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


3S8  THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 

was  then  taken  by  colonies,  and  though 
some  of  the  delegates  voted  against  it,  the 
declaration  received  tiie  votes  of  all  the  colo- 
nies with  the  exception  of  New  York,  which 


accepted  it  a  few  days  later.  On  the  fourth 
day  of  July,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  formally  adopted  by  Congress, 
and  was  ordered  to  be  published  to  the 
world,  and  to  be  read  at  the  head  of  the 
regiments  of  the  army. 

Congress  was  in  session  in  the  hall  of  the 
state  house  in  Philadelphia.  In  the  spire  of 
this  venerable  building  hung  a  bell,  inscribed 


OLD  BELL  OF  INDEPENDEN'CE  HALL. 

with  the  words  of  Scripture  :  "  Proclaim 
liberty  throughout  all  the  land  unto  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof."  On  the  morning  of  the 
fourth  of  July  vast  crowds  assembled  around 
the  building,  as  it  was  known  that  Congress 
would  on  that  day  take  definite  action  upon 
the  declaration.  The  bell-ringer  stationed 
himself  in  the  tower,  ready  to  proclaim  the 
good  news  the  moment  it  should  be 
announced  to  him,  and  had  posted  his  little 
son  at  the  door  of  the  hall  to  await  the  signal 
of  the  door-keeper. 


When  the  announcement  of  the  vote  was 
made,  the  door-keeper  gave  the  signal  and 
the  boy  ran  quickly  to  the  tower.  The  old 
man  heard  him  coming,  and  clutched  the 
bell-rope  with  a  firm  grasp.  The  next  instant 
the  glad  cry  of  the  boy's  voice  was  heard. 
"  Ring !  ring  I  "  he  cried,  and  then  the  deep, 
sonorous  tones  of  the  bell  went  rolling  out  of 
the  tower,  and  were  answered  with  a  mighty 
shout  from  the  assembled  throng  without. 
The  declaration  was  received  by  all  the  states 
and  by  the  army  with  enthusiasm.  Thus 
the  thirteen  united  colonies  became  the  thir- 
teen United  States.  It  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  declaration  did  not  make  the 
colonies  independent  states,  or  states  in  any 
sense.  It  was  simply  their  announcement  to 
the  world  that  they  had,  each  for  itself,  by 
the  exercise  of  its  own  sovereign  power,, 
assumed  the  independence  which  rightfully 
belonged  to  it. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  put  an 
end  to  all  the  hopes  that  had  been  cherished 
of  an  accommodation  with  Great  Britain, 
and  caused  those  who  were  still  wavering  to 
embrace  the  cause  of  their  country.  It 
relieved  Congress  of  the  disadvantage  under 
which  it  had  hitherto  acted,  and  enabled  it 
to  pursue  a  more  vigorous  and  decisi\e 
policy  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  There 
was  no  retreat  now ;  nothing  remained  but 
to  continue  the  struggle  until  Great  Britain 
should  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  the 
independence  of  the  states,  or  they  should 
be  reduced  to  the  condition  of  conquered 
provinces. 

On  the  twelfth  of  July  the  committee 
appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  union  of 
the  states  reported  one,  which  is  thus  summed 
up: 

"  1st.  The  style  of  the  confederacy  was  to 
be  '  The  United  States  of  America.' 

"  2d.  Each  state  retained  its  sovereignty, 
freedom  and  independence  and  every  power 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 


389 


and  right  which  is  not  expressly  delegated  to 
the  United  States. 

"  3d.  The  object  of  the  confederation  was 
for  their  mutual  defence,  the  security'  of 
their  liberties,  and  their  mutual  and  general 
welfare,  binding  themselves  to  assist  each 
other  against  all  force  offered  to  or  attacks 
made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  account 
of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other 
pretence  whatever. 

"  4th.  In  determining  all  questions  in 
Congress  each  State  was  to  have  one  vote. 

"  5th.  Each  Sfate  was  to  maintain  its  own 
delegates. 

"  6th.  The  free  inhabitants  of  each  State, 
paupers,  vagabonds  and  fugitives  from  jus- 
tice e.xcepted,  were  to  be  entitled  to  all 
privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in 
the  several  States. 

"  7th.  All  fugitives  from  justice  from  one 
State  into  another  were  to  be  delivered  up  on 
demand. 

"8th.  Full  faith  and  credit  were  to  be  given 
to  the  records  of  each  State  in  all  the  others. 

"  9th.  Congress  was  to  grant  no  title  of 
nobility. 

"  loth.  No  person  holding  any  office  was 
to  receive  a  present  from  a  foreign  power. 

"nth.  No  State  was  to  form  any  agree- 
ment or  alliance  with  a  foreign  power  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  States  in  Congress 
assembled. 

"  1 2th.  No  two  or  more  States  were  to 
form  any  alliance  between  themselves  with- 
out the  like  consent  of  the  States  in  Congress 
assembled. 

"  13th.  No  State,  without  the  like  consent 
of  Congress,  was  to  keep  war  ships  or  an 
army  in  time  of  peace  ;  but  each  was  to  keep 
a  well-organized  and  disciplined  militia,  with 
munitions  of  war. 

"  14th.  No  State  was  to  lay  any  duty 
upon  foreign  imports  which  would  interfere 
with  any  treaty  made  by  Congress. 


"  15th.  No  State  was  to  issue  letters  of 
marque,  or  to  engage  in  war,  without  the 
consent  of  the  Congress,  unless  actually 
invaded  or  menaced  with  invasion. 

"  1 6th.  When  Federal  land  forces  were 
raised,  each  State  was  to  raise  the  quota 
required  by  Congress,  arm  and  equip  them 
at  the  expense  of  all  the  States,  and  to 
appjint  all  officers  of  and  under  the  rank  of 
colonel. 

"  17th.  Each  State  was  to  levy  and  raise 
the  quota  of  tax  required  by  Congress  for 
Federal  purposes. 

"  iSth.  The  faith  of  all  the  States  was 
pledged  to  pay  all  the  bills  of  credit  emitted, 
or  money  borrowed  on  their  joint  account, 
by  the  Congress. 

"  19th.  It  was  agreed  and  covenanted  that 
Canada  might  accede  to  the  union  so  formed 
if  she  chose  to  do  so. 

"  20th  (and  lastly).  Each  State  was  to 
abide  by  the  determination  of  all  the  States  in 
Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions  which, 
by  the  confederation,  were  submitted  to 
them.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  were 
to  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  State, 
and  the  Union  was  to  be  perpetual.  No 
article  of  the  confederation  was  to  be  altered 
without  the  consent  of  every  State. 

"  The  delegations  of  power  by  each  of  the 
States  to  all  the  States,  in  general  Congress 
assembled,  upon  a  like  analysis,  may  be 
stated  as  follows  : 

"  1st.  The  sole  and  exclusive  power  to 
determine  on  war  and  peace,  except  in  case 
a  State  should  be  invaded  or  menaced  with 
invasion. 

"  2d.  To  send  and  receive  ambassadors. 

"  3d.  To  make  treaties,  with  a  proviso,  etc. 

"4th.  To  establish  rules  for  captures. 

"  5th.  To  grant  letters  of  marque  and  re- 
prisal. 

"  6th.  To  appoint  courts  for  trial  of  piracies 
and  other  crimes  '^oeci'^ed. 


J90 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION 

"/th.  To  decide  questions  of  dispute  between 

two  or  more  States  in  a  prescribed  manner. 

"  8th.  The  sole  and   exclusive   power  to 


"  loth.  To  regulate  trade  with  the  Indian 
tribes. 

"  I  ith.   To  establish  post  offices. 


iv  i^iat 


SIGNATURES    OF   THE   SIGNERS    OV   THE    DECLAKAl 


>F    INDEPENDENCE. 


coin  money  and  regulate  the  value. 

"gtli.  To  fix   a   standard   of  weights  ant 
measures. 


"  1 2th.  To  appoint  all  officers  of  the  militia 
land  forces,  when  called  out  by  Congress, 
except  regimental. 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE. 


39» 


"  13th.  To  appoint  all  officers  of  the  Fede- 
ral naval  forces. 

"  14th.  To  make  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  government  of  land  and  naval  forces. 

"  15th.  To  appropriate  and  apply  public 
money  for  public  expenses,  the  common 
defence  and  general  welfare. 

"  i6th.  To  borrow  money  and  emit  bills  of 
credit. 

"  17th.  To  build  and  equip  a  navy. 

"  i8th.  To  agree  upon  the  number  of  land 
forces  and  make  requisitions  upon  the  States 
for  their  quotas  in  proportion  to  the  value  of 
all  land  within  each  State. 

"  The  foregoing  powers  were  delegated 
with  this  limitation :  The  war  power,  the 
treaty  power,  the  power  to  coin  money,  the 
power  to  regulate  the  value  thereof  the  power 
of  fixing  the  quotas  of  money  to  be  raised  by 
the  States,  the  power  to  emit  bills  of  credit, 
the  power  to  borrow  money,  the  power  to 
appropriate  money,  the  power  to  regulate 
the  number  of  land  and  naval  forces,  and  the 
power  to  appoint  a  comriander-in-chief  of 
tlie  army  as  well  as  the  navy,  were  never  to 
be  exercised  unless  nine  of  the  States  were 
assenting  to  the  same. 

"  These  articles  form  the  original  basis  and 
first  Constitution  of  the  existing  Federal 
Union  of  the  United  States  of  America."  * 

The   States  Come  Into  Line. 

These  Articles  of  Confederation  were 
adopted,  after  discussion,  by  Congress,  vot- 
ing by  States,  and  were  then  submitted  to 
the  several  States  for  ratification  by  them. 
In  the  meantime  Congress  continued  to  exer- 
cise the  powers  conferred  by  them.  By  the 
early  part  of  1777  all  the  States  save  Mary- 
land had  ratified  and  adopted  the  articles. 
That  State  did  not  give  her  full  assent  to 
them  until  1781. 


Alexander  H.  Stephens. 


Lord  Howe  arrived  in  New  York  Bay 
about  the  middle  of  July,  as  has  been  stated. 
He  was  vested  with  full  powers  by  the  king 
to  settle  the  quarrel  between  America  and 
England  if  the  Americans  would  agree  to 
submit  unconditionally  to  the  king.  Failing 
to  accoTiplish  a  settlement,  he  and  his 
brother,  Sir  William  Howe,  were  charged 
with  the  supreme  conduct  of  the  war.  Lord 
Howe  was  a  man  of  amiable  disposition,  and 
really  desired  peace  ;  but  as  he  was  fully 
convinced  of  the  justice  of  the  royal  preten- 
sions, he  could  not  understand  or  appreciate 
the  claims  or  grievances  of  the  Americans. 
Moreover,  he  had  come  too  late.  The  Ameri- 
can people  meant  that  their  separation  from 
Great  Britain  should  be  final.  Lord  Howe 
was  greatly  deceived  upon  his  arrival  as  to 
the  actual  state  of  feeling  in  America.  He 
was  received  with  loyal  addresses  by  the 
Tories  of  Long  and  Staten  Islands  and  the 
New  Jersey  shore,  and  was  assured  by  Gov- 
ernor Tryon  that  the  country  was  full  of 
friends  of  the  king  who  might  be  induced  to 
join  him  if  properly  supported. 

Washington  Insulted. 

Lord  Howe,  therefore,  resolved  to  attempt 
a  peaceful  settlement  before  proceeding  to 
hostilities,  and  issued  a  circular  addressed  to 
the  people  of  America,  offering  them  the 
royal  pardon  if  they  would  cease  their  rebel- 
lion, lay  down  their  arms  and  trust  to  the 
clemency  of  the  king.  Congress  gave  to  this 
circular  the  widest  publicity  by  causing  it  to 
be  published  in  every  newspaper  in  the  Union, 
in  order  that  the  people  might  .see  that  the 
only  settlement  that  would  be  accepted  by 
England  was  their  voluntary  and  absolute) 
submission  to  her  arbitrary  will.  "  They 
must  fight  or  be  slaves." 

About  thesame  time  Lord  Howe  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  American  eommander-in-chief, 
styling    him    George    Washington,   Esquire. 


392 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


No  notice  of  this  communication  was  taken 
by  Washington,  and  Howe  sent  him  another 
letter  addressed  to  George  Washington,  etc., 
etc.  Washington,  rightly  considering  that 
the  omission  of  his  official  title  was  an  insult 
to  his  country,  refused  to  receive  the  letter. 
Adjutant-General  Patterson,  of  Lord  Howe's 
staff,  who  bore  the  communication,  expressed 
his  regret  that  the  letter  could  not  be  opened. 
Lord  Howe,  he  said,  came  vested  with  great 
power,  and  was  sincerely  anxious  for  peace. 
Washington,  who  had  received  him  with 
kindly  courtesy,  replied  that  he  was  aware 
that  Lord  Howe  was  intrusted  with  the  power 
to  grant  pardons,  but  that  as  the  Americans 
were  engaged  in  the  defence  of  their  rights, 
and  had  committed  no  crime,  they  had  no 
need  of  pardon,  and  his  lordship's  good  inten- 
tions could  not  be  of  service  to  them. 

It  was  now  plain  to  Lord  Howe  that  he 
had  been  deceived  b)-  Tryon  and  his  friends, 
and  that  nothing  could  be  accomplished  save 
by  force  of  arms.  His  circular  had  produced 
/no  effect,  and  he  could  detect  no  sign  of 
1  wavering  on  the  part  of  the  Americans. 

Measures  for  Defence. 

It  had  been  evident  for  some  time  that  the 
next  effort  of  the  British  would  be  to  get 
possession  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Their 
fleet  already  held  the  harbor,  and  should 
they  succeed  in  securing  the  Hudson  they 
would  be  able  to  establish  a  direct  commu- 
nication with  Canada,  and  to  isolate  New 
England  and  New  York  from  the  Middle 
States  and  the  South.  Reinforcements  were 
sent  to  Washington  from  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Virginia  and  Delaware.  These 
gave  the  American  commander  a  force  of 
about  twenty-five  thousand  men ;  but  scarcely 
seventeen  thousand  were  fit  for  duty  ;  the 
remainder  being  disabled  by  sickness. 

Washington  erected  two  forts  on  Man- 
hattan  island,  one  just  above  Kingsbridge, 


named  Fort  Washington,  and  the  other  just 
below  it,  named  Fort  Independence.  Kings- 
bridge  furnished  the  only  communication 
between  the  island  of  Manhattan  and  the 
mainland,  and  these  forts  were  erected  for 
its  defence,  as  well  as  to  hold  the  enemy's 
vessels  in  check  should  they  attempt  to 
ascend  the  Hudson.  On  the  New  Jersey 
side  of  the  river,  opposite  Fort  Washington, 
a  third  work  was  erected,  and  named  Fort 
Lee.  Other  forts  were  built  higher  up  the 
Hudson  to  hold  the  river  against  the  enemy 
and  maintain  the  communication  between 
the  Northern  and  Southern  States.  One  of 
these,  called  Fort  Montgomery,  was  located 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Highlands,  opposite 
the  promontory  of  Anthony's  Nose  ;  another 
was  built  six  miles  higher  up  the  river,  and 
was  known  as  Fort  Constitution. 

Battle  on   Long  Island. 

For  the  defence  of  the  heights  of  Brooklyn, 
which  commanded  the  city  of  New  York, 
Washington  caused  a  line  of  works  to  be 
erected  on  a  range  of  hills  a  short  distance 
south  of  Brooklyn,  and  established  there  an 
intrenched  camp.  General  Nathaniel  Greene 
was  placed  in  command  of  this  position,  and 
e.Kcrted  himself  with  vigor  to  strengthen  it. 
When  he  had  matured  his  plans  he  was  sud- 
denly taken  ill,  and  was  obliged  to  relinquish 
the  commend  to  General  Sullivan. 

The  British  fleet  lay  in  Gravesend  Bay, 
just  without  the  Narrows,  and  Washington 
was  for  a  while  uncertain  whether  they  would 
make  their  first  attempt  against  the  force  on 
Long  Island,  or  attack  the  city  of  New  York. 
It  soon  became  evident  that  the  capture  of 
the  lines  on  Long  Island  would  be  their  first 
care,  and  Sullivan  was  reinforced  with  six 
battalions,  all  that  could  be  spared  form  New 
York,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  August 
General  Putnam  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  forces  on  Long  Island. 


V 


WASHINGTON    REVIEWING   THE    ARMY 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 


393 


On  the  night  of  the  twenty-sixth  of  August 
the  British  crossed  over  from  Staten  Island 
to  Long  Island,  and  prepared  to  give  battle. 
Their  plan  was  to  engage  the  attention  of 
the  Americans  by  a  direct  attack  with  two 
divisions,  while  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  a 
third  division,  was  to  turn  the  left  flank  of 
the  Americans  and  gain  their  rear.  They 
hoped,  if  these  movements  were  successful, 
to  surround  ar>d  capture  the  entire  force 
under  Putnam.  Clinton  began  his 
march  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  night 
of  the  twenty-sixth,  guided  by  a  Long 
Island  Tory.  About  daylight  on  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  of  Au- 
gust, the  enemy  made  their  attack 
upon  the  front  of  the  American  posi- 
tion, and  engaged  their  attention  in  '^ 
this  direction,  while  Clinton,  by  a 
rapiil  march,  gained  their  rear. 

For  a  while  the  Americans  fought 
well,  but  finding  themselves  almost 
surrounded,  and  in  danger  of  being 
captured,  they  abandoned  the  field 
and  retreated  within  the  intrench- 
ments  at  Brooklyn.  The  Hessian 
troops  behaved  with  great  barbarity 
during  the  engagement,  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  Americans  were  cruelly 
and  wantonly  bayoneted  by  them. 
A  part  of  the  engagement  was  fought 
in  the  beautiful  region  now  occupied 
by  Greenwood  cemetery. 

Washington  hastened  to  Brooklyn  as 
soon  as  informed  of  the  battle,  and  arrived 
just  in  time  to  witness  the  defeat  of  his 
troops.  He  was  powerless  to  repair  the 
disaster,  and  could  only  look  on  in  helpless 
agony.  "  My  God  !  "  he  exclaimed,  with 
tears :  "  What  brave  fellows  I  must  lose 
this  day!  " 

The  American  loss  was  very  severe  in 
this  battle.  Out  of  a  force  of  five  thou- 
sand men  engaged  they  lost  two  thousand 


men,  a  large  number  of  whom  were  pri- 
soners. The  British  had  sixteen  thousand 
men  engaged,  and  lost  four  hundred.  Had 
they  followed  up  their  victory  by  an  imme- 
diate assault  upon  the  American  intrench- 
ments  they  must  have  carried  them;  bin 
(jcneral  Howe  believed  that  Washington 
had  a  much  stronger  force  for  their  defence 
than  was  the  case,  and  encamped  in  front 
of   the    intrenchments,   intending    to    heiiin 


GENERAL   JOHN    SLLLUAN 

operations  against  them  the  next  day.  The 
twenty-eighth,  however,  was  a  day  of 
drenching  rain,  and  the  enemy  were  unable 
to  do  more  than  break  ground  for  a 
battery.  On  the  twenty-ninth  a  dense  fog 
hung  over  the  island ;  but  it  lifted  for  a 
moment,  and  enabled  the  Americans  tc 
detect  an  unusual  commotion  among  the 
British  shipping. 

It  seemed  plain  that  the  enemy  were  pre- 
paring  to   enter  the  East   River  with  their 


394 


THE  a:\ierican  revolution. 


fleet,  and  so  separate  the  force  on  Long 
Island  from  that  in  New  York.  Washing- 
ton at  once  summoned  a  council  of  war,  and 
it  was  decided  to  retreat  from  Long  Island 
without  delaj-.  It  was  a  hazardous  attempt, 
for  the  army  under  General  Howe  was  so 
close  to  the  American  lines  that  the  conver- 
sations of  the  men  could  be  heard,  and  the 
British  fleet  might  at  any  moment  seize  the 
East  River.  To  withdraw  a  force  of  nine 
thousand  men  across  a  wide,  deep  river,  in 
the  face  of  such  an  army  and  fleet,  was  a 
task  which  required  the  greatest  skill.  It 
tvas  successfully  accomplished,  however. 
Every  boat  in  and  around  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  was  impressed,  and  though  the 
orders  for  the  retreat  were  not  issued  until 
noon  on  the  twenty-ninth,  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  the  retreat  by  eight  o'clock 
that  evening.  At  midnight  the  troops  took 
up  their  silent  march  from  the  intrenched 
line  to  the  ferry,  where  the  boats,  manned 
by  Glover's  regiment,  which  was  composed 
of  fishermen  from  Marblehead,  awaited  them. 
By  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  entire 
army,  with  all  its  cattle,  horses  and  wagons, 
was  safe  upon  the  New  York  side  of  the 
river,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy. 

Important  Conference. 

Howe  was  greatly  mortified  at  the  escape 
of  the  American  army,  for  he  had  regarded 
it  as  a  sure  prize,  and  prepared,  with  the  aid 
of  Ills  ships,  to  seize  the  upper  part  of  Man- 
hattan Island,  and  confine  the  Americans  to 
the  city  of  New  York,  where  their  surrender 
would  be  inevitable.  Before  proceeding  to  the 
e.xecution  of  this  plan  he  resolved  to  make 
another  effort  to  induce  the  Americans  to  aban- 
don their  cause,  as  he  rightly  believed  their 
defeat  on  Long  Island  would  be  followed  by  a 
season  of  great  depression.  A  few  days  after 
the  retreat  he  released  General  Sullivan,  who 
had  been   taken  prisoner    in   the    battle,  on 


parole,  and  sent  a  letter  by  him  to  Congress, 
asking  that  body  to  send  an  informal  com- 
mittee, whom  he  would  receive  as  private 
gentlemen,  to  confer  with  him  on  some  meas- 
ure of  reconciliation. 

Interview  with  Lord  Howe- 

Congress,  willing  to  hear  what  he  had  to 
propose,  sent  Dr.  Franklin,  John  Adams 
and  Edward  Rutledge  to  confer  with  him. 
They  met  Lord  Howe  at  a  house  on  Staten 
Island,  opposite  Amboy.  Tne  only  terms 
his  lordship  had  to  propose  were  the  uncon- 
ditional submission  of  the  Americans  to  the 
royal  mercy.  He  was  informed  that  the 
Americans  would  consent  to  treat  with 
Great  Britain  only  as  "  a  free  and  independ- 
ent nation,"  and  that  it  was  useless  to  propose 
any  other  basis  for  a  settlement.  Lord 
Howe  thereupon  expressed  his  regret  that 
he  should  be  obliged  to  distress  the  Ameri- 
cans. Dr.  Franklin  thanked  him  for  his 
good  feeling,  and  remarked  :  "  The  Ameri- 
cans will  endeavor  to  lessen  the  pain  you 
may  feel  by  taking  good  care  of  themselves." 
The  report  of  the  interview  was  made  pub- 
lic by  Congress,  and  had  a  happy  effect.  It 
convinced  all  classes  that  England  had  no 
terms  to  offer  them  but  such  as  embraced  a 
shameful  surrender  of  their  liberties. 

Fearful  that  Howe  would  seek  to  shut  him 
up  in  New  York,  Washington  left  a  force 
within  the  city  to  hold  it,  and  encamped 
with  the  main  body  of  his  army  on  Harlem 
Heights,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  island, 
from  which  he  could  secure  his  retreat  into 
Westchester  County.  The  army  was  reduced 
to  less  than  twenty  thousand  men,  and  was 
disheartened  by  the  defeat  on  Long  Island. 
It  was  seriously  debated  whether  New  York 
should  be  defended  or  not ;  and  it  was  pro- 
posed to  burn  the  city  to  the  ground,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  securing 
comfortable  winter-quarters  in  it.     Congress 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    IXDEPENDEN'CE. 


395 


ordered  that  the  city  should  not  be  de- 
stroyed, but  it  was  evident  that  it  could  not 
be  held. 

Washington  was  anxious  to  learn  the 
intentions  of  the  enemy,  who  still  remained 
on  Long  Island,  and  Captain  Nathan  Hale,  a 
talented  young  officer  of  the  Connecticut 
line,  volunteered  to  enter  their  lines  and  pro- 
cure the  desired  information.  He  proceeded 
to  the  British  camp,  obtained  the  information 
wanted,  and  was  returning  in  safety  when  he 
was  arrested  by  a  party  of  the  enemy, 
among  whom  was  a  Tory  relative,  who  re- 
cognised him.  He  was  taken  to  Howe's 
headquarters,  and  the  next  morning,  Sep- 
tember 22d,  without  any  form  of  trial,  was 
hanged  as  a  spy.  He  met  his  death  with 
firmness,  saying :  "  I  only  regret  that  I  have 
but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country."' 

"Old  Put  "  Saves  His  Command. 

In  the  meantime  the  British  had  seized 
the  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Harlem 
River,  and  had  erected  a  battery  on  one  of 
them.  On  the  fifteenth  of  September  they 
crossed  in  force  to  Manhattan  Island,  at 
Kipp's  Bay,  about  three  miles  above  the 
cit}'.  They  easily  drove  back  the  force  sta- 
tioned there  to  resist  their  landing,  and 
secured  their  position.  Washington  at  once 
sent  General  Heath  to  hold  the  enemy  in 
check,  and  ordered  Putnam  to  evacuate  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  retire  to  Harlem 
Heights,  without  the  loss  of  a  moment. 

Putnam  obeyed  his  orders  promptly,  and 
retreated  from  the  city  along  the  line  of  the 
Bloomingdale  Road,  now  the  upper  part  of 
Broadway.  His  march  was  retarded  by  a 
crowd  of  women  and  children  fleeing  from 
the  city,  and  was  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the 
enemy's  ships  in  the  Hudson.  By  great 
exertions  he  managed  to  save  his  command, 
but  was  obliged  to  leave  his  heavy  artillery 
and  three  hundred  men  in  the   hands  of  the 


enenn-.  The  British  at  once  took  posses- 
sion of  New  York,  and  threw  up  a  line  of 
intrcnchments  above  the  city,  from  the  Hud- 
son, at  Bloomingdale,  to  the  East  River,  at 
Kipp's  Bay.  The  Americans  now  held  the 
upper  part  of  the  island,  and  erected  a 
double  line  of  earthworks  from  river  to 
river,  about  four  miles  below  Kingsbridge. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  September  the  enemy 
made  an  attack  upon  the  American  advanced 
posts,  but  were  handsomely  repulsed  by  the 
Virginia  and  Connecticut  troops.  Major 
Leitch,  the  commander  of  the  Virginians, 
and  Colonel  Knowlton,  the  commander  of 
the  Connecticut  regiment,  and  one  of  the 
captains  at  Bunker  Hill,  were  killed.  In 
spite  of  these  losses  the  spirit  of  the  troops, 
which  had  been  much  depressed  by  the 
recent  disasters,  were  greatly  cheered. 

A  lull  of  several  weeks  followed,  during 
which  the  Americans  suffered  greatly  from 
sickness.  They  were  without  proper  hospi- 
tal accommodations,  "  and  they  lay  about  in 
almost  every  barn,  stable,  shed,  and  even 
under  the  fences  and  bushes." 

Washington's  Skillful  Tactics. 
Howe  now  began  to  move  his  army  to- 
wards Long  Island  Sound,  for  the  purpose  of 
marching  across  the  mainland  to  the  Hudson 
and  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  Washington 
from  Manhattan  Island,  and  at  the  same  time 
sent  his  fleet  up  the  Hudson.  His  intention 
was  understood  by  Washington,  who  left  three 
thousand  men  to  defend  Fort  Washington, 
and  with  the  main  body  of  his  army  fell  back 
to  the  line  of  the  Bronx,  near  the  village  of 
White  Plains.  Here  he  was  attacked  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  October  by  General  Howe, 
who  was  advancing  from  the  direction  of 
New  Rochelle,  and  who  was  still  hopeful  of 
gaining  the  American  rear.  A  spirited  en- 
counter ensued,  m  wliich  each  party  lost 
about   four   hundred   men  ;   and   the    British 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  IXDLPCNDFNCE  RF 


\D  TO  THE   A.KM\ 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPEXDENXE. 


397 


intrenched  themselves  in  front  of  the  Ameri- 
can position. 

Apprehensive  of  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
enemy  to  storm  his  line,  Washington  caused 
the  troops  to  spend  the  night  in  strengthen- 
ing the  rude  works  which  covered  it.  They 
labored  with  such  diligence  that  the  next 
morning  the  British  commander  decided  that 
the  line  was  too  strong  to  be  attacked, 
and  determined  to  wait  for  reinforcements. 
That  night  Washington  silently  abandoned 
his  lines  at  White  Plains,  and  withdrew  to 
the  heights  of  North  Castle,  five  miles  dis- 
tant. Howe,  unwilling  to  follow  him  further, 
inarched  to  Dobb's  Ferr)',  on  the  Hudson, 
and  encamped. 

British  Successes. 

This  movement  of  the  British  commander 
caused  Washington  to  fear  that  he  meant  to 
cross  over  into  New  Jersey.  He  accordingly 
made  a  new  disposition  of  his  forces  to  meet 
any  emergency.  General  Charles  Lee,  who 
had  recently  returned  from  the  South,  was 
left  at  North  Castle  with  a  portion  of  the 
army  to  watch  Howe ;  Heath,  with  another 
portion,  was  ordered  to  occupy  Peekskill  to 
defend  the  passes  of  the  Highlands ;  and 
Putnam  was  stationed,  with  a  third  detach- 
ment, on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  to  hold 
that  region. 

With  the  remainder  of  his  troops  Wash- 
ington crossed  the  Hudson  and  joined  Gen- 
eral Greene  at  Fort  Lee,  arriving  there  on  the 
thirteenth  of  November.  A  force  of  three 
thousand  Pennsylvania  troops  had  been  left 
to  hold  Fort  Washington,  on  Manhattan 
Island.  Washington  was  in  favor  of  with- 
drawing them  at  once,  but  left  the  matter  to 
the  decision  of  General  Greene,  and  Colonel 
Magaw,  the  commander  of  the  fort,  who 
determined  to  hold  it.  The  result  proved 
their  error.  Fort  Washington  was  attacked 
on  the  sixteenth  of  November  by  a  force  of 


five  thousand  Hessians  and  some  English 
troops,  under  General  Knyphausen,  and  was 
taken  by  storm.  The  enemy  lost  nearly  one 
thousand  men  and  took  over  two  thousand 
prisoners.  Washington  witnessed  the  cap- 
ture from  Fort  Lee  without  the  ability  to  aid 
the  garrison. 

Fort  Washington  having  fallen,  Fort  Leo 
was  no  longer  of  service,  and  the  commander- 
in-chief  resolved  to  abandon  it  before  it  was 
too  late.  The  removal  of  the  stores  was  at 
once  begun,  but  before  it  could  be  completed 
Lord  Cornwallis,  with  a  force  of  six  thousanJ 
men,  crossed  the  Hudson  below  Dobb's. 
Ferry,  and  by  a  rapid  march  across  the  coun- 
try endeavored  to  confine  the  Americans  to> 
the  strip  of  land  between  the  Hudson  and 
the  Hackensack.  An  immediate  retreat  from 
Fort  Lee  became  necessary  in  order  to  secure 
the  bridge  over  the  Hackensack.  All  the 
heavy  cannon  at  Fort  Lee,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  provisions  and  military  stores, 
and  three  hundred  tents  were  abandoned,  and 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  The  pas 
sage  of  the  Hackensack  was  secured,  and  the 
army  began  its  memorable  retreat  across  New 
Jersey,  closely  followed  by  the  enemy  under 
Cornwallis. 

Dark  Days  for  the  American  Cause. 

From  the  Hackensack  Washington  fell 
back  behind  the  Passaic  at  Newark.  As  his 
rear-guard  passed  out  of  the  town  the 
advance  of  Cornwallis  entered  Newark.  The 
Raritan  was  crossed  at  New  Brunswick,  and 
Washington  left  a  force  of  twelve  hundred 
men  at  Princeton,  under  Lord  Stirling,  and 
pushed  on  to  Trenton  to  secure  the  passage 
of  the  Delaware. 

The  British  hung  closely  upon  him  durin;,^ 
the  whole  retreat,  the  opposing  forces  being 
often  within  cannon-shot  of  each  other.  On 
the  eighth  of  December,  with  scarcely  three 
thousand    men,    Washington    crossed    the 


39S 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


Delaware  at  Trenton,  and  went  into  camp  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  enemy  reached  the 
river  soon  after,  but,  as  all  the  boats  had  been 
secured  by  the  Americans,  were  unable  to 
cross  over.  Lord  Cornwallis  was  very 
anxious  to  procure  boats,  cross  the  river  and 
push  on  to  Philadelphia,  but  Howe  decided 
to  wait  until  the  river  should  be  frozen,  and 
to  pass  it  on  the  ice.  In  the  meantime  the 
Hessians  were  stationed  in  Trenton,  and 
guarded  the  river  for  some  distance  above 
and  below  the  town. 


GENERAL    CH.\RLES    LEE. 

The  American  war  had  now  entered  its 
darkest  period  for  the  Americans.  New 
York  was  lost  to  them,  they  had  been  driven 
from  New  Jersey,  and  their  army  seemed 
melting  away.  During  the  painful  retreat 
across  New  Jersey,  Washington  had  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  call  in  the  other 
detachments  of  his  army.  General  Schuyler 
was  directed  to  send  him  the  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey  troops  in  his  command  ;  but 
the  enlistments  of  these  troops  were  rapidly 


expiring,  and  they  could  not  be  induced  to 
renew  them.  General  Charles  Lee  was 
ordered  to  cross  the  Hudson  and  join  the 
commander-in-chief  with  all  speed,  but  he 
moved  with  a  slowness  and  carelessness  that 
were  criminal.  He  remained  about  a  fort- 
night on  the  cast  side  of  the  Hudson,  and 
then  began  his  march  with  such  slowness 
that  he  did  not  reach  Morristown  until  the 
eighth  of  December. 

On  the  thirteenth,  vvhile  lying  carelessly 
apart  from  his  troops,  at  a  small  innatBask- 
ingridge,  he  was  captured  by  a 
troop  of  British  cavalrj'.  The 
command  passed  to  General  Sul- 
livan, and  in  a  few  days  he  had 
united  his  forces  with  those  of 
the  commander-in-chief  General 
Lee  had  an  abiding  confidence  in 
his  own  ability,  and  was  reluctant 
to  lose  his  independent  command 
by  joining  Washington.  His 
natural  self-conceit  had  been 
greatl}-  increased  by  his  success 
at  the  South,  and  he  was  firmly 
convinced  that  he  alone  was 
capable  of  guiding  the  American 
cause  through  the  difficulties 
which  encompassed  it.  Influx 
enced  by  this  feeling,  he  disre- 
garded  the  authority  of  the  com. 
mander-in-chief,  and  subjected 
him  to  great  inconvenience.  He 
was  not  untrue  to  the  cause  he  had  em- 
braced, but  his  patriotism  was  of  a  different 
type  from  that  which  animated  Washington. 
The  enlistments  of  a  large  part  of  the 
troops  expired  on  the  first  of  December,  and 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  remain  in  the 
army.  Whole  regiments  abandoned  the 
service,  and  the  handful  of  reinforcements 
which  was  obtained  from  Philadelphia  fell 
far  short  of  supplying  their  place.  The 
people   w(Te    lishfartened,    and    it    seemed 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPEXDENCE. 


399 


that  the  cause  was  hopeless.  A  force  of  six 
militia  regiments  in  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut was  on  the  point  of  marching 
to  Washington's  assistance,  when  the  fleet 
of  Sir  Peter  Parker  entered  Newport  Harbor 
and  landed  a  force  on  the  island  of  Rhode 
Island,  which  took  possession  of  Newport. 
In  view  of  this  invasion,  it  was  deemed  best 
to  retain  the  New  England  militia  at  home. 

Taking  the  Oath  of  Allegiance. 

Washington  was  fully  alive  to  the  danger 
which  threatened  the  cause  ;  but  he  was  calm 
and  cheerful.  During  the  retreat  through 
New  Jersey  he  said  to  Colonel  Reed : 
''  Should  \\  ^  retreat  to  the  back  parts  of 
Pennsylvania,  will  the  Pennsylvanians  sup- 
port us  ?  "  "  If  the  lower  counties  are  sub- 
dued and  gi\-e  up,"  said  the  colonel,  '•  the 
back  counties  will  do  the  same."  Washing- 
ton passed  his  hand  over  his  throat,  and 
said,  with  a  smile:  "My  neck  does  not 
feel  as  though  it  was  made  for  a  halter.  We 
must  retire  to  Augusta  County,  in  Virginia. 
Numbers  will  be  obliged  to  repair  to  us  for 
safety;  and  we  must  try  what  we  can  do  in 
carrying  on  a  predatory  war  ;  and  if  over- 
powered, we  must  cross  the  Allegheny 
Mountains." 

At  this  juncture  of  affairs  Lord  and  Gen- 
eral Howe  issued  a  proclamation,  by  virtue 
of  their  authority  as  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  crown  for  the  settlement  of  the  war,  in 
which  all  persons  in  America  in  arms  against 
his  majesty's  government  were  ordered  to 
disperse  and  return  to  their  homes,  and  all 
civil  officers  were  commanded  to  discontinue 
their  treasonable  practices,  and  relinquish 
their  usurped  authority.  A  full  and  free 
pardon  was  offered  to  every  one  who  would, 
within  sixty  days,  appear  before  certain 
designated  officials,  claim  the  pardon  offered, 
and  take  an  oath  pledging  him  to  obey  the 
laws  and  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  king. 


Large  numbers  of  persons,  most  of  whom 
were  possessed  of  property  which  they 
desired  to  save,  at  once  came  forward,  made 
their  submission  and  took  the  required 
oath.  Some  of  these  were  men  who  had 
borne  a  prominent  part  in  the  patriot  move- 
ment ;  among  them  were  two  delegates  from 
Pennsylvania  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  the  president  of  the  New  Jersey  con- 
\ention,  which  had  ratified  the  Declaration 
of  Iiulependence.  Within  ten  days  after  the 
proclamation  was  issued,  between  two  and 
three  thousand  persons  submitted  and  swore 
allegiance  to  the  king.  In  Philadelphia  great 
excitement  prevailed,  and  General  Putnam, 
who  was  in  command  there,  feeling  that 
there  was  danger  that  the  royalists  in  the 
city  might  succeed  in  obtaining  control  of 
it,  advised  that,  until  matters  were  placed  on 
a  more  certain  footing.  Congress  should  hold 
its  sessions  at  some  safer  place.  Accord- 
ingh-  it  adjourned  on  the  twelfth  of  Decem- 
ber to  meet  in  Baltimore. 

A   Gallant  Fleet. 

The  only  quarter  in  which  the  Americans 
had  been  able  to  oppose  anything  of  a  suc- 
cessful resistance  to  the  British  was  the 
region  of  Lake  Champlain.  We  have  related 
the  retreat  of  Sullivan  and  Arnold  from 
Canada,  and  the  appointment  of  Gates  to  the 
command  of  their  forces.  The  army  halted 
at  Forts  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point» 
which  it  strengthened,  and  awaited  the 
development  of  the  plans  of  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton,  the  British  commander  in  Canada. 

That  officer  had  determined  to  secure  the 
control  of  Lakes  Champlain  and  George, 
and  then  to  push  on  to  the  Hudson,  open 
communication  with  the  Howes  at  Ni-w 
York,  and  spend  the  winter  at  Albany.  He 
would  thus  entirely  sever  the  communica- 
tion between  New  England  and  New  York, 
and  the  Middle  and  Southern  States.  Sullivan 


40O 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


had  wisely  destroyed  all  the  boats  on  Lake 
Champlain  which  he  did  not  need  for 
his  own  purposes,  and  as  there  was  no  road 
along  the  shore  by  which  he  could  advance, 
Carleton  was  obliged  to  construct  a  fleet 
before  he  could  attempt  to  ascend  the  lake. 
He  exerted  himself  with  such  energy  that  in 
three  months  he  had  a  fleet  ot  five  large  and 
twenty  small  vessels  and  a  number  of  armed 
boats  assembled  at  the  foot  of  the  lake. 

Gates  was  informed  of  Carleton's  design, 
and  ordered  Arnold,  who  was  possessed  of 
some  nautical  knowledge,  to  construct  a 
flotilla  and  take  command  of  it  for  the  pur- 
pose of  contesting  Carleton's  effort  to  ascend 
the  lake.  Arnold  set  to  work  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  soon  had  a  force  of  vessels  afloat 
about  half  as  strong  as  that  of  the  enemy. 
He  chose  a  favorable  position  and  awaited 
Carleton's  approach.  A  sharp  encounter 
occurred  between  the  opposing  forces  early 
in  October  near  Valcour  Island,  but  was 
indecisive,  and  at  nightfall  Carleton  took 
possession  to  cut  off  Arnold's  retreat.  The 
night  was  dark  and  cloudy,  and  taking 
advantage  of  it,  Arnold  passed  the  enemy 
and  sailed  for  Crown  Point.  His  vessels 
were  in  bad  condition,  however,  and  two 
were  sunk  on  the  voyage.  Only  six  suc- 
ceeded in  coming  within  sight  of  Crown 
Point,  near  which  they  were  overtaken  by 
Carleton  on  the  sixth  of  October. 

The  Flag-ship   Riddled. 

Arnold  made  a  gallant  fight  with  his 
remaining  vessels.  One  was  taken  with  her 
crew,  and  Arnold's  flag-ship,  the  "  Congress," 
was  cut  to  pieces,  and  half  of  her  crew  were 
slain.  Resolved  not  to  surrender,  Arnold 
ordered  the  vessels  to  be  run  aground,  and 
set  them  on  fire.  He  and  his  men  then 
waded  ashore,  and  by  a  sharp  fire  from  their 
rifles  kept  the  enemy  from  the  burning  gal- 
leys until  they  were  entirely  consumed.  The 


Americans  then  hastened  to  Crown  Puiiit,. 
where  they  set  fire  to  the  fort  and  the  stores,. 
and  continued  their  retreat  to  Ticonderoga. 
Gates  greatly  strengthened  the  defences  of 
this  post,  and  when  Carleton  arrived  before 
it,  he  found  it  too  strong  to  be  attacked.  He 
therefore  abandoned  his  attempt  to  reach  the 
Hudson,  and  returned  to  Canada. 

A  few  weeks  later,  feeling  that  the  lake 
country  was  safe  for  the  winter.  Gates,  in 
obedience  to  orders  from  Washington,  sent 
him  part  of  his  force,  and  shortly  afterwards 
marched  with  the  remainder  of  his  troops  tcv 
the  assistance  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

New  Military  Movements. 

Including  these  troops,  Washington's 
force  now  numbered  about  six  thousand 
men  fit  for  duty.  The  enlistments  of  many 
of  them  would  expire  on  the  last  day  of 
December,  and  it  was  of  the  highest  import- 
ance that  something  should  be  done  to  re- 
vive the  confidence  of  the  country  before 
these  men  should  be  lost  to  the  army.  The 
circumstances  in  which  Washington  was 
placed  required  a  blow  to  be  struck  in  some 
quarter.  A  victory  would  be  productive  of 
the  most  important  moral  results ;  a  defeat 
could  do  no  more  than  ruin  the  cause,  and  a 
policy  of  inaction  was  sure  to  accomplish  that. 

An  opportunity  at  once  presented  itself. 
The  British  had  ceased  their  pursuit,  and 
though  they  held  New  Jersey  in  strong 
force,  had  scattered  their  detachments 
through  the  state.  General  Howe  was  in 
New  York,  and  Lord  Cornwallls  was  at  the 
same  place,  and  was  about  to  sail  for  Eng 
land.  Both  commanders  believed  the  Ame- 
rican army  to  be  too  seriously  crippled  to 
assume  the  offensive  during  the  winter.  The 
Hessians,  who  constituted  the  advance-guard 
of  the  royal  forces,  were  stationed  along  the 
Delaware.  Colonel  Donop  had  his  head- 
quarters at    Burlington,   and  Colonel    RahL 


401 


402 

was  at  Trenton  with  a  f nee  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred men.  Rahl  was  a  brave  and  competent 
officer,  but  he  entertained  such  a  thorough 
contempt  for  the  Americans  that  he  neglected 
to  protect  his  position  by  earthworks  or 
other  defences.  The  Hessians  kept  the 
country  in  terror ;  they  were  inveterate 
thieves,  and  plundered  both  patriot  and 
royalist  without  mercy.  They  had  earned 
the  deep  and  abiding  hatred  of  the  Ameri- 
can soldiers  by  bayoneting  the  wounded  in 
the  battles  in  which  they  had  been  engaged. 

Midnight  Marches. 

Washington  now  determined  to  re-cross 
the  Delaware  and  attack  the  Hessians  at 
different  points.  A  force  of  twenty-four 
hundred  picked  troops  under  his  own  com- 
mand was  to  cross  the  river  a  few  miles 
above  Trenton  and  attack  the  enemy  at  that 
place;  and  the  same  time  another  detach- 
ment under  Reed  and  Cadwallader  were  to 
cross  over  from  Bristol  and  drive  the  Hes- 
sians under  Colonel  Donop  out  of  Burling- 
ton. These  attacks  were  to  be  simultaneous, 
and  were  ordered  to  be  made  at  five  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-sixth  of  De- 
cember. 

The  division  of  Washington  was  accom- 
panied by  a  train  of  twenty-four  field-pieces 
under  Colonel  Knox.  The  river  was  high 
and  full  of  floating  ice,  and  the  weather  was 
cold  and  stormy.  A  detachment  of  boats 
had  been  collected  for  the  service,  and  was 
manned  by  Colonel  Glover's  regiment  of 
Marblehead  fishermen,  who  had  ferried  the 
army  over  the  East  River  in  the  retreat  from 
Long  Island.  The  march  was  begun  just 
after  dark  on  Christmas  night,  and  Wash- 
ington hoped  to  reach  the  New  Jersey  shore 
by  midnight ;  but  the  passage  of  the  river 
was  difficult  and  tedious  by  reason  of  the 
floating  ice  and  the  high  wind  which  re- 
swept  the  boats  out  of  their  course; 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


and  it  was  four  o'clock  before  the  artillery 
was  landed.  The  march  was  at  once  re- 
sumed. Washington,  with  the  main  body, 
moved  by  a  wide  circuit  to  gain  the  north 
of  the  town,  while  a  detachment  under  Sul- 
livan was  ordered  to  advance  by  the  ri\'er 
road  and  attack  the  enemy  from  the  west  and 
south  sides. 

A  blinding  storm  of  hail  and  snow  delayed 
the  advance  of  the  troops,  but  also  concealed 
their  movements  from  the  enemy  ;  and  it  was 
eight  o'clock  before  Trenton  was  reached. 
The  attack  was  at  once  begun,  and  was 
pressed  with  vigor.  The  Hessians  were 
completely  taken  by  suprise;  they  flew  to 
arms  promptly,  but  by  this  time  the  Ameri- 
cans had  gained  the  main  street,  and  were 
sweeping  it  with  a  battery  of  six  pieces. 
Colonel  Rahl  was  mortally  wounded  while 
leading  his  grenadiers  to  the  charge,  and  his 
men,  seized  with  a  panic,  endeavored  to  re- 
treat. Finding  that  they  were  surrounded, 
about  one  thousand  of  them  threw  down 
their  arms  and  surrendered.  The  remainder 
succeeded  in  escaping  and  joining  Colonel 
Donop  at  Burlington. 

The  magnanimity  of  Washington  was 
shown  on  this  occasion  by  his  paying  a 
friendly  visit  to  Colonel  Rahl,  who  was  lying 
at  Trenton  on  his  dying  bed.  Washington 
expressed  his  sympathy  for  the  wounded 
officer,  who,  upon  his  death,  is  believed  to 
have  been  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  where  his  sup- 
posed remains  were  found  fifty  years  later. 

The  Victory  at  Trenton. 

The  Americans  lost  two  men  killed,  and 
two  were  frozen  to  death  on  the  march. 
Several  were  wounded.  They  took  one 
thousand  prisoners  with  their  arms.  Thirty- 
two  of  the  captives  were  officers. 

Washington  now  learned  that  the  ice  was 
so  thick  in  front  of  Bristol  that  Reed  and 


THE   DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 


403 


Cadwallader  had  not  been  able  to  get  their 
cannon  over  the  river,  and  had  not  attacked 
the  enemy  at  Burlintjton.  He  therefore 
deemed  it  best  to  withdraw  into  Pennsylva- 
nia, as  Donop's  force  was  still  intact  at  Bur- 
lington, and  the  enemy  had  another  column 


detachments  along  the  river,  and  had  retreat- 
ed in  haste  to  New  Brunswick  and  Princeton. 
The  news  of  the  victory  at  Trenton  was 
received  with  delight  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  men  began  to  take  hope.  Sev- 
eral regiments,  whose  terms  of  enlistment 


at  Princeton,  a  few  miles  distant.  On  the 
evening  of  the  twenty-si.xth  he  returned  to 
his  camp  beyond  the  Delaware.  The  next 
day  he  learned  from  Reed  and  Cadwallader, 
who  had  crossed  the  Delaware  on  the  twen- 
ty-seventh, that  Donop  had  called  in  all  his 


WASHINGTON'    C.\Lr.S    ON    COLONEL    RAUL. 

expired  on  the  last  day  of  December,  were 
induced  to  remain  six  weeks  longer.  Wash- 
ington resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  recover 
New  Jersey,  and  men  of  influence  were  sent 
to  rouse  the  militia  of  that  State  to  take 
up  arms   for   the    defence   of   their    homes. 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Altogetner  matters  assumed  a  more  promis- 
ing aspect  than  they  had  worn  at  any  period 
of  the  war.  On  the  thirtieth  of  December 
Washington  recrossed  the  Delaware  and  took 
position  at  Trenton. 

Honors  Conferred  on  Washington. 
About  the  same  time  Congress  bestowed 
upon  Washington  the  highest  proof  of  their 
confidence  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity  that  a 
free  people  can  ever  confer  upon  a  leader. 
On  the  twenty-seventh  of  December  Congress 
conferred  upon  General  Washington,  by  a 
formal  resolution,  unlimited  military  power 
for  six  months.  The  committee,  in  their  let- 
ter informing  him  of  this  act,  wrote ;  "  Happy 
is  it  for  this  country  that  the  general  of  their 
forces  can  safely  be  entrusted  with  the  most 
unlimited  power,  and  neither  personal  secu- 
rity, liberty,  nor  property  be  in  the  least 
endangered  thereby."  The  confidence  of  the 
country  was  not  misplaced.     Never  was  dic- 


tatorial power  used  more  wisely  or  unselfish- 
ly, and  never  did  its  exercise  produce  more 
beneficial  results. 

It  was  resolved  by  Congress  to  secure 
assistance  from  abroad,  and  on  the  thirtieth 
of  December  Benjamin  Franklin,  Silas  Deane 
and  Arthur  Lee — the  last  of  whom  was 
appointed  in  place  of  Mr.  Jefferson  who 
could  not  go — were  sent  as  commissioners 
to  France  to  secure  the  assistance  of  the 
government  of  that  country.  France  was 
not  yet  prepared  to  go  to  war  with  England, 
and  the  commissioners  could  do  no  more 
than  secure  aid  in  money,  which  was  expend- 
ed in  the  purchase  of  supplies  and  military 
stores,  which  were  shipped  to  the  United 
States.  It  was  arranged  that  this  money 
should  be  repaid  by  Congress  in  the  produce 
of  the  country,  especially  in  tobacco,  which 
was  to  be  shipped  to  France  through  a  mer- 
cantile house.  The  assistance  thus  obtained 
was  of  the  greatest  ser\ice  to  the  Americans. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


The  Year 


1777 


Howe  Attempts  to  Crush  Washington— Battle  of  Princeton— The  British  Confined  to  the  Seaboard— Recovery  of  New 
Jersey— The  American  Army  in  Winter  Quarters  at  Morristown— Effects  of  the  American  Successes— Difficulty  of 
Procuring  Troops — Washington  Refuses  to  Exchange  Prisoners — His  Course  Approved  by  Congress — Measures  of 
Congress — Xaval  Affairs — Tryon  Bums  Danbury — Gallantry  of  Arnold— Troubles  in  the  Northern  Department — 
Congress  Adopts  a  National  Flag — "  The  Stars  and  Stripes  " — Course  of  France  towards  the  United  States — France 
Decides  to  Assist  the  Americans — Lafayette — His  Arrival  in  America — Capture  of  the  British  General  Prescott — Howe 
Threatens  Philadelphia — Washington  moves   Southward — Battle  of  the   Brandywine — Washington   Retreats  to   the 

Schuylkill — Wayne's  Defeat  at  Paoli — Philadelphia  Evacuated   by  the  Americans — It   is  Occupied  by  the   British 

Battle  of  Germantown — The  British  Attack  the  Forts  on   the   Delaware — They  are  Abandoned  by  the  Americans 

Burgoyne's  Army  in  Canada — Advance  of  Burgoyne  into  New  York — Investment  of  Ticonderoga — It  is  Abandoned 
by  the  Americans — The  Retreat  to  Fort  Ed.vard — Burgovne  reaches  the  Hudson — Murder  of  MissMcCrea — Siege  of 
Fort  Schuyler— Battle  of  Bennington — Critical  Sitaution  of  Burgoyne — Gates  in  Command  of  the  American  Army — 
Battle  of  Behmus'  Heights  and  Stillwater — Surrender  of  Burgoyne's  Army — -Clinton  in  the  Highlands. 


GREAT  was  the  atonishment  of 
General  Howe  when  he  learned 
of  the  battle  at  Trenton.  He 
could  scarcely  believe  that  a  hand- 
ful of  militia  had  captured  a  strong  force  of 
veteran  troops  led  by  such  a  commander  as 
Colonel  Rahl.  He  at  once  took  prompt 
measures  to  repair  the  disaster.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  who  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing  to  Eng- 
land, was  ordered  to  resume  his  command 
in  New  Jersey,  and  a  force  of  seven  thousand 
men  was  rapidly  collected  and  placed  under 
his  orders.  These  troops  rendezvoused  at 
Princeton. 

Washington  was  informed  of  these  move- 
ments, and  ordered  Generals  Mifflin  and 
Cadwallader  to  join  him  without  delay. 
They  reached  Trenton  the  first  of  January, 
with  thirty-five  hundred  men.  This  increased 
the  American  force  to  about  five  thousand 
men  fit  for  dtity.  Upon  the  approach  of 
Cornwallis'  army,  Washington  took  position 
behind  the  Assunpink,  and  prepared  to  dis- 
pute the  passage  of  that  stream.  The  fords 
and  bridge  over  the  creek  were  carefully 
guarded,  and  were  swept  by  the  fire  of  the 


artillery  placed  to  command  them.  A  force 
under  General  Greene  and  Colonel  Hand  was 
thrown  forward  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check, 
and  so  retarded  their  movements  that  the 
British  army  did  not  arrive  before  Trenton 
until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  January 
2,  1777.  Cornwallis  made  several  deter- 
mined efforts  to  force  a  passage  of  the  creek, 
but  was  each  time  driven  back  by  the  well- 
directed  fire  of  the  provincials.  Thinking 
that  he  could  accomplish  more  the  next  day, 
the  British  commander  drew  off  his  men, 
resolving  to  renew  the  attack  in  the  morning 
when,  he  boasted,  he  would  "  bag  the  fox." 
Both  armies  encamped  for  the  night  in  sight 
of  each  other,  reddening  the  .sky  with  the 
glow  of  their  camp-fires. 

The  situation  of  the  American  army  was 
now  critical  in  the  extreine.  A  retreat  into 
Pennsylvania  was  impossible,  as  the  Dela- 
ware  was  full  of  floating  ice,  and  could  not 
be  passed  in  the  face  of  such  an  army  as  that 
of  Cornwallis.  The  issue  of  the  next  day's 
conflict  was,  to  say  the  least,  doubtful,  for 
the  army  of  Cornwallis  was  composed  mainly 
of  veteran  troops,  and  he  was  himself  a  leader 
405 


4o6 


THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


of  genuine  ability.  In  this  emergency  Wash- 
ington determined  upon  one  of  the  most 
briUiant  and  well-conceived  operations  of  the 
war.     It  was  known  to  him  that  the  British 


.-^MEKICAN    MARKSMAN    IN    A    TREE 

had  their    main    depot  of  supplies  at  New      from 
Lrunswick,  and  he  supposed  from  the  pres- 
ence of  so  many  troops  with  Cornwallis  that 
this  depot  had  been    left    unguarded.      He 
therefore  resolved  to  break  up  his  camp,  and 


march  by  an  unfrequented  road  around  the 
left  flank  of  the  enemy  to  Princeton,  capture 
the  force  stationed  there,  and  then  haste;i  to 
New  Brunswick  and  secure  the  stores  at  that 
place.  Sending  his  heavy 
baggage  and  stores  down 
the  river  to  Burlington. 
Washington  silently 
withdrew  his  army  from 
its  position  at  midnight, 
leaving    the    camp-fires 
burning   to   deceive  the 
enemy,  and  a  small  force 
to  watch  the  British  and 
destroy  the  bridges  after 
the  army  had  passed  on. 
A    forced    march 
brought  the  Americans 
within    three     miles    of 
Princeton   by  daybreak, 
on  the  morning  of  the 
third  of  January.     The 
army  was    divided    into 
two  divisions,  one  under 
Washington   and  the 
other  under  General  Mer- 
cer,   which    approached 
the    town    by    different 
routes.       Three    British 
regiments  on  their  way 
to  Trenton    had    passed 
the    previous    night    at 
Princeton,  and    had    re- 
sumed   their    march    at 
dawn.    The  first  of  these,, 
under  Colonel  Mawhood, 
was  encountered  by  the 
division  of  General  Mer- 
cer,   about     two    miles 
Princeton.     As    Mawhood    supposed 
Mercer's  force  to  be  a  party  retreating  from 
Trenton,  he  at   once  resolved  to  attack  it. 
His  attack  was  successful.     The  Americans 
were  driven  back,  and  General  Mercer  was 


THE   YE 

wounded,  bayoneted,  and  left  on  the  field 
apparently  dead.  Mercer's  troops  fell  back 
in  confusion,  and  a  body  of  Pennsylvania 
militia,  which  had  been  sent  by  Washington 
to  their  assistance,  was  held  in  check  by  the 
fire  of  the  British  artillery. 

At  this  moment,  Washington,  who  had 
been  rendered  anxious  by  the  obstinate  and 
continued  firing,  arrived  on  the  field.  A 
glance  showed  him  the  broken  and  shattered 
regiments  of  Mercer  fallingback  in  confusion, 
and  the  Pennsylvania  militia  wavering  under 
the  heavy  cannonade  directed  against  them. 
Not  a  moment  w  as  to  be  lost,  and  putting 
spurs  to  his  horse,  he  dashed  forward  in  the 
face  of  the  fire  of  ^Mawhood's  artillery,  and 
waving  his  hat,  called  upon  the  troops  to 
rally  and  follow  him.  The  effect  was  elec- 
trical ;  the  fugitives  rallied  with  a  loud  cheer 
and  reformed  their  line,  and  at  the  same 
moment  a  Virginia  regiment,  which  had  just 
arrived,  dashed  out  of  a  neighboring  wood 
and  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  enemy.  A 
little  later  the  American  artillery  came  up, 
and  opened  a  shower  of  grape  upon  the 
British.  Mawhood  was  driven  back,  and 
w-ith  great  difficulty  succeeded  in  regaining 
the  main  road,  along  which  he  retreated  with 
all  speed  to  Trenton. 

General  Mercer  Mortally  Wounded. 

The  second  British  regiment,  advancing 
from  Princeton  to  Mawhood's  assistance  was 
attacked  by  St.  Clair's  brigade,  and  was 
speedily  driven  across  the  country  towards 
New  Brunswick.  The  third  regiment,  seeing 
the  fate  of  their  comrades,  became  panic- 
stricken.  A  portion  fled  towards  New 
Brunswick,  and  the  remainder  took  refuge 
in  the  college  building  at  Princeton.  They 
surrendered  after  a  few  shots  from  the  Ame- 
rican artillery'. 

The  Americans  lost  but  a  few  men  in  this 
battle ;   but    General    Mercer,    a    brave  and 


AR    1777.  407 

efficient  commander,  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  died  a  few  days  after  the  engagement. 
The  British  lost  about  one  hundred  killed 
and  three  hundred  prisoners. 

Eager  to  secure  the  stores  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, Washington  pushed  on  with  speed  in 
that  direction,  but  after  passing  a  few  miles 
beyond  Princeton  decided  to  abandon  the 
attempt.  He  was  sure  that  Cornwallis  would 
pursue  him  as  soon  as  his  retreat  from  Tren- 
ton was  discovered,  and  his  men  were  too 
much  exhausted  to  reach  New  Brunswick 
before  the  arrival  of  the  enemy.  They  had 
been  without  rest  for  a  night  and  a  day,  and 
some  of  them  were  barefooted.  His  gen- 
erals sustained  him  in  the  opinion  that  it  was 
injudicious  to  continue  the  movement 
against  New  Brunswick,  and  he  reluctantly 
abandoned  it,  and  withdrew  in  the  direction 
of  Morristown. 

New  Jersey  Saved    from  the  Enemy. 

When  Cornwallis  discovered  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Americans  on  the  morning  of 
the  third  of  January,  he  was  greatly  per- 
plexed to  know  in  what  direction  they  had 
gone.  In  a  little  while  the  sound  of  the 
cannonade  at  Princeton  revealed  to  him  the 
route  taken  by  them,  and  he  at  once  under- 
stood the  design  of  Washington.  He  must 
save  his  stores  at  any  risk,  and  he  broke  up 
his  camp  and  set  out  for  Princeton  and  New 
Brunswick.  The  Americans  had  obstructed 
the  Princeton  road  and  had  broken  down  the 
bridge  over  Stony  Creek,  a  few  miles  from 
the  town. 

Without  waiting  to  rebuild  the  bridge,  the 
British  commander  forced  his  men  through 
the  icy  waters,  which  were  breast  high,  and 
hastened  through  Princeton  with  all  speed. 
Believing  that  Washington  had  hurried  on 
to  New  Brunswick,  Cornwallis  marched 
direct  to  that  place,  and  did  not  notice  the 
deflection   of  the  American  army  from  the 


4o8 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


main  route.  Reaching  New  Brunswick,  he 
made  arrangements  to  defend  the  town, 
which  he  supposed  would  be  attacked. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  army 
retreated  to  a  strong  position  at  Morristown, 
ivhere  the  troops  erected  huts  in  which  to 
pass  the  winter.  Finding  that  the  enemy 
did  not  attack  him,  Washington  ventured  to 
extend  his  line.     His  right  was  at  Princeton, 


try  beyond   their  lines,  and  rarely  ventured 
without  their  camps. 

By  the  beginning  of  spring  Cornwallis 
had  abandoned  every  post  in  New  Jersey 
save  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy. 
From  these  points  he  could  communicate 
with  and  draw  his  supplies  from  New  York 
by  water.  Thus  was  New  Jersey  almost 
entirely   redeemed  from    the    enemy.     The 


WASHINGTON  S    QUARTERS   AT    MORRISTOWN. 


under  General  Putnam,  and  his  left,  under 
General  Heath,  was  in  the  Highlands.  His 
own  headquarters  were  at  Morristown.  For 
six  months  neither  party  attempted  any 
movement  of  importance.  Washington  was 
not  idle,  however.  Though  he  had  but  the 
skeleton  of  an  army  at  Morristown,  he  dis- 
played such  activity  in  cutting  off  the  forag- 
i;ig  parties  of  the  British  that  they  were 
unable  to  draw  any  supplies  fron;  the  coun- 


militia  of  the  state  recovered  from  their 
former  despondency  and  warmly  seconded 
the  efforts  of  Washington  against  the 
British. 

Confidence  was  returning  to  the  country ; 
and  though  men  felt  that  the  struggle  might 
yet  be  long  and  arduous,  it  was  not  as  hope- 
less as  they  had  feared. 

Washington  passed  the  winter  in  endeav- 
oring to  reorganize  the  army  and  fit  it  for 


the  work  required  of  it  in  the  spring.  The 
poHcy  of  short  enhstments  adopted  by  Con- 
gress was  the  source  of  very  great  trouble, 
and  the  expiration  of  the  enlistments  of  a 
large  part  of  the  army  during  this  winter 
caused  the  commander-in-chief  the  greatest 
anxiety.  He  repeatedly  condemned  this 
policy,  and  endeavored  to  procure  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  longer  term.  Great  efforts 
Avere  made  to  procure  recruits,  but  they 
came  in  very  slowly.  In  order  to  check  the 
ravages  of  the  small-pox  in  the  camp,  the 
recruits  were  inoculated  immediately  upon 
their  arrival. 

Efforts  were  now  made  to  bring  about  an 
exchange  of  prisoners.  The  British  objected 
to  an  exchange  of  man  for  man,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Americans  were  rebels,  and 
such  an  exchange  would  be  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  belligerent  rights.  Somewhat 
later  General  Howe,  who  had  about  five 
thousand  prisoners  in  New  York,  renewed 
the  negotiation.  The  British  had  treated 
the  captured  Americans  with  great  severity 
and  had  confined  them  in  warehouses  in 
New  York,  and  in  foul  hulks  anchored  in 
the  bay.  They  were  improperly  fed,  and 
were  allowed  to  remain  almost  naked.  Their 
sufferings  were  fearful,  and  they  were 
reduced  and  emaciated  in  strength  and  bod\-, 
until  they  were  truly  said  to  resemble  "  walk- 
ing corpses."  British  cruelty  never  exhibited 
itself  in  a  more  inhuman  form  than  in  the 
treatment  of  these  unfortunate  captives  by 
the  royal  officials.  More  than  ten  thousand 
of  them  died  in  New  York,  during  the  war, 
from  the  effects  of  this  treatment. 

When  General  Howe's  proposal  to  ex- 
change these  men  for  the  Hessians  taken  by 
the  Americans  was  received,  it  was  declined 
by  Washington.  The  Hessians  had  been 
well  fed  and  well  treated  by  the  Americans, 
and  were  hale  and  hearty,  and  Washington 
was  unwilling  to  liberate  them  for  service  in 


THE   YEAR    1777.  409 

the  British  army,  and  to  receive  in  exchange 
for  them  half-starved  men,  who  were  so 
weak  that  they  could  scarcely  reach  their 
homes.  It  was  a  stern  necessity,  but  it  was 
recognized  by  Congress,  and  Washington's 
view  of  the  matter  was  sustained. 

The  Army  Reorganized. 

During  the  winter  five  more  major-generals 
were  commissioned  by  Congress.  They 
were  Stirling,  St.  Clair,  Mifflin,  Stephen  and 
Lincoln.  Arnold,  who  was  the  senior  brig- 
adier in  the  service,  justly  conceived  that  his 
rank  and  services  entitled  him  to  promotion, 
and  was  indignant  at  having  been  passed 
over  in  the  new  appointments,  and  com- 
plained bitterly  of  the  injustice  done  him. 
Eighteen  brigadier-generals  were  also  ap- 
pointed. Among  them  were  George  Clinton, 
of  New  York  ;  Glover,  the  commander  of 
the  Marblehead  regiment ;  Woodford  and 
Muhlenberg,  of  Virginia;  and  Hand  and 
Anthony  Wayne,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Congress  gave  great  attention  to  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  army  during  this  session. 
A  quartermaster's  department  was  organized, 
with  General  Mifflin  at  its  head.  Four  regi- 
ments of  cavalry  were  ordered  to  be  enlisted. 
The  hospital  service  was  reorganized  and 
placed  under  the  control  of  Dr.  Shippen,  of 
Philadelphia  ;  and  Dr.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia, 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  cf  Inde- 
pendence, was  appointed  surgeon-general  of 
the  army. 

Efforts  were  also  made  to  place  the  navy 
upon  a  better  footing.  Several  of  the  frigates 
ordered  by  Congress  to  be  built  had  been 
completed  and  equipped  ;  but  the  work  on 
the  rest  was  delayed  by  the  want  of  funds. 
Efforts  were  made  to  complete  them,  as  they 
were  greatly  needed,  all  the  vessels  constitut- 
ing the  American  fleet  being  at  this  time 
blockaded  in  the  harbor  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  by  the  enemy. 


4IO 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


Since  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  a 
destructive  warfare  had  been  carried  on  by 
the  privateers  of  New  England  against  the 
commerce  of  Great  Britain,  especially  against 
the  vessels  of  that  country  trading  to  the 
West  Indies.  During  the  first  years  of  the 
war  nearly  three  hundred  of  these  were  cap- 
tured by  the  privateers.  The  cargoes  of  the 
captured  vessels  were  valued  at  the  immense 
sum  of  five  millions  of  dollars.  The  Ameri- 
can merchantmen  also  maintained  a  regular 
communication  with  France,  Spain  and  Hol- 
land, and  a  profitable  trade  was  carried  on 
between  the  United  States  and  those  coun- 
tries. It  was  attended  with  great  risk,  how- 
ever, and  many  of  the  American  vessels  were 
captured  by  the  British  men-of-war. 

Military  Stores  Destroyed. 

Washington  remained  at  Morristovvn  some 
time  after  the  spring  opened,  and  exerted 
himself  to  the  utmost  to  take  the  field  as 
soon  as  the  enemy  should  develop  their  plans. 
The  first  months  of  the  season  were  employed 
by  the  British  commander  in  a  series  of  plun- 
dering expeditions.  One  of  these  was  directed 
against  Peekskill,  where  the  Americans  had 
collected  a  large  quantity  of  stores.  General 
McDougall,  commanding  the  American  force 
at  that  point,  found  it  impossible  to  defend 
the  stores,  and  set  fire  to  them  and  retreated 
to  the  heights  overlooking  the  town.  The 
enemy  made  no  attempt  to  follow  him,  and 
returned  down  the  river.  General  Heath 
had  been  transferred  to  the  command  of  the 
forces  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  succeeded 
in  the  command  of  the  Highlands  by  General 
Putnam. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April  General  Tryon, 
the  last  royalist  governor  of  New  York,  was 
sent  by  General  Howe  with  a  force  of  two 
thousand  men,  to  destroy  a  large  quantity  of 
stores  collected  by  the  Americans  at  Dan- 
bur\',   in    the  western   part   of  Connecticut, 


about  t\vent)--threc  miles  from  the  Sound. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  of  April  Tryon  landed 
near  Norwalk,  and  marched  to  Danbury, 
where  he  burned  the  stores  and  set  fire  to 
the  town.  Thus  far  he  had  met  with  no 
opposition ;  but  the  alarm  had  spread  imme- 
diately after  his  landing,  and  the  Conneticut 
militia,  to  the  number  of  six  hundred  men, 
assembled  under  Generals  Silliman  and 
Wooster.  Arnold  chanced  to  be  at  New 
Haven,  and  collecting  a  small  force  of  volun- 
teers, hurried  to  join  Silliman  and  Wooster, 
and  the  whole  command  hastened  after  the 
marauders. 

Tryon  Retreats  to  New  York. 

Tryon  began  his  retreat  from  Danbury 
before  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
seventh,  and  was  soon  after  attacked  by  the 
militia.  During  the  twenty-seventh  and 
twenty-eighth  the  British  were  harrassed  at 
every  step  by  the  little  band  of  Americans,, 
who,  though  too  weak  to  defeat  them  in  any 
single  encounter,  hung  upon  their  march  and 
inflicted  upon  them  a  loss  of  nearly  three 
hundred  men.  The  enemy  at  last  came 
under  the  protection  of  the  guns  of  their 
ships  and  the  Americans  were  forced  to 
withdraw.  Tr\'on  then  re-embarked  his. 
exhausted  troops  and  returned  to  New- 
York. 

The  American  loss  was  slight.  The  brave 
old  General  Wooster,  a  veteran  of  sixty-eight 
years,  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  head  of 
his  men  and  died  a  few  days  later.  Arnold 
behaved  with  such  distinguished  gallantry  in 
this  affair  that  Congress  rewarded  him  with 
the  rank  of  major-general  and  presented  him 
with  a  horse  handsomely  equipped.  Even 
this  acknowledgment  of  his  merit  was  min- 
gled with  injustice,  for  the  date  of  his  com- 
mission still  left  him  below  the  rank  he  was 
entiled  to.  and  he  felt  the  second  slight  as. 
another  undeserved  injury. 


THE   YEAR 


1777- 


411 


The  Connecticut  militia  were  very  indig- 
nant at  the  burningof  Danbury,  and  resolved 
to  avenge  it.  In  the  latter  part  of  May  a 
party  of  one  hundred  and  sevent}'  men,  under 
Colonel  Meigs,  crossed  the  Sound  in  whale- 
boats  to  the  east  end  of  Long  Island.  They 
carried  their  boats  during  the  night  fifteen 
miles  across  the  neck,  and  launching  them 
again,  proceeded  to  Sag  Harbor,  where  they 
destroyed  twelve  vessels  and  a  large  quan- 
tity of  stores  collected  there  by  the  British, 
and  made  ninety  prisoners.  They  then 
returned  to  Connecticut  without  the  loss  of 
a  man. 

General  Schuyler    Vindicated. 

Recruits  came  into  the  American  camp 
very  slowly,  and  various  expedients  were 
adopted  by  Washington  to  hasten  the  enlist- 
ments. At  his  instance  Congress  declared 
that  all  indentured  servants  who  enlisted  in 
the  army  should  receive  their  freedom  at 
once.  Bounties  in  land  were  offered  to  such 
Hessians  as  should  desert  the  British  service. 
This  last  measure  did  not  accomplish  much 
towards  crippling  the  enemy. 

In  the  northern  department,  Schuyler  was 
left  with  a  mere  skeleton  of  an  army.  He 
had  but  seven  hundred  men,  at  the  most,  at 
Ticonderoga,  and  he  was  fearful  that  Carle- 
ton  would  learn  his  weakness,  pass  Lake 
Champlain  on  the  ice,  capture  Ticonderoga, 
and  push  on  to  Albany.  He  repeatedly 
urged  the  commander-in-chief  to  send  him 
reinforcements  and  supplies,  but  his  request 
could  not  be  granted,  as  there  were  none  to 
spare  from  Washington's  army.  During 
the  winter  a  persistent  effort  was  made  to 
drive  Schuyler  from  his  command,  in  order 
that  Gates  might  succeed  to  it. 

Charges  were  brought  against  him  with  such 
recklessness  that  he  offered  his  resignation 
to  Congress.  That  body  refused  to  accept 
it :  but  as  the  efforts   of  his  enemies  were 


not  discontinued,  Schuyler  went  to  Phila- 
delphia, in  April,  1777,  and  demanded  an 
investigation  into  his  conduct.  Gates  suc- 
ceeded him  in  his  command.  Schuyler  was 
fully  vindicated  by  the  report  of  the  investi- 
gating committee  of  Congress,  and  was 
ordered  to  resume  his  command.  Gates  was 
greatly  surprised  by  the  result,  and  reluct- 
antly relinquished  the  command  of  the 
northern  department  to  his  rival,  and 
repaired  to  Philadelphia  to  seek  redress  at 
the  hands  of  Congress  fjr  what  he  termed 
his  wrongs. 


GEN'ER.A.L    PHILIP    SCHUYLER. 

Until  now  the  Americans  had  been  with- 
out a  national  flag.  Congress,  in  June,  1777^ 
remedied  this  very  serious  want  by  adopting 
the  old  "  Union  Flag,"  with  its  thirteen 
stripes ;  but  substituted,  in  place  of  St. 
George's  Cross,  a  group  of  thirteen  stars, 
one  for  each  State.  Thus  the  "Stars  and 
Stripes  "  became  the  national  ensign  of  the 
republic — a  star  having  been  added  for  each 
additional  State  that  has  since  joined  the 
original  thirteen. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  occupied  the 
attention  of  Congress  after  the  proclamation 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  the 


412 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


preparation  of  a  device  for  a  great  seal  of  the 
confederation.  This  was  assigned  to  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Franklin,  Jefferson  and 
John  Adams.  The  seal  as  finally  adopted 
has  never  been  changed. 


FLAG    AND    SHIELD. 

The  war  in  America  had  been  watched 
■with  the  deepest  interest  in  Europe,  and 
especially  by  France.  The  French  Govern- 
ment had  been  convinced  long  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution  that  the  treat- 
ment w-hich  the  colonies  were  receiving  from 


land  was  alienating  the  Americans  by  her 
treatment  of  them.  Choiseul  conceived  the 
hope  that,  by  offering  the  Americans  free 
trade  with  France,  they  would  be  made  to 
resent  the  course  of  England  even  more 
decidedly. 

When  the  Revolution  began  the  French 
Government  svas  fully  prepared  for  it,  and 
was  ready  to  avenge  the  loss  of  Canada  by 
aiding  the  new  republic  in  its  efforts  to  throw 
oii  the  authority  of  Great  Britain.  It  was 
merely  waiting  to  see  whether  the  Americans 
were  able  to  maintain  the  stand  they  had 
taken.  The  news  of  the  defeat  on  Long 
Island,  the  loss  of  New  York,  and  the  retreat 
through  New  Jersey,  filled  the  friends  of 
America  with  serious  alarm,  and  it  w-as  gen- 
erally believed  in  Europe  that  the  Americans 
would  not  be  able  to  withstand  the  superior 
force  of  the  mother  country. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1777  it  was  known 
in  Europe  that  the  American  army,  which 


SEAL    OF    THE    UNITED    ST.4TE.S. 


Great  Britain  would  ultimately  cause  their 
separation  from  her ;  and  ten  years  before 
the  war  began  the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  the 
prime  minister  of  Louis  XV.,  had  sent  Baron 
De  Kalb  to  examine  and  report  the  state  of 
feelings  of  the  colonists  towards  Great  Britain. 
De  Kalb  was  a  shrewd  observer,  and  furnished 
his  government  with  ample  proofs  that  Eng- 


it  was  supposed  had  been  driven  in  hopeless 
disorder  over  the  Delaware  without  the 
means  of  continuing  the  war,  had  suddenly 
rallied  and  beaten  a  force  of  veteran  troops 
at  Trenton,  and  again  at  Princeton,  and  had 
recovered  New  Jersey  from  the  enemy.  This 
intelligence  produced  the  most  profound 
astonishment  in  Europe,  and  was  received  in 


THE  YEAR 
TI 


1777- 


413 


France  with  genuine  satisfaction. 
Americans  were  extolled  as  a  race  of  heroes, 
and  the  prudence  and  good  generalship  of 
Washington  were  spoken  of  with  the  highest 
praise. 

The  French  Government  now  felt  justified 
in  aiding  the  patriots, 
but  it  proceeded  with 
caution.  American  pri- 
vateers were  secretly 
fitted  out,  with  the  con- 
nivance of  the  govern- 
ment, and  were  permitted 
to  sell  their  prizes  in 
French  ports,  and  the 
protests  of  the  British 
ambassador  against  such 
acts  were  unheeded.  The 
government  made  secret 
grants  of  arms  and  mili- 
tary stores  to  the  Ame- 
ricans, and  three  ship- 
loads were  sent  out  in 
the  spring  of  1777.  Two 
of  these  vessels  were 
captured  by  the  English, 
but  the  third  reached 
America  in  safety,  and 
its  cargo  went  to  sup- 
ply the  deficiencies  of 
the  army  at  Morristown. 

In  the  spring  of  this 
year  the  commissioners 
sent  to  France  by  Con- 
gress reached  that  coun- 
try. They  had  full  pow- 
ers to  enter  into  an  alli- 
ance with  the  French 
King.  They  were  granted  several  private 
interviews  by  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  the 
French  Prime  Minister,  and  were  secretly 
encouraged  to  hope  for  the  success  of  their 
mission.  As  yet,  ho\vc\<r,  France  was  not 
prepared  to  declare  war  against  Great  Britain. 


Though  the  government  delayed  its 
action,  there  were  generous  hearts  in  France 
who  were  determined  to  give  all  the  aid  and 
comfort  in  their  power  to  the  struggHng 
patriots.  One  of  these  was  the  youthr-il 
Marquis  do  Lafayette,  the  heir  of  a  nol  'e 


•:    MAKQUIS    DE    LAFAYKTTE. 


name,  the  possessor  of  wealth  and  a  high 
social  position,  and  the  husband  of  a  beauti- 
ful and  accomplished  wife.  He  had  heard 
at  a  dinner  party  given  by  the  French  offi- 
cials at  Mayence  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
a  brother  of  the  King  of  England,  the  story 


44 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


of  the  war  then  going  on  in  America,  and  its 
causes,  related  by  the  lips  of  the  royal 
guest. 

His  generous  heart  at  once  went  out  in 
sympathy  to  the  patriots,  and  he  resolved  to 
leave  his  family  and  all  his  advantages  at 
home  and  go  to  the  aid  of  the  Americans. 
He  revealed  his  intention  to  the  Count  de 
Broglie,  a  Marshal  of  France,  who  regarded 
his  enterprise  as  Quixotic  and  refused  to 
aid  him.  Finding  him  determined,  the 
count  introduced  his  young  friend  to  the 
Baron  de  Kalb,  an  officer  of  experience  and 
merit,  who  had  visited  America  as  Choiseur's 
agent  in  the  last  reign.  De  Kalb  introduced 
Lafayette  to  Silas  Deane,  then  the  only 
American  Commissioner  in  France. 

A  Young  Major-GeneraL 

The  news  of  the  loss  of  New  York  and  of 
New  Jersey  arrived  about  this  time,  but  did 
not  lessen  the  ardor  of  Lafayette ;  and 
though  the  newly-arrived  commissioners, 
Franklin  and  Lee,  candidly  told  him  that 
they  could  not  encourage  him  to  hope  for  a 
successful  issue  of  their  cause,  he  avowed 
his  determination  to  proceed.  He  pur- 
chased a  vessel,  which  was  loaded  with  arms 
and  supplies  by  the  commissioners.  The 
French  government  attempted  to  prevent 
him  from  sailing,  but  he  succeeded  in  get- 
ting off,  accompanied  by  De  Kalb  and 
se\eral  others.  He  reached  Philadelphia, 
offered  his  services  to  Congress  without  pay 
and  was  commissioned  as  a  major-general  in 
the  American  army,  though  not  yet  twenty 
years  old. 

Lafayette  was  not  the  only  foreigner  whose 
services  were  accepted  by  Congress.  De 
Kalb,  Count  Pulaski  and  Thaddeus  Kos- 
ciusko, natives  of  Poland,  and  Conway,  an 
Irishman  who  had  seen  thirty  years'  service 
in  the  French  army,  and  who,  in  an  evil 
hour  for  this  country,  came  to  America;  and 


later  .still  Baron  Steuben,  one  of  Frederick 
the  Great's  veterans,  and  who  did  good  ser- 
vice to  the  cause  by  introducing  into  the 
American  ranks  the  drill  and  discipline  of 
the  Prussian  army,  were  commissioned  and 
assigned  to  tluty  by  Congress. 

Capture  of  a  British  General. 

About  the  middle  of  May  Washington 
broke  up  his  camp  at  Morristown  and  occu- 
pied the  heights  of  Middlebrook  in  order  to 
watch  the  British  to  better  advantage.  Howe 
made  repeated  efforts  to  draw  him  from  this 
strong  position  into  the  open  field,  where 
the  superior  discipline  of  the  royal  troops 
would  give  him  an  advantage,  but  Washing- 
ton out-generaled  him  completely,  and 
Howe  finding  it  impossible  to  bring  on  an 
engagement,  withdrew  his  army  to  Staten 
Island. 

While  these  movements  were  in  progress 
the  British  sustained  a  serious  loss  in  the 
capture  of  General  Prescott,  one  of  their 
principal  officers,  who  had  earned  the  dislike 
of  the  Americans  by  his  arbitrary  and  con- 
temptuous treatment  of  them.  He  was 
commanding  the  British  forces  at  Newport, 
and  had  his  headquarters  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  On  a  dark  night  in  July  a  com- 
pany of  picked  men,  under  Colonel  Barton, 
crossed  Narragansett  Bay  in  whale  boats, 
and  passing  silently  through  the  British  fleet 
landed  near  Prescott's  quarters.  The  senti- 
nel at  the  door  was  secured  and  the  as- 
tounded general  was  roused  from  his  bed 
and  hurried  away  without  being  allowed 
time  to  dress.  He  was  conveyed  within  the 
American  lines,  and  was  afterwards  ex- 
changed for  General  Charles  Lee. 

Washington  now  learned  of  the  invasion 
of  New  York  by  the  army  of  General  Bur- 
goyne,  to  which  we  shall  refer  further  on. 
It  was  evident  that  Burgoyne  was  trying  to 
reach  the  Hudson.     Washington's  spies  ia 


4i6 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


New  York  informed  him  that  Howe  was 
preparing  to  send  off  the  larger  part  of  his 
force  by  water,  and  the  commander-in-chief 
was  perplexed  to  know  whether  Howe 
intended  ascending  the  Hudson  to  co-operate 
with  Burgoyne,  or  to  transport  his  army  to 
Philadelphia  by  water.  Toward  the  last  of 
July  Howe  sailed  with  his  fleet  from  New 
York  and  stood  out  to  sea. 

Philadelphia  Fortified. 

Ten  days  later  his  ships  were  reported  off 
the  mouth  of  the  Delaware.  Washington 
now  felt  confident  that  his  design  was  to 
attack  Philadelphia,  and  crossed  the  Dela- 
ware with  his  army  and  marched  to  German- 
town  to  await  the  development  of  the  enemy's 
plans.  About  the  same  time  the  British  fleet 
stood  out  to  sea  again.  Its  destination  was 
uncertain,  and  Washington  held  his  army  in 
readiness  to  march  at  a  minute's  notice  to 
the  threatened  point. 

While  awaiting  the  movements  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Howe,  Washington  visited  Philadelphia, 
where  Arnold  was  in  command  and  was  en- 
gaged in  fortifying  the  city,  to  consult  with 
Congress  and  push  forward  the  measures  for 
the  defence  of  the  place.  While  there  he 
met  the  newly  arrived  Lafayette.  Washing- 
ton was  an  acute  judge  of  men,  and  at  his 
first  interview  with  Lafayette  was  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  noble  and  earnest  character 
of  the  young  soldier,  and  conceived  for  him 
a  warm  regard,  which  ended  only  with  his 
life. 

In  the  midst  of  the  uncertainty  attending 
Howe's  movements  Washington  received 
urgent  appeals  from  Schuyler  for  assistance. 
He  sent  him  two  brigades  from  the  High- 
lands, and  ordered  Colonel  Morgan  to  join 
him  with  his  riflemen,  who  were  regarded  as 
more  than  a  match  for  the  Indians  of  Bur- 
goyne's  army.  Arnold  was  also  sent  to 
assume  command  of  a  division  in  the  north- 


ern army,  as  he  was  familiar  with  the  country. 
Putnam  was  ordered  to  prevent  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  who  had  been  left  at  New  York, 
from  ascending  the  Hudson  and  forming  a 
junction  with  Burgoyne,aiid  General  Lincoln, 
commanding  the  militia  of  Massachusetts, 
was  directed  to  march  with  a  portion  of  his 
force  to  Schuyler's  assistance. 

As  nothing  had  been  heard  of  the  British 
fleet,  Washington  was  about  to  move  from 
Germantown  into  New  Jersey  once  more, 
when  news  was  received  that  the  enemy  had 
ascended  the  Chesapeake  to  its  head,  and  had 
landed  their  forces  at  Elkton,  in  Maryland, 
about  sixty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  The 
Delaware  had  been  obstructed  and  fortified  a 
short  distance  below  Philadelphia,  and  Howe 
had  ascended  the  Chesapeake  in  order  to 
secure  an  undisputed  landing.  He  intended 
to  march  his  army  across  the  country  towards 
Philadelphia,  while  the  fleet  should  return  to 
the  Delaware  and  aid  the  army  in  reducing 
the  forts  on  that  river.  He  had  eighteen 
thousand  men  with  him,  and  effected  his 
landing  in  Elkton  without  opposition  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  August,  and  at  once  began  his 
advance  toward  Philadelphia. 

Battle  of  the  Brandywine. 

Washington  had  but  eleven  thousand  effec- 
tive men  with  him,  and  was  in  no  way  pre- 
pared to  undertake  a  campaign  in  the  open 
countrj'.  Nevertheless,  he  advanced  at  once 
to  dispute  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  and  by 
forced  marches  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
vicinity  of  Wilmington  before  the  arrival  of 
the  British.  Upon  examining  the  country  he 
decided  to  contest  the  passage  of  the  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  and  stationed  his  army  along  its 
left  bank. 

The  British  were  advancing  by  the  main 
road  to  Philadelphia,  which  crossed  the 
Brandywine  at  Chadd's  Ford,  and  as  Wash- 
ington supposed  their  main  effort  woul  1  be 


THE   YEAR    1777. 


417 


made  at  this  point,  he  stationed  the  greater 
part  of  his  army  to  cover  it.  On  the  eleventh 
of  September  the  British  army  reached  the 
creek,     Howe  ordered  General  Knyphausen 


Washington  was  deceived  by  the  officer  sent 
to  ascertain  if  the  enemy  were  threatening  his 
right,  and  was  left  in  ignorance  of  Cornwallis' 
movement  until  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  it. 


lAFAYETTE    .^VNO   WASHINGTON. 


to  make  a  feint  at  Chadd's  Ford  as  if  he  were 
about  to  force  a  passage,  while  he  sent  Corn- 
wallis with  a  strong  column  to  pass  the  creek 
higher  up  and  turn  the  American  right  flank. 
This    plan    was     successfully    carried    out. 


Being  outflanked,the  American  army  was  com- 
pelled to  fail  back  with  a  loss  of  twelve  hundred 
men.  The  troops  did  not  know  they  had  suf- 
ered  a  reverse,  but  supposing  tliey  had  merely 
experienced  a  check  were  in  high  spirits. 


4iS 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


Lafayette  was  wounded  in  this  battle,  and 
Pulaski  so  greatly  distinguished  liimself  that 
he  was  subsequently  rewarded  by  Congress 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  and  the 
command  of  the  cavalry. 

Sir  William  Howe  did  not  push  his  advan- 
tage, but  remained  for  two  days  near  the 
battle-field.  Washington  in  the  meantime 
retreated  to  Chester,  and  then  to  the  Schuyl- 
kill, which  he  crossed  on  the  twelfth  of  Sep- 
tember, and  proceeded  to  Germantown,  where 
the  army  wenc  into  camp.  The  men  were  in 
excellent  spirits,  and  a  day  or  two  later 
Washington  recrossed  the  river  and  moved 
towards  the  enemy,  whom  he  encountered 
about  twenty-five  miles  from  Philadelphia  on 
the  sixteenth.  A  violent  rain  storm  pre- 
vented the  two  armies  from  engaging,  and 
injured  the  arms  and  ammunition  of  the  men 
so  much  that  Washington  deemed  it  best  to 
withdraw  to  Pott's  Grove,  on  the  Schuylkill, 
about  thirty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  At  the 
same  time  he  detached  General  Wayne,  with 
a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  men,  to  gain  the 
enemy's  rear  and  cut  off  their  wagon  train. 
A  Tory  carried  information  of  this  movement 
to  the  British  commander,  and  Wayne  was 
himself  surprised  at  Paoli  tavern,  on  the 
^ventieth  of  September,  and  defeated  with  a 
loss  of  three  hundred  men. 

Philadelphia  and  the  British. 

It  being  impossible  to  save  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  from  capture  the  military  stores 
were  removed,  and  a  contribution  was  levied 
upon  the  people  to  supply  the  army  with 
clothing,  shoes  and  other  necessaries  during 
the  winter.  Congress,  in  view  of  the  great 
danger  which  threatened  the  country,  con- 
ferred dictatorial  powers  upon  Washington 
for  sixty  days,  and  then  extended  this 
time  to  a  period  of  four  months.  Con- 
gress then  adjourned  to  meet  at  Lancaster, 
from  which,  a  few  days  later,  it  transferred 


its  sessions  to  York,  beyond  the  Susque- 
hanna. 

Howe  crossed  the  Schuylkill  by  a  night 
march,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  Septem- 
ber entered  Philadelphia.  The  bulk  of  his 
army  was  stationed  at  Germantown,  and  a 
small  detachment  was  left  to  hold  the  city. 

The  Americans,  though  they  had  lost 
Philadelphia,  still  held  the  forts  on  the  Dela- 
ware, a  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Schuylkill.  The  work  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania side  was  called  Fort  Mifflin,  and  was 
built  on  a  low  mud  island.  Immediately 
opposite,  at  Red  Bank,  on  the  New  Jersey- 
shore,  was  Fort  Mercer.  Both  works  were 
armed  with  heavy  guns,  and  commanded  the 
river  perfectly.  The  channel  was  obstructed 
with  heavy  logs  fastened  together  and  sunk 
in  the  stream  so  securely  as  to  render  their 
removal  difficult.  Above  these  obstructions 
were  several  floating  batteries. 

A  Victory  Given  Away. 

After  landing  the  British  army  at  Elkton, 
Lord  Howe  carried  his  fleet  down  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  entering  the  Delaware  took  posi- 
tion below  the  forts  to  await  the  co-operation 
of  the  army  in  the  attack  upon  them. 

Washington  having  learned  that  Howe 
had  withdrawn  a  part  of  his  force  from  Ger- 
mantown to  aid  in  the  operations  against  the 
fort,  resolved  to  surprise  the  remainder.  A 
night  march  of  fourteen  miles  brought  the 
American  army  to  Germantown  at  sunrise 
on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  of  October.  A 
heavy  fog  hung  over  the  country  and  pre- 
vented the  commander-in-chief  from  seeing 
either  the  position  of  the  enemy  or  that  of 
his  own  troops. 

The  British  were  taken  by  surprise,  and 
were  driven  in  disorder.  The  victory  seemed 
within  the  grasp  of  Washington,  when  the 
Americans  abandoned  the  pursuit  to  attack 
a  stone  house  in  which  a  few  of  the  enemy 


THE   YEAR    1777 


had  taken  refuge.  While  thus  engageti  they 
were  seized  with  an  unaccountable  panic, 
which  threw  them  into  confusion.  The 
British  rallied,  and,  assailing  the  Americans 
in  their  turn,  drove  them  from  the  field  with 
a  loss  of  one  thousand  men.  Washington 
was  greatly  mortified  by  this  failure.  He 
wrote  to  Congress  :  "  Every  account  confirms 
the  opinion  I  at  first  entertained,  that  our 
troops  retreated  at  the  instant  when  \ictory 
was  declaring  herself  in  our  favor.'' 

Howe  now  drew  in  his  army  nearer  to 
Philadelphia,  and  prepared  for  an  immediate 
attack  on  the  forts  on  the  Delaware.  These 
held  that  river  so  securely  that  the  British 
fleet  was  not  able  to  bring  supplies  up  to  the 
city.  The  provisions  of  the  army  were  nearly 
exhausted,  and  if  the  forts  could  not  be 
reduced  it  would  be  necessary  to  evacuate 
Philadelphia  in  order  to  obtain  food.  On 
the  twenty-second  of  October,  Count  Donop 
was  sent  with  a  force  of  twelve  hundred 
picked  Hessians  to  storm  Fort  RIercer,  at 
Red  Bank,  while  the  fleet  reduced  Fort  Mif- 
flin. Donop's  attack  was  repulsed  with  a 
loss  of  four  hundred  men,  the  Hessian  com- 
mander himself  being  among  the  slain.  In 
the  attack  on  Fort  Mifflin  the  British  lost 
two  ships,  and  the  remainder  were  more  or 
less  injured  by  the  fire  of  the  American 
guns. 

Washington  at  Valley  Forge. 

Shortly  after  this  repulse,  the  British 
erected  batteries  on  a  small  island  in  the 
Delaware,  which  commanded  Fort  Mifflin, 
and  on  the  tenth  of  November  opened  a 
heavy  bombardment  of  the  fort  from  these 
works  and  from  their  fleet.  The  bombani- 
ment  was  continued  until  the  night  of  the 
fifteeenth.  The  works  being  nearly  des- 
troyed, Fort  Mifflin  was  abandoned  on  the 
night  of  the  sixteenth,  and  on  the  eighteenth 
the  garrison  was  withdrawn  from  the  fort  at 


419 

Red  Bank.  The  British  now  removed  the 
obstructions  from  the  river,  and  their  fleet 
ascended  to  Philadelphia.  General  Howe 
constructed  a  strongly  fortified  line  from  the 
Schuylkill  to  the  Delaware,  above  Philadel- 
phia, and  went  into  winter  quarters  with  his_ 
army  behind  these  defences. 

The  season  being  loo  late  for  active  opera- 
tions, Washington  withdrew  his  army  to 
Valley  Forge  on  the  Schuylkill,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Philadelphia,  and  went  into 
winter  quarters.  From  this  position  he 
could  protect  Congress,  sitting  at  York. 

Burgoyne's  Great  "'War  Feast." 

In  the  northern  department  the  year  had 
been  marked  by  the  most  important  events. 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  was  succeeded  in  the  com- 
mand of  the  British  forces  in  Canada  by 
General  Burgoyne,  an  officer  of  ability  and 
integrity.  He  w-as  strongly  reinforced  and 
soon  had  under  his  command  a  finely 
equipped  army  ot  ten  thousand  men.  Bur- 
goyne gave  a  great  "  war  feast "  to  the  In- 
dians, who,  in  answer  to  his  appeal  on  this 
occasion,  promised  to  aid  him,  thinking  that 
with  his  fine  large  army  he  would  be  able  to 
whip  the  rebels  in  a  short  time. 

About  eight  thousand  of  Burgoyne's 
troops  were  British  and  Hessian  regulars, 
the  remainder  Canadians  and  Indians.  The 
army  was  plentifully  supplied  with  artillery 
of  the  most  improved  pattern,  which  was 
under  the  immediate  command  of  General 
Philips,  a  veteran  who  had  ser\-ed  with  great 
distinction  in  the  seven  years'  war.  The 
second  in  command  of  the  army  was  General 
Frazcr,  an  officer  of  acknowledged  skill,  who. 
was  greatly  beloved  by  the  troops.  Baron 
Reidesel,  the  commander  of  the  Hessians, 
was  also  an  old  soldier.  Altogether,  the  force 
under  Burgoyne  was  the  most  splendid  body 
of  troops  Great  Britain  had  yet  assembled  in 
America.     With  this  army  Burgoyne  was  to 


420 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


advance  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  to  the 
Hudson,  while  a  detachment  under  General 
St.  Leger  was  to  move  eastward  by  way  of 
Oswego  and  descend  the  Mohawk  to  the 
Hudson.  Having  secured  the  Hudson,  Bur- 
goyne  was  to  open  communication  with  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  in  New  York,  capture  the  forts 
in  the  Highlands  and  so  cut  off  New  England 
from  the  Middle  and  Southern  States. 

To  oppose  his  advance  General  Schuyler 


that  post.  Opposite  Fort  Ticonderoga,  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  outlet  of  Lake 
George,  is  a  lofty  hill  known  as  Mount 
Defiance.  The  Americans  had  neglected  to 
fortify  this  hill,  thinking  it  inaccessible  to 
artillery.  General  Philips  was  of  a  different 
opinion,  and  in  three  days  of  hard  labor  suc- 
ceeded in  dragging  his  guns  to  the  summit 
of  Mount  Defiance,  from  which  they  com- 
manded the  forts  on  both  sides  of  the  lake 


-ixAL    BUKGOVNE    ADUKE^.-h-" 


had  a  weak  army  between  Albany  and  Lake 
Champlain.  General  St.  Clair,  with  a  detach- 
ment of  three  thousand  men  held  Ticonde- 
roga, and  though  he  seriously  feared  that 
his  force  was  too  weak  to  offer  much  resist- 
ance, trusted  to  the  natural  strength  of  his 
position  and  hoped  to  be  able  to  hold  Ticon- 
deroga until  aid  could  reach  him. 

On  the  second  cf  July  Burgoyne's  army 
appeared  before  Ticonderoga  and  invested 


St.  Clair  now  saw  that  the  forts  were  unten- 
able and  that  he  must  evacuate  them  at 
once  in  order  to  save  his  army.  Sending 
his  baggage  and  stores  in  boats  up  the  lake 
to  Skenesborough,  now  Whitehall,  he 
evacuated  Fort  Ticonderoga  and  crossed 
over  to  Fort  Independence  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  lake. 

His  withdrawal  was  discovered  before  it 
was    completed,    and    the    British    at    once 


THE   YEAR    1777. 


421 


followed  in  pursuit.  Burgoyne  ordered  Gen- 
eral Frazer  to  follow  St.  Clair's  command, 
while  he  himself  passed  up  the  lake  and  des- 
troyed the  stores  at  Skenesborough.  Upon 
his  approach,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  seventh, 
the  American  force  at  Skenesborough  set 
fire  to  the  stores  and  retreated  rapidly  to 
Fort  Anne,  which  was  reached  the  next 
morning.  The  British  appeared  before  this 
fort  the  same  da\-,  but  w  ' 
and  that  night  the 
Americans  set  fire  to 
Fort  Anne  and  re- 
treated to  Fort  Ed- 
ward, sixteen  miles 
further. 

On  the  afternoon  of 
the  se\-enth  General 
Frazer  came  up  with 
St.  Clair's  rear  guard 
at  Hubbardton  and 
defeated  it  with  severe 
loss.  St.  Clair  con- 
tinued his  retreat 
through  the  wood 
and  a  \\eek  latci 
reached  Fort  Edward 
with  his  exhausted 
troops. 

General  Schuyler 
had  advanced  to  Fort 
Edward  with  a  force 
of  five  thousand  men, 

nearly  all  of  whom  were  militia.  Many  were 
without  arms,  and  there  was  a  woeful 
scarcity  of  ammunition  and  provisions  in  his 
camp.  Schuyler  was  joined  here  by  the  rem- 
nant of  Saint  Clair's  command,  and  as  Bur- 
goyne had  halted  for  a  few  days  at  the  head 
of  Lake  Champlain,  which  was  twenty-four 
miles  distant  from  Fort  Edward,  Schuyler  set 
his  men  to  work  to  obstruct  the  road  between 
those  two  points  by  felling  trees  across  it  and 
by  destroying  bridges.     So  thoroughlj-  was 


this  work  done  that  Burgoyne's  army  con- 
sumed a  fortnight  in  its  advance  from  Skenes- 
borough to  the  Hudson.  It  reached  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Fort  Edward  on  the  twenty-ninth 
of  July.  Schuyler  at  once  abandoned  the  fort, 
and  fell  back  to  Saratoga,  from  which  he 
moved  to  Stillwater,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk. 

The  loss  of  Ticonderogaand  tiie  northern 
''  .  '    '  ': ,  ^  ■,!,,!,!  ^  ,  Mcnce 


RUINS    OF    FORT    TICONDEROGA. 

of  the  incapacity  of  Schuyler  and  his  subor- 
dinates, and  so  little  allowance  was  made  for 
the  serious  disadvantages  under  which  those 
officers  labored,  that  Congress  ordered  all  tlie 
northern  generals  to  be  recalled  and  their 
conduct  investigated.  It  was  not  until  Wash- 
ington called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the 
fact  that  a  compliance  with  this  order  would 
leave  the  northern  army  without  officers,  that 
that  body  consented  to  suspend  its  unwise 
decree. 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


The  prejudice  against  Schuyler,  though 
unjust,  was  deep,  and  his  removal  from  his 
command  was  resolved  upon.  Washington 
declined  to  deprive  him  of  his  command,  as 
his  confidence  in  Schuyler  was  unshaken,  and 
Congress  took  the  matter  in  its  own  hands. 
"  The  eastern  influence  prevailed,"  says  Irv- 
ing, "  and  Gates  received  the  appointment  so 
long  the  object  of  his  aspirations,  if  not  in- 
trigues." 

Upon  reaching  Fort  Edward,  Burgoyne, 
confident  that  the  game  was  in  his  own  hands, 
issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  the  people 
to  send  representatives  to  a  convention  to 
meet  at  Castleton  to  provide  for  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  royal  authority.  This  was 
met  by  a  proclamation  from  Schuyler,  who 
declared  that  he  would  punish  as  traitors  all 
who  should  comply  with  Burgoyne's  call,  or 
in  any  way  give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy. 
There  was  not  much  need  for  this  threat,  for 
the  militia  of  the  northern  district  were 
rapidly  rallying  to  Schuyler's  aid.  The 
people  of  the  whole  region  were  profoundly 
excit^ed,  and  they  were  determined  that 
the  British  army  should  never  leave  their 
•country. 

Story  of  Jenny  McCrea. 

Much  of  this  feeling  was  caused  by  the 
outrages  of  the  Indians  in  Burgoyne's  army, 
who  prowled  about  the  country,  murdering 
and  plundering  the  people  who  were  exposed 
to  their  fury.  One  of  their  crimes  roused 
the  whole  northern  region  to  action.  A  beau- 
tiful young  girl,  Jenny  McCrea  by  name,  was 
visiting  a  friend  near  Fort  Edward.  She  was 
betrothed  to  a  young  Tory  who  had  fled  to 
Canada  some  time  since,  and  was  now  serving 
as  a  lieutenant  in  Burgo\-ne's  army.  When 
her  friends  removed  from  Fort  Edward  to 
Albany,  to  avoid  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened them,  she  lingered  behind  in  spite  of 
their  invitation  to  accompany  them,  hoping 


to  meet  her  lover  upon  the  advance  of  Bur- 
goyne's forces. 

The  house  in  which  she  was  staying  was 
attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians,  and  she  was 
taken  prisoner.  Anxious  for  her  safety  she 
promised  her  captors  a  liberal  reward  if  they  , 
would  conduct  her  to  her  lover  in  the  Brit-' 
ish  camp.  On  the  way  they  quarrelled  over 
the  promised  reward,  and  in  their  rage  mur- 
dered the  poor  girl  and  carried  her  scalp  into 
the  British  camp.  Burgoyne  was  horror- 
struck  at  the  atrocious  deed,  and  promptly 
disavowed  it;  but  the  news  of  the  murder 
roused  a  stern  desire  for  vengeance  through- 
out the  northern  department.  The  terrible 
scenes  of  the  old  French  war  were  not  for- 
gotten, and  the  people  were  fearful  they  would 
now  be  revived  under  British  influence  unless 
Burgoyne's  army  were  destroyed.  Thousands 
flocked  to  the  American  camp,  with  such 
arms  as  they  could  procure,  eager  to  crush 
the  enemy. 

The  Brave  Herkimer. 

In  the  meantime  St.  Leger  had  moved 
from  Oswego  into  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk, 
and  had  laid  siege  to  Fort  Schuyler  or  Stan- 
wix,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Rome. 
The  fort  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Gan- 
sevoort.  The  siege  was  begun  on  the  third 
of  A-ugust,  and  a  few  days  later  news  was 
received  by  the  little  garrison  that  General 
Herkimer,  with  eight  hundred  militia,  was 
advancing  to  their  assistance.  On  the  sixth 
of  August  Herkimer  reached  a  place  called 
Oriskany,  where,  owing  to  the  impatience  of 
his  men,  he  fell  into  an  ambush  of  Tories 
and  Indians.  The  fight  which  ensued  was 
one  of  the  most  desperate  of  the  war;  quar- 
ter was  neither  asked  nor  given  by  either 
party. 

Herkimer  was  mortally  wounded,  but  con- 
tinued to  cheer  on  his  men,  until  a  successful 
sally  from  the   fort  compelled   St.  Leger  to 


THE    YEAR 


recall  tlie  force  engaged  \vitli  Herkimer  to 
defend  his  own  camp.  The  American  militia 
then  retreated,  carrying  with  them  their 
commander,  who  died  a  few  days  later.  Fort 
-Schuyler  was  left  in  a  critical  condition,  and 


777-  425 

hastily  abandoned  his  camp,  and  retreated 
into  Canada  with  the  remainder  of  his  force. 
Burgoyne  had  now  reached  the  Hudson, 
and  had  full  command  of  Lakes  George  and 
Champlain  ;  but  the  people  of  the  country 


I     ^"^l.-^^^^ 


HEKKIMEK    MOKTAI.LV    WOUNDED. 


Arnold  was  sent  at  his  own  request  to  its 
relief  He  caused  the  strength  of  his  force 
to  be  greatly  exaggerated,  and  spread  a 
report  that  Burgoyne  had  been  defeated. 
The  Indians  deserted  St.  Leger  rapidly  upon 
hearing  these  reports,  and  that  commander 


were  lioslile  to  him,  and  he  found  it  hard  to 
procure  either  cattle  or  horses.  Though  his 
camp  on  the  Hudson  was  but  eighteen  miles 
from  Lake  George,  this  lack  of  animals  made 
it  almost  impossible  to  transport  his  supplies 
across    the    intervening    countn-,    and    hi.? 


424 


THE  A^NIERICaN    REVOLUTION. 


army  was   beginning  to  run  short  of  provi- 
sions. 

To  obtain  horses  and  prov-isions,  Bur- 
goyne,  early  in  August,  sent  a  force  of  five 
hundred  Germans  and  a  detachment  of 
Indians  and  Tories,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Baum,  to  seize  the  stores  collected  by  the 
Americans  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  and  to 
collect  such  horses  and  cattle  as  they  could 
on  the  march.     He  was  told  that  the  people 


of  the  neighborhood  were  largely  devoted 
to  the  king,  and  that  the  stores  were 
unguarded. 

The  news  of  the  approach  of  this  force 
spread  rapidly  through  the  country,  and  the 
'Green  Mountain  Boys,  as  the  Vermont  militia 
were  termed,  flew  to  arms.  Colonel  Stark, 
who  had  retired  from  the  Continental  army  on 
account  of  having  been  neglected  in  the 
recent  promotions,  was  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  was  offered  the  command  of  the  gather- 


ing forces.  He  accepted  it  promptly,  and 
issued  a  warning  to  the  people  along  the 
route  of  the  British  to  drive  off  their  horses 
and  cattle,  and  to  conceal  their  grain  and 
wagons  to  prevent  their  capture  by  the 
enemy.  A  messenger  was  sent  with  all  speed 
to  Manchester  to  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  urg- 
ing him  to  march  at  once  with  his  regiment 
to  Bennington,  where  he  was  needed. 

Battle  of  Bennington. 

Baum  had  advanced  to  within  six  miles  of 
Bennington  when  he  heard  of  the  approach 
of  the  militia  under  Stark.  He  halted,  in- 
trenched his  position,  and  sent  to  Burgoyne 
for  reinforcements.  Colonel  Breyman  with 
five  hundred  Hessians  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery  was  despatched  to  his  assistance. 

Stark  was  prevented  from  making  an  im- 
mediate attack  upon  Baum  by  a  furious 
rain-storm,  which  also  delayed  the  march  of 
Breyman  and  Warner.  During  the  night  of 
the  fifteenth  of  August  Stark  was  joined  by 
the  militia  from  Berkshire,  IMassachusetts 
They  were  anxious  to  engage  the  enemy  at 
once,  and  were  impatient  at  the  delay  caused 
by  the  storm.  One  of  their  number,  Parsoa 
Allen,  approached  Stark.  "  General,"  said 
he,  "  the  people  of  Berkshire  have  often 
been  called  out  to  no  purpose  ;  if  you  don't 
give  them  a  chance  to  fight  now  they  will 
never  turn  out  again."  Stark  remarked  his 
earnestness,  and  said,  with  a  smile,  "  You 
would  not  turn  out  now,  while  it  is  dark 
and  raining,  would  you  ?"  "  Not  just  now," 
answered  the  parson.  "  Well,"  said  Stark, 
"  if  the  Lord  should  once  more  give  us  sun- 
shine, and  I  don't  give  you  fighting  enough, 
I'll  never  a.sk  you  to  turn  out  again." 

The  morning  of  the  sixteenth  came  bright^ 
and  clear,  and  Stark  at  once  began  his' 
advance  upon  the  enemy.  Arriving  in  sight 
of  the  British  works,  he  pointed  them  out  to 
his  men.     "  There  are  the  red  coats !     We 


THE  YEAR    1777. 


425 


must  beat  them  to-day  or  Molly  Stark  sleeps 
a  widow  to-night."  A  spirited  attack  was 
made  upon  the  British  lines,  both  in  front 
and  in  the  rear,  and  after  two  hours'  hard 
fighting  they  were  carried  by  storm.  Baum 
fell  mortally  wounded  and  his  men  laid 
down  their  arms.  The  Indians  and  Tories 
had  escaped  to  the  woods  at  the  opening  of 
the  battle. 

The  fighting  had  scarcely  ended  when  the 
force  under  Colonel  Breyman  appeared  and 
at  once  engaged  the  Americans.  At  the 
same  moment  Warner's  regiment,  which  had 
pushed  forward  all  night  in  the  rain,  reached 
the  field.  The  battle  was  continued  until 
nightfall,  when  Breyman  abandoned  his 
artillery  and  made  a  hurried  retreat  to  Bur- 
goyne's  camp  on  the  Hudson.  The  Ameri- 
cans had  fourteen  killed  and  forty  wounded. 
They  took  six  hundred  prisoners,  one  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms  and  four  pieces  of 
cannon. 

Burgoyne  in  Straits. 

Burgoyne  now  found  himself  in  a  most 
critical  condition.  He  had  reached  the 
Hudson,  but  his  troops  were  short  of  pro- 
visions;  his  efforts  against  Fort  Schuyler 
and  Bennington  had  failed,  and  his  force 
was  being  reduced  by  the  desertions  of  the 
Indians.  Burgoyne,  who  was  a  man  of 
humanity  and  true  soldierly  spirit,  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  barbarous  policy  of  his 
government  in  employing  the  savages  against 
the  Americans,  and  had  sternly  cut  short 
their  cruelties.  The  Indians  had  taken 
offence  at  his  course  and  were  leaving  his 
army  in  great  numbers.  He  made  no  effort 
to  detain  them,  preferring  to  lose  their  ser- 
vices rather  than  allow  them  to  continue  their 
atrocities.  On  the  other  hand  the  American 
army  was  daily  growing  stronger.  The 
militia  were  flocking  to  it  in  great  numbers, 
and  reinforcements  were  received  from  the 


Highlands.  The  militia  of  New  Hanpshire 
and  Massachusetts  were  threatening  Ticon- 
deroga,  the  capture  of  which  post  would  cut 
off  his  communications  with  Canada.  The 
contrast  between  the  present  condition  of 
the  British  army  and  that  of  a  few  weeks 
before  was  marked  indeed. 

A  Jealous  General. 

Matters  were  in  this  state  when  General 
Gates  arrived,  late  in  August,  and  assumed 
the  command  of  the  army,  which  was  now 
si.x  thousand  strong,  and  receiving  reinforce- 
ments every  day.  Schuyler,  superior  to  all 
sense  of  personal  wrong,  cheerfully  rendered 
him  all  the  assistance  in  his  power  in 
mastering  the  question  before  him ;  but 
Gates  repaid  his  generosity  with  charac- 
teristic jealousy.  He  did  not  even  invite 
Schuyler  to  his  first  council  of  war  held  a 
few  days  later.  He  at  once  left  the  position 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk,  and  on  the 
twelfth  of  September  advanced  to  Behmus' 
Heights,  a  spur  of  hills  bordering  the  Hud- 
son. The  army  now  numbered  nine  thou- 
sand effective  men,  indifferently  armed,  but 
resolved  to  conquer.  "Gates  had  no  fitness 
for  command,"  says  Bancroft,  "  and  wanted 
personal  courage."  He  intrenched  his  posi- 
tion, and  for  the  defence  of  his  right  and  left 
flanks  erected  strong  batteries. 

Burgoyne  by  great  exertion  succeeded  in 
bringing  up  a  month's  provisions  from  Lake 
George  for  his  army,  which  was  now  reduced 
to  about  six  thousand  men.  He  resolved  to 
adhere  to  his  original  plan,  and  endeavored 
to  force  his  way  to  Albany,  and  on  the  thir- 
teenth of  September  crossed  the  Hudson  at 
Schuylerville,  and  encamped  on  the  plains  of 
Saratoga,  intending  to  decide  the  campaign 
by  a  general  engagement. 

On  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth  of  Sep- 
tember he  advanced  against  the  American 
position.     Gates  wished  to  await  the  attack 


426 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


of  the  enemy  in  his  intrenched  position,  but 
Arnold  urged  him  to  throw  forward  a  force 
to  hold  them  in  check,  and  not  permit  them 
to  turn  the  American  left,  as  they  evidently 
intended.     After  considerable  solicitation  he 


obtained  the  desired  permission  from  Gates, 


GF.NF.R.AL    HORATIO    G.\TES. 

■>  td  moved  forward  to  check  the  advance  of 
the  British.  A  determined  conflict  immedi- 
ately ensued  and  continued  until  nightfall. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  stubbonly  contested 
engagements  of  the  war,  and  its  result  was 
mainly  due  to  the  skill  and  courage  of  Ar- 


nold, who  held  the  enemy  in  check  during^ 
the  day,  and  prevented  the  success  of  their 
plan  for  turning  Gates'  left  flank.  The  Brit- 
tish  remained  in  possession  of  the  field  at 
night,  ind  the  Americans  rejoined  their  main 
body.  The  latter  regarded  the  battle  as  a 
victory,  as  they  had 
accomplished  all  they 
had  expected. 

Burgoyne's  difii- 
culties  thickened  rap- 
idly. On  the  seven- 
teenth a  detachment  of 
Massachusetts  militia 
seized  the  posts  at  the 
outlet  of  Lake  George 
and  captured  a  fleet  of 
three  hundred  boats 
loaded  with  supplies 
for  Burgoyne's  army, 
and  took  three  hun- 
dred prisoners.  This 
force  then  united  with 
another  and  laid  seige 
toTiconderoga.  These 
successes  completely 
destroyed  Burgoyne's 
communication  with 
Canada,  and  with  it 
his  means  of  supply- 
ing his  army.  In  this 
emergency  he  was 
greatly  encouraged 
by  the  receipt  of  a 
letter  from  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  at  New  York, 
informing  him  that  he 
(Clinton)  would  in  a 
few  days  make  an  effort  to  ascend  the  Hud- 
son and  open  communication  with  him. 

Burgoyne  thereupon  resolved  to  endeavor 
to  hold  his  positon  until  the  arrival  of  Clinton. 
Three  weeks  passed  away  in  inaction,  and 
though    skirmishes    between    the    advanced 


THE   YEAR 


427 


parties  were  frequent,  neither  commander 
cared  to  attack  the  other;  Burgoyne  because 
he  was  anxious  to  defer  a  decisive  engage- 
ment, Gates  because  he  was  scantily  supplied 
with  ammunition. 

Arnold  Again  at  the  Front. 

The  success  of  the  battle  of  Behmus' 
Heights  was  generally  attributed  by  the 
troops  to  Arnold,  who  was  very  popular  with 
them.  Gates'  jealously  was  most  probably 
•aroused  by  this  belief,  and  he  unceremoni- 
ously deprived  Arnold  of  his  command. 
During  this  delay  the  American  army  was 
increased  by  the  arrival  of  the  Massachusetts 
militia  and  other  reinforcements,  to  about 
•eleven  thousand  men. 

Burgoyne's  situation  was  now  more  critical 
than  ever.  His  best  officers  favored  a  retreat 
to  Fort  Edward  ;  but  the  British  commander 
•decided  before  undertaking  that  movement 
to  reconnoitre  the  American  position  in 
strong  force.  If  it  was  found  that  it  could 
not  be  attacked,  he  was  willing  to  retreat  to 
Fort  Edward.  A  force  of  fifteen  hundred 
picked  men  and  ten  pieces  of  cannon,  com- 
manded by  the  most  experienced  officers  in 
the  army,  was  sent  on  the  seventh  of  October 
to  reconnoitre  the  American  position.  Gates, 
by  the  advice  of  Morgan,  attacked  this  force 
on  both  flanks,  and  sent  Morgan  with  his  rifle- 
jnen  to  cut  the  enemy  off  from  their  camp. 

The  sound  of  the  firing  roused  Arnold, 
-who  was  brooding  over  his  wrongs.  He 
mounted  his  horse  and  rode  at  full  speed  to 
the  battle-field  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Gates 
to  stop  him.  He  reached  the  scene  of  action 
and  was  reconized  by  the  troops,  who  re- 
ceived him  with  cheers.  Without  orders  or 
any  definite  command,  he  placed  himself  at 
ihe  head  of  the  troops  and  led  them  against 
the  enemy.  The  British,  led  by  General 
Frazer,  held  their  ground  manfully,  but  at 
length  Frazer  was  mortally  wounded  by  one 


of  Morgan's  riflemen,  and  his  line  gave  way. 
Burgoyne  fearlessly  exposed  himself  in  the 
efibrts  to  rally  his  men,  but  was  at  length 
obliged  to  order  a  retreat  to  the  camp. 

This  was  accomplished  with  extreme  diffi- 
cult)-, and  the  Americans,  following  in  close 
pursuit,  made  a  determined  attack  upon  the 
British  intrenchments,  which  were  stubborn- 
ly defended.  In  this  attack  Arnold  displayed 
great  heroism,  and  was  wounded  within  the 
enemy's  works.  Though  they  failed  to  cap- 
ture the  whole  line,  the  Americans  carried 
the  camp  of  Colonel  Breymen's  regiment  of 
Hessians,  the  key  to  Burgoyne's  position, 
and  took  a  number  of  prisoners. 

Success  of  the  Federals. 

The  Americans  bivouaced  on  the  field,  in- 
tending to  renew  the  battle  the  next  day,  but 
during  the  night  Burgoyne  abandoned  his 
sick  and  wounded,  and  silently  withdrew  from 
his  intrenchments.  The  roads  being  rendered 
bad  by  the  rains,  he  halted  and  took  posi- 
tion about  two  miles  from  the  town  of  Sara- 
toga. On  the  night  of  the  ninth,  finding  that 
the  Americans  held  the  Hudson  in  such 
heavy  force  as  to  render  its  passage  impracti- 
cable, he  retreated  to  Saratoga-  He  then 
sent  out  a  detachment  to  rebuild  the  bridges 
on  the  road  to  Fort  Edward,  but  found  the 
road  in  the  possession  of  the  Americans,  who 
also  held  Fort  Edward,  and  had  captured  all 
the  boats  laden  with  provisions  for  his  army. 
He  was  thus  left  with  but  three  days  rations 
for  his  men.  On  the  twelfth  the  Amer- 
ican army,  which  had  followed  the  British 
closely,  invested  their  position,  and  opened 
a  heavy  fire  on  their  camp.  On  the  thir- 
teenth Burgoyne  called  a  council  of  his  offi- 
cers, and  it  was  resolved  to  open  negotiations 
with  Gates. 

He  proposed  to  Gates  to  surrender  his 
army  on  condition  that  they  should  he 
allowed  to  sail  for  England  from  the  port  of 


428 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Boston,    first   pledging    themselves   not   to  j 
serve  again   in   North  America   during  the  | 
war.     Gates  had  heard  of  the  successes  of  i 
Clinton  on  the  Hudson,  and  was  fearful  that 
he    would    reach    Albany.      He    therefore 
weakly  agreed  to  Burgoyne's  proposal,  and 
consented    that    the    British    arniy    should 
march  out  of  camp  with  the  honors  of  war;  1 
that  the  troops   should  be  taken  to  Boston 
and  sent  to  England,  and  that  they  should 
pledge    themselves    not   to    serve   again    in 
America    during   the   war.     These    matters 
being  arranged  the  British  army  surrendered 
on  the  seventeenth  of  October,  and  was  fed  i 
by  the  Americans,   for    its  provisions  were 
exhausted.      About  six  thousand  prisoners 
were  surrendered,  together  with  nearly  five 
thousand    muskets,    forty-two    brass    field- 
pieces  and  a  large  quantity  of  military  stores. 
Upon  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  the  British 
garrison    at    Ticonderoga    evacuated     that 
place  and  retreated  into  Canada. 

Surrender  of   Burgoyne. 

Congress  refused  to  ratify  the  terms 
granted  to  Burgoyne  by  Gates.  It  was 
plain  that  if  they  were  sent  to  England  they 
could  release  an  equal  number  of  troops 
there,  who  could  be  sent  to  the  aid  of  Sir 
Henrj'  Clinton  in  New  York.  This  would 
deprive  the  United  States  of  one  of  the 
most  important  results  of  the  surrender. 
Burgoyne  and  two  attendants  were  permitted 
to  return  to  England,  but  the  captive  troops 
were  held  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  the  next 
year  were  marched  to  Charlottesville,  Vir- 
ginia, and  quartered  in  log  huts,  where  the 
greater  part  of  them  remained  until  near  the 
close  of  the  war. 

Some  time  before  Burgoyne's  surrender 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,   having   received    rein- 


forcements from  England,  resolved  to  under- 
take the  capture  of  the  forts  in  the  High- 
lands of  the  Hudson,  the  garrisons  of  which 
had  been  greatly  weakened  by  the  detach- 
ments sent  from  them  to  Washington  and 
Gates.  On  the  sixth  of  October  he  attacked 
and  captured  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clin- 
ton. General  George  Clinton,  who  com- 
manded at  these  forts,  finding  he  could  not 
hold  them,  sent  to  General  Putnam  for 
assistance,  but  his  messenger  deserted  ta 
the  enemy  and  the  forts  were  abandoned. 
General  Tryon  was  sent  to  occupy  Kingston,, 
which  he  ordered  to  be  burned.  When  the 
enemy  heard  of  Burgoyne's  surrender  they 
retreated,  setting  fire  to  the  house  of  every 
palriot  along  the  river.  Clinton  then  dis- 
mantled the  captured  forts  and  returned  to 
New  York,  taking  with  him  all  the  heavy 
cannon  and  stores. 

The  capture  of  Burgoyne's  arm^  was 
hailed  with  delight  throughout  the  country. 
It  was  the  most  important  success  of  the 
war,  and  put  an  end  to  the  danger  of  invasion 
from  Canada.  Gates  was  greatly  puffed  up 
by  his  triumph,  and  imagined  himself  the 
hero  of  the  war.  He  sent  his  official  report 
of  the  surrender  to  Congress  direct,  and  not 
through  the  commander-in-chief,  as  his  duty 
required,  tlius  offering  a  grave  insult  to- 
Washington. 

General  Schuyler  now  demanded  an  inves- 
tigation of  his  conduct  previons  to  his 
relinquishment  of  his  command  to  Gates. 
He  was  thoroughly  acquitted  of  the  charges 
of  mismanagement  brought  against  him  by 
his  enemies,  and  was  strongly  urged  by 
Congress  to  remain  in  the  army.  He 
declined  to  do  so  and  resigned  his  commis- 
sion ;  but  was  soon  afterwards  returned  to 
Congress  from  the  State  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Aid    from    Abroad 


Sufferings  of  the  Army  at  Valley  Forge — Appeals  of  Washington  to  Congress — The  British  in  Philadelphia — The  Con- 
way Cabal — Its  Disgraceful  Failure — Eftorts  to  Improve  the  Army — Worthlessness  of  Continental  Bills— General  Lee 
Exchanged — Effect  of  Burgoyne's  Surrender  Upon  England — The  King  is  Forced  to  Agree  to  Measures  of  Concilia- 
tion— Action  of  France — Louis  XVL  Recognizes  the  Independence  of  the  United  States — Alliance  Between  the 
United  States  and  France — Failure  of  the  British  Measures  of  Conciliation — Clinton  Evacuates  Philadelphia — Battle 
of  Monmouth — General  Lee  Dismissed  from  the  Army — Attack  Upon  Newport — Its  Failure — Withdrawal  of  the 
French  Fleet  to  the  West  Indies — Outrages  of  the  British  on  Long  Island  Sound — Massacre  of  Wyoming— The 
Winter  of  1779-S0 — The  Army  in  Winter  Quarters — Robert  Morris — Condition  of  Congress — Georgia  Subdued  by 
the  British — Prevost  attempts  to  Take  Charleston — Siege  of  Savannah — Its  Failure — Capture  of  Stony  Point — Capture 
of  Paulus  Hook — The  Indians  Punished — Naval  Affairs — Exploits  of  John  Paul  Jones — -Evacuation  of  Newport — 
Settlement  of  Kentucky — Conquest  of  the  Illinois  Country  by  Cieorge  Rogers  Clarke — Settlement  of  Tennessee. 


THE  sufferings  of  the  American  army 
during  the  long  winter  at  Valley 
Forge  were  very  great.  Many 
were  barefooted,  and  their  marches 
through  the  frost  and  snow  could  be  traced 
by  the  blood  from  their  feet.  They  were 
without  clothing,  without  food  and  were 
utterly  unable  to  keep  the  field.  Yet  in 
spite  of  these  sufferings  many  persons 
severely  censured  the  commander-in-chief 
for  going  into  winter  quarters  without 
attacking  Philadelphia. 

In  reply  to  one  of  these  remonstrances 
from  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  Wash- 
ington wrote  to  Congress  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  December,  1777 :  "  Men  are  confined 
to  hospitals  or  in  farmers'  houses  for  want 
of  shoes.  W'e  have  this  day  no  less  than 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  men  in  camp  unfit  for  dut)'  because 
they  are  barefoot  and  otherwise  naked.  Our 
whole  strength  in  Continental  troops 
amounts  to  no  more  than  eight  thousand 
two  hundred  in  camp  fit  for  duty.  Since  the 
fourth  instant  our  numbers  fit  for  duty  from 
■^hardships  and  exposures  have  decreased 
■'nearly  two  thousand  men.  Numbers  still 
are  obliged  to  sit  all  night  by  fires.     Gen- 


tlemen reprobate  the  going  into  winter  quar- 
ters as  much  as  if  they  thought  the  soldiers 
were  made  of  stocks  and  stones.  I  can 
assure  those  gentlemen  that  it  is  a  much 
easier  and  less  distressing  thing  to  draw- 
remonstrances  in  a  comfortable  room  by  a 
good  fireside  than  to  occupy  a  cold,  bleak 
hill,  and  sleep  under  frost  and  snow  without 
clothes  or  blankets.  However,  although 
they  seem  to  have  little  feeling  for  the  naked 
and  distressed  soldiers,  I  feel  superabund- 
antly for  them,  and  from  my  soul  I  pity 
those  miseries  which  it  is  neither  in  my 
power  to  relieve  nor  prevent." 

Congress  did  little  or  nothing  to  relieve 
the  sufferings  of  the  army.  It  promised  the 
troops  one  month's  extra  pay,  but  made  no 
effort  to  provide  food  or  clothing  for  them. 
It  authorized  Washington  to  impress  what- 
ever articles  he  needed,  but  he  remonstrated 
against  this  arbitrary  use  of  power,  as  he 
was  convinced  that  it  would  not  supply 
the  wants  of  the  army,  but  would  certainly 
anger  the  people  of  the  country.  Congress 
towards  the  close  of  the  winter  manifested 
so  much  hostility  to  the  army  because  of  its 
appeals  for  food  and  clothes,  that  Washing- 
ton earnestly  remonstrated  against  this  feeling 
429 


430 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


and  reminded  that  body  that  the  troops  were 
"  citizens,  having  all  the  ties  and  interests  of 
citizens." 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  personal 
influence  of  Washington  went  further  than 
anything  else  in  keeping  the  army  together 
during  this  trying  winter.  Under  any  other 
commander  the  troops  would  have  dispersed. 
Encouraged  by  the  calm  and  lofty  patience 
of  Washington,  the  troops  remained  faithful 
to  their  cause  and  bore  their  sufferings  with 
a  heroic  fortitude  which  their  descendants 
will  ever  bear  in  grateful  honor. 

All  this  while  the  British  army  was  com- 
fortably quartered  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 
officers  were  billeted  upon  the  inhabitants. 
They  were  amply  supplied  with  every  com- 
fort, and  their  leisure  time  was  given  up  to 
pleasure  and  dissipation  on  a  scale  the 
Quaker  City  had  never  dreamed  of  "  By  a 
proportionate  tax  on  the  pay  and  allowances 
of  each  officer  a  house  was  opened  for  daily 
resort  and  for  weekly  balls,  with  a  gaming 
table  which  had  assiduous  votaries,  and  a 
room  devoted  to  the  game  of  chess.  Thrice 
a  week  plays  were  enacted  by  amateur  per- 
formers. .  .  .  The  officers,  among  whom 
all  ranks  of  tlie  British  aristocracy  were 
represented,  lived  in  open  licentiousness." 
The  contrast  between  the  pleasures  and  ease 
of  these  well-fed  troops  and  the  sufferings 
and  privations  of  the  ragged  patriots  at 
Valley  Forge  was  marked  indeed ;  and 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  comforts  of 
the  British  could  have  been  purchased  by 
the  patriots  at  the  price  of  desertion  their 
heroic  constancy  becomes  more  striking. 

The  Conway  Plot. 

The  patriotism  of  Washington  was  not 
appreciated  by  all  parties.  A  number  of  dis- 
contented members  of  Congress  and  officers 
of  the  army  were  anxious  that  he  should  be 
removed  or  forced  to  resign  in  order  that 


their  favorite  General  Gates  might  be  pro- 
moted to  the  chief  command  of  the  army. 
One  of  the  prime  movers  of  the  intrigue  was 
an  Irish  adventurer  named  Conway,  who  had 
been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigader-gen- 
enal,  from  which  circumstance  the  plot  is 
known  as  the  "  Conway  Cabal."  The  entire 
truth  concerning  this  plot  will  never  be  known 
for  after  its  failure  the  actors  in  it  were  only 
too  glad  to  disavow  their  connection  with  it. 
The  conspirators  did  not  dare  to  make  an 
open  attack  upon  the  commander-in-chief, 
but  undertook  by  mean  of  anonymous  letters 
underhanded  appeals  to  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  army,  and  comparisons  between  Gates 
success  and  what  they  termed  Washington's 
failure,  to  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  troops 
in  their  leader,  and  to  disgust  him  with  his 
command  and  so  drive  him  to  resign  it. 

A  Conspiracy  Thwarted. 

Generals  Mifflin  and  Gates  were  very  ac- 
tive in  this  conspiricy,  and  even  Sullivan  and 
Wayne  were  in  favor  of  making  Gates  com- 
mander-in-chief Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  wrote 
a  letter,  to  which  he  did  not  dare  to  sign  his 
name,  to  Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of 
Virginia,  representing  the  army  of  Washing- 
ton as  without  a  head,  and  disparaging  Wash- 
ington as  no  general.  "  A  Gates,  a  Lee  or  a 
Conway,"  he  added.  "  would  in  a  few  weeks 
render  them  an  irresistible  body  of  men. 
Some  of  the  contents  of  this  letter  ought  ta 
be  made  public  in  order  to  awaken,  enlighten 
and  alarm  our  country."  Patrick  Henry 
took  no  notice  of  this  paper  save  to  forward  it 
to  Washington.  A  similar  anonymous  docu- 
ment was  forwarded  to  Henry  Laurens,  the 
president  of  Congress,  who  also  sent  it  to 
Washington.  Great  efforts  were  made  to  win 
over  Lafayette  to  the  plot,  but  without  the 
least  success. 

Washington  was  to  a  great  extent  aware 
of  the  plot  against  him  but  took  no  public 


AID   FROM   AHROAD. 


431 


notice  of  it.  He  was  deeply  pained  by  the 
unjust  censure  to  which  he  was  subjected, 
but  he  never  for  a  moment  harbored  the 
thought  of  laying  down  the  great  work  he 
had  assumed.  He  knew  his  course  would 
bear  the  most  rigid  inspection.  He  knew 
that  the  capture  of  Burgoyne's  army  which 
jhad  made  Gates  the  hero  of  the  hour,  was 
due  to  no  skill  on  the  part  of  that  officer 
but  was  the  result  of  the  plan  of  defence 
Washington  had  long  before  arranged  with 
General  Schuyler.  In  his  efforts  to  contend 
against  General  Howe  he  was  under  many 
disadvantages,  not  the  least  of  which  was  the 
fact  that  his  army  was  encamped  in  a  region 
abounding  in  Tories  who  refused  him  any  sup- 
port and  constantly  aided  the  British.  His 
army  was  imperfectly  disciplined ;  it  was  infer- 
ior in  numbers  and  equipment  to  the  enemy  ; 
and  was  in  no  condition  to  meet  Howe  in  the 
open  field,  still  less  to  undertake  the  difficult 
task  of  driving  him  from  his  intrenchments 
at  Philadelphia. 

Conway  in  Disgrace. 

"Had  the  same  spirit  pervaded  the  people  of 
this  and  the  neighboring  States,  as  the  States 
of  New  York  and  New  England,"  said  Wash- 
ington," we  might  have  had  General  Howe 
nearly  in  the  same  situation  as  General  Bur- 
goyne."  Washington  knew  that  the  salva- 
tion of  the  country  demanded  his  presence  at 
the  head  of  the  army.  He  trusted  to  time  for 
his  vindication,  and  was  chiefly  anxious  that 
the  enemy  should  not  learn  of  the  dissensions 
in  the  councils  and  camp  of  the  Americans. 
He  firmly  opposed  the  appointment  of  Con- 
way to  the  post  of  "  inspector  of  the  armies 
of  the  United^  States,"  but  Congress,  under 
the  influence  of  the  cabal,  appointed  Canway 
'to  that  place  with  the  rank  of  major-general. 
In  a  little  while  the  actions  of  the  conspir- 
itors  became  known  and  aroused  such  a  storm 
of  indignation  from  the  officers  and  men  of 


the  army,  from  the  legislatures  of  the  States, 
and  from  the  great  mass  of  the  people  that 
Gates  and  Conway  and  their  associates  cow- 
ered before  it,  and  Congress  became  heartily 


AN    AMERICAN    RIFLEMAN. 

ashamed  of  having  given  the  plot  any  en- 
couragement. The  only  effect  of  the  con- 
spiricy  was  to  raise  Washington  higher  in  the 
confidence  and  affection  of  his  countrymen. 
The  members  of  the  conspiricy  were  e\er 


432 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


afterwards  anxious  to  deny  their  share  in  it. 
The  punishment  of  Gates  came  as  soon  as 
he  was  entrusted  with  an  independent  com- 
mand, as  we  shall  see.  As  for  Conway,  he 
was  despised  by  the  better  part  of  the  officers 
of  the  army,  and  found  his  position  so  unenvia- 
ble that  he  addressed  a  note  to  Congress 
^  complaining  that  he  had  been  badly  treated, 
and  intimated  his  intention  to  resign  because 
he  was  not  ordered  to  the  northern  depart- 
ment. Congress  was  by  this  time  ashamed 
of  having  bestowed  upon  him  such  unde- 
ser\-ed  honors,  and  gladly  interpreted  his  let- 
ter as  an  actual  resignation  of  his  rank,  and 
at  once  ended  the  difficulty  by  accepting  it. 

Challenged  to  a  Duel. 

Conway  was  profoundly  astonished.  He 
-sN'as  confident  that  Congress  would  be  terri- 
fied by  his  threat  to  resign,  and  urge  him  to 
remain  in  the  service,  and  was  utterly  unpre- 
pared for  the  action  of  that  body.  He  hast- 
ened to  explain  his  letter  but  was  not  listened 
to.  Some  time  after  he  ventured  to  de- 
nounce the  commander-in-chief,  and  was 
challenged  to  a  duel  by  General  Cadwallader 
who  had  already  charged  him  with  cowardice 
at  the  battle  of  Germantown.  Conway  was 
wounded ;  and  beleiving  himself  near  death 
wrote  to  Washington,  apologizing  for  his 
conduct  towards  him.  "  You  are,"  he  said, 
"  in  my  eyes  the  great  and  good  man.  May 
you  long  enjoy  the  love,  veneration  and  es- 
teem of  these  States  whose  liberties  you  have 
asserted  by  your  virtues."  His  wound  was 
not  mortal  as  he  had  supposed,  and  he  recov- 
ered, and  soon  left  the  country. 

The  winter  was  passed  by  Washington  in 
an  effort  to  increase  the  army,  and  render  it 
more  efficient.  Baron  Steuben,  a  Prussian 
officer,  who  had  served  under  Frederick  the 
Great,  was  appointed  inspector,  with  the  rank 
of  major-general.  He  introduced  into  the 
army  the  drill  and  discipline  of  the  Prussian 


service,  and  greatly  increased  its  efficiency. 
The  various  States,  save  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina,  were  called  upon  by  Ccngress  to 
contribute  their  quota  of  troops  to  the  army. 
In  consideration  of  their  large  slave  popula- 
tion, and  the  neccessity  of  retaining  their  • 
troops  for  their  own  defence,  those  States 
were  excused  from  compliance  with  this  de- 
mand. 

Congress  and  the  Army. 

Count  Pulaski  succeeded  in  raising  an  in- 
dependent body  of  cavalry,  and  Major  Henrj'- 
Lee  organized  a  regiment  of  light  horse, 
which  under  his  command  subsequently  be- 
came noted  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  corps 
of  the  army.  Congress  proposed  to  in- 
crease the  force  of  the  army  to  sixt}^  thous- 
and men,  but  was  never  able  to  bring  it  to 
more  than  half  that  number. 

The  inabilit\-  of  Congress  to  pay  the  troops 
compelled  many  of  the  officers  to  leave  the 
army,  in  order  to  provide  for  their  families, 
who  were  suffering.  Congress  called  upon 
the  States  to  raise  the  money  for  the  public 
expenses  by  taxing  their  people,  but  some  of 
them  neglected  to  respond  to  this  appeal,  and 
the  remainder  were  too  poor  to  render  such  as- 
sistance. Congress  issued  new  bills  of  credit 
but  the  value  of  the  "  Continental  Currency," 
as  this  money  was  called,  had  depreciated  so 
greatly  that  a  pair  of  shoes  could  not  be 
bought  for  less  than  from  five  to  six  hundred 
dollars  in  these  bills.  The  Tories  and  the 
British  depreciated  them  still  further  by  flood- 
ing the  country  with  counterfeits. 

A  great  improvement  was  made  in  the 
supply  of  provisions  furnished  the  army  by 
the  appointment  of  General  Greene,  at  the 
request  of  Washington,  to  the  post  of  quarter- 
master-general, which  had  been  held  by  Gen- 
eral Mifflin,  who  had  neglected  its  duties 
on  all  occaisons.  At  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  Greene  assumed 


AID    FROM   ABROAD. 


433 


the  distasteful  position  for  one  year,  and  dis- 
charged its  duties  with  a  skill  and  precision 
which  kept  the  army  so  well  supplied  with 
provisions  and  ammunition  that  it  was  ne\'er, 
during  his  administration,  obliggd  to  aban- 
don a  movement  because  of  a  lack  of  these 
necessities. 

A  Traitor  in  the  Camp. 

In  April,  1778,  General  Prescott  was 
«xchanged  for  General  Charles  Lee,  who  at 
•once  returned  to  duty  in  the  army.  During 
his  captivity  Lee,  who  was  willing  to  ruin 
the  cause  if  he  could  benefit  himself,  pro- 
posed a  plan  to  the  British  ministry  by  which 
they  could,  in  his  opinion,  bring  the  war  to 
■a  successful  close.  The  ministers  did  not 
see  fit  to  adopt  Lee's  plan,  but  filed  it  away 
among  the  British  archives,  and  the  traitor 
was  exchanged  and  permitted  to  resume  his 
command  in  the  American  army,  to  become 
again  a  source  of  trouble  and  loss  to  it. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  cause  had 
assumed  a  new  phase  abroad.  The  English 
government  had  confidently  expected  that 
Burgoyne's  expedition  would  be  successful, 
and  the  result  of  his  operations  was  watched 
by  France  with  the  deepest  anxiety.  When 
news  arrived  of  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne  the 
astonishment  of  King  George  and  his  min- 
isters was  equalled  only  by  their  mortifica- 
tion. It  was  resolved  to  wipe  out  the 
humiliation  b}-  a  more  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  war.  It  was  rumored  that  France 
■was  about  to  aid  the  Americans,  and  that 
Holland  was  on  the  point  of  loaning  them 
money. 

These  rum.ors  aroused  the  English  people 
to  a  heartier  support  of  the  government 
than  they  had  yet  given  it,  and  many  of  the 
principal  cities  offered  to  raise  troops  to 
supply  the  places  of  those  wlio  had  been 
surrendered  by  Burgoyne.  At  the  same 
time  the   friends  of  America  were   greatly 

2  3 


encouraged  and  resolved  to  make  a  new 
effort  to  put  a  stop  to  the  war  by  offering 
America  such  terms  as  would  either  induce 
her  to  renew  her  former  connection  with 
Great  Britain  or  to  become  the  ally  and 
friend  of  that  countr)'.  A  considerable  sum 
of  money  was  subscribed  by  these  for  the 
relief  of  the  American  prisoners,  who  were 
left  by  the  government  without  even  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

Trouble  in  Parliament. 

When  Parliament  assembled  a  strong 
attack  was  made  upon  the  polic_\'  of  the 
king  by  the  friends  of  America.  The  em- 
ployment of  the  Hessians,  and,  above  all,  of 
the  barbarous  Indians  of  North  America, 
whose  cruelties  shocked  the  English  people, 
was  severely  denounced.  The  mercantile 
class  was  seriously  discontented.  Its  trade 
with  America  was  destroyed,  and  the  activity 
of  the  American  cruisers  was  so  great  that 
six  hundred  English  vessels  had  already 
been  captured;  and  it  was  necessary  to  con- 
voy merchantmen  by  vessels  of  war  from 
one  port  of  the  kingdom  to  another.  Thus 
far  the  war  had  caused  an  expenditure  of 
twenty  thousand  lives  and  one  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  and  the  conquest  of  America 
was  as  far  off  as  at  the  commencement  of 
hostilities. 

Under  this  pressure  the  king  was  con- 
strained to  yield,  and,  in  February,  1778, 
Lord  North  presented  to  Parliment  two  bills 
by  which  his  majesty  hoped  to  maintain  his 
authority  in  America,  and  conciliate  his  re- 
volted subjects.  The  first  of  these  renounced 
all  intention  on  the  part  of  Great  Britian  to 
levy  taxes  in  America ;  the  other  appointed 
five  commissioners  to  negotiate  with  the 
Americans  for  the  restoration  of  the  authority 
of  England  and  the  close  of  the  war.  The 
consent  of  the  king  to  these  measures  was 
wrung  from  him  by  the  complaints  of  a  large 


434 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


part  of  the  English  people,  and  by  his  fear 
that  France  would  openly  aid  the  United 
States.  These  bills  involved  a  direct  sur- 
render of  the  whole  ground  of  the  war;  but 
indicated  no  change  of  opinion  on  the 
part  of  the  king. 

This  action  on   the  part   of  Great   Britian 


LOUIS   XVI. 

aroused  the  French  government  to  a  more 
energetic  course.  Louis  XVI.  was  opposed 
to  treating  with  the  United  States  ;  but  the 
French  ministers  were  aware  that  a  prompt 
recognition  on  their  part  of  the  independence 
of  the  republic  would  effectually  neutralize 
the  measures  of  Great  Britain,  and  prevent  a 


reconciliation.  France  was  perfectly  willing 
that  America  and  England  should  weaken 
each  other  by  their  contest,  but  she  was  re- 
solved that  Great  Britain  should  never  recover 
her  colonies.  The  capture  of  Burgoyne's 
army  had  demonstrated  the  ability  of  Amer- 
ica to  continue  the  war,  and  the  French  minis- 
ters resolved  to  lose  no  time  in 
concluding  an  alliance  with  her. 
On  the  seventeenth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1/77,  the  Count  de  Ver- 
gennes  caused  Franklin  and 
Deane  to  be  informed  of  the 
cing's  intention  not  only  to 
acknowledge  but  to  support  the 
independence  of  America,  and 
on  the  si.xth  of  February  a  treaty 
of  friendship  and  commerce,  and 
a  second  treaty  of  defensive  alli- 
ance, were  concluded  between 
the  United  States  and  France. 
The  latter  bound  the  L^nited 
States  to  support  France  in  case 
Great  Britain  should  declare  war 
against  her.  The  King  of  France 
acknowledged  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  agreed  to  assist  them  with 
his  fleet  and  army.  No  peace 
was  to  be  made  without  mutual 
consent,  and  not  until  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States 
should  be  acknowledged  by 
Great  Britain.  These  treaties 
were  ratified  by  Congress,  and 
were  hailed  with  joy  by  the 
Americans,  whose  confidence 
was  revived  by  the  assurance  of  the  assist- 
ance of  one  of  the  most  powerful  states  of 
Europe. 

When  the  news  of  the  treaties  was  received 
in  England,  the  friends  of  America  urged  the 
government  to  abandon  the  war,  and  acknowl- 
edge the  independence  of  the  United  States, 


AID    FROM    ABROAD 


as  the  only  way  of  retaining  the  good  feeling 
and  trade  of  tliat  country.  The  government 
would  not  even  entertain  the  proprosition. 
The  most  it  would  do  was  to  pass  the  concil- 
iator)'bills  of  Lord  North.  If  they  failed  to 
accomplish  the  desired  end  the  war  must  go 
on.  In  March  France 
formally  communi- 
cated to  England  her 
treaties  with  America. 
This  was  regarded  by 
England  as  a  declara- 
tion of  war,  and  the 
British  ambassador 
was  at  once  recalled 
from  Paris. 

In  June  the  Bri- 
tish commissioners, 
appointed  to  treat 
under  Lord  North's 
conciliatory  measures, 
arrived  in  America 
and  opened  negotia- 
tions. Congress  de- 
manded as  a  prelude 
to  any  negotiations, 
that  the  independence 
of  the  United  States 
should  be  recognized 
by  England,  and  lier 
fleets  and  armies  with- 
drawn from  America. 
The  commissioners 
having  no  authority  to 
treat  upon  any  such 
basis  returned  to  Eng- 
land,having  first  made 
several  ineffectual  ef- 
forts to  detach  prominent  Americans  from 
the  cause  by  bribery. 

The  course  of  Sir  William  Howe  had  not 
pleased  the  British  government,  and  he  was 
removed  from  his  command  on  the  eleventh 
of    May,    178S,   and    was    replaced    by   Sir 


435 

Henry  Clinton.  About  the  same  time  Clin- 
ton was  informed  by  his  government  that  a 
large  French  fleet  might  be  expected  at  any 
moment  on  the  American  coast,  and  was 
ordered  to  evacuate  Philadelphia  and  concen- 
trate all  his  forces  at  New  York. 


SIR    HENRY    CLINTON. 

He  accordingly  sent  his  sick  and  wounded 
and  most  of  his  stores,  with  his  fleet  around 
to  New  York  by  sea ;  while,  with  his  arm.y, 
twelve  thousand  strong,  he  left  Philadelphia 
on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  and,  crossing  the 
Delaware,  began  his    march   through    New 


436 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


Jersey  to  New  York.  As  soon  as  Washing- 
ton learned  of  his  movement  he  broke  up 
his  camp,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  and 
crossed  the  Delaware  in  pursuit  of  the  Brit- 
ish army.  The  intense  heat  of  the  weather, 
and  the  hea\y  train  which  the  British  carried 
Avith  them,  caused  them  to  move  verj-  slowly, 
and  Washington  soon  overtook  them.  A 
council  of  war  was  called,  at  which  General 
Charles  Lee,  who  held  the  second  rank  in 
the  American  army,  urged  that  Washington 
should  confine  his  efforts  to  harassing  the 
British  on  the  march.  It  was  resolved,  how- 
ever to  attack  the  enemy  and  force  them  to 
a  general  engagement.  Lee  at  first  declined 
to  take  any  part  in  the  battle,  but  at  the  last 
moment  changed  his  mind,  and  solicited  a 
command. 

Retreat  of  Clinton. 

Upon  the  adjournment  of  the  council  of 
war,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  Wash- 
ington sent  Lafayette,  with  two  thousand 
men,  to  occupy  the  hills  near  Monmouth 
Court-house  and  confine  the  enemy  to  the 
plains.  On  the  morning  of  the  twenty -eighth 
of  June  Lee,  who  had  asked  for  a  command, 
was  sent  forward  by  Washington  with  two 
brigades  to  attack  the  enemy.  Upon  coming 
up  with  Lafayette,  who  was  his  junior,  Lee 
assumed  the  command  of  the  whole  advanced 
force  and  marched  in  the  direction  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  encamped  on  the  previous 
night  near  .Monmouth  Court-house,  and  had 
resumed  their  march  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  twenty-eighth.  As  soon  as  Clin- 
ton heard  of  Lee's  advance  he  determined 
to  drive  him  back,  and  for  this  purpose 
wheeled  about  with  his  whole  rear  division, 
and  made  a  sharp  attack  upon  Lee,  who  fell 
back  to  higher  ground.  A  misunderstand- 
ing of  his  order  caused  one  of  his  subordi- 
nate officers  to  abandon  his  position  and  Lee's 
whole  force  fell  back  in  some  confusion. 


In  the  excitement  of  the  moment  Lee 
forgot  to  send  word  to  Washington  of  his 
movement,  and  the  first  the  commander-in- 
chief,  who  was  advancing  with  the  main 
body,  knew  of  it  was  the  right  of  Lee's 
command  falling  back  rapidly  and  in  dis- 
order. Riding  up  to  the  fugitives  he  asked 
them  why  they  were  retreating,  and  was 
answered  that  they  did  not  know,  but  had 
been  ordered  to  do  so.  Suspecting  that 
the  retreat  had  been  ordered  for  the  purpose 
of  ruining  the  plan  of  battle,  Washington 
hastened  fonvard  until  he  met  General  Le^ 
and  sternly  demanded  of  him  :  "  What  is 
the  meaning  of  all  this,  sir?  "  Lee  was  dis- 
concerted for  a  moment,  and  then  answered 
that  the  retreat  was  contrary  to  his  orders  ; 
and  moreover,  that  he  did  not  wish  to  en- 
counter the  whole  British  army.  "  I  am 
sorry,"  said  Washington,  "that  you  under- 
took the  command  unless  you  meant  to  fight 
the  enemy."  Lee  answered  that  he  did  not 
think  it  prudent  to  bring  on  a  general 
engagement.  Washington  replied,  sternly: 
"  Whatever  jour  opinion  may  have  been,  I 
expect  my  orders  to  be  obeyed." 

Fugitives  Made  to  Halt. 

Washington  at  once  reformed  the  men  on 
a  commanding  eminence,  and  hurried  the 
main  body  of  the  Americans  forward  to  their 
support.  The  British  soon  appeared  in 
force  and  endeavored  to  dislodge  the  Ameri- 
cans from  their  position,  and  failing  in  this, 
attempted,  but  without  success,  to  turn  their 
left  flank.  The  battle  lasted  till  nightfall, 
and  the  American  army  bivouaced  on  the 
field,  expecting  to  renew  the  engagement 
the  next  morning ;  but  during  the  night 
Clinton  skilfully  withdrew  from  his  lines  and 
continued  his  retreat.  The  weather  was  so 
warm  that  Washington  did  not  deem  it 
prudent  to  continue  the  pursuit,  and  Clinton 
was  allowed  to   regain  New   York  without 


AID    FROM    ABROAD. 

further   molestation.      The  Americans   lost 
about  two  hundred  men  in  this  engagement, 


437 


a  number  of  whom  died  from  the  effects  of 
the  extreme  heat.  The  British  lost  three 
hundred  men.  During  the  retreat  two 
thousand  Hessians  deserted  from  the  British 
ranks. 

Lee  Dismissed  from  the  Army. 

As  General  Lee  possessed  a  large  share  of 
the  confidence  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
he  might  have  saved  himself  from  the  con- 
sequences of  his  fault,  had  he  sought  to  ex- 
plain his  conduct  in  a  proper  manner.  On 
the  day  after  the  battle  he  addressed  an 
insulting  letter  to  Washington,  and  met  the 
reply  of  the  commander-in-chief  with 
another  letter  still  more  disrespectful  in  tone, 
demanding  a  court  of  inquiry.  The  court 
found  him  guilt>'  of  disobedience  of  orders, 
and  of  disrespect  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
and  sentenced  him  to  be  suspended  from  his 
rank  for  one  j-ear.  Towards  the  close  of  his 
term  of  punishment  he  addressed  an  insolent 
letter  to  Congress,  in  consequence  of  some 
fancied  neglect,  and  was  dismissed  from  the 
army.  A  few  years  later  he  died  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

After  the  battle  of  Monmouth  Washington 
halted  for  a  short  time  to  refresh  his  men, 
and  then  marching  to  the  Hudson  crossed 
that  stream  and  took  position  at  White 
Plains,  in  New  York,  to  be  ready  to  co- 
operate with  the  French  fleet,  which  was 
daily  expected,  in  an  attack  upon  the  city  of 
New  York.  The  French  fleet  under  Count 
D'Estaing,  with  four  thousand  troops  on  , 
board,  had  arrived  in  the  Delaware  just  after 
Lord  Howe  had  sailed  for  New  York.  Fail- 
ing to  find  the  enemy  in  the  Delaware, 
D'Estaing  sailed  for  New  York,  but  Lord 
Howe  withdrew  his  vessels  into  Raritan 
Bay,  and  as  the  larger  French  ships  could 
not  cross  the  bar,  the  contemplated  attack 


upon  New  York  was  abandoned,  to  the 
great  regret  of  Washington. 

The  French  fleet  brought  the  American 
commissioners  who  had  negotiated  the  treaty 
with  France,  and  also  Monsieur  Gerard,  the 
first  ambassador  from  the  French  king  to 
the  United  States. 

In  place  of  the  combined  attack  upon  New 
York  it  was  resolved  by  Washington,  in  con- 
cert with  the  French  admiral,  to  attack 
Nev.-port  and  drive  the  British  out  of  Rhode 
Island.  The  British  had  established  one  of 
their  principal  depots  of  supplies  at  this 
point,  and  had  there  a  force  of  six  thousand 
men  under  General  Pigot.  It  was  arranged 
that  a  force  of  American  troops  under 
General  Sullivan  should  attack  the  enemy 
by  land,  while  the  French  fleet  and  army 
should  cooperate  with  Sullivan  from  the 
sea.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  July  D'Estaing 
reached  Narragansett  Bay  with  his  fleet,  and 
on  the  eighth  of  August  entered  Newport 
harbor,  in  spite  of  the  fire  of  the  British 
batteries.  A  who^e  week  had  been  lost, 
however,  by  the  failure  of  the  American 
troops  to  reach  the  positions  assigned  them 
as  promptly  as  the  French  fleet.  The  delay 
was  unavoidable,  but  it  ruined  the  enterprise. 

The  Fleet  Scattered. 

On  the  ninth  Lord  Howe  arrived  off  New- 
port harbor  with  his  fleet  to  the  assistance  of 
General  Pigot.  On  the  tenth  D'Estaing 
sailed  out  to  engage  the  British  fleet,  but 
before  this  could  be  effected  a  sudden  and 
terrible  storm  scattered  both  fleets.  Howe 
returned  to  New  York,  and  D'Estaing  made 
his  way  back  to  Narragansett  bay  in  a  crippled 
condition.  Instead  of  landing  the  four  thous- 
and French  troops  he  had  brought  witli  him, 
the  French  admiral  sailed  to  Boston  with  his 
whole  force  to  refit. 

Sullivan  in  the  meantime  had  crossed  from 
the  mainland  to  the  island  of  Rhode  Island 


438 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


and  had  taken  position  before  the  British  in- 
trenchments  in  front  of  Newport.  Here  he 
awaited  the  return  of  the  French  fleet,  and 
in  the  meanwhile  kept  up  a  steady  fire  upon 
the  British  works.  Upon  D'Estaing's  return 
he  informed  Sullivan  of  his  intention  to  sail  to 
Boston  to  refit  his  ships.  Sullivan  earnestly 
begged  him  to  remain  two  or  three  days,  as 
the  British  must  certainly  surrender  by  the 
end  of  that  time.  D'Estaing  refused  to  do 
so.  Sullivan  then  asked  that  the  French 
troops  might  be  left  to  cooperate  with  him 
and  this  also  was  refused.  Left  alone,  Sulli- 
van was  obliged  to  retreat  to  the  mainland, 
as  he  learned  that  aid  was  on  its  way  from 
New  York  to  Pigot.  He  effected  this  move- 
ment with  skill  and  success,  on  the  night  of 
the  thirtieth  of  August.  The  next  day  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  reached  Newport  with  a 
squadron  of  several  ships  and  a  reinforce- 
ment of  four  thousand  men. 

Brutal   'Warfare. 

As  he  had  arrived  too  late  to  attack  the 
force  under  Sullivan,  Clinton  sent  the  troops 
he  had  brought  with  him,  under  Major-Gen- 
eral  Grey.to  ravage  the  coasts  to  the  eastward. 
Grey  destroyed  a  large  number  of  vessels 
along  the  coasts,  and  stripped  Fair  Haven, 
New  Bedford,  and  the  island  of  Martha's 
Vineyard  of  everything  that  could  be  carried 
off",  and  returned  to  New  York  laden  with 
plunder. 

Late  in  October  a  British  fleet  which  had 
been  dispatched  from  England  under  Ad- 
miral Byron  in  pursuit  of  D'Estaing,  arrived 
off  Boston  harbor.  Byron  was  unwilling  to 
venture  within  the  harbor,  and  the  French 
Would  not  leave  their  place  of  security,  and 
the  English  remained  off  Boston  until  a  storm 
arose  and  scattered  their  fleet.  On  the  first  of 
November  the  French,  taking  advantage  of 
the  enforced  withdrawal  of  their  enemy, 
stood  out  to  sea  and  sailed  for  the    West 


Indies,  and  on  the  same  day  Clinton  des- 
patched a  force  of  five  thousand  British 
troops  from  New  York  to  the  West  Indies. 

Brutal  as  was  the  conduct  of  General  Grey, 
it  had  been  already  surpassed  by  the  British 
and  their  Indian  allies  in  Pennyslvania.  The 
inhabitants  of  Wyoming  valley,  a  beautiful 
region  on  the  Susquehanna,  had  driven  away 
the  Tories  from  that  region,  and  these  had 
resolved  upon  revenge.  Early  in  July  a  force 
of  about  eleven  hundred  Tories  and  Indians, 
under  Colonel  John  Butler  and  the  Indian 
chief  Brandt,  entered  the  Wyoming  valley. 
Nearly  all  the  able-bodied  settlers  were  ab- 
sent with  the  American  army,  and  upon 
hearing  of  the  approach  of  the  jnemy  a 
small  force  had  been  despaiched  by  Wash- 
ington under  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  to  the 
assistance  of  the  settlers. 

This  force  was  defeated  by  the  Tories  and 
Indians,  who  then  proceeded  to  lay  waste 
the  valley  and  murder  the  inhabitants.  They 
performed  their  bloody  work  in  the  most 
barbarous  manner,  and  the  beautiful  valley 
was  made  a  desolation.  In  the  following 
month  Cherry  Valley  in  New  York  was  rav- 
aged with  equal  cruelty  by  a  force  of  Tories 
and  Indians,  and  the  inhabitants  were  either 
murdered  or  carried  into  captivit}'.  The 
entire  region  of  the  upper  Susquehanna  and 
Delaware  and  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  savage  allies  of 
Great  Britain. 

Battle  of  Savannah. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  sent  a  force  of  two  thousand  men 
from  New  York  under  Colonel  Campbell  to 
attack  Savannah,  Georgia,  which  v.as  held 
by  a  garrison  of  one  thousand  men  under 
General  Robert  Howe.  The  British  carried 
the  American  position  after  a  sharp  engage- 
ment, and  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December, 
Savannah   surrendered   to   them.      General 


AID   FROM   ABROAD. 


439 


Prevost,  the  English  commander  in  Florida,  I  ton  established  his  headquarters  at  Middle- 


now  repaired  to  Savannah,  and  assumed  the 
command.  On  his  march  across  the  country 
he  captured  Sunburj',  a  fort  of  considerable 
importance.  Upon  reaching  Savannah  he 
#ent  Colonel  Campbell  to  seize  Augusta, 
fvhich    was   quickly   secured    and    fortified. 


brook,  New  Jersey,  near  the  centre  of  his 
line.  The  winter  passed  away  without  any 
event  of  importance.  The  British  held  New 
York  and  Newport  with  too  strong  a  force 
to  make  an  attack  upon  either  post  success- 
fully, and  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  fleet 


.\i..Jj 


-^m^/ 


NDI.AN    SCALP    DANCE. 


Georgia  was  thus  entirely  subdued  by  the 
British  by  the  middle  of  January,  1779. 

After  the  failure  of  the  attack  upon  New- 
port the  American  Army  went  into  winter 
quarters,  occupying  a  series  of  cantonments 
extending  from  the  eastern  end  of  Long 
Island  sound  to  the  Delaware.  This  dispo- 
sition enabled  them  to  oppose  a  force  to  the 
British  at  every  important  point.     W'ashing- 


to  the  West  Indies  left  Washington  without 
any  means  of  encountering  the  naval  force 
of  the  enemy. 

The  season  was  not  without  its  trials,  how- 
ever. Washington  wrote  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1779,  "  Our  affairs  are  in  a  more 
distressed,  ruinous,  and  deplorable  condition 
tiian  they  have  been  since  the  eoinnience- 
ment  of    the  war."      The   currencj-  of   th^ 


440 


THE  a:\ip:rican  revolution. 


country  grew  more  worthless  every  day. 
During  the  year  1779  the  enormous  sum  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-one  million  of  dol- 
lars was  issued  in  continental  bills.  The 
magnitude  of  the  volume  of  the  currency 
only  served  to  depreciate  it  more  and  more, 
land  though  supplies  and  articles  of  trade 
were  plentiful,  tlieir  owners  refused  to  accept 
the  depreciated  bills  of  Congress,  and  would 
Bell  for  gold  and  silver  only,  "  A  wagon 
load  of  money,"  Washington  wrote  to  the 
president  of  Congress,  "  will  not  purchase  a 
wagon-load  of  provisions."  During  the  year 
the  currency  depreciated  from  eight  dollars 
foi  one  dollar  to  forty-one  dollars  and  fifty 
cents  for  one  dollar.  Congress  had  so  little 
specie  that  everything  must  have  gope  to 
ruin  but  for  the  exertions  of  Robert  Morris, 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  a  leading  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  who 
borrowed  large  sums  of  coin  on  his  own 
credit,  and  loaned  them  to  the  government. 
This  he  continued  to  do  throughout  the 
war. 

Congress  had  long  before  this  been  de- 
prived of  many  of  its  ablest  members,  who 
had  resigned  their  seats  in  order  to  accept 
appointments  in  their  own  States,  or  to  enter 
the  army.  Their  places  were  filled  with 
weaker  men,  and  many  dissensions  mark  the 
deliberations  of  the  Congress  of  this  period. 
Many  members  of  Congress  and  a  large 
part  of  the  people  seemed  to  regard  the  alli- 
ance with  France  as  decisive  of  the  war,  and 
were  disposed  to  relax  their  efforts. 

France  and  Canada. 

During  the  winter  it  was  proposed  to  join 
the  French  in  an  expedition  for  the  recovery 
of  Canada  for  France,  and  the  scheme  found 
favor  with  a  majority  of  the  delegates  in  Con- 
gress. Washington  opposed  it  with  firm- 
ness. He  pointed  out  to  Congress  the  diffi- 
culty  of  the   undertaking,  and  declared  his 


conviction  that  it  was  not  to  the  interest  ot 
the  United  States  that  a  power  different  in 
race,  language  and  religion  from  the  people 
of  this  republic  should  hav^e  a  footing  uf)on 
this  continent.  In  addition  to  this  he  did  not 
desire  the  people  of  the  United  States  to 
increase  their  obligations  to  a  foreign,  evert 
though  a  friendly,  power. 

The  American  forces  in  the  Southern 
States  were  commanded  by  General  Benjamin 
Lincoln,  The  Tories  were  very  numerous 
and  very  active  in  this  region,  and  the  feel- 
ing between  them  and  the  patriots  was  one 
of  the  bitterest  hostility,  and  often  manifested 
itself  in  bloody  and  relentless  conflicts. 
Seven  hundred  Tories  under  Colonel  Boyd 
set  out  in  February,  1779,  to  join  Colonel 
Campbell  at  Augusta.  On  the  fourteenth 
they  were  attacked  at  Kettle  Creek  by  a  force 
of  patriots  under  Colonel  Pickens,  and  were 
defeated  with  heavy  loss.  Pickens  hung  five 
of  his  prisoners  as  traitors. 

Fighting  at  Charleston. 

General  Lincoln  now  sent  General  Ashe 
with  two  thousand  men  to  drive  the  British 
outofAugusta.  Upon  hearing  of  his  approach 
Colonel  Campbell  evacuated  Augusta  and 
fell  back  to  Brier  Creek,  a  small  stream 
about  halfway  to  Savannah.  Ashe  followed 
him,  but  without  observing  proper  caution, 
and  on  the  third  of  March  was  surprised  and 
routed  by  Campbell,  with  the  loss  of  nearly 
his  entire  force.  This  defeat  encouraged 
General  Provost  to  attempt  the  capture  of 
Charleston. 

He  marched  rapidly  across  the  country 
to  Charleston,  and  demanded  its  surrender. 
Lincoln,  who  had  been  reinforced,  no  sooner 
heard  of  this  movement  than  he  hastened  by 
forced  marches  to  the  relief  of  Charleston 
and  compelled  Prevost  to  retire  to  St.  John's 
island,  opposite  the  mainland.  The  British 
threw  up  a  redoubt  at  Stone  ferry  to  protect 


AID    FROM   ABROAD. 


441 


the  crossing  to  this  island.     It  was  attacked 
on   the    twentieth  of  June  by  the   forces  of 
General    Lincoln,  who    were    repulsed  with 
heavy  loss.      A  little  later  Prevost  withdrew 
to  Savannah.     The  intense  heat  of  the  wea- 
ther   suspended    military  operations  in  the 
south  during  the  remainder  of  the  summer. 
Ill  September,  1779,  the  French  fleet  under 
Count    D'Estaing   arrived  off  the  coast  of 
Georgia  from  the  West  Indies,  and  the  admi- 
ral agreed  to  join   Lincoln  in  an  effort  to 
recapture  Savannah.     The  American  army 
began  its  investment  of  the  city  on  the 
twenty-third  of  September,  and  every- 
thing  promised   favorably   for  success; 
but  D'Estaing  became  impatient  of  the 
delay  of  a  regular   siege,  and  decLied 
that  he  must  return  to  the  West  Indies 
to  watch  the  British  fleet  in  those  waters 
Savannah  must  either  be  taken  by  assault, 
or  he  would  withdraw  from  the  siege.    ^ 
To  please  him  Lincoln  consented  to  storm  - 
the  British  works,  and  the  assault  \\a--      ^ 
made  on  the  ninth  of  October,  but  \\a> 
repulsed  with   severe    loss.     D'Estaing 
himself  was  wounded,  and  the  chi^  aliou^ 
Count  Pulaski  was  killed.     Lincoln  no^\ 
retreated  to  Charleston,  and  the  Fiench    ^ 
fleet  sailed  to  the  West  Indies,  ha\  ing  a   *i  ^ 
second   time   failed   to  render  any   leal   ' 
assistance  to  the  Americans.     Tins  dis- 
aster closed  the  campaign   for  the  year 
in  the  south. 

In  the  meantime  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
been  ordered  by  his  government  to  harass 
the  American  coast,  and  in  accordance  with 
these  instructions  despatched  a  number  of 
plundering  expeditions  from  New  York 
against  exposed  points.  One  of  these  was 
sent  in  May,  under  General  Mathews,  into 
I  the  Chesapeake.  Mathews  entered  the  Eliza- 
I  beth  river,  plundered  the  towns  of  Norfolk 
and  Portsmouth,  and  burned  one  hundred 
and  thirty  merchant  vessels  and  several  ships 


of  war  on  the  stocks  at  Gosport,  near  Ports- 
mouth. He  then  ascended  the  James  for 
some  distance  and  ravaged  its  shores.  He 
destroyed  in  this  expedition  two  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  property,  and  carried  off 
about  three  thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco. 
Upon  the  return  of  this  expedition,  Clinton 
ascended  the  Hudson  for  the  purpose  ol 
destroying  two  forts  which  the  Americans 
were  constructing  a  short  distance  below 
West  Point,  for  the  protection  of  King's 
Feriy.  an  important  crossing-place  between 


GENERAL    BENJA.MIN    LINXOLN. 

the  Eastern  and  Middle  States.  One  of  these, 
which  was  being  built  at  Stony  Point,  was 
abandoned.  The  work  on  Verplanck's  Point, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson,  immediately 
opposite,  was  compelled  to  surrender  early 
in  June. 

Returning  to  New  York,  Clinton  sent 
General  Tryon  with  twenty-five  hundred 
men  to  plunder  the  coast  of  Long  Island 
Sound.  He  plundered  New  Haven,  burned 
Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  and  committed  other 
outrages  at  Sag  Harbor,  on  Long  Island.    In 


/( 


GALLANT  CHARGE  OF  COUNT   PULASKL 


AID    FRO^I   ABROAD. 


443 


ciie  couise  of  a  few  days  this  inhuman  wretch 
6urned  two  hundred  and  fifty  dwelling- 
houses,  five  churches,  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  barns  and  stores.  Many  of  the 
inhabitants  were  cruelly  murdered,  and  a 
number  of  women  were  outraged  by  the 
British  troops.  Tryon  would  have  carried 
his  outrages  further  had  he  not  been  recalled 
to  New  York  by  Clinton,  who  feared  that 
Washington  was  about  to  attack  him. 

The  loss  of  Stony  Point  was  a  serious 
blow  to  Washington,  as  it  compelled  him  to 
establish  a  new  line  of  communication 
between  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
Hudson  by  a  longer  and  more  tedious 
route  through  the  Highlands.  He 
resolved,  therefore,  the  recapture  of  the 
post  from  the  British  at  all  hazards. 
The  British  had  greatly  strengthened 
the  fort,  which  the  Americans  had  left 
unfinished,  and  the  only  way  in  which 
it  could  be  captured  was  by  a  surprise. 
It  was  a  desperate  undertaking,  and 
Washington  proposed  to  General  An- 
thony Wayne  to  attempt  it. 

Wayne  readily  consented,  and  the 
two  generals  made  a  careful  recon- 
noissance  of  the  position.  It  was 
agreed  to  make  the  attempt  at  mid- 
night, and  in  order  to  guard  against 
a  betrayal  of  the  movement  e\-er\' 
dog  in  the  vicinity  was  put  to  death. 
A  negro  who  visited  the  fort  regular!)- 
to  sell  fruit,  and  who  had  been  for  some  time 
acting  as  a  spy  for  the  Americans,  agreed  to 
guide  them  to  the  work. 

At  midnight  on  the  fifteenth  of  July  the 
storming  party,  guided  by  the  negro,  ap- 
proached the  fort  in  two  divisions.  Not  a 
man  was  permitted  to  load  his  musket,  lest 
the  accidental  dischargeof  a  gun  should  ruin  j 
•  the  movement.  The  negro,  accompanied 
by  two  soldiers  who  were  disguised  as  j 
farmers,  approached    the    first  sentinel    and  I 


gave  the  countersign.  The  sentinel  was  at 
once  seized  and  gagged,  and  the  same  was 
done  with  the  second  sentinel.  The  third, 
however,  gave  the  alarm,  and  the  garrison 
flew  to  arms  and  opened  a  sharp  fire  upon 
the  Americans.  The  latter  now  dashed  for- 
ward at  a  run,  scaled  the  parapet,  and  in 
a  few  moments  the  two  opposite  divisions  met 
in  the  centre  of  the  fort. 

The  Americans  took  more  than  five  hun- 
dred prisoners  and  all  the  supplies  and 
artillery  of  the  fort  fell   into   their    hands. 


lO^ 


GENERAL   ANTHONY   WA^TJE. 

Though  they  were  justly  exasperated  by  the 
brutal  outrages  of  the  British,  which  we 
have  related,  they  conducted  themselves 
towards  their  prisoners  with  a  noblt 
humanity.  The  British  historian,  Stedman, 
declares,  "  They  (the  Americans)  would 
have  been  fully  justified  in  putting  the  gar- 
rison to  the  sword;  not  one  man  of  which 
was  put-  to  death  but  in  fair  combat."  It 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  expeditions  of 
the  war.     Wayne  now  proceeded  to  prepare 


444 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


for  the  reduction  of  the  fort  at  Verplanck's 
Point,  but  while  he  was  thus  engaged  a 
hea\y  British  force  ascended  the  river  to  its 
relief,  and  he  was  obliged  to  forego  his 
attack  and  also  to  abandon  Stonv  Point. 

On  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  June 
!\Iajor  Henr)'-  Lee  made  a  bold  dash  at  the 
British  fort  at  Paulus  Hook,  now  Jersey 
City,  and  captured  it,  taking  one  hundred 
and  fift\--nine  prisoners.  The  British  made 
great  efforts  to  intercept  him,  but  he  effected 
his  retreat  in  safety,  bringing  off"  his 
prisoners  and  losing  only  two  men.     For 


VM-_Oli)NEL    riLNK\     LEE. 


these  gallant  exploits  both  Wayne  and  Lee 
were  each  voted  a  gold  medal  by  Congress. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1779 
Washington  resolved  to  inflict  upon  the 
Indians  a  severe  punishment  for  their  out- 
rages upon  the  whites,  and  especially  for 
massacres  of  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley 
in  the  previous  year.  Early  in  August 
General  Sullivan  was  sent  into  Western 
New  York  with  three  thousand  men,  with 
orders  to  ravish  the  country  of  the  Si.x 
Nations.  He  was  joined  by  General  James 
Clinton  with  two  thousand  men,  and  on  the 
twentj'-ninth   of  August  attacked   and    de- 


feated a  force  of  seventeen  hundred  Indians 
and  Tories  at  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  Sulli- 
van followed  up  his  victory-  by  pushing  for- 
ward into  the  Indian  country  and  laying  it 
waste  with  fire  and  sword.  In  the  course  of 
a  few  weeks  he  destroyed  more  than  forty 
Indian  villages  and  burned  all  the  cornfields 
and  orchards.  The  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Genesee  was  made  a  desert,  and  to  avoid 
starvation  the  Indians  and  their  Tory  allies 
were  obliged  to  emigrate  to  Canada.  They 
were  quieted  but  for  a  time  by  the  terrible 
vengeance  of  the  Americans,  and  soon  re- 
newed their  depredations,  and  continued 
them  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

Congress  had  made  great  efforts  to 
increase  the  force  of  the  navy,  and  the  num- 
ber of  American  men-of-war  had  been 
materially  enlarged.  Many  of  them  had 
been  captured,  however,  by  the  enemy,  and 
the  navy  was  still  weak  and  unable  to  render 
much  service  to  the  cause, 

American  Cruisers. 

The  privateers  were  unusually  active,  and 
were  hunted  with  unremitting  vigilance  by 
the  English  war  vessels.  They  managed  to 
inflict  great  loss  upon  the  commerce  of 
Great  Britain,  however.  A  number  of 
American  cruisers  were  fitted  out  in  France, 
and  kept  the  English  coast  in  terror. 

John  Paul  Jones,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
who  had  been  brought  to  Virginia  at  an 
early  age,  was  one  of  the  first  naval  officers 
commissioned  b\-  Congress.  He  was  given 
command  of  the  "  Ranger,"  a  vessel  of 
eighteen  guns,  and  by  his  brilliant  and  daring 
exploits  kept  the  English  coast  in  a  state  of 
terror,  and  even  ventured  to  attack  exposed 
points  on  the  coast  of  Scotland.  In  1779 
he  was  given  command  of  a  small  squadron 
of  three  ships  of  war  fitted  out  in  France, 
and  sailing  frcm  L'Orient,  proceeded  on  a 
cruise  along  the  coast  of  Great  Britain. 


<t 


-atyj—Tn-irnrrimrr  ■  •'j'-MMiMglS'ilfifi'  '^''i 


■WW^"^''   '  "^ 


PAUL  JONES   SEIZING  THE   ^ILVER   PLATE   OL    LALV    sLLklKl- 


446 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


On  the  twenty-third  of  September  he  fell 
in  with  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  convoyed  by 
two  English  frigates,  and  at  once  attacked 
them.  The  battle  began  at  seven  in  the 
evening  and  was  continned  for  three  hours 
with  great  fury.     Jones  lashed  his  flagship, 


Jones  was  absent  from  home  for  aSiut 
three  years,  during  which  time  his  exploits 
were  numerous  and  of  the  most  astonishing 
character.  He  was  denounced  as  a  pirate 
by  the  English,  who  became  so  alarmed  by 
his  achievements  that  many  people  did  not 


the  "Bon  Homme  Richard,"  to  the  English  )  feel  safe  even  in  London.    Some  of  the  timid 

ones  looked  out  on  the  Thames, 
half-expecting  to  see  the  terrible 
fellow  lay  their  city  under  tribute. 
At  one  time  he  landed  on  the  coast 
of  Scotland,  and,  appearing  at  the 
residence  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk^ 
captured  a  large  amount  of  silver 
plate  and  booty.  But  he  treated 
the  Earl's  household  with  great 
courtesy,  and  the  plate  that  was 
seized  at  the  time  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  the  members  of  the 
Selkirk  family. 

Paul  Jones  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia February  i8,  1781,  and 
received  a  hearty  welcome.  Con- 
gress ga\e  him  an  appropriate 
medal  and  a  vote  of  thanks. 

In   October  Sir   Henry  Clinton,. 
in  obedience  to  orders  from  home^ 
evacuated    Newport   and    concen- 
trated   his    forces    at    New    York,, 
which    place    he   believed   was   in 
danger  of  an  attack  by  the  Ameri- 
cans and  French.     Until  the  close 
of    the   season    Washington    cher- 
ished  the   hope   that   the    French 
fleet  would  return  and  assist  him 
in  an  effort  to  regain  New  York^ 
and  had  called  out  militia  for  this  purpose. 
When  he  learned  that  D'Estaing  had  sailed  to 
the  West  Indies  after  the  failure  of  the  attack 
upon  Savannah  he  dismissed  the  militia  to  their 
homes  and  went  into  winter  quarters  in  New 
Jersey,  with  his  headquarters  at  Morristown. 
While  these  events  had  been  transpiring 
I  upon  the  Atlantic  seaboard  the  United  States 


JOHN    PAUL  JONES. 

frigate  "  Serapis,"  and  the  two  vessels  fought 
muzzle  to  muzzle  until  the  Serapis  sur- 
rendered. The  other  English  vessel  was 
also  captured.  The  battle  was  one  of  the 
most  desperate  in  the  annals  of  naval  war- 
fare, and  Jones'  flagship  was  so  badly  injured 
that  it  sunk  in  a  few  hours  after  the  fighting 
was  over. 


AID    FROM    ABROAD. 


447 


had  been  steadily  pushing  their  way  west- 
ward beyond  the  mountains.  In  1769, 
before  the  commencement  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  beautiful  region  now  known  as 
Kentucky  had  been  visited  and  explored  by 
Daniel  Boone,  a  famous  Indian  hunter.  He 
was  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  country 
and  the  excellence  of  the  climate,  and  re- 
solved to  make  it  his  home.  The  reports  of 
Boone  and  his  companions  aroused  a  great 
interest  in  the  new  country  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  older  settlements  in  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina,  more  especially  as 
it  was  in  this  region  that  the  lands  given  to 
the  Virginia  troops  for  their  services  in  the 
French  war  were  located.  Surveyors  were 
soon  after  sent  out  to  lay  off  these  lands, 
and  in  1773  a  party  under  Captain  Bullit 
reached  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  and  built  a 
fortified  camp  there  for  the  purpose  of  sur- 
veying the  region. 

The  Celebrated  Daniel  Boone. 

This  was  the  commencement  of  the  city 
of  Louisville,  but  the  actual  settlement  of 
the  place  was  not  begun  until  1778.  In  1774 
Harrodsburg  was  founded  by  James  Harrod, 
one  of  Boone's  companions  ;  and  in  1775 
Daniel  Boone  built  a  fort  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Boonesborough.  The  sav- 
ages made  repeated  attacks  upon  his  party, 
but  failed  to  drive  them  away.  The  fort  was 
finished  by  the  middle  of  April,  and  soon 
after  Boone  was  joined  by  his  wife  and 
daughters,  the  first  white  women  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  region  of  Kentucky  was  claimed  by 
Virginia,  but  the  settlers  submitted  to  the 
authority  of  that  province  with  impatience. 
They  sent  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress  in  October,  1775,  and  claimed  re- 
presentation in  that  body  as  an  independent 
colony  under  the  name  of  Transylvania; 
but  the  delegate    of  the  fourteenth   colony 


was  not  admitted  by  Congress,  as  Virginia 
claimed  the  territory'  as  her  own.  In  the 
spring  of  1777  the  general  assembly  of 
Virginia  organized  the  Kentucky  region  as 
a  county,  and  established  a  court  of  quarter 
sessions  at  Harrodsburg.  In  this  condition 
Kentucky  remained  during  the  Revolution. 


MEDAL  STRUCK  IN  HONOR  OF  P.\UL  JONES. 

The  population  increased  rapidly  in  spite  of 
the  war  and  of  the  unremitting  hostility  of 
the  Indians. 

During  the  revolution  the  Kentucky  set- 
tlements suffered  very  much  from  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Indians,  who  were  urged  on  by 
the  emissaries  of  Great  Britain  to  a  war  of 


448 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


extermination, 
mother  country-  ii 
was    Hamilton,  th 


The  principal  agent  of  the 

in    this  barbarous    warfare 

British    commander  at 


Detroit.  In  order  to  put 
a  stop  to  his  intrigues 
and  deprive  the  Indians 
of  his  aid,  Congress  re- 
solved to  despatch  a 
force  to  attack  Detroit. 

While  this  plan  was 
in  contemplation  the 
State  of  Virginia  in  1778, 
sent  Colonel  George 
Rogers  Clarke  with  a 
force  of  two  hundred 
men  to  conquer  the  ter- 
ritory northwest  of  the 
Ohio,  which  Virginia 
claimed  as  a  part  of  her 
possessions.  Clarke  was 
a  backwoodsman,  but 
one  of  nature's  heroes. 
He  assembled  his  men 
at  Pittsburg,  and  des- 
cended the  Ohio  to  the 
falls  in  flat-boats.  There 
he  established  a  settle- 
ment of  thirteen  families, 
the  germ  of  the  present 
city  of  Louisville.  Being 
joined  by  some  Kentuck- 
ians  he  continued  his 
descent  of  the  river  to  a 
short  distance  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Tennessee. 
Landing  and  conceal- 
ing Lis  boats,  he  struck 
across  the  country  and 
surprised  and  captured 
the  town  of  Kaskaskia, 
within  the  limits  of  the 
present  State  of  Indiana. 
A  detachment  was  sent 
to  Kahokia,  and  re- 
ceived its  submission.  The  people  of  these 
towns  were  of  French  origin,  and  were 
greatly  averse    to    the    English    rule  under 


AID    FROM    ABROAD. 


449 


which  they  had  lived  since  the  conquest  of 
Canada. 

The  alliance  between  the  United  States 
and  France  made  them  very  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge the  authority  of  the  Union,  to 
which  they  readily  swore  allegiance.  The 
fort  at  Vincennes  was  in  a  weak  condition 
and  was  held  by  a  small  garrison,  and  readilj- 
submitted  to  Clarke. 

Hamilton  no  sooner  heard  of  the  suc- 
cesses of  Clarke  than  he  set  out  from  De- 
troit on  the  seventh  of  October,  1778,  with 
a  force  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  warriors, 
and  on  the  seventeenth  of  December  reoc- 
cupied  Vincennes.  He  now  prepared  to 
drive  the  Americans  out  of  the  Illinois 
country,  and  spent  the  winter  in  trying  to 
arouse  the  savages  against  them.  He  offered 
a  significant  reward  for  every  American 
scalp  brought  in  to  him,  but  offered  nothing 
for  prisoners.  At  the  same  time  he  pro- 
posed to  invade  Virginia  in  the  spring  with 
with  an  overwhelming  force  of  Indians. 

"To  Their  Armpits  in  W^ater." 

Clarke  and  his  part)-  were  in  ver\-  great 
danger.  They  were  entirely  cut  off  from 
Virginia,  and  without  hope  of  reinforements. 
In  this  emergency,  Clarke,  who  had  learned 
that  Hamilton  had  greatly  weakened  the 
garrison  at  Vincennes,  resolved  to  stake  the 
fate  of  the  west  on  a  single  issue,  and  atteni-it 
the  capture  of  that  post.  On  the  seventh  of 
February,  1779,  he  left  Kaskaskia  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men,  and  marched  across 
the  country  towards  Vincennes.  On  the 
eighteenth  they  were  within  nine  miles  of 
Vincennes. 

The  Wabash  had  overflowed  the  countr>- 
along  its  banks,  and  in  order  to  reach  the 
object  of  their  march,  Clarke  and  h.s  men 
were  obliged  to  cross  the  submerged  lands, 
up  to  their  armpits  in  water.  They  were 
five  days  in  crossing  these  "  drowned  lands," 
29 


and  had  the  weather  been  less  mild,  must 
have  perished.  On  the  twenty-third  Vin- 
cennes was  reached,  and  the  town  was  at 
once  carried.  Clarke  then  laid  siege  to  the 
fort,  assisted  in  this  task  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  and  in  twenty-four  hours  com- 
pelled Hamilton  and  his  men  to  surrende. 
themselves  prisoners  of  war. 

A  British  Scheme  Frustrated. 

Clarke  was  unable  to  advance  againsc 
Detroit  because  of  the  insufficiency  of  his 
force.  His  successes,  however,  were  among 
the  most  important  of  the  war.  They  not 
only  put  an  end  to  the  British  scheme  of  a 
general  Indian  war  along  the  western  frontier 
of  the  United  States,  but  established  the 
authority  of  the  Union  over  the  country  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  prevented  Great  Bri- 
tain from  asserting  a  claim  to  that  region  at 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  a  few  years  later. 
Returning  to  the  Ohio,  Clarke  built  a  block- 
house at  the  falls.  The  conquered  territory 
was  claimed  by  Virginia,  and  was  erected  by 
the  legislature  of  that  State  into  the  county 
of  Illinois.  By  order  of  Governor  Jeffersoa 
of  Virginia,  Clarke  established  a  fort  on  the 
Mississippi,  about  five  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  which  he  named  Fort  Jefferson, 
and  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the 
Spaniards  at  St.  Louis. 

The  Tennessee  region,  which  formed  a 
part  of  the  province  of  North  Caroliiui,  had 
been  settled  previous  to  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities. Fort  Loudon,  about  thirty  miles 
southwest  of  Kno.xville,  was  built  in  1756, 
and  in  1770  tha  Cumberland  Valley  was 
settled,  and  Nashville  was  founded.  By  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution  the  Ten- 
nessee country  was  quickly  settled,  and  the 
population  was  increasing  at  an  encouraging 
rate.  In  1776  the  Cherokees,  incited  by  the 
British,  waged  a  formidable  war  upon  the 
settlers,  but  were  defeated. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

The  Close  of  the  War 


Seventy  of  the  Winter  of  1779-S0— Sufferings  of  the  American  Army- 
Ion — Capture  of  Charleston — Conquest  of  South  Carolina — Gates  i 
Camden — Exploits  of  Marion  and  Sumter — Advance  of  Cornwallis- 

•     by  General  Greene — Kn)-phausen's  Expedition  into  New  Jersey — Arri 


Clinton  Sails  {or  the  Carolinas— Colonel  Tarle- 
1  Command  of  the  Southern  Army — Battle  of 
-Battle  of  King's  Mountain — Gates  Succeeded 
,-al  of  the  French  Fleet  and  Army — Arnold's 


Treason— The  Plot  for  the  Betrayal  of  West  Point— Arrest  of  Major  Andre— Flight  of  Arnold— Execution  of  Andr4— 
Mutiny  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  Troops — Measures  of  Congress — Arnold  Captures  Richmond,  Virginia — 
Battle  of  Co wpens— Masterly  Retreat  of  General  Greene— Comwallis  Baffled— Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House— Com- 
walUs  at  Wilmington— Battie  of  Hobkirk's  Hill— Siege  of  Ninety-six— Execution  of  Colonel  Hayne— Battle  of  Eutaw 
Springs— Washington  Decides  to  Attack  New  York— The  French  Army  on  the  Hudson— Financial  Affairs— Re- 
sumption of  Specie  Payments— Message  from  the  Count  De  Grasse— Comwallis  at  Yorktown— The  American  Army 
Moves  Southward— Siege  of  Yorktown— Surrender  of  Comwallis— Efiect  of  the  News  in  England— Indian  Troubles — 
Efforts  in  England  for  Peace — Negotiations  Opened — Treaty  of  Paris — End  of  the  War — The  Army  Disbanded — 
Washington  Resigns  his  Commission. 


THE  winter  of  1779-80  was  passed  by 
the  American  army  in  huts  near 
Morristown.  It  was  one  of  the 
severest  seasons  ever  experienced 
in  America.  The  harbor  of  New  Yorls:  was 
frozen  over  as  far  as  the  Narrows,  and  the 
ice  was  strong  enough  to  bear  the  heaviest 
artillery.  Communication  between  New 
York  and  the  sea  was  entirely  cut  off  and 
the  British  garrison  and  the  citizens  suffered 
from  a  scarcity  of  provisions.  Knyphausen 
was  afraid  the  Americans  would  seek  to  pass 
the  Hudson  on  the  ice  and  attack  the  city, 
and  landed  the  crews  of  the  shipping  in 
the  harbor  and  added  them  to  the  gar- 
rison. His  precautions  were  useless,  as  the 
American  army  was  too  weak  and  too  poorly 
supplied  to  undertake  the  capture  of  New 
York. 

The  troops  at  Morristown  suffered  very 
greatly  during  the  winter.  They  had  scarcely 
clothing  enough  to  protect  them  from  the 
Icold;  and  provisions  were  so  scarce  that  in 
'order  to  keep  his  men  from  starvation 
Washington  was  compelled  to  impress  sup- 
plies from  the  people  of  the  surrounding 


countr\^  The  heavy  snows  made  the  army 
entirely  dependent  upon  New  Jersey  for  its 
subsistence,  as  transportation  from  a  long 
distance  could  not  be  attempted.  The 
people  of  New  Jersey  bore  the  sacrifices  im- 
posed upon  them  with  a  noble  cheerfulness, 
and  though  their  state  was  drained  almost 
to  exhaustion,  were  untiring  in  their  efforts 
to  provide  food  and  clothing  for  the  troops. 
The  Continental  currency  had  fallen  so  low 
that  one  dollar  in  silver  was  worth  thirty 
dollars  in  paper  by  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1780;  but  neither  officers  nor  men  could 
obtain  their  pay  in  this  depreciated  cur- 
rency. It  was  almost  impossible  for  the 
government  to  purchase  anything  with  its 
notes. 

About  the  last  of  December,  1779,  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  leaving  a  strong  garrison 
under  General  Knyphausen  to  hold  New 
York,  sailed  south,  with  the  greater  part  of 
his  army,  in  the  fleet  of  Admiral  Arbuthnot 
He  proceeded  first  to  Savannah,  and  then 
moved  northward  for  the  purpose  of  besieg- 
ing Charleston.  General  Lincoln  exerted 
himselfwith  energy  to  fortify  that  city.  Four 
450 


THE    CLOSE   OF   THE    WAR. 


45' 


thousand  cilizens  enrolled  themselves  to 
assist  the  rcijular  garrison  in  the  defence,  but 
only  two  hundred  militia  from  the  interior 
responded  to  Lincoln's  call  for  aid.  Rein- 
forcements -were  received  from  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  and  Lincoln  was  able  to 
muster  seven  thousand  men,  of  whom  but 
two  thousand  were  regular  troops. 

In  Februarj-,  17S0,  the  British  landed  at 
St.  John's  island,  about  thirty  miles  below 
Charleston.  Clinton  advanced  towards  the 
city  along  the  banks  of  the  Ashley,  while 
the  fleet  sailed  around  to  force  an  entrance 
into  the  harbor.  The  advance  of  Clinton 
was  very  gradual,  and  Lincoln  was  enabled 
to  strengthen  his  works  and  prepare  for  a 
siege.  It  was  not  until  early  in  April  that 
Clinton's  army  appeared  before  the  Amer- 
ican works  and  began  preparations  to  reduce 
them.  A  day  or  two  later  the  British  fleet 
passed  Fort  Moultrie  with  but  little  loss  and 
took  position  off  the  cit\-. 

British  Successes. 

Clinton  had  lost  nearly  all  his  horses  on 
the  voyage  from  New  York,  and  was  anxious 
to  replace  them  from  the  country  north  of 
Charleston.  The  Americans  had  stationed 
bodies  of  militia  at  different  points  north  of 
the  city  to  keep  open  the  communications 
with  Charleston,  and  to  prevent  the  foraging 
parties  of  the  British  from  reaching  the  inte- 
rior. Clinton  intrusted  the  task  of  breaking 
up  these  posts  and  obtaining  fresh  horses  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Banastre  Tarleton,  a 
young  and  energetic  officer.  Tarleton  was 
short  of  stature,  of  a  dark,  swarthy  com- 
plexion, and  broad  shouldered  and  muscular 
He  was  insensible  to  fatigue,  unscrupulous 
as  to  the  means  by  which  he  accomplished 
his  objects,  merciless  in  battle,  and  unflag- 
ging in  pursuit.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
efficient  officers  in  the  English  army,  and 
one  of  the  most  cruel. 


By  purchase  from  friends  and  seizures  from 
foes,  he  soon  supplied  Clinton  with  all  the 
horses  he  needed.  He  then  began  his  at- 
tempt to  break  up  the  American  posts  north 
of  Charleston.  On  the  night  of  the  14th  of 
April,  he  surprised  a  body  of  fourteen  hun- 
dred cavalry  under  General  Huger  and  Col- 
onel William  Washington,  at  Monk's  Corner, 
about  thirty  miles  north  of  Charleston.  The 
Americans  were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  one 
hundj-ed  prisoners  and  four  hundred  wagons 
laden  with  stores.  A  little  later  Fort  Moul- 
trie surrendered,  and  soon  after  Tarleton  cut 
to  pieces  another  detachment  of  American 
cavalrj'. 

Charleston  was  now  completely  invested, 
and  the  siege  was  pressed  with  vigor  by  Clin- 
ton. Lincoln's  situation  became  every  day 
more  hopeless.  The  fire  of  the  British  artil- 
lery destroyed  his  defences  and  dismounted 
his  cannon,  and  as  he  was  entirely  cut  off 
from  the  country  he  had  no  hope  of  relief 
from  without.  On  the  ninth  of  May  a  terri- 
ble fire  was  opened  upon  the  defences  and 
the  city  of  Charleston.  The  city  was  set  on 
fire  in  five  places,  and  the  American  works 
were  reduced  to  a  mass  of  ruins. 

Surrender  of  Charleston. 

On  the  twelfth  Lincoln  surrendered  the  town 
and  his  army  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  The  pri- 
soners, including  every  male  adult  in  the  city, 
numbered  about  six  thousand  men.  The  reg- 
ulars were  held  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  the 
militia  were  dismissed  to  their  homes  on  their 
promise  not  to  serve  again  during  the  war. 

Clinton  followed  up  his  capture  of  the  city 
by  a  series  of  vigorous  measures.  Tarleton 
was  despatched  into  the  interior  to  attack  a 
Virginia  regiment  under  Beaufort,  which 
was  advancing  to  the  relief  of  Charleston. 
Beaufort  began  his  retreat  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  but 
was  overtaken  and  surprised  by  Tarleton  at 


452 

Waxhaw's,  on  the  boundar>-  of  North  Carolina. 
The  British  had  made  a  forced  march  of  one 
hundred  and  five  miles  in  fifty-four  hours. 
They  gave  no  quarters  to  the  Americans,  and 
put  to  the  sword  all  who  were  unable  to 
escape.  Their  barbarous  conduct  on  this 
occasion  was  termed  by  the  American's 
*'  Tarleton's  quarters."  A  second  column  was 
sent  by  Clinton  to  Augusta,  and  a  third 
towards  Camden  to  reduce  the  country 
between  Charleston  and  those  points.  They 
encountered  but  little  resistance. 

Negroes  Desert  their  Masters. 

Clinton  issued  a  proclamation  threatening 
to  visit  the  severest  punish.-nents  upon  those 
who  refused  to  submit  to  the  royal  authority, 
and  this  was  followed  a  little  later  by  another, 
offering  pardon  to  all  who  would  return  to 
their  allegiance  and  assist  in  restoring  the 
authority  of  the  king.  The  measures  of  the 
British  commander  were  entirely  successful, 
and  South  Carolina  was  so  completely  sub- 
jugated that  early  in  June  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
sailed  for  New  York,  leaving  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  State. 
The  country  abounded  in  Tories,  who  ex- 
erted themselves  actively  to  assist  the  British 
commander  in  his  efforts  to  hold  the  Carolinas 
in  subjection.  Large  numbers  of  them  joined 
the  British  army,  and  "  loyal  legions  "  were 
formed  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

The  only  resistance  kept  up  by  the  Ameri- 
cans was  maintained  by  the  partisan  corps  of 
patriots  led  by  Marion,  Sumter,  and  Pickens. 
The  exploits  of  these  daring  bands  caused 
the  British  commander  to  feel  that  he  could 
not  hold  the  Carolinas  except  by  the  aid  of 
a  strong  force,  and  kept  him  in  a  state  of  con- 
stant uneasiness.  On  the  sixteenth  of  August 
Sumter  defeated  a  large  body  of  British  and 
Tories  at  Hanging  Rock,  east  of  the  Wateree 
river.  Large  numbers  of  negroes  deserted 
their  masters  and  fled  to  the  British. 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


In  order  to  offer  a  definite  resistance  to  the 
British,  and  to  collect  a  regular  army  to 
oppose  them,  the  Baron  De  Kalb  was  sent  to 
to  take  command  of  the  troops  in  the  south, 
and  all  the  regulars  south  of  Pennsylvania 
were  ordered  to  join  him.  De  Kalb  man- 
aged to  collect  about  two  regiments,  and  with 
these  moved  slowly  southward.  A  lack  of 
provisions  forced  him  to  halt  three  weeks  on 
Deep  river,  one  of  the  upper  tributaries  of  the 
Cape  Fear. 

Matters  were  so  bad  in  the  south  that  Con- 
gress resolved  to  send  General  Gates,  the 
conqueror  of  BurgojTie,  to  take  command  of 
the  army  in  that  quarter.  General  Charles 
Lee,  who  knew  that  Gates  was  not  the  man 
to  retrieve  such  losses,  predicted  that  "  his 
northern  laurels  would  soon  be  changed  into 
southern  willows."  Gates  hastened  south- 
ward, and  overtook  De  Kalb  at  Deep  river, 
and  assumed  the  command.  De  Kalb  ad- 
vised him  to  move  into  South  Carolina  by  a 
circuitous  route  through  the  county  of  Meck- 
lenburg, which  was  true  to  the  patriot  cause, 
and  where  provisions  could  be  easily  ob- 
tained. 

Total  Defeat  of  General  Gates. 

Gates  declined  to  take  his  ad\ice,  and 
marched  towards  Camden  by  the  direct 
route,  which  led  through  a  barren  and  almost 
uninhabited  region.  He  was  sure  that  his 
wagons  from  the  north  laden  with  provisions 
would  overtake  the  troops  in  two  days ;  but 
he  was  mistaken  ;  the  wagons  never  made 
their  appearance,  and  the  troops  suffered 
greatly  from  hunger  and  disease.  His  army 
increased  every  day  by  reinforcements  from 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  On  the  thir- 
teenth of  August,  he  reached  Clermont, 
about  twelve  miles  from  Camden.  His  force 
now  amounted  to  nearly  four  thousand 
men,  nearly  two-thirds  of  whom  were  Con- 
tinentals. 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


453 


Upon  the  approach  of  Gates,  Lord  Raw- 
don,  the  British  commander  in  this  part  of 
the  State,  fell  back  to  Camden,  where  he  was 
joined  by  CornwalHs,  who  had  just  arrived 
from  Charleston,  and  who  assumed  the  com- 
mand. On  the  night  of  the  fifteenth.  Gates 
moved  nearer  to  Cam- 
den, and  at  the  same  time 
Cornwallis  advanced  to 
attack  Gates,  whom  he 
hoped  to  surprise.  The 
advanced  guards  en- 
countered each  other  in 
the  woods,  and  the  two 
armies  halted  until  morn- 
ing. The  battle  began 
with  dawn,  on  the  six- 
teenth of  August.  The 
militia  fled  at  the  first 
charge  of  the  British,  but 
the  Continentals,  under 
the  brave  Do  Kalb,  stood 
firm,  though  attacked  in 
front  and  flank.  At 
length  De  Kalb  fell  mor- 
tally wounded,  and  the 
Continentals  gave  way. 
The  American  army  was 
completely  routed,  and 
was  broken  up  into  small 
parties  and  scattered 
through  the  country. 
These  continued  a  dis- 
orderly retreat,  closely 
followed  for  about  thirty 
miles  by  Tarleton's  cav- 
alry, who  cut  them  down 
without  mercy. 

The  battle  of  Camden  was  the  most  disas- 
trous defeat  incurred  by  the  Americans 
during  the  whole  war.  They  lost  nearly 
eighteen  hundred  men  in  killed  and  prison- 
ers, and  all  their  artillery  and  stores.  A  few 
days  after  the  battle,  Gate*  reached  Char- 


lotte, North  Carolina,  with  about  two  hun- 
dred men,  the  remains  of  the  army  which  his 
incapacity  had  ruined. 

A  few  days  previous  to  the  battle,  Sumter 
surprised  a  detachment  convoying  stores  to 
the  British  army  at  Camden,  and  took  two 


LORD   CORXWALLIS. 

hundred  prisoners.  As  soon  as  ComwaUis 
heard  of  this,  he  sent  Tarleton  in  pursuit  of 
the  "  Game  Cock,"  as  he  styled  Sumter. 
Tarleton  pushed  forward  with  such  vigor 
that  half  of  his  men  and  horses  were  broken 
down.     He    overtook    Sumter    at    Fishing 


454 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


45; 


Creek,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Catawba,  and 
routed  him  with  the  loss  of  the  greater  part  of 
his  partisan  corps,  and  rescued  the  prisoners. 
Early  in  December  afterwards,  an  engage- 
ment took  place  between  the  Whigs  and  I 
Tories  on  Long  Cane,  near  Ninety-Six, 
which  resulted  disastrously  to  the  patriot 
cause,  and  which  was  of  sufficient  importance 


the  defeat  of  Sumter  were  a  number  who  had 
given  their  parole  not  to  serve  during  the  war. 
Some  of  these  were  hanged  on  the  spot;  the 
remainder  were  subjected  to  a  severe  impri- 
sonment. These  severities  aroused  a  desire 
for  vengeance  among  the  people,  and  gave 
man}-  recruits  to  Marion,  who  from  the 
swamps  of  the   lower    Pedee    maintained  a 


to   be   noticed.     Colonel  Benjamin  Few,  of     constant  and  severe  partisan  warfare  against 
Georgia,  was    the    senior    officer    in    com-  |  the  British, 
mand   of   the   Whigs,   composed    of 
Georgia  and   South  Carolina  militia. 
Colonel  Cruger,  the  British  officer  m 
command  at  Ninety-Six,  with  a  greatly 
superior   force,  determined  to  attack 
Few  in  his  camp  by  surprise.      His 
forces  were  within  three  miles  of  Few's 
camp  before  the  latter  was  aware  of 
their  approach.    Colonel  Clarke,  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  McCall,and  Major  John 
Lindsay,  with  one  hundred  men,  were 
ordered  cut  to  meet  and  skirmish  wil  h 
the    enemy  until   the   main   body  of 
Few's  forces  could  be  brought  to  their 
assistance.      In  this  skirmish,  Clarke 
received    a    wound    in    the    shoulder 
which  was  thought  to  be  mortal,  and 
was  carried   from  the   field.     McCali 
was  wounded  in  the  arm,  and  his  horse 
being  killed  u/ider  him,  narrowly  made 
his  escape.     Major  Lindsay  lost  his 
sword-hand  by  a  sabre  cut  just  at  the 
wrist-joint.    I'he  advance  or  skirmish- 
ing party  were  routed,  with  fourteen  killed 
and  seven,  chiefly  officers,  wounded.    Colonel 
Few,  then    acting  as  brigadier-general,  re- 
treated with  the  balance  of  his  forces  with- 
out further  loss. 

All  united  and  organized  resistance  to  the 
British  in  the  Carolinas  now  ceased  for  a  time. 
The  true  policy  cf  Corn  wallis  was  to  conciliate 
the  people  by  acts  of  clemency,  but  instead 
of  this  he  exasperated  them  by  his  unneces- 
sary severity.     Among  the  prisoners  taken  at 


GEXEKAL    FRANXIS    MARION. 

At  the  same  time,  Sumter  by  great  exer- 
tion recruited  his  command,  and  resumed 
his  operations  in  the  upper  country.  These 
bands  were  deficient  in  arms  at  first,  but  sup- 
plied themselves  from  the  enemy.  They 
made  their  own  gunpowder,  cast  their  own 
bullets,  and  provided  food  for  themselves 
and  their  horses.  By  their  rapid  and  secret 
movements  they  kept  the  British  in  a  state 
of  constant  alarm.  They  would  make  a  sud- 
den and  unexpected  attack  upon  the  enemy 


456 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


at  some  exposed  point,  and  before  pursuit 
could  be  attempted  would  be  miles  away,  or 
safe  in  the  labyrinths  of  the  swamps. 

Gates  continued  to  retreat  slowly  to  the 
northward  after  his  defeat.  He  had  now 
about  a  thousand  men  with  him.  Virginia 
and  Maryland  made  great  exertions  to  rein- 
force him,  but  without  success. 

The  Patriots  Aroused. 

In  September,  Cornwallis  advanced  north- 
ward with  the  main  body  of  his  army.  Upon 
reaching  Charlotte  he  despatched  Colonel 
Ferguson,  one  of  his  most  trusted  officers, 
to  rally  the  Tories  among  the  mountains  in 
the  interior.  Cornwallis  intended  to  advance 
from  Charlotte  by  way  of  Salisbury  and  Hills- 
borough into  Virginia,  and  form  a  junction 
with  a  force  to  be  sent  to  the  lower  Chesa- 
p.ake  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  The  success  of 
this  movement  would  complete  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  south.  The  patriots  in  the  country 
through  which  his  army  passed  were  very 
active.  His  expresses  were  captured  or  shot, 
and  his  plans  made  known  to  the  Americans. 
While  Ferguson  was  on  the  march,  Corn- 
wallis advanced  to  Salisbury. 

The  movement  of  Ferguson  roused  the 
patriots  of  the  interior  counties  to  arms,  and 
they  assembled  rapidly,  with  the  intention  of 
cutting  him  off  from  the  army  under  Corn- 
wallis. They  came  from  all  directions,  from 
as  far  as  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  Their 
weapons  were  their  rifles,  to  the  use  of  which 
they  had  been  trained  from  childhood ;  they 
had  no  baggage;  and  they  moved  forward 
as  rapidly  as  their  horses  could  carry  them. 
These  forces  had  been  gathering  for  several 
days  before  the  rumors  of  their  march  reached 
Colonel  Ferguson.  He  regarded  the  reports 
with  distrust  at  first,  but  upon  receiving  more 
accurate  information  began  a  rapid  retreat. 
About  the  same  time  the  various  parties  of 
the  Americans  effected  a  junction.     They 


numbered  three  thousand  men.  A  council 
of  war  was  held,  and  it  was  resolved  to  send 
forward  a  detachment  to  bring  Ferguson  to 
a  stand,  and  to  follow  with  the  main  body  as 
quickly  as  possible. 

Brilliant  Exploits  of  Colonel  Campbell. 

Nine  hundred  men,  mounted  on  swift 
horses,  were  sent  forward,  under  Colonel 
Campbell.  They  rode  for  thirty-six  hours, 
a  large  part  of  the  time  through  a  drenching 
rain,  and  dismounted  but  once  during  this 
period.  Ferguson,  alarmed  and  astounded 
at  this  determination  to  crush  him,  fell  back 
to  a  strong  position  on  King's  mountain,  near 
the  Catawba.  He  was  attacked  there  on  the 
seventh  of  October  by  the  Americans,  and 
defeated  after  a  hotly  contested  fight.  Fer- 
guson and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  of 
his  men  were  killed,  the  remainder  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  The  prisoners  num- 
bered about  nine  hundred  and  fifty,  of  whom 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  wounded. 
The  Americans  lost  twenty  killed  and  a 
somewhat  larger  number  wounded.  The 
North  Carolinians  selected  ten  of  the  Tories 
who  had  earned  their  fate  by  their  cruelties 
to  the  Americans,  and  hanged  them  on  the 
spot. 

The  Americans  then  separated  and  re- 
turned home,  after  seeing  their  prisoners  safe 
in  the  hands  of  the  proper  authorities.  Their 
victory  raised  the  drooping  spirits  of  their 
countrymen,  and  encouraged  them  to  fresh 
exertions  to  resist  the  British.  As  soon  as 
Cornwallis  heard  of  it,  he  abandoned  his  for- 
ward movement,  and,  falling  back  into  South 
Carolina,  took  position  between  the  Broad 
and  Saluda  rivers.  He  remained  there  until 
the  close  of  the  year. 

Marion  took  advantage  of  the  change  of 
feeling  cau.sed  by  the  victory  of  King's  moun- 
tain to  renew  his  operations  on  the  Pedee,  but 
Tarleton  compelled  him  to  withdraw  to  bis 


fastness  in  the  swamps.  Sumter  was  more 
successful  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State, 
and  defeated  a  detchment  sent  in  pursuit  of 
him. 

Tarleton  then  went  after  him  in  person, 
but  was  defeated  and  forced  to  retreat.  Sum- 
ter was  wounded  in  this  engagement,  and 
was  compelled  to  withdraw  from  the  field  for 
several  months.  During  this  period  his  com- 
mand, deprived  of  their  leader,  disbanded. 
The  contest  in  the  Carolinas  de- 
generated into  a  savage  civil  war. 
The  patriots  and  Tories  fought 
each  other  wherever  they  met,  and 
destroyed  each  other's  property 
throughout  the  State.  The  country 
was  thus  kept  in  constant  terror. 

Upon  the  retreat  of  Cornwallis 
from  Salisbury,  Gates  advanced 
southward  as  far  as  Charlotte. 
Here  he  was  relieved  of  his  com- 
mand by  General  Nathaniel  Greene, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  Con- 
gress, at  the  urgent  solicitation  of 
Washington,  to  take  charge  of  the 
southern  department.  Gates  had 
given  great  disatisfaction  by  his 
failure  in  the  south,  and  Congress 
ordered  a  court  of  inquiry  to  exa- 
mine into  his  conduct.  Greene  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  entire  south 
from  Delaware  to  Georgia,  "subject 
to  the  control  of  the  commander-in- 
chief."  Thus  Washington  was  given  the 
supreme  direction  of  the  war.  Greene  pos- 
sessed his  entire  confidence,  and  the  most 
cordial  and  affectionate  relations  existed 
between  them.  Greene  found  the  rem- 
nants of  Gates*  army  in  a  half  mutinous 
condition.  The  men  were  without  pay, 
without  clothing,  and  suffering  for  the 
necessaries  of  life.  Reinforcements  were 
sent  him  from  the  north,  among  which  were 
Morgan's  regiment  of  riflemen,  Lee's  legion 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR.  457 

of  licjhthorse,  and  several  batteries  of  artil- 


We  must  now  return  to  the  army  under 
Washington.  As  the  spring  opened  the 
sufTerings  of  the  troops  at  Morristown  in- 
creased. Food  was  so  scarce  that  the  troops 
were  driven  to  desperation.  Two  regiments 
of  Connecticut  troops  declared  their  intention 
to  abandon  the  army  and  march  home,  or 
wrest  provisions  from  the  people  of  the  sur- 


GENER.iVL    N.^THANIEL    GREENE. 

rounding  country  by  force.  Washington  was 
compelled  to  exert  all  his  influence  and 
authority  to  restore  order.  It  was  with  great 
difficulty  that  provisions  were  procured,  and 
the  wants  of  the  troops  supplied.  The  danger 
caused  by  this  state  of  affairs  was  so  great 
that  Congress  authorized  Washington  to 
declare  martial  law. 

The  news  of  these  troubles  in  the  American 
camp  induced  Knyphausen  to  undertake  an 
expedition  into  New  Jersey.  He  landed  a' 


458 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


Elizabethtown,  with  five  thousand  men,  on 
the  sixth  of  June,  and  marched  towards 
Springfield.  His  advance  was  warmly  con- 
tested by  the  militia  of  the  region,  but  he 
penetrated  as  far  as  the  village  of  Connecticut 
Farms.  Being  unable  to  advance  farther  he 
caused  the  village  to  be  sacked  and  burned; 
and  IMrs.  Caldwell,  the  wife  of  the  minister 


most  infamous  deeds  of  the  war,  and  gave 
rise  to  a  fierce  and  general  spirit  of  vengeance. 
Her  bushand,  an  eloquent  and  highly  es- 
teemed minister,  animated  his  contrymen  by 
his  stirring  sermons,  and  he  soon  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  that  his  labors  were 
not  in  vain. 

After  the  return  of  Sir  Henr\'  Clinton  to 


^11 './ 


--i  t^v< 


"now  put  watts  into  them, 


of  the  village,  was  murdered  by  some  of  the 
British  troops.  The  militia  of  the  region 
gathered  in  force,  and  Kn\-phausen  was 
obliged  to  make  a  hasty  retreat  to  l-'.liza- 
bethtown. 

The  murder  of  Mrs.  Caldwell  aroused  the 
most  intense  excitement  throughout  New 
jersey.     It  was   denounced  as   one   of  the 


New  York  Washington  moved  a  part  of  his 
troops  towards  the  Highlands.  Knyphausen 
again  advanced  from  Elizabethtown  towards 
Springfield,  hoping  to  gain  the  passes  beyond 
Morristown  before  his  march  should  be  dis- 
covered. His  advance  was  detected,  however, 
and  General  Greene,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  American  forces,  prepared  to  resist 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


459 


him.  A  sharp  fight  ensued,  in  which  Greene 
succeeded  in  checking  the  British  advance. 
The  New  Jersey  regiment,  of  which  Caldwell 
was  chaplain,  was  engaged  in  the  battle. 

The  wadding  of  the  men  gave  out,  and 
Caldwell,  mounting  his  horse,  galloped  to 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  returned  with 
an  armful  of  Dr.  Watts'  hymn  books,  which 
he  distributed  among  the  troops,  with  the 
pious  injunction,  "  Now  put  Watts  into  them, 
boys  !  "  The  militia  came  flocking  in  to  the 
support  of  General  Greene,  and  Knyphausen 
finding  it  impossible  to  advance  farther, 
burned  Springfield  and  fell  back  to  Elizabeth- 
town. 

Return  of  Lafayette. 

The  Americans  were  greatly  encouraged 
in  the  spring  by  the  return  of  Lafayette,  who 
had  spent  the  winter  in  France.  He  had 
been  successful  in  his  endeavors  to  induce 
the  French  court  to  send  another  fleet  and 
army  to  the  assistance  of  the  patriots ;  and 
he  now  brought  the  good  news  that  a  new 
expedition  was  on  its  way  to  America.  In 
July  a  fleet  under  Count  de  Tiernay,  with  an 
army  of  seven  thousand  men,  under  Count 
de  Rochambeau,  reached  Newport.  The 
Count  de  Rochambeau  was  directed  by  his 
government  to  place  himself  under  the 
orders  of  General  Warhington  in  order  to 
avoid  disputes  that  might  arise  from  military 
etiquette.  This  expedition  was  the  first  divi- 
sion of  the  army  to  be  sent  to  America  by 
France. 

The  second  division  was  to  sail  from  Brest, 
but  was  unable  to  do  so,  as  it  was  blockaded 
in  that  harbor  by  a  British  squadron.  Thus 
the  supplies  of  arms  and  clothing  which 
were  to  have  been  sent  to  the  American 
army  were  delayed,  and  the  troops  under 
Washington  were  unable  to  cooperate  with 
the  French  in  an  attack  upon  New  York. 
An   English   fleet  had  followed  the  French 


across  the  Atlantic,  and  Clinton  was  anxious 
to  secure  its  cooperation  in  an  attack  upon 
the  French  at  Newport.  He  could  not  agree 
with  Admiral  Arbuthnot  upon  a  plan  of 
attack,  and  the  English  admiral  contented 
himself  with  blockading  the  French  in  New- 
port harbor.  Washington  called  out  the 
militia  of  New  England  to  assist  in  the  de- 
fence of  Newport  in  case  of  an  attack.  The 
French  fleet  was  shut  up  in  this  port,  and  to 
the  great  disappointment  of  Washington, 
was  unable  to  take  part  in  any  combined 
operation. 

Some  weeks  later  Washington,  anxious 
to  strike  a  decisive  blow  at  the  enemy, 
invited  the  French  commanders,  De  Tiernay 
and  Rochambeau,  to  meet  him  at  Hartford, 
to  arrange  a  plan  for  an  attack  upon  New 
York.  The  meeting  was  held,  but  it  was 
decided  to  ask  the  cooperation  of  the  French 
admiral  in  the  West  Indies,  as  the  fleet  at 
Newport  was  not  strong  enough  to  cope 
with  the  British  fleet  at  New  York.  Until 
the  answer  of  the  admiral  was  received 
nothing  could  be  done. 

A  Treasonable  Plot. 

While  absent  at  Hartford  a  plot  was  dis- 
covered which  involved  the  fair  fame  of  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  officers  of  the  American 
army.  General  Benedict  Arnold  had  been 
disabled  by  the  wounds  he  had  received  at 
Quebec  and  Saratoga  from  undertakingactive 
service,  and  through  the  influence  of  Wash- 
ington had  been  placed  in  command  of  Phila- 
delphia after  its  evacuation  by  Clinton  in 
1778.  There  he  lived  in  a  style  far  beyond 
his  means,  and  became  involved  in  debts, 
which  he  was  unable  to  pay.  To  raise  the 
funds  to  discharge  them  he  engaged  in  pri- 
vateering and  mercantile  speculations.  These 
were  generally  unsuccessful,  and  meril\'  in- 
creased his  difficulties.  Mis  haughty  and 
overbearing  manner  involved  him  in  a  quar- 


460 


THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


rel  with  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  who 
accused  him  before  Congress  of  abusing  his 
official  position  and  misusing  the  public 
funds. 

He  was  tried  b)-  a  court-martial  and  was 
sentenced  to  be  reprimanded  by  the  com- 
aiander-in-chief.  Washington  performed  this 
disagreeable  task  as  delicately  as  possible, 
but  did  not  lose  his  confidence  in  Arnold. 


BENEDICT    ARNOLD. 

He  knew  him  as  an  able  officer,  but,  as  his 
acquaintance  with  him  was  limited,  w  as  most 
likely  ignorant  of  the  faults  of  Arnold's  char- 
acter, which  were  well  known  to  the  mem- 
bers of  Congress  from  Connecticut,  who  had 
no  confidence  in  him.  To  them  he  was 
known  to  be  naturally  dishonest,  regardless 
of  the  rights  of  others,  and  cruel  and  tyran- 
nical in  his  dealings  with  those  under  his 
authority.     Arnold    never  forgave  the  dis- 


grace inflicted  upon  him  by  the  sentence  of 
the  court-martial,  and  cherished  the  deter- 
mination to  be  revenged  upon  Washington 
for  the  reprimand  received  from  him. 

While  in  Philadelphia,  Arnold  had  married 
a  member  of  a  Tory  family,  and  was  thus 
enabled  to  communicate  readily  with  the 
British  officers.  He  opened  a  correspond- 
ence with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  signing  himself 
Gustavus.  He  kept  up  this  cor- 
respondence for  several  months, 
and  then  made  himself  known 
to  the  British  commander.  In 
the  meantime,  at  his  earnest  soli- 
citation, he  was  appointed  by 
Washington,  in  August,  1780, 
to  the  command  of  West  Point, 
the  strongest  and  most  important 
fortress  in  America.  He  did  this 
with  the  deliberate  intention  of 
betraying  the  post  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy. 

The  correspondence  had  been 
conducted  on  the  part  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  by  Major  John 
Andre  of  the  British  army,  a 
young  man  of  amiable  character 
and  more  than  ordinary  accom- 
plishments. He  wrote  under  the 
assumed  name  of  John  Ander- 
son. He  was  an  especial  favorite 
of  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  was 
beloved  by  the  whole  army  in 
which  he  served.  Soon  after  the 
appointment  of  Arnold  to  the  command  of 
West  Point,  Andre  volunteered  to  go  up  the 
Hudson  and  have  an  interview  with  him  for 
the  purpose  of  completing  the  arrangements 
for  the  betrayal  of  that  fortress. 

His  offer  was  accepted  by  Clinton,  and  he 
ascended  the  Hudson  as  far  as  Haverstraw 
in  the  sloop  of  war  "  Vulture."  He  was  set 
ashore  and  was  met  near  Haverstraw  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Hudson  by  General  Arnold. 


THE    CLOSE    OF   THE    WAR. 


461 


on  the  twenty-second  of  September.  The 
meeting  took  place  about  dark,  and  the  night 
had  passed  before  the  arrangements  were 
completed.  Much  against  his  will,  Andre 
was  compelled  to  pass  the  next  day  within 
the  American  lines.  During  the  twenty-third 
the  "  Vulture,"  having  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Americans,  was  fired  upon  and  forced 
to  drop  down  the  river.  Andre  found  the 
man  who  had  set  him  ashore 
unwilling  to  row  him  back  to 
the  sloop,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  return  to  New  York  by  land. 
He  changed  his  uniform  for  a 
citizen's  dress,  and,  pro\-ided 
with  a  pass  from  Arnold,  under 
the  name  of  John  Anderson,  set 
out  for  New  York  along  the  cast 
bank  of  the  river,  which  he 
deemed  safer  than  the  opposite 
shore. 

All  went  well  until  Andre 
reached  the  vicinity  of  Tarry- 
town.  There  he  was  stopped  by 
three  young  men,  John  Paulding, 
David  Williams,  and  Isaac  Van 
Wart.  They  asked  him  his  namr 
and  destination,  and  he,  suppos- 
ing them  to  be  Tories,  did  not  use 
the  pass  given  him  by  Arnold,  but 
frankly  avowed  himself  a  British 
ofificer  travelling  on  important 
business.  To  his  dismay  he  then 
learned  that  his  captors  were  of 
the  patriotic  party,  and  he  offered 
them  his  watch,  purse,  and  any  reward  they 
might  name  if  they  would  suffer  him  to  pro- 
ceed. They  refused  to  allow  him  to  stir  a 
step,  and  searched  his  person.  They  found 
concealed  in  his  boots  papers  giving  the  plan 
of  West  Point,  and  an  account  of  its  garrison. 

Andre  was  taken  by  his  captors  before 
Colcnel  Jamison,  the  commander  of  the 
nearest  American  post.     Jamison  rccognizeil 


the  handwriting  as  that  of  Arnold,  but,  un- 
willing to  believe  that  his  commander  could 
be  guilty  of  treason,  he  detained  the  prisoner, 
and  wrote  to  Arnold  informing  him  of  the 
arrest  of  Andre  and  of  the  papers  found  upon 
his  person.  The  papers  themselves  he  for 
warded  by  a  special  messenger  to  Washing- 
ton, who  was  on  his  return  from  Hartford. 
Arnold  received    Colonel   Jamison's  letter 

--1 


M.^JOR   ANDRE. 

as  he  sat  at  breakfast  with  some  of  his  offi- 
cers. He  concealed  his  emotion,  and  excus- 
ing himself  to  his  guests,  called  his  wife  from 
the  room,  told  her  he  must  flee  for  his  life, 
and  hastening  to  his  barge,  escaped  down 
the  river  to  the  "  Vulture,"  and  was  received 
on  board  by  the  commander  of  that  vessel. 
From  his  place  of  safety  he  wrote  to  Wash- 
ington, asking  him  to  protect  his  wife,  who, 


462 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


he  declared,  was  innocent  of  any  share  in  his 
plot. 

When  he  learned  that  Arnold  was  safe, 
Andre  wrote  to  Washington,  and  confessed 
tl:c  whole  plot.  He  was  at  once  brought  to 
trial  upon  the  charge  of  being  within  the 
American  lines  as  a  spy.  The  court-martial 
was  presided  over  by  General  Greene,  and 
Lafayette  and  Steuben  were  among  its  mem- 
bers. Andre  asserted  that  he  had  been 
induced  to  enter  the  American  lines  by  the 
misrepresentations  of  Arnold. 

The  Infamous  Plot  Confessed. 

He  denied  that  he  was  a  spy,  and  though 
cautioned  not  to  say  anything  that  might 
criminate  himself,  he  frankly  confessed  the 
whole  plot.  He  was  sentenced,  upon  his 
own  confession,  to  be  hanged.  Clinton  made 
great  exertions  to  save  him,  and  Washing- 
ton, whose  sympathy  was  won  by  the  amiable 
character  of  Andre,  was  anxious  to  spare 
him.  The  circumstances  of  the  case  de- 
manded that  the  law  should  be  executed, 
and  Andre  was  hanged  at  Tappan,  near 
the  Hudson,  on  the  second  of  October,  1780. 
Congress  voted  to  each  of  his  three  captors 
a  pension  of  two  hundred  dollars  for  life  and 
and  a  silver  medal. 

The  plot  of  Arnold  had  been  discovered 
by  the  merest  chance,  and  the  American 
cause  had  narrowly  escaped  a  crushing  dis- 
aster. The  loss  of  West  Point  would  have 
given  the  British  the  entire  control  of  the 
Hudson,  and  have  enabled  them  to  separate 
New  England  from  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States.  It  might  have  proved  fatal  to  the 
cause,  and  certainly  would  have  reduced 
Washington  to  great  extremities.  Arnold 
received  for  his  treachery  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  sterling  and  a  commission 
as  brigadier-general  in  the  English  service. 
He  was  regarded  with  general  contempt  by 
the  English  officers,  who  refused  to  associate 


with  him,  and  were  greatly  averse  to  serving 
under  him. 

In  the  summer  of  1780  it  seemed  likely 
that  England  would  be  involved  in  war  with 
the  whole  civilized  world.  The  claim  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  right  to  search  the  ves- 
sels of  neutral  nations  for  articles  contraband 
of  war  was  productive  of  great  annoyance 
to  the  northern  powers,  whose  commerce 
was  subjected  to  serious  loss  by  these  arbi- 
trary measures.  Catharine  II.  of  Russia 
determined  to  resist  it,  and  organized  with 
Denmark  and  Sweden  a  league  known  as 
the  "  Armed  Neutrality,"  for  the  purpose  of 
enforcing  the  principle  that  neutral  ships  in 
time  of  war  are  entitled  to  carry  merchan- 
dise without  being  liable  to  search  or  seizure 
by  the  belligerent  powers. 

\Var  in  Europe. 

Holland  joined  this  league,  and  concluded 
a  secret  commercial  treaty  with  the  United 
States.  This  treaty  was  discovered  by  Great 
Britain  almost  immediately,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  :  The  American  minister  to 
Holland,  Henry  Laurens,  was  captured  at 
sea  by  a  British  frigate.  He  threw  his  papers, 
the  treaty  among  them,  into  the  sea,  but  they 
were  recovered  by  an  English  sailor,  who 
sprang  overboard  and  secured  them.  They 
were  laid  before  the  British  government, 
which  demanded  that  Holland  should  dis- 
avow the  treaty  and  the  correspondence  with 
the  United  States.  The  Dutch  government 
returned  an  evasive  answer,  and  England 
immediately  declared  war  against  Holland. 
The  English  fleet  at  once  proceeded  to  attack 
the  Dutch  possessions  and  commerce  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Holland  declared  war 
against  Great  Britain,  and  her  fleet  was  added 
to  that  of  France  against  England. 

Spain  now  made  an  alliance  with  France 
against  England,  and  sent  her  fleet  to  co- 
operate with  the  French  in  the  West  Indies. 


ESCAPE  OF  BENEDICT  ARNOLD, 


464 


and  also  laid  siege  to  Gibraltar.  The  Irish 
about  the  same  time  demanded  a  reform  of 
the  many  abuses  from  which  that  island  had 
been  suffering  since  the  battle  of  the  Boyne, 
and  this  demand  was  sustained  by  a  force  of 
eight)^  thousand  armed  Protestant  volunteers 
which  had  been  raised  forthe  defence  oflre- 
land  against  a  threatened  attack  of  the  French. 
They  demanded  an  independent  parliament, 
and  even  threatened  a  total  separation  from 
Great  Britain.  In  the  face  of  these  difficul- 
ties the  spirit  of  England  rose  higher  than 
ever,  and  that  country,  with  a  vigor  worthy 
of  her  ancient  renown,  put  forth  all  her 
energies  to  find  a  way  out  of  her  difficulties. 
The  whole  world  was  arrayed  against  her, 
but  in  the  face  of  it  she  held  her  own.  The 
heroism  manifested  by  England  at  this  try- 
ing period  is  worthy  of  the  highest  admira- 
tion. 

Sufferings  of  the  Patriots. 

The  American  army  passed  the  winter  of 
17S0-81  in  cantonments  east  and  west  of  the 
Hudson.  The  Pennsylvania  troops  were 
stationed  near  Morristown,  and  the  New  Jer- 
Jersey  regiments  at  Pompton.  Though  the 
troops  were  better  provided  with  food  than 
during  the  previous  winter  their  sufferings 
were  still  very  severe.  They  were  neglected 
by  Congress,  which  was  too  much  occupied 
with  its  dissensions  to  make  any  serious 
effort  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the  soldiers. 
The  Pennsylvania  troops  had  an  especial 
cause  of  complaint.  Their  enlistments  were 
for  three  years  or  the  war.  The  three  years 
had  expired,  but  the  government  refused  to 
discharge  them  on  the  ground  that  the  enlist- 
ments were  for  the  period  of  the  war  no 
matter  how  long  it  should  last.  The  troops 
on  the  other  hand  contended  that  the  words, 
"for  the  war,"  meant  that  the  enlistments 
should  expire  if  the  war  closed  in  less  than 
three  years. 


THE  ami:rican  revolution. 

On  the    first   of  January,    1781,   thirteen 


hundred  Pennsylvania  troops  left  the  camp 
at  Morristown  under  arms  and  set  off  for 
Philadelphia  to  obtain  redress  from  Con- 
gress. General  Wayne,  their  commander, 
placed  himself  in  front  of  them,  and,  pistol 
in  hand,  attempted  to  stop  their  march.  In 
an  instant  their  bayonets  were  at  his  breast. 
"  We  love,  we  respect  you,"  they  ex- 
claimed, "  but  you  are  a  dead  man  if  you 
fire.  Do  not  mistake  us  ;  we  are  not  going 
to  the  enemy ;  were  they  now  to  come  out 
you  would  see  us  fight  under  your  orders 
with  as  much  resolution  and  alacrity  as 
ever."  They  halted  at  Princeton,  where 
they  were  met  by  the  agents  of  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  who  endeavored  to  induce  them  to 
join  the  British  service.  They  promptly 
seized  these  men  and  delivered  them  up  to 
General  Wayne  as  spies.  At  a  later  period 
it  was  proposed  to  reward  them  for  this 
action,  but  they  refused  to  accept  anything, 
saying  :  "  We  ask  no  reward  for  doing  our 
duty  to  our  country-." 

Mutiny  Promptly  Quelled. 

Congress  was  greatly  alarmed  by  the  ap- 
proach of  these  troops,  and  a  committee, 
accompanied  by  Reed,  the  President  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was  sent  to  meet  them.  The  com- 
mittee met  the  leaders  of  the  mutineers  and 
agreed  to  relieve  their  immediate  wants  and 
to  secure  them  their  back  pay  by  means  of 
certificates.  Permission  was  given  to  all  who 
had  served  three  years  to  withdraw  from  the 
army.  Upon  these  conditions  the  troops 
returned  to  duty.  The  disaffection  was 
increased  by  the  yielding  of  Congress.  On 
the  twentieth  of  January  the  New  Jersey 
troops  at  Pompton  mutinied,  but  this  out- 
break was  quelled  by  a  detachment  sent  from 
West  Point  by  Washington. 

The  mutiny  opened  the  eyes  of  the  coun- 
try to  the  sufferings  of  the  army,  and  aroused 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE    WAR. 


465 


all  |)arties  to  the  necessity  of  providing  for 
the  troops.  It  was  clearly  understood  that 
a  failure  to  sustain  the  army  would  result  in 
the  defeat  of  the  cause.  Urgent  appeals 
were  made  by  Congress  to  all  the  States, 
especially  to  those  of  New  England,  to  sup- 
ply the  wants  of  the  army,  and  Congress 
endeavored  to  negotiate  a  loan  abroad. 
Direct  taxation  was  resorted  to  to  provide 
money  at  once. 

The  British  in  Virginia. 

The  year  1781  opened  with  a  military  ex- 
pedition under  the  command  of  the  traitor 
Arnold,  now  a  brigadier-general  in  the 
British  service.  Early  in  January  he  was 
sent  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  sixteen 
hundred  British  and  Tories,  from  New  York 
to  the  Chesapeake  to  ravage  the  shores  of 
Virginia,  After  plundering  the  plantations 
along  the  lower  bay  and  the  James,  Arnold 
ascended  the  river,  and  landing  his  troops 
marched  to  Richmond.  Thomas  Jefferson, 
tnen  Governor  of  Virginia,  called  out  the 
militia,  but  only  a  handful  responded.  Arnold 
occupied  Richmond,  burned  the  public 
buildings  and  some  private  dwellings,  and 
then  re-embarked  and  dropped  down  the 
the  ri\er  to  Portsmouth.  Washington  was 
anxious  to  capture  liim,  and  sent  Lafayette 
with  a  force  of  twelve  hundred  men  south- 
ward by  land  to  prevent  Arnold  from 
escaping  overland  to  join  Cornwallis  in  the 
Carolinas,  and  at  the  same  time  the  French 
fleet  sailed  from  Newport  for  the  Chesapeake 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  traitor  by  water. 

The  British  Admiral  Arbuthnot  followed 
the  French  fleet  and  brought  it  to  an  en- 
gagement off  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake. 
The  French  were  worsted  and  obliged  to 
return  to  Newport,  and  Admiral  Arbuthnot 
entered  the  bay  and  reinforced  Arnold  with 
two  thousand  liritish  troops  under  General 
Philips,  who  assumed  the  command  at  Ports- 


mouth and  fortified  his  position  there.  From 
his  camp  he  sent  out  detachments  to  ravage 
the  country  in  all  directions.  Lafayette,  in 
the  meantime,  upon  hearing  of  the  failure  of 
tlie  plan,  halted  at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland. 
Arnold,  upon  being  superseded  by  Philips, 
returned  to  New  York.  ' 

Battle  of  the  "  Cowpens." 

Early  in  January  Corn\^•allis,  who  was  at 
Winnsborough,  South  Carolina,  sent  Colonel 
Tarlcton,  with  a  force  of  one  thousand 
cavalry  and  light  infantry,  to  cut  off  M(jr- 
gan's  division  from  the  column  under  Gen- 
eral Greene.  Morgan  was  between  the  Bnad 
and  Catawba  Rivers  at  the  time,  and  upon 
hearing  of  Tarleton's  approach  began  to 
retreat  towards  the  Catawba.  Tarleton 
pushed  on  with  such  speed  that  Morgan 
saw  he  must  be  overtaken.  He  accordingly 
halted  and  took  position  at  the  "  Cowpens," 
ahout  thirty  miles  west  of  King's  Mountain, 
and  rested  his  men.  Tarleton  arrived  in 
front  of  this  position  on  the  seventeenth  of 
January  and  made  an  impetuous  attack  upon 
the  Americans.  Ai  first  he  drove  the  mili- 
tia before  him,  but  Morgan  keeping  his 
Continentals  well  in  hand,  suddenly  wheeled 
upon  him  and  drove  him  from  the  field. 
The  two  forces  were  about  equal.  Morgan 
lost  but  eighty  men,  while  the  loss  of  the 
British  was  over  six  hundred.  Tarleton 
escaped  from  the  field  with  only  a  few  of  his 
cavalry. 

Cornwallis  moved  forward  as  soon  as  he 
learned  of  Tarleton's  defeat.  He  supposed 
that  Morgan  would  be  encumbered  with  his 
wounded  and  prisoners,  and  would  be  slow 
in  leaving  the  scene  of  his  victory,  and  he 
hoped  by  a  rapid  march  to  come  U[)  with 
him,  crush  him,  and  rescue  the  prisoners 
before  he  could  join  General  Greene.  Mor- 
gan was  much  too  wary  to  be  caught  in 
such  a  trap.      He  felt  sure  Cornwallis  would 


466 


THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


seek  to  avenge  Tarleton's  defeat,  and  leaving 
his  wounded  under  a  flag  of  truce,  he  re- 
sumed his  retreat  with  all  speed  immediately 
after  the  battle,  and  hurrying  towards  the 
Catawba,  crossed  that  river. 

Two  hours  after  he  had  passed  it  the 
advance  of  Cornwallis*  army  reached  the 
bank  of  the  river,  but  owing  to  a  sudden 
rise  in  the  stream  were  unable  to  cross  it. 
The  British  were  detained  in  this  manner  for 
two  days,  during  which   Morgan   rested  his 


GENERAL    DANIEL    MORGAN. 

men  and  sent  off  his  prisoners  to  a  place  of 
safety. 

Two  days  after  the  passage  of  the  Catawba 
Morgan  was  joined  by  the  troops  under 
General  Greene,  who  had  heard  of  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Cowpens,  and  was  advancing  to 
the  assistance  of  his  lieutenant.  Greene  was 
not  yet  strong  enough  to  meet  the  British, 
and  he  continued  the  retreat  toward  the 
Yadkin.  He  moved  slowly,  and  his  rear 
guard  was  still  engaged  in  the  passage  of  the 
Yadkin  when  the  advance   guard  of  Corn- 


wallis reached  that  stream,  on  the  third  of 
February.  Cornwallis  had  burned  all  his 
heavy  baggage,  and  had  reduced  his  army 
to  the  strictest  light  marching  order,  in  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  intercept  Greene. 

A  skirmish  ensued  on   the  banks  of  the 
Yadkin,  and  night  coming  on   the  British 
commander    deferred    the    passage    of   the 
stream  until  the  next  day.     During  the  night 
a  heavy  rain  swelled  the  river  so  high  that  it 
could  not  be  forded,  and  the  Americans  had 
secured  all  the  boats  on  the  other  side. 
Greene,  profiting  by  this  delay,  hurried 
on  to  cross  the  Dan  into  Virginia,  where 
he  could  receive  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies.  Morgan  was  left  to  cover  the  retreat 
of  the  army,  but  falling  ill  was  obliged  to 
relinquish  the  command  of  the  rear  guard 
to  Colonel  Otho  H.  Williams. 

Cornwallis  passed  the  Yadkin  as  soon 
as  possible  and  strained  every  nerve  to 
Z.      prevent  Greene  from  crossing  the  Dan. 
3      He  supposed  the  Americans  would  not 
^      be  able  to  cross  at  the  lower  ferries,  but 
would  be  obliged  to  pass  the  river  higher 
up,  where  it  could  be  forded.     He  there- 
fore urged  his  army  to  its  utmost  exer- 
tions  to   secure  these  fords  before   the 
arrival   of   the   Americans.      Perceiving 
Cornwallis'   error,  Colonel  Williams   re- 
treated towards  the  upper  fords  and  so 
confirmed  the  British  commander  in  his 
delusion.     Having  led  the  British  sufficiently 
out  of   the  way,  Williams    wheeled  about, 
and   by  a   rapid   march   of   forty   miles  in 
twenty-four  hours  down   the  river,  rejoined 
Greene,  who  had  moved  with  all  speed  to 
the  lower  ferries,  where,  in  anticipation  of 
his  retreat,   he  had   collected    a  supply  of 
boats.     The  Dan  was  passed  on  the  fifteenth 
of  February,  and   the  Ame-ican  army  was 
safe  from  its  pursuers. 

An  hour  or  two  later  Cornwallis,  who  had 
discovered    his    mistake   and    had    marched 


THE  closp:  of  the  war. 


467 


with  speed  from  the  upper  fords,  appeared 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  only  to  see 
his  adversary  safely  beyond  his  reach.  The 
river  was  too  deep  to  be  forded,  and  Greene 
had  all  the  boats  in  his  possession.  Corn- 
vvallis  was  deeply  mortified  at  his  failure  to 
intercept  Greene.  He  had  pursued  him  for 
over  two  hundred  miles,  and  had  made  great 
sacrifices  to  come  up  with  him,  but  the 
American  commander  had  managed  to  elude 
him  and  had  successfully  carried  out  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  retreats  in  history.  The 
Americans  regarded  their  escape  as  provi- 
dential, and  not  without  cause.  Their  way 
across  the  Carolinas  might  be  tracked  by 
the  blood  from  their  feet;  and  twice,  when 
the  enemy  had  come  within  gunshot  of 
them,  the  rising  of  the  waters  of  the  Catawba 
and  the  Yadkin,  which  they  had  passed  in 
safet}%  had  held  back  the  British  and  enabled 
them  to  escape.  After  resting  his  men  for 
a  few  days  on  the  banks  of  the  Dan,  Corn- 
wallis  fell  back  to  Hillsboroujh. 

Greene  Compelled  to  Retreat. 

Having  received  reinforcements,  General 
Greene  recrossed  the  Dan,  about  the  last  of 
February,  and  advanced  into  the  Carolinas 
to  watch  Cornwallis  and  encourage  the 
patriots  of  that  region.  Cornwallis,  being 
short  of  supplies,  moved  slowly  southward. 
Greene  followed  him  cautiously,  too  weak  to 
risk  a  battle,  but  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
the  first  error  on  the  part  of  his  adversary. 
His  movements  were  conducted  with  the 
utmost  circumspection,  and  in  order  to 
guard  against  a  surprise  he  ne\-er  remained 
in  the  same  place  more  than  one  day,  and 
[kept  secret  imtil  the  last  moment  the  places 
he  selected  for  his  encampments.  In  the 
meantime  he  was  gradually  receiving  rein- 
forcements from  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
until  his  army  numbered  four  thousand 
men. 


Feeling  himself  strong  enough  to  attack 
the  enemy,  Greene  left  his  baggage  at  a 
point  of  safety  and  advanced  to  Guilford 
Court-house,  seventeen  miles  distant,  with 
the  intention  of  bringing  Cornwallis  to  a 
decisive  engagement.  Here  he  was  attacked 
by  Cornwallis  on  the  fifteenth  of  March,  and 
after  one  of  the  hardest-fought  battles  of  the 
war  was  compelled  to  retreat.  Greene  with- 
drew in  good  order,  and  Cornwallis,  though 
victorious  on  the  field,  was  so  sorely  crippled 
that  he  was  unable  to  make  any  pursuit,  and 
was  obliged  to  fall  back  to  Wilmington, 
near  the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  River.  By 
the  time  he  reached  that  place  his  army  had 
been  so  much  weakened  by  desertions  and 
losses  in  battle  that  it  amounted  to  but  four- 
teen hundred  men. 

Operations  in  South  Carolina. 

Greene  had  lost  a  thousand  militia  by 
desertion  during  his  retreat,  but  was  soon 
enabled  to  supply  their  places.  He  then 
moved  into  South  Carolina  for  the  purpose 
of  attacking  the  British  force  under  Lord 
Rawdon,  which  was  posted  at  Camden.  He 
advanced  to  Hobkirk's  Hill,  about  two  miles 
from  Camden,  where  he  was  attacked  on 
the  t\vent>'-fifth  of  April  by  Lord  Rawdon. 
After  a  sharp  engagement  Greene  was  de- 
feated and  obliged  to  retreat.  He  withdrew 
his  army  in  good  order,  having  inflicted 
upon  his  adversary  a  loss  about  equal  to  his 
own.  Rawdon  was  unable  to  derive  any 
advantage  from  his  victory,  as  he  could  not 
bring  Greene  to  another  general  engagement. 
The  activity  of  the  American  partisan  corps 
in  his  rear  alarmed  him  for  the  safety  of  his 
communications  with  Charleston,  and  he 
abandoned  Camden  and  fell  back  to  Monk's 
Corner. 

In  the  meantime  Lee,  Marion,  Pickens, 
and  the  other  partisan  leaders  had  broken 
up  the    fortified  posts   of   the   British  with 


468 


THE 


such  success  that  by  the  month  of  June, 
1 78 1,  only  three  positions  of  importance 
remained  to  the  British  in  South  Carohna 
Charleston,  Nelson's  Ferry  and  Fort  Ninety- 
six,  near  the  Saluda.     The  last-named  posi- 


LORD    KAWDON,    AFTERWARD    MARQUIS    OF    HASTINGS. 


tion  was  of  the  greatest  importance,  and 
was  held  by  a  force  of  Carolina  Tories. 
Lee  and  Pickens  were  sent  against  Augusta, 
Georgia,  and  captured  it  after  a  close  invest- 
ment of  seven  days.  General  Greene  him- 
self marched    against    Ninety-six    and    laid 


AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

sie"-e  to  it.     Being  informed  that  Lord  Raw 

don  was  marching  to   relieve  it,  he   deter 

mined  to  carry  the  fort    by  assault   before 

Rawdon    could   arrive.       The   assault    was 

made  on  the  eighteenth   of  June,  but  was 

repulsed  with  severe 

loss.      Greene   then 

raised  the  siege  and 

retreated    across    the 

Saluda. 

Early  in  July  the 
excessive  heat  put  an 
end  to  active  opera- 
tions on  the  part  of  the 
two  armies.  Greene 
withdrew  to  the  high 
hills  of  the  Santee,  and 
the  British  went  into 
camp  on  the  Congaree. 
A  bitter  partisan  war- 
fare now  sprung  up 
between  the  patriots 
and  the  tories,  and 
continued  during  the 
summer.  Houses  were 
pillaged  and  burned, 
farms  were  laid  waste 
and  no  quarter  was 
given  by  either  party. 
Even  women  and 
children  were  included 
in  these  dreadful  mas- 
sacres. 

Lord  Rawdon  now 
resolved  to  add  to  the 
horrors   of  this   war- 
fare by  executing  as 
traitors    those   who 
had    given    their   parole  not   to  engage  in 
the    war   or    had    received    a   protection,  if 
they  should  be  taken  in  arms.     Among  the 
prisoners  taken  by  the  British  at  the  capture 
of  Charleston,  was  Colonel  Isaac  Hayne,  a 
distinguished  citizen  of  that  place.     His  wife 


THE  CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


469 


was  dying  and  his  children  were  helpless, 
and  he  gave  his  parole  to  remain  neutral,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  take  care  of  them,  and 
was  promised  protection.  At  a  later  period, 
the  British  commander  being  in  need  of  rein- 
forcements, Hayne  was  ordered  to  take  up 
arms  against  his  country  in  behalf  of  the 
king.  He  regarded  himself  as  relieved  from 
his  parole  by  this  command,  and  soon  after 
escaped  from  Charleston  and  raised  a  partisan 
corps,  at  the  head  of  which  he  was  captured. 
He  was  condemned  to  die  as  a  traitor  ;  and 
though  the  inhabitants  of  Charleston,  both 
patriot  and  royalist,  petitioned  for  his  pardon, 
it  was  refused,  and  he  was  hanged,  by  order 
of  Lord  Rawdon,  on  the  5th  of  August. 

Life  for  Life. 

His  execution  was  regarded  by  the  Amer- 
icans as  cruel  and  unjust,  and  as  contrary  to 
military  law.  General  Greene  felt  himself 
obliged  to  retaliate  by  executing  as  deserters 
all  those  prisoners  who  had  formerly  served 
in  his  own  army,  and  so  bitter  was  the  feeling 
of  the  American  troops  that  they  could 
scarcely  be  prevented  from  shooting  the 
British  officers  who  fell  into  their  hands. 

Lord  Rawdon  now  sailed  for  England,  and 
left  the  command  of  his  army  to  Colonel 
Stewart,  an  officer  of  ability  and  experience. 
At  the  close  of  the  summer  General  Greene, 
whose  army  had  been  increased  by  the  com- 
mands of  Marion  and  Pickens  to  twenty-five 
hundred  men,  resumed  the  offensive.  He 
attacked  the  British  at  Eutaw  Springs  on  the 
eighth  of  September,  and  after  a  severely  con- 
tested battle  the  left  wing  of  the  British  was 
routed.  In  the  moment  of  victory  the  Amer- 
ican army  stopped  to  plunder  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  the  British,  taking  advantage  of 
the  delay,  rallied  and  made  a  stand  in  a  large 
stone  house,  from  which  they  could  not  be 
driven.  Greene  was  forced  to  draw  off  his 
troops  and  leave  the  field  to  the  British,  who 


lost  seven  hundred  men  in  the  engagement. 
The  American  loss  was  five  hundred  men. 
Both  sides  claimed  the  victory;  but  the  ad- 
vantage certainly  was  not  with  the  British, 
who  lost  more  than  a  third  of  their  men. 

Colonel  Stewart,  in  view  of  this  loss,  fell 
back  to  the  vicinity  of  Charleston.  Greene 
followed  him  as  far  as  Monk's  Corner,  and 
then  returned  to  the  hills  of  the  Santee.  The 
American  commander  had  abundant  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  opera- 
tions in  South  Carolina.  He  had  rescued 
the  greater  part  of  tiie  State  fiom  the  British, 
and  had  confined  them  to  the  region  between 
the  Santee  and  the  lower  Savannah.  He  had 
repeatedly  engaged  the  enemy  with  the  most 
inadequate  means  and  under  the  most  unfa- 
vorable circumstances,  and  had  never  failed, 
even  though  defeated,  to  accomplish  the 
object  for  which  he  fought.  He  had  baffled 
the  British  commanders  over  again,  and,  like 
William  of  Orange,  had  managed  to  derive 
greater  advantages  from  his  reverses  than 
his  adversaries  were  able  to  draw  from  their 
victories. 

Plan  to  Recapture   New  York. 

Washington  was  well  pleased  with  the 
achievements,  in  the  South,  of  his  most 
trusted  lieutenant.  He  was  very  anxious  to 
attempt  something  decisive  with  his  own 
army,  if  he  could  secure  the  aid  of  a  French 
army  and  fleet.  Two  enterprises  offered 
themselves  to  him — an  attack  upon  New 
York,  which  had  been  greatly  weakened  by 
detachments  sent  from  its  garrison  to  the 
south,  and  an  expedition  against  Cornwallis. 
That  commander  had  left  Wilmington  on 
the  twentieth  of  April,  and  had  advanced, 
without  encountering  any  serious  resistance, 
to  Petersburg,  Virginia.  He  arrived  there  on 
the  twentieth  of  May,  and  was  joined  by  the 
troops  under  General  Philips,  who  had  been 
plundering  the  country  along  the  James  river. 


470 

While  Washington  was  hesitating  which 
would  be  the  best  course  to  pursue,  a  French 
frigate  arrived  at  Newport,  with  the  Count 
de  Barras  on  board,  who  had  come  to  take 
command  of  the  fleet  at  Newport.  He 
brought  the  good  news  that  a  fleet  of  twenty 
ships-of-the-line,  under  the  Count  de  Grasse, 
having  on  board  a  considerable  force  of 
troops,  had  sailed  for  America,  and  might 
be  expected  to  arrive  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months.  Washington  held  a  conference  with 
the  Count  de  Rochambeau,  at  Weathersfield, 
Connecticut,  and  it  was  resolved  to  attack 
New  York.  The  French  army  was  to  march 
from  Newport  and  form  a  junction  with  the 
Americans  on  the  Hudson.  A  frigate  was 
despatched  to  the  West  Indies  to  inform  the 
Count  de  Grasse  of  this  arrangement,  and 
to  ask  his  co-operation  in  the  proposed 
attack. 

Cornwallis  Strongly  Intrenched. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  suspected  the 
designs  of  Washington,  now  ordered  Lord 
Cornwallis,  who  had  crosssed  the  James 
river,  and  was  at  Williamsburg,  to  send  him 
a  reinforcement  of  troops.  Cornwallis  pre- 
pared to  comply  with  this  order,  and  for 
that  purpose  marched  towards  Portsmouth, 
followed  cautiously  by  Lafayette  and  Steu- 
ben, who  hid  with  them  about  four  thousand 
American  troops.  On  the  march  a  slight 
engagement  occurred,  near  Westover,  be- 
tween Lafayette  and  Cornwallis,  in  which  the 
Americans  narrowly  escaped  a  defeat. 

The  British  army  crossed  to  the  south  side 
of  the  James,  and  a  detachment  was  embarked 
for  New  York.  At  this  moment  a  second 
order  was  received  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
who  had  received  a  reinforcement  of  Hessians 
from  England,  directing  Cornwallis  to  retain 
all  his  force,  choose  some  central  position  in 
Virginia,  fortify  him.self  in  it,  and  await  the 
development  of  the  American  plans.     Corn- 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


wallis  should  have  taken  position  at  Ports- 
mouth, from  which  place  his  line  of  retreat 
to  the  South  would  have  remained  intact. 
In  an  evil  hour  for  himself  he  recrossed  the 
James,  and  crossing  the  peninsula  between 
that  river  and  the  York,  took  position  at 
the  towns  of  Gloucester  and  Yorktown, 
opposite  each  other,  on  the  York  River. 
He  had  with  him  an  army  of  eight  thousand 
effective  troops,  and  proceeded  to  fortify  his 
position  with  strong  intrenchments.  \ 
number  of  vessels  of  war  were  anchored 
between  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  to  main- 
tain the  communication  between  those  points 
and  to  assist  in  the  defence  of  the  place. 

During  all  this  time  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  republic  were  growing  worse  and 
more  hopeless.  The  continental  currency 
had  become  utterly  worthless,  one  dollar  in 
paper  being  worth  only  one  cent  in  coin  at 
the  opening  of  the  year  1781.  In  the  .spring 
of  that  year  Congress  sought  to  put  an  end 
to  its  financial  troubles  by  taking  the  control 
of  the  finances  from  a  board  which  had 
hitherto  managed  them,  and  intrusting  them 
to  Robert  Morris,  whose  sei-vices  in  behalf 
of  the  cause  have  been  mentioned  before. 

Return  to  Specie  Payments. 

Morris  was  an  experienced  financier,  and 
had  opposed  with  all  his  energy  the  system 
of  making  continental  money  a  legal  tender. 
He  now  made  a  return  to  specie  payments 
the  condition  of  his  acceptance  of  the  trust 
imposed  upon  him  by  Congress.  On  the 
twenty-second  of  May,  17S1,  Congress  most 
unwillingly  resolved  :  "  That  the  whole  debts 
already  due  by  the  United  States  be  liqui- 
dated as  soon  as  may  be  to  their  specie 
value,  and  funded,  if  agreeable  to  the 
creditors,  as  a  loan  upon  interest;  that  the 
States  be  severally  informed  that  the  calcu- 
lations of  the  present  campaign  are  made  in 
solid  coin,  and,  therefore,  that  the  requi.-jition9 


THK    CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


471 


from  them  respectively  being  grounded  on 
those  calculations,  must  be  complied  with  in 
such  manner  as  effectually  to  answer  the 
the  purpose  designed ;  that  experience 
having  evinced  the  inefficacy  of  all  attempts 
to  support  the  credit  of  paper  money  by 
compulsory  acts,  it  is  recommended  to  such 
States  where  laws  making  paper  bills  a 
tender  yet  exist  to  repeal  the  same." 

On  the  thirty-first  of  May  continental  bills, 
being  no  longer  a  legal  tender,  ceased  to  cir- 
culate.  Henceforth  all 


credit  to  supply  the  deficiency.  No  man 
did  more  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 
cause  than  Robert  Morris;  and  no  man 
received  more  ingratitude  from  the  govern- 
ment and  people  of  the  Union  than  he. 

In  July  Washington  was  joined  in  the 
Highlands  by  the  French  army  under  Count 
de  Rochambeau,  and  preparations  were» 
made  to  attack  New  York.  An  intercepted 
letter  informed  Sir  Henry  Clinton  of  this  | 
design,   and  he  exerted  himself  to  put  the 


transactions  were  to 
be  in  hard  money. 
The  result  amply  vin- 
dicated Morris'  views. 
He  induced  Congress 
':o  establish  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States  at 
Philadelphia,  with  1 
capital  of  two  millions 
of  dollars  and  a  char 
ter  for  ten  years.  This 
bank  was  allowed  the 
privilege  of  issuing  its 
own  notes,  which  it 
w-as  required  to  re- 
deem in  specie  upon 
presentation.  This  re 
quirement  gained  for 
the  bank  the  confi 
dence  of  the  people 
and  capitalists  availed 
themselves  of  it  for  the  investment  of  their 
money.  Morris  used  the  bank  freely  in  his 
public  operations,  and  at  the  same  time  used  it 
so  wisely  that  he  was  able  to  secure  all  the  aid 
it  was  capable  of  bestowing  without  subject- 
ing it  to  too  severe  a  strain.  He  raised  the 
credit  of  the  government  higher  than  it  had 
ever  stood  before,  and  was  able  to  do  much 
towards  paying  the  soldiers  and  supplying 
them  with  food  and  clothing.  As  often  as 
the  public  funds  failed   he  pledged  his  own 


SCENE 


IHE    HIGHLWns    OF    THE    HUDSON. 

city  in  a  state  of  defence.  In  the  midst  of 
his  preparations  Washington  received  a  letter 
from  the  Count  de  Grasse,  stating  that  he 
would  sail  fir  the  Chesapeake  instead  of 
Newport.  Tills  decision  of  the  French 
admiral  compelled  an  entire  change  of  plan 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans.  As  Dc- 
Grasse  would  not  co-operate  with  them, 
they  must  abandon  the  attack  upon  New 
York,  and  attempt  the  capture  of  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktown.     No   time   was   to  be   lost  in 


472 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


making  the  attempt,  for  it  was  now  the 
month  of  August.  By  a  series  of  skilful 
movements  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  induced 
to  believe  that  an  attack  upon  New  York 
would  soon  be  made,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  American  army  was  marched  rapidly 
across  New  Jersey,  followed  by  the  French. 
Lafayette,  who  was  in  Virginia,  was  ordered 
to  prevent  at  all  hazards  a  retreat  of  Corn- 
wallis'  army  to  North  Carolina,  and  was 
directed  to  ask  assistance  of  General  Greene 
if  necessar}'. 

Cornwallis  Entrapped. 

The  plan  of  Washington  was  to  blockade 
Cornivallis  in  the  York  river  by  means  of 
the  French  fleet,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
besiege  him  in  Yorktown  with  the  army. 
The  troops  were  somewhat  unwilling  to 
undertake  a  southern  campaign  in  August, 
but  their  good  humor  was  restored  at  Phila- 
delphia, where  they  received  a  part  of  their 
pay  in  specie,  and  a  supply  of  clothing,  arms 
and  ammunition,  which  had  just  arrived  from 
France.  From  Philadelphia  the  combined 
armies  proceeded  to  Elkton,  at  head  of  the 
the  Chesapeake,  where  they  found  trans- 
ports, sent  by  the  French  admiral  and  by 
Lafayette,  to  convey  them  to  the  James 
river. 

The  first  intimation  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had 
of  a  change  in  the  American  plans  was  the 
sudden  sailing  of  the  French  fleet  from  New- 
port on  the  twenty-eight  of  August.  Sup- 
posing that  De  Barras's  object  was  to  unite 
with  another  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  Clinton 
sent  Admiral  Graves  to  prevent  the  junction. 
Upon  reaching  the  capes  the  British  admiral 
was  astonished  to  find  the  fleet  of  the  Count 
de  Grasse,  consisting  of  twenty  ships-of-the 
line,  anchored  within  the  bay.  De  Grasse 
at  once  put  to  sea  as  if  to  engage  the  enemy, 
but  in  reality  to  draw  them  off  and  allow  De 
Barras  to  enter  the  Chesapeake.      For  five 


days  he  amused  the  English  b\-  constan; 
skirmishing.  De  Barras  at  length  appearet. 
and  passed  within  the  capes,  and  De  Grasse 
at  once  followed  him.  Admiral  Graves  was 
unwilling  to  attack  this  combined  force  and 
returned  to  New  York. 

The  movement  of  the  American  army  to 
the  south  was  known  to  Clinton,  but  he  sup- 
posed it  was  only  a  manoeuvre  to  draw  him 
off  of  Manhattan  Island  into  the  open  coun- 
tr}\  When  the  Americans  were  beyond  the 
Delaware  and  the  French  fleets  had  effected 
their  junction  in  the  Chesapeake,  he  recog- 
nized his  mistake  and  saw  that  the  object  of 
Washington  was  the  capture  of  Cornwallis. 
It  was  too  late  to  prevent  it ;  but  in  the  hope 
of  compelling  Washington  to  send  back  a 
part  of  his  force  to  defend  New  England, 
Clinton  sent  the  traitor  Arnold  with  a  large 
body  of  troops  to  attack  New  London  in 
Connecticut.  On  the  si.xth  of  September 
Arnold  captured  that  town  and  burned  the 
shipping  and  a  large  part  of  the  town. 

A  Horrible  Massacre. 

He  then  took  Fort  Griswold,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Thames,  by  storm,  and  basely 
massacred  Colonel  Indyard,  the  commander, 
and  sixty  of  the  garrison  after  the  surrender 
of  the  fort.  The  militia  of  the  State  were 
summoned  to  take  up  arms  for  its  defence, 
and  responded  in  such  numbers  that  Arnold 
became  alarmed  for  his  safety  and  returned 
to  New  York.  The  object  of  his  expedition 
failed  most  signally.  Washington  left  New 
England  to  defend  herself,  and  continued  his 
movement  against  Cornwallis. 

Cornwallis  was  very  slow  to  realize  his 
danger.  He  believed  the  small  force  under 
Lafayette  the  only  command  opposed  to  him, 
and  on  the  tenth  of  September  wrote  to  Clinton 
that  he  could  spare  him  twelve  hundred  men 
for  the  defence  of  New  York.  He  did  not 
perceive  his  error  until  the  French  fleet  had 


THE    CLOSE    OF   THE   WAR 

anchored  in  the  Chesapeake  and  cut  off  his 
escape   by   water.      He   then  attempted   to 


retreat  to  North  CaroHna,  as  Washington 
had  foreseen,  but  Lafayette,  who  had  been 
reinforced  by  three  thousand  French  troops 
under  the  Marquis  de  St.  Simon,  from  the 
fleet  of  De  Grasse,  was  too  active  for  him, 
»nd  finding  his  retreat  impossible,  CornwaUis 


473 
the  British,  and  on  the  ninth  of  October  the 
cannonade  was  begun.  It  was  continued  for 
four  days,  and  the  British  outworks  were 
greatly  damaged,  and  several  of  their  vessels 
in  the  river  were  burned  by  means  of  red- 
hot  shot  thrown  into  them  by  the  French 
vessels.  On  the  fourteenth  two  of  the  ad- 
vanced redoub';s  of  the  enemy  weie  stormed 


VIEW    OF    VOKKTOW 


sent  urgent  appeals  to  Clinton  for  assistance, 
and  strengthened  his  fortifications. 

In  the  meantime  the  American  and  French 
armies  descended  the  Chesapeake,  and  took 
position  before  Yorktown,  while  the  French 
fleet  closed  the  mouth  of  York  river.  The 
siege  was  begun  on  the  twenty-eight  of  Sep- 
tember. Sixtc-n  thousand  men  were  pre- 
sent under  Washington's  orders.  Works 
were  erected  completely  enclosing  those  cf 


and  taken,  one  by  the  Americans,  the  other 
by  the  French.  From  the  positions  thus 
gained  a  very  destructive  fire  was  maintained 
upon  the  English  lines,  which  were  broken 
in  many  places,  while  many  of  their  guns 
were  dismounted  and  rendered  useless.  On 
the  fifteenth  CornwaUis  found  himself  al- 
most out  of  ammunition,  and  unable  to 
maintain  his  position  but  for  a  few  days 
long<;r. 


474 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


In  this  strait  the  British  commander  re- 
solved upon  the  desperate  alternative  of  cross- 
ing the  York  to  Gloucester,  abandoning  his 
sick  and  wounded  and  baggage,and  endeavor- 
ing to  force  his  way  northward  by  extraor- 
dinary marches  to  New  York.  It  was  a 
hopeless  undertaking, but  Cornwallis  resolved 
to  make  the  trial.  On  the  night  of  the  six- 
teenth of  October  he  crossed  a  part  of  his 
army  from  Yorktown  to  Gloucester,  but  a 
sudden  storm  delayed   the    passage  of  the 


He  sent  to  Washington  an  offer  to  surren- 
der, and  the  terms  were  soon  arranged.  On 
the  nineteenth  of  October  Cornwallis  sur- 
rendered his  army  of  seven  thousand  men 
as  prisoners  of  war  to  Washington,  as  com- 
mander of  the  allied  army,  and  his  shipping, 
seamen  and  naval  stores  to  the  Count  de 
Grasse,  as  the  representative  of  the  king  of 
France. 

W^ashington  despatched  one  of  his  aids  to 
Philadelphia  to  communicate  the  good  news 


SURRENDER    OF    LORD    COKNW.\LLl 


river  by  the  second  division  until  after  day- 
light, when  it  was  useless  to  make  the 
attempt. 

The  first  division  was  with  difficulty 
brought  back  to  Yorktown,  as  the  boats 
were  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  American 
batteries  while  crossing  the  river.  Nothing 
was  left  to  Cornwallis  now  but  a  capitulation, 
as  his  works  were  in  no  condition  to  with- 
stand an  assault,  and  simple  humanity  to  his 
men  demanded  that  the  contest  should  cease. 


to  Congress.  The  officer  pushed  forward 
with  all  speed,  and  reached  Philadelphia  at 
midnight,  and  delivered  his  message.  Soon 
the  peals  of  the  State-house  bell  roused  the 
citizens,  and  the  watchmen  took  up  the  cry, 
"  Cornwallis  is  taken  !  Cornwallis  is  taken!" 
The  people  poured  out  into  the  streets  in 
throngs,  and  no  one  slept  in  Philadelphia 
that  night.  The  next  day  Congress  proceeded 
in  a  body  to  a  church  and  gave  thanks  for 
the  great  victory.     A  national  thanksgiving 


THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   WAR. 


475 


was  ordered,  and  throughout  the  whole  land 
rejoicings  went  up  to  God  for  the  success 
which  all  men  felt  was  decisive  of  the  war. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  October,  the  day  of 
the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton sailed  from  New  York  to  his  assistance 
with  a  force  of  seven  thousand  men.  Off  the 
capes  he  learned  of  the  surrender  of  the 
British  army  at  Yorktown,  and  as  his  fleet 
was  not  strong  enough  to  meet  that  of  the 
French  he  returned  at  once  to  Xew  York. 

"  It  is  All  Over." 

The  news  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
was  received  in  England  with  astonishment 
and  mortification.  It  was  the  second  time 
England  had  lost  an  entire  army  by  capture, 
and  her  efforts  to  subdue  the  United  States 
were  no  nearer  success  than  they  had  been 
at  the  opening  of  the  war.  The  English 
people  had  never  regarded  the  attempt  to 
conquer  America  with  favor,  and  they  now 
became  more  open  and  energetic  in  their 
demands  for  peace.  "  Lord  North,  the  prime 
minister,"  says  an  English  writer,  "  received 
the  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Cornwallis 
as  he  would  have  done  a  cannon  ball  in  his 
breast;  he  paced  the  room, and  throwing  his 
arms  wildly  about,  kept  exclaiming,  '  O 
God !  it  is  all  over !  it  is  all  over  !'  "  The 
king  and  the  aristocracy,  however,  had  no 
thought  of  yielding  yet  to  the  popular 
pressure,  and  were  resolved  to  carry  on  the 
war. 

After  the  surrender  at  Yorktown,  Wash- 
ington urged  the  Count  de  Grasse  to  coop- 
erate with  General  Greene  in  an  attack  upon 
Charleston.  The  French  admiral  declined 
to  comply  with  his  request,  alleging  the 
necessity  of  his  immediate  return  to  the 
West  Indies.  The  French  troops  were  quar- 
tered for  the  winter  at  Williamsburg,  Vir- 
ginia, and  the  American  army  returned 
northward  and  resumed  its  old  position  on 


the  Hudson.  Washington,  though  con- 
vinced that  peace  was  close  at  hand,  did  not 
relax  his  vigilance,  and  urged  upon  Congress 
the  necessity  of  preparing  for  a  vigorous 
campaign  the  next  year ;  but  so  thoroughly 
was  Congress  carried  away  by  the  prospect 
of  peace  that  his  recommendations  were 
unheeded. 

In  the  south  the  British  and  Tories  were 
so  disheartened  by  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis that  they  ceased  active  operations  and 
evacuated  all  their  posts  but  Savannah  and 
Charleston.  General  Greene  at  once  dis- 
posed his  army  in  such  a  manner  as  to  con- 
fine them  closely  to  Charleston.  In  the 
Northern  States  the  only  place  held  by  the 
British  was  New  York. 

Indian  and  Tory  Outrages. 

Though  active  operations  had  ceased  on 
the  part  of  the  two  armies,  a  cruel  and 
destructive  warfare  was  continued  by  the 
Indian  allies  of  the  British  against  the  border 
settlements  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
and  a  similar  warfare  was  maintained  by  the 
Tories  and  Indians  along  the  frontier  of  New 
York.  These  outrages  involved  the  Christ- 
ian Delaware  Indians  in  the  punishment  of 
the  guilty  savages.  The  Delawares  had 
become  converted  to  Christianity  under  the 
influence  of  the  Moravian  missionaries,  and 
had  removed  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the 
Muskingum. 

They  were  suspected  by  the  Americans  of 
the  crimes  of  their  heathen  brethren,  and  in 
the  spring  and  summer  of  1782  their  towns 
were  destroyed  and  numbers  of  them  were 
slain.  The  war  was  carried  into  the  country 
of  the  W^yandottes  by  the  whites,  but  with 
less  success.  On  the  sixth  of  June  a  force 
of  Pennsylvanians  under  Colonel  Crawford 
was  defeated  by  the  Wyandottes.  In  the 
same  summer  a  band  of  northern  Indians 
led  by  Simon   Girty,  a   Tory  of  infamous 


4/6 


THE   AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


character,  invaded  Kentucky.  They  were 
met  by  the  Kentuckians  under  Boone,  Todd, 
.and  other  leadens.  A  severe  battle  was 
fought  at  the  Big  Blue  Lick,  and  the  Ken- 
tuckians were  defeated  with  the  loss  of 
^nearly  one-half  their  force. 

Story  of  Captain  Huddy. 

Some  of  the  staunchest  patriots  and  some 
of  the  most  ferocious  Tories  resided  in  Mon- 
mouth county,  New  Jersey.  The  patriots 
built  a  block-house  of  logs  at  Dover,  which 
was  a  strongly  fortified  building.  The  only 
method  of  ingress  or  egress  was  by  the  use 
of  a  scaling  ladder.  Captain  John  Huddy 
was  commander  of  this  post,  and  was  one  of 
the  bravest  men  who  fought  for  the  Amer- 
ican cause.  His  house  was  once  surrounded 
by  his  foes,  but  esccping  he  jumped  into  the 
waters  of  the  bay,  and  as  he  swam  he 
shouted,  "I  am  Huddy!"  His  escape  on 
this  occasion  was  remarkable. 

On  March  20,  1782,  a  party  of  forty 
Tories  and  eighty  seamen,  nil  fully  armed, 
left  New  York  in  whaleboats  for  the  pur- 
pose of  capturing  Captain  John  Huddy. 
Their  coming  was  announced  by  scouts,  and 
preparations  were  made  to  receive  them. 
The  battle  was  one  of  the  fiercest  of  the 
war.  The  powder  in  the  fortress  at  length 
gave  out,  and  Huddy,  with  sixteen  men, 
four  of  whom  were  wounded,  was  taken 
prisoner.  Huddy  was  a  prisoner  of  war, 
and  was  entitled  to  treatment  as  such,  but 
his  enemies  conspired  to  put  him  to  death. 
He  was  executed  on  the  morning  of  April 
12,  and  his  last  words  were,  "  I  shall  die 
innocent,  and  in  a  good  cause." 

Captain  Lippincott,  who  ordered  Huddy 's 
execution,  cursed  his  men  'pecause  they  were 
unwilling  to  take  the  life  of  so  brave  a  foe, 
and  with  his  own  hand  helped  to  pull  the 
rope.  Returning  to  New  York  he  reported 
to  the  board  of  loyalists  that  he  had  "  ex- 


changed "  Captain  Huddy  for  Philip  White. 
The  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Freehold  preached  the  funeral  sermon  from 
the  front  porch  of  the  old  Freehold  hotel, 
and  the  body  was  buried  with  the  honors  of 
war. 

The  desire  of  the  English  people  for  the 
close  of  the  war  had  grown  too  strong  to  be 
resisted,  and  the  king  and  his  ministers  were 
at  length  forced  to  yield.  The  impossi- 
bility of  conquering  America  had  become 
so  apparent  to  the  continental  nations  that 
in  the  spring  of  17S2  the  Dutch  republic 
recognized  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  and  received  John  Adams  as  envoy 
from  that  government.  The  king  of  Eng- 
land maintained  his  obstinate  opposition  to 
the  wishes  of  his  people  to  the  last  moment. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  Februar\-,  1782,  a 
resolution  was  introduced  into  the  House  of 
Commons  to  put  an  end  to  the  American  war 
and  was  supported  by  the  leaders  of  the  Whig 
party.  It  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  one, 
but  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  February  a 
similar  resolution  was  introduced  and  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  nineteen. 

England  Gives  Up  the  Struggle. 

On  the  twentieth  of  March  Lord  North 
and  his  colleagues  were  forced  to  relinquish 
their  offices,  and  a  new  ministry  was  formed 
under  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham.  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  was  removed  from  his  com- 
mand in  America,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir 
Guy  Carleton,  whose  humane  conduct  of 
the  war  while  governor  of  Canada  we  have 
related.  Carleton  arrived  in  New  York  iij 
May,  1782,  with  full  powers  to  open  nego- 
tiations for  peace.  He  at  once  put  a  stop  to 
the  savage  warfare  of  the  Tories  and  Indians 
on  the  borders  of  we>tern  New  York,  and 
opened  a  correspondence  with  Washington 
proposing  a  cessation  of  hostilities  until  a 
definite  treaty  of  peace  could  be  arranged. 


CAPTAIN   HUDDY   LED   FROM   PRIsuiN   TO  BL   HA.NOLD. 


478 

Five  commissioners  were  appointed  by 
Congress  to  conclude  a  peace  with  Great 
Britain.  They  were  John  Adams,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  John  Jay,  Henry  Laurens,  who 
had  just  been  released  from  the  tower  of 
London,  where  he  had  been  kept  a  prisoner 
^or  about  a  year,  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  unable  to  leave  America.  Five 
commissioners  were  appointed  by  Great 
Britain  to  treat  with  "  certain  colonies " 
named  in  their  instructions. 

A  Treaty  Formed. 

The  commissioners  from  the  two  countries 
met  at  Paris,  but  the  American  commis- 
sioners refused  to  open  negotiations  except 
in  the  name  of  the  "  United  States  of 
America."  This  right  was  acknowledged 
by  Great  Britain,  and  on  the  thirtieth  of 
November,  1782,  a  preliminary  treaty  was 
signed,  which  was  ratified  by  Congress  in 
April,  1783.  This  treaty  could  not  be  final 
because  by  the  terms  of  the  alliance  between 
the  United  States  and  France  neither  party 
could  make  a  separate  treaty  of  peace  with 
England.  In  January,  1783,  France  and 
Great  Britain  agreed  upon  terms  of  peace, 
and  on  the  third  of  September,  1783,  a  final 
treat}'  of  peace  was  signed  by  cdl  the  nations 
who  had  engaged  in  the  war — by  the  United 
States,  France,  Spain  and  Holland  on  the 
one  side,  and  Great  Britain  on  the  other. 

Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  independ- 
ence of  the  States  of  the  Union  in  the  fol- 
lowing words :  "  His  Britannic  Majesty 
acknowledges  the  said  United  States,  viz  : 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecti- 
cut, New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Marj-land,  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  to  be  free, 
sovereign  and  independent  States ;  that  he 
treats  with  them  as  such ;  and  for  himself, 
his    heirs    and    successors,    relinquishes  all 


THE  AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 


claim  to  the  government,  proprietary'  and  ter- 
ritorial rights  of  the  same,  and  every  part 
thereof"  It  should  be  obser\'ed  that  the 
treaty  acknowledged  the  independence  and 
sovereignt}-  of  each  of  the  thirteen  States, 
and  not  of  the  United  States  as  a  single 
nation.  The  independence  of  the  States  had 
already  been  recognized  by  several  of  the 
European  powers :  by  Sweden,  on  the  fifth 
of  Februarj',  1783;  by  Benm.ark,  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  February,  I78>;  by  Spain, 
on  the  twent>'-fourth  of  March ;  and  by 
Russia  in  July,  1783.  Treaties  of  friendship 
and  commerce  were  entered  into  betwe^Q 
the  United  States  and  these  powers. 

Washington  and  His  Army. 

During  the  year  1782  the  greater  part  ot 
the  American  army  was  encamped  at  New- 
burg,  on  the  Hudson.  Washington  mad* 
his  headquarters  in  an  old  stone  house, 
which  was  well  adapted  for  defence  and  con- 
cealment, one  of  the  rooms  having  seven 
doors  leading  to  other  parts  of  the  house, 
and  but  one  window.  The  troops  were 
unpaid  and  were  neglected  by  Congress  and 
by  the  various  States.  Washington  warned  the 
government  of  the  danger  of  further  neglect  of 
the  army,  but  his  warning  was  unheeded,  and 
in  March  the  patience  of  the  army  was  so  far 
exhausted  that  it  was  seriously  proposed  to 
march  to  Philadelphia  and  compel  Congress 
to  do  justice  to  the  troops.  Washington 
appealed  to  the  officers  to  remain  patient  a 
little  longer,  and  pledged  himself  to  use  his 
influence  with  Congress  to  fulfill  its  neglected 
promises  to  the  army.  His  appeal  quieted 
the  trouble  for  a  time.  Congress  shortly 
after  agreed  to  advance  full  pay  to  the 
soldiers  for  four  months,  and  to  pay  in  one 
gross  sum  the  full  pay  of  the  officers  for  five 
years. 

The  condition  of  the  country'  was  a  sub- 
ject of  the  gravest  apprehension.     It   was 


WASHINGTON 


;teks  at  nev 


THE  ROOM  WITH  SE\EN  DOORS  AND  ONE  WIND'iW. 


48o 


THE  amp:rican  revolution. 


plain  that  the  articles  of  confederation  were 
not  capable  of  continuing  the  Union  much 
longer,  and  many  persons  believed  that  the 
only  hope  of  preserving  a  regular  govern- 
ment, and  a  permanent  union  to  the  country, 
lay  in  the  establishment  of  a  monarchy.  In 
May,  1782,  Colonel  Nicola,  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania line,  at  the  instance  of  a  number  of 
officers,  wrote  a  letter  tc  Washington,  pro- 
posing the  creation  of  a  monarchy,  and  offer- 
ing him  the  crown.  Washington  indignantly 
refused  to  entertain  the  proposition,  and 
severely  rebuked  the  writer  of  the  letter. 

Peace  at  Last. 

In  the  spring  of  1783  the  news  of  the 
signing  of  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace 
was  received  in  America,  and  was  officially 
communicated  to  the  nation  in  a  proclama- 
tion by  Congress.  On  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  1783,  just  eight  years  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  at  Lexington,  the 
close  of  hostilities  was  proclaimed,  in  general 
orders,  to  the  army  at  Newburg.  A  general 
exchange  of  prisoners  followed,  and  large 
numbers  of  Tories  were  obliged  to  leave  the 
country,  as  they  feared  to  remain  after  the 
protection  of  the   British    forces  was   with- 


drawn. They  emigrated  chiefly  to  Canada, 
No\'a  Scotia,  and  the  West  Indies.  The  final 
treaty  having  been  signed,  the  army  was  dis- 
banded on  the  third  of  November,  and  the 
troops,  with  the  e.xception  of  a  small  force, 
returned  to  tiieir  homes  to  enjoy  their  welL 
earned  honors  and  the  thanks  of  their  grate- 
ful countrymen.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of 
November  the  British  evacuated  New  York, 
which  was  at  once  occupied  by  a  small  force 
of  Americans,  under  General  Knox.  In 
December  Charleston  was  also  evacuated  by 
the  British. 

On  the  second  of  December  Washington 
issued  a  farewell  address  to  the  army,  and 
on  the  fourth  of  that  month  took  leave  of  the 
officers  at  New  York.  He  then  proceeded 
to  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  in  ses- 
sion, and  on  the  twenty-third  of  December, 
under  circumstances  of  great  solemnity,  re- 
signed his  commission  to  that  body,  and  after 
receiving  the  thanks  of  Congress  for  the  able 
and  faithful  manner  in  which  he  had  dis 
charged  the  task  intrusted  to  him,  retired  to 
his  home  at  Mount  Vernon,  which  he  had 
not  visited  for  eight  years,  except  for  a  few 
hours,  while  on  his  way  to  attack  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktow  n. 


jO  ''^If J/  . ~*?^^«  = 


<rM:ii^%«r^^3^  ^-'JJLJ'^ 


BOOK    V 

From  the  Close  of  the  Revolution  to  the 
Civil   War 

CHAPTER    XXXI 

The    Adoption  of    the    Constitution — Washington's 
Administration 


■Unsettled  Condition  of  the  Country — Failure  \-i  the  Articles  of  Confederation — Desire  for  Reform — Meeting  of  the  Federal 
Convention  at  Philadelphia— The  Constitution  of  the  United  States— Adoption  of  a  Decimal  Currency— The  North- 
west Territory — Washington  Elected  President — His  Journey  to  New  York — Establishment  of  the  New  Government — 
The  First  Cabinet — Financial  Measures — Removal  of  the  Capital  Agreed  Upon — The  Government  at  Philadelphia — 
The  First  Census — The  Indians  of  the  Northwest  Conquered — Re-election  of  Washington — Division  of  Parties — The 
French  Revolution — The  United  States  Neutral — Citizen  Genet — Efforts  to  Commit  tlie  United  States  to  the  French 
Alliance— Genet's  Recall  Demanded — The  "  Whiskey  Insurrection '' — Jay's  Treaty  with  England — Opposition  to  It — 
Negotiations  with  Algiers — Political  Disputes — Hostility  to  Washington — His  Farewell  Address — Its  Effect  Upon  the 
Country — Election  of  John  Adams  to  the  Presidency — Admission  of  Vermont,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — Retii 
'){  Washington — Results  of  His  Administration. 


THE  long  war  was  over  and  inde- 
pendence had  been  achieved ;  but 
the  condition  of  the  country  was 
such  as  to  excite  the  gravest  ap- 
prehensions. The  country  was  exhausted 
by  the  sacrifices  and  burdens  of  the  war,  and 
its  debts  amounted  to  the  enormous  sum  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy  millions  of  dollars, 
a  sum  vastly  out  of  proportion  to  its 
resources.  Two-thirds  of  these  debts  had 
been  contracted  by  Congress ;  the  re- 
mainder by  the  States.  The  articles  of  con- 
federation were  found  inadequate  to  the  task 
of  enforcing  the  authority  of  the  general 
government,  and  the  States  treated  the 
orders  of  Congress  with  neglect.  Commerce 
was  sadly  deranged  for  the  want  of  a  uniform 
system. 

The  States  entered  into  competition  with 
each  other  for  the  trade  of  foreign  nations, 
and    articles    which   were  required    to   pay 
31 


heavy  duties  in  some  of  the  States  were 
admitted  free  of  duty  in  others.  Many  of 
the  States  were  unable  to  enforce  the  collec- 
tion of  taxes  within  their  own  limits.  The 
British  merchants  at  the  close  of  the  war 
flooded  the  American  markets  with  their 
manufactures  at  reduced  prices.  The  result 
was  that  the  domestic  manufacture,';  of  the 
States  were  ruined  ;  the  cotmtry  wai  drained 
of  its  specie,  and  the  merchants  a  c/J  people 
of  the  Union  were  involved  in  heavy  debts. 
A  general  poverty  ensued  in  the  Eastern 
States,  which  gave  rise  to  much  discontent. 
In  Massachusetts,  in  Dec  .mber,  1786,  a 
body  of  a  thousand  men,  under  Daniel 
Shays,  assembled  at  Worcoster  and  com- 
pelled the  Supreme  Court  to  adjourn  in 
order  to  prevent  it  from  issuing  writs  for  the 
collection  of  debts.  The  nJIitia  was  called 
out  and  "  Shay's  Rebellion  '  was  put  down  ; 
but  it  was  evident  that  the  sympathies  of 
48 1 


482 


FROM   THi:    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


the  people  were  largely  witli  the  insurgents. 
These  troubles  brought  home  to  the  whole 
country  the  necessity  of  a  more  perfect 
system  of  government,  and  measures  were 
begun  for  bringing  about  the  changes 
needed. 

J  In  September,  17S3,  delegates  from  five  of 
the  States  met  at  Annapolis  to  deliberate 
upon  a  plan  for  the  improvement  of  com- 
merce and  the  revenue.  They  recommended 
the  assembling  of  a  convention  to  revise  the 
articles  of  confederation  ;    and,  accordingly, 


/^J 


ju^^r^W^ 


delegates  from  all  the  States  met  for  this 
purpose  at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787. 

Among  the  more  prominent  of  these  may 
be  named  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman 
and  Oliver  Ellsworth,  of  Connecticut ;  Dun- 
ning Bedford  and  George  Read,  of  Delaware; 
William  Few,  George  Walton  and  Abraham 
Baldwin,  of  Georgia;  Daniel  Carroll,  James 
McHenry  and  Luther  Martin,  of  Maryland; 
Nathaniel  Gorham,  Caleb  Strong,  Elbridge 
Gerry  and  Rufus  King,  of  Massachusetts; 
John    Langdon   and    Nicholas    Gilman,   of 


New  Hampshire;  Jonathan  Dayton,  William 
Livingston  and  William  Patterson,  of  New 
Jersey ;  John  Lansing,  Robert  Yates  and 
Alexander  Hamilton,  of  New  York  ;  Alex- 
ander Martin,  Richard  D.  Spaight  and  Wil- 
liam R.  Davie,  of  North  Carolina ;  Robert 
Morris,  Gouverneur  Morris,  James  Wilson 
and  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Pennsylvania; 
John  Rutledge,  Pierce  Butler,  Charles 
Pinckney  and  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
of  South  Carolina;  Edmund  Randolph, 
George  Mason,  James  Madison  and  George 
Washington,  of  Virginia.  Patrick  Henry 
was  opposed  to  the  general  objects  of  the 
convention,  and  therefore  declined  any  par- 
ticipation in  its  action.  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
Minister  to  France,  and  not  in  the  country 
at  the  time. 

Birth  of  the  Constitution. 

George  Washington,  who  was  one  of  the 
delegates  from  Virginia,  was  unanimously 
chosen  president  of  the  convention.  The 
sessions  of  this  body  lasted  four  months,  and 
the  convention,  instead  of  revising  the  arti- 
cles of  confederation,  adopted  an  entirely 
new  constitution.  Each  article  of  this  con- 
stitution was  discussed  with  care  and  minute- 
ness, and  with  great  feeling.  The  sessions 
of  the  convention  were  held  with  closed 
doors  ;  but  its  proceedings  were  so  far  from 
harmonious  that  there  were  several  occa- 
sions when  it  seemed  likely  the  convention 
would  break  up  in  confusion,  and  leave  its 
work  unfinished.  At  length,  however, 
through  the  patriotism  and  forbearance  of 
its  members,  the  convention  brought  its 
work  to  a  close,  and  presented  the  constitu- 
tion to  Congress.  It  was  submitted  by  that 
body  to  the  several  States  for  their  approval. 

The  State  governments  summoned  con- 
ventions of  their  respective  people,  and  sub- 
mitted the  constitution  to  them  for  their 
acceptance  or  rejection.    By  the  end  of  1788 


\VASHIXGTOX'S    RECEPTION    AT   TKENIUN. 


484 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


it  was  ratified  by  eleven  States.  North 
Carolina  did  not  ratify  it  until  November, 
17S9;  and  Rhode  Island  held  aloof  from 
the  Union  until  May,  v/go.  The  right  of 
these  States  to  reject  the  constitution,  and 
to  continue  their  separate  existence  as  inde- 
pendent States,  was  not  questioned  by  any 
one. 

The   new    constitution    was    not    entirely 


satisfactory  to  any  part> 
the  sacrifices   made   bv 


and   represented 
to  achieve  the 


great  end  of  a  central  go\  ernmcnt,  strong 
enough  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  the 
Union.  It  was  a  document  of  compromises, 
three  of  which  were  of  especial  importance. 
The  first  was  a  concession  to  the  smaller 
States,  which  had  feared  the  loss  of  their 
independence ;  they  were  placed  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  larger  States  by  being 
given  an  equal  representation  in  the  Senate. 
The  second  was  a  concession  to  the  slave- 
holding  States  of  the  south,  and  guaranteed 


that  in  apportioning  their  representation  in 
Congress  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  were  to  be 
included  with  the  white  population.  The 
third  was  a  concession  to  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina,  and  granted  them  permission  to 
continue  the  African  slave-trade  until  1808. 
The  delegates  from  those  States  refused  to 
sign  the  constitution  except  upon  this  con- 
dition. 

Decimal  Currency. 

In  the  meantime  Congress  had  taken  a 
step  of  the  highest  importance  in  adopting 
the  plan,  presented  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  for  a 
decimal  currency.  Until  now  the  use  of  the 
English  currency  had  been  general  in  all  the 
States.  In  August,  1786,  our  present  sys- 
tem of  dollars  and  cents  was  adopted  by 
Congress,  and  a  mint  was  established  some- 
what later.  The  government  was  so  poor, 
however,  that  it  could  only  coin  a  small 
quantity  of  copper  cents. 

The  sessions  of  Congress  were  held  at 
New  York.  In  the  session  of  17S7  a  meas- 
ure was  adopted,  which  had  the  most  im- 
portant influence  upon  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  the  country.  The  treaty  of  Paris 
fixed  the  Mississippi  river  as  the  western 
boundary  of  the  United  States.  This  river 
consequently  became  the  western  limit  of 
Virginia,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts. 
In  1784  Virginia  ceded  to  the  general  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  her  claim  to- 
the  vast  region  owned  by  her  beyond  the 
Ohio.  ]\Iassachusetts  and  Connecticut  soon 
followed  her  example,  and  New  York  also 
ceded  her  western  territory  to  the  govern- 
ment. 

In  July,  1787,  Congress  organized  this 
vast  region  as  the  territory  of  the  northwest. 
It  was  provided  that  slavery  should  never 
be  permitted  to  exist  in  this  territory,  or  in 
any  of  the  States  which  might  afterwards  be 
formed  out  of  it.    This  wise  provision,  which 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


485 


was  the  basis  of  the  wonderful  prosperity  of 
this  great  region,  was  due  to  the  foresight 
of  Thomas  Jefferson.  The  northwest  being 
secured  to  freedom,  emigration  soon  set  in, 
and  it  began  its  great  career  of  prosperity 
which  has  since  known  no  slackening. 

Washington  Elected  President. 

It  was  provided  by  the  constitution  that 
when  it  should  have  been  ratified  by  two- 
thirds  of  the  States,  it  should  go  into  opera- 
tion on  the  fourth  of  March,  17S9.  Eleven 
of  the  States  having  ratified  the  constitution, 
elections  were  held  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  for  mem- 
bers of  Congress.  New  York  was  named 
as  the  seat  of  the  new  government.  The 
fourth  of  March,  1789,  was  ushered  in  with 
a  public  demonstration  at  New  York ;  but  a 
sufficient  number  of  members  of  Congress 
to  form  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  busi- 
ness did  not  arrive  until  the  thirtieth  of 
March.  On  the  sixth  of  April  the  electoral 
votes  were  counted,  and  it  was  found  that 
George  Washington  had  been  unanimously 
chosen  first  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  John  Adams  Vice-President. 

Charles  Thompson,  the  oldest  secretary  of 
Congress,  was  sent  to  Mount  \'ernon  to 
notify  Washington  of  his  election,  and  a  mes- 
senger was  despatched  to  Boston  on  a  similar 
errand  to  Mr.  Adams.  Washington  promptly 
signified  his  acceptance  of  the  office,  and, 
two  days  later,  started  for  New  York.  It 
was  his  desire  to  travel  as  quietly  and  unos- 
tentatiously as  possible,  but  the  people  of  the 
States  through  which  he  passed  would  not 
permit  him  to  do  so.  His  journey  was  a 
constant  ovation.  Crowds  greeted  him  at 
every  town  with  the  most  enthusiastic  demon- 
strations of  affection  and  confidence  ;  trium- 
phal arches  were  erected  ;  his  way  was  strewn 
with  flowers  by  young  girls  ;  and  maidens 
and  mothers  greeted  him  with  songs  com- 


posed in  his  honor.  In  consequence  of  these 
demonstrations  his  progress  was  so  much 
retarded  that  he  did  not  reach  New  York 
until  the  latter  part  of  April. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  April  Washington 
appeared  on  the  balcony  of  Federal  Hall, 
New  York,  on  the  site  of  which  the  United 
States  Treasury  now  stands,  and  took  the 
oath  of  office  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  and  a  large 
crowd  of  citizens  assembled   in  the   streets 


below.  He  then  repaired  to  the  Senate 
chamber,  and  there  delivered  an  address  to 
both  houses  of  Congress.  The  organization 
of  the  government  being  now  complete, 
Congress  proceeded  to  arrange  the  executive 
department  by  the  creation  of  the  depart- 
ments of  state,  the  treasury  and  war.  Presi- 
dent Washington  appointed  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, secretary  of  state,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
secretary  of  the  treasur}%  and  General  Henry 
Knox,  secretary  of  war.    John  Jay  was  made 


THE    INAUGLRATluN    OF    WASHINGTON. 


chief    justice    of    the    United    States, 
Edmond  Randolph,  attorney-general. 

The  new  government  found  itself  face  to 
face  with  many  difficulties,  the  principal  of 
which  was  the  payment  of  the  national  debt. 
This  debt  was  in  the  form  of  notes  of  the 
government,  or  promises  to  pay  for  value 
received.  These  notes  had  been  issued  by 
the  States  as  well  as  by  Congress  during  the 
revolution,  and  had  been  given  in  payment 
for  services  rendered  the  general  and  State 
governments,  and  for  supplies.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1790,  Alexander  Hamilton  proposed 
to  pay  all  these  debts  in  full,  and  that  the 
general  government  should  assume  the 
war  debts  of  States. 

This  plan  met  with  considerable  oppo- 
sition at  first,  but  was  at  length  adopted. 
!t  was  also  arranged  that  the  revenue  of 
the  country  should  be  divided  as  follows : 
As  the  control  of  commerce  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Congress  the  revenue 
derived  from  the  duties  levied  upon  im-  ^ 
ported  merchandise  was  to  be  applied  to 
the  uses  of  the  general  government.  The 
proceeds  of  the  direct  taxes  upon  real 
estate  and  other  property,  which  could 
be  levied  only  by  the  respective  States, 
were  to  be  used  for  the  expenses  of  those 
States. 

It  had  been  for  some  time  considered 
desirable  to  remove  the  seat  of  federal 
government  to  some  point  more  central 
than  New  York,  and  which  could  be  brought 
under  the  supreme  control  of  Congress.     In 
1790  it  was  resolved  that  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment be  fixed  at  Philadelphiafor  ten  years,  and 
at  the  end  of  that  time  be  removed  to  a  new- 
city  to  be  built  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac. 
A  federal  district,  ten  miles  square,  was  ob- 
tained by  cession  from   Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, and  was  placed  under  the  sole  control 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMIXISTR.VTION. 
and 


487 


the  "  Father  of  his  country,"  were  laid  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Potomac,  a  short  dis- 
tance below  the  falls  of  that  river,  and  build- 
ings for  the  accommodation  of  the  general 
government  were  begun  and  pushed  forward 
as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  general  government  was  removed  to 
Philadelphia  in  1791,  and  in  December  of 
that  year  the  second  Congress  began  its 
sessions  in  that  city.  The  principal  measure 
of  this  session  was  the  e.stablishment  of  the 


GEORGE   W.\SHINGTON. 

Bank  of  the  United  States,  in  accordance 
with  the  recommendations  of  Alexander 
Hamilton.  The  bank  was  chartered  for 
twenty  years,  and  its  capital  was  ten  millions 
of  dollars,  of  which  the  government  took 
two  millions  and  private  individuals  the  re- 
mainder. The  measure  was  carried  in  the 
face  of  considerable  opposition  in  Congress, 
but  was  very  beneficial   to  the  government. 


of  the  United  States.     The  foundations  of  a  j  as  well  as   to  the  general   business  of  the 
new  city,  named  Washington,  in   honor  of  I  country.       The    notes    of    the    bank    were 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR 
ilver  upon  presentation 


payable  in  gold  and 
at  its  counters. 

Commerce  now  began  to  show  signs  of  a 
great  revival  from  tiie  stagnation  and  loss 
caused  by  the  war.  The  duties  levied  upon 
foreign  goods  gave  to  domestic  manufac- 
turers an  opportunity'  to  place  themselves 
upon  a  firmer  foundation.  Very  great  im- 
provements were  made  in  the  character  of 
American  manufactures.     In   New  England 


iiiioiiil 


i^^jL 


INDI.\N    CHILD    IN    CR.\DLE. 

the  weaving  of  cotton  and  woolen  goods  was 
begun,  in  a  feeble  way  it  is  true,  but  the 
foundation  was  laid  of  that  great  industry 
which  has  since  been  a  constant  and  grow- 
ing source  of  wealth  to  that  section. 

In  1790  the  first  census  of  the  United 
States  was  taken,  and  showed  the  population 
to  be  3,929,827  souls. 

The  Indians  of  the  northwest  had  been 
very    troublesome    for    some    time.      The 


British  agents  in  that  region  incited  them  to 
hostility  against  the  United  States,  and 
urged  them  to  claim  the  Ohio  as  their 
southern  and  eastern  boundary'.  They  com- 
mitted innumerable  outrages  along  this  river 
and  almost  put  a  stop  to  the  trade  upon  its 
waters  by  attacking  and  plundering  the  flat- 
boats  of  the  emigrants  and  traders  which 
were  constantly  descending  the  river.  The 
general  government  resolved  to  put  a  stop 
to  their  outrages,  and  General  Harmer  was 
sent  against  them  in  1 790,  but  was  defeated 
with  great  loss. 

"  Little  Turtle  "  Defeats  St.  Clair. 

In  1 79 1  General  St.  Clair,  the  governor 
of  the  northwest  territory,  was  placed  in 
command  of  an  expedition  against  the 
savages.  He  set  out  from  Fort  Washing- 
ton, now  Cincinnati,  about  the  middle  of 
September,  with  a  force  of  two  thousand 
men,  but  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Wabash 
was  surprised  and  defeated  by  an  Indian 
force  under  Little  Turtle,  a  famous  chief  of 
the  Miamis.  The  wreck  of  his  army  fled  to 
Fort  Washington,  and  the  frontier  was  once 
more  defenceless. 

President  Washington  now  placed  General 
Anthony  Wayne  in  command  of  the  forces 
destined  to  operate  against  the  Indians. 
With  his  usual  energy  Wayne  assembled  his 
army  at  Fort  Washington,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1794  marched  into  the  Indian  countrj-, 
laid  it  waste  and  defeated  the  Indian  tribes 
in  the  battle  of  the  Maumee  on  the  twentieth 
of  August.  In  the  summer  of  1795  the 
Indians,  cowed  by  their  defeat  and  alarmed 
by  the  withdrawal  of  the  British  from  the 
frontier  posts,  met  General  Wayne  at  his 
camp  on  the  Miami  and  entered  into  a 
treaty  with  the  United  States  by  which  they 
ceded  all  the  eastern  and  southern  part  of 
Ohio  to  the  whites  and  withdrew  farther 
westward. 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


489 


In  the  elections  of  1792  Washington  and 
Adams  were  chosen  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  for  a  second 
term  of  four  years.  The  disputes  which  had 
been  begun  by  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion had  been  continued  during  the  first 
term  of  Washington's  presidency,  and  had 
given  rise  to  two  political  parties — the 
Federalists,  or  those  who  favor  a  strong 
national  government,  and  who  supported  the 
administration,  and  the  Anti-Federalists,  who 
opposed  the  policy  of  the  administration. 
Among  the  leaders  of  the  Federalist  party 
were  Washington,  Adams,  Hamilton  and 
Jay ;  among  the  Anti-Federalist  leaders 
were  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Monroe. 

Reign  of  Terror  in  France. 

The  differences  between  Jefferson  and 
Hamilton  increased  with  time,  and  soon  as- 
sumed the  character  of  a  personal  hostility, 
a  circumstance  which  was  productive  of  great 
trouble  to  the  president,  since  it  prevented 
his  cabinet  from  acting  harmoniously.  As 
the  quarrel  deepened,  the  Anti-Federalist 
party  repudiated  that  title,  and  took  the  name 
of  Republican,  as  it  better  expressed  their 
principles.  The  political  questions  entered 
largely  into  the  second  election,  and  pre- 
vented Mr.  Adams  from  receiving  the  unani- 
mous vote  which  was  given  to  Washington. 

Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  Wash- 
ington's first  term  of  office,  the  French  revo- 
lution broke  out,  and  drew  upon  France  the 
attention  of  the  whole  world.  The  events  of 
this  great  struggle  were  watched  with  the 
deepest  interest  in  America,  for  the  nation 
cherished  the  warmest  sentiments  of  grati- 
tude to  France  for  her  aid  in  the  revolution. 
The  Republican  party  urgently  favored  an 
alliance  with  the  French  republic,  but 
Washington  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
cabinet  were  resolved  to  maintain  a  strict 
neutrality  as  to  all  European  quarrels. 


The  excesses  of  the  revolutionists  shocked 
the  public  sentiment  of  America,  and  the 
events  of  the  reign  of  terror  cooled  the  zeal 
of  many  of  the  most  ardent  friends  of  the 
French  republic.  Still  party  feeling  ran 
high  upon  the  subject,  and  the  disputes  were 
yet  verj.'  bitter  when  Mr.  Edmond  Charles 
Genet,  or  "  Citizen  Genet,"  as  he  was  gen- 
erally styled,  arrived  in  the  United  States,  in 
1793,  as  minister  from  the  French  republic. 
He  brought  the  news  that  France  had  de- 
clared war  with  Great  Britain.     He  was  well 


ALEXANDtK    IIWIILION 


received  by  the  Republicans,  who  were 
anxious  that  the  United  States  should  become 
the  ally  of  France,  and  thus  engage  in  anew 
war  with  Great  Britain. 

Washington  and  his  cabinet  were  unmoved 
by  this  clamor,  and  a  proclamation  was  issued 
declaring  the  neutrality  of  the  United  States 
in  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France, 
and  warning  the  American  people  to  refrain 
from  the  commission  of  acts  inconsistent 
with  this  neutrality.  The  firmness  of  the 
President    in    resisting    the  demand  for  an 


490 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


alliance  with  France  saved  the  country  from 
innumerable  losses,  perhaps  from  the  des- 
truction of  the  work  of  the  revolution. 

Genet,  encouraged  by  the  sympathy  of  the 
Republican  party,  was  determined  to  embroil 
the  United  States  with  Great  Britain  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  would  be  compelled  to 
make  common  cause  with  France.  He 
therefore  began  to  fit  out  privateers  from 
American  ports  against  the  commerce  of 
England.     He  was  warned  b\-  the  govern- 


ment  that  he  was  transcending  his  privileges 
as  a  minister  of  a  friendly  power,  but  paid  no 
attention  to  this  rebuke.  The  Republican 
1  arty  now  took  a  more  active  stand  in  favor 
<f  the  French  alliance,  and  its  more  ultra 
members  assumed  the  name  of  Democrats, 
and  others  styled  themselves  Democratic 
Republicans.  The  determination  of  Presi- 
dent Washington  not  to  interfere  in  the 
quarrels  of  Europe  was  vehemently  assailed, 
and  the  newspapers  of  this  party  went  so  far 


as  to  denounce  the  President  and  his  sup- 
porters as  the  enemies  of  France,  and  the 
friends  and  secret  supporters  of  their  old  op- 
pressor, the  king  of  England. 

Genet  was  greatly  deceived  by  these 
clamors,  which  he  mistook  for  the  sentiment 
of  the  American  people.  He  took  a  step  fur- 
ther, and  authorized  the  French  consuls  in 
the  American  ports  to  receive  and  sell  ves- 
sels captured  by  French  cruisers  from  the 
English,  with  whom  the  United  States  were 
at  peace.  He  also  contemplated  raising  a 
force  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  for  the 
purpose  of  seizing  Florida,  and  another  in 
Kentucky  for  the  conquest  of  Louisiana, 
both  of  which  regions  were  then  held  by 
Spain,  a  power  friendly  to  the  United  States. 
The  patience  of  the  President  having  been 
exhausted  by  Genet's  insolent  conduct, 
W'ashington  requested  the  French  govern- 
ment to  recall  him,  which  it  did  in  1794, 
much  to  the  astonishment  of  citizen  Genet. 
]\I.  Fauchet  was  appointed  in  his  place. 
Genet  did  not  return  home,  but  became  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Whiskey  Tax  Unpopular. 

The  impunity  with  which  Genet  had  braved 
the  federal  government  gave  rise  to  fears 
that  it  was  not  strong  enough  to  enforce  its 
authority.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  feel- 
ing in  an  unexpected  quarter.  The  fertile 
region  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  watered  by 
by  the  Monongahela  and  its  tributaries,  had 
been  settled  by  a  hardy  population,  chiefly 
of  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  who  had  with 
great  labor  and  amid  constant  exposure  to 
the  attacks  of  the  Indians,  redeemed  the 
land  from  the  wilderness,  and  covered  it 
with  thriving  farms  and  orchards.  Grain 
and  apples  and  peaches  were  their  staple 
products ;  the  grain  was  distilled  into 
whiskey,  and  the  fruits  were  made  into 
brandies. 


WASHINGTON'S   ADMINISTRATION 


One  of  Hamilton's  favorite  measures  for 
the  raising  of  a  revenue  was  the  imposition 
of  an  excise  or  duty  upon  whiskey.  This  tax 
was  generally  unpopular  throughout  the 
countr)',  but  especially  so  in  the  four  western 
counties  of  Pennsylvania.  The  settlers  of 
this  region  organized  themselves  in  secret 
societies  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  this  tax, 
and  at  length,  in  1792,  rose  in  rebellion 
against  the  government,  refused  to  pay  the 
tax,  and  drove  off  the  excise  officers.  The 
best  men  in  this  section  were  engaged  in  the 
rebellion,  and  it  was  openly  proposed  to 
separate  from  Pennsylvania  and  form  a  new 
State.  Nearly  seven  thousand  armed  men 
assembled,  and  declared  their  intention  to 
resist  the  authority  of  the  State  and  federal 
governments. 

England  'lurcatens  Our  Commerce. 

Matters  remained  in  this  condition  for 
about  two  years,  and  at  length  Washington, 
finding  it  necessary  to  employ  force  for  the 
suppression  of  the  revolt,  sent  a  strong  body 
of  troops  to  compel  the  rebels  to  submit. 
Upon  the  appearance  of  the  troops,  the  leaders 
of  the  movement  fled,  and  the  "  Whiskey 
Insurrection "  suddenly  came  to  an  end. 
This  vigorous  action  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment greatly  added  to  its  strength. 

The  fidelity  with  which  Washington  sought 
to  discharge  his  dut>^  towards  England,  as  a 
neutral,  was  but  little  appreciated  by  the 
government  of  that  country,  which  con- 
ducted itself  towards  the  United  States  in  a 
manner  that  seemed  likely  to  result  in  an. 
other  war.  By  the  treaty  of  Paris  England 
had  agreed  to  surrender  the  frontier  posts 
held  by  her  forces  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States.  These  were  still  retained, 
and  were  made  by  the  British  agents  so 
many  centres  for  stirring  up  the  Indians  to 
acts  of  hostility  against  the  Americans. 
Orders    were    issued    to    the    British     navi'l 


49 1 

officers  to  seize  and  detain  all  vessels  laden 
with  French  goods,  or  with  provisions  for 
any  of  the  French  colonies.  As  the  Ameri- 
can ships  were  largely  engaged  in  trade  with 
France  and  her  colonies,  this  order  threat- 
ened the  commerce  of  the  States  with  ruin. 
The  feeling  of  indignation  against  Eng- 
land, caused  by  these  outrages,  was  increasing 
throughout  the  Union,  and  the  country  was 
rapidly  drifting  into  a  war  with  that  king- 
dom.    The    interests  of  the    United   States 


M^mA 


demanded  peace  with  all  the  world,  as  the 
country  was  yet  too  weak  and  unsettled  to 
endure  another  war  with  safety.  This  neces- 
sity was  recognized  by  Washington  and  his 
advisers,  and  the  constant  aim  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  all  com- 
plications which  might  lead  to  war.  The 
conduct  of  Great  Britain  could  not  be  passed 
by,  and  if  a  settlement  of  the  matter,  con- 
sistent with  the  honor  and  interests  of  the 
republic  could  not  be  arranged,  war  was  in- 
evitable. 


492 


FROM    Tin-:    REVOLUTION   TO    THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Anxious  to  exhaust  all  peaceful  means  of 
settlement,  President  Washington  sent  John 
Jay,  the  chief  justice,  to  England  to  enter 
into  negotiations  with  the  British  govern- 
ment for  the  settlement  of  all  matters  in  dis- 
pute between  the  two  countries.  Mr.  Jay 
was  eminently  qualified  for  the  task,  both  by 
his  remarkable  abilities  and  his  great  and 
honorable  services  to  the  country  since  the 
outbreak  of  the  revolution.  He  was  received 
in  England  with   great  respect,  and  in  the 


^^^''^^-^^X.>'^<:f 


course  of  a  few  months  concluded  a  treaty, 
which  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  for  ratification.  By  the  terms 
of  this  treaty  Great  Britain  agreed  to  give  up 
the  western  posts  within  two  years,  to  grant 
to  American  vessels  the  privilege  of  trading 
with  the  West  Indies  upon  certain  condi- 
rions,  and  to  admit  American  ships  free  of 
restrictions  to  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  English  East  Indian  possessions.  On 
the  other  hand  provision   was  made  by  the 


United  States  for  the  collection  of  debts  due 
British  merchants  by  American  citizens. 

This  treaty  did  not  please  any  party 
entirely,  not  even  Mr.  Jay  himself;  but  it 
was  the  best  that  could  be  obtained  from 
Great  Britain  at  the  time,  and  as  such  was 
accepted  by  the  administration,  which  threw 
all  its  influence  in  favor  of  its  adoption.  It 
met  with  very  great  opposition  in  the  Senate 
and  subjected  the  president  to  a  great  deal 
of  adverse  criticism  throughout  the  country. 
One  of  the  powerful  advocates  of  the  treaty 
was  Fisher  Ames,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
did  much  by  his  resistless  eloquence  to 
insure  the  adoption  of  the  measure.  After 
a  fortnight's  debate  in  secret  session  the 
Senate  advised  the  ratification  of  the  treaty. 

The  Treaty    Secures  Peace. 

The  acceptance  of  this  treaty,  imperfect 
and  unsatisfactory  as  it  was,  secured  peace 
to  the  United  States  for  a  number  of  years 
at  this  most  critical  period  of  its  historj-. 
In  1/95  treaties  were  also  negotiated  with 
Spain,  by  which  the  boundaries  between  the 
United  States  and  Louisiana  and  Florida 
were  definitely  settled.  The  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  was  made  free  to  both  parties, 
and  the  Americans  were  granted  the  privi- 
lege of  making  New  Orleans,  for  three 
years,  the  place  of  deposit  for  their  trade. 

The  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
which  was  increasing  rapidly,  was  confined 
chiefly  to  the  New  England  States.  A  lucra- 
tive trade  with  the  countries  of  Europe 
bordering  the  Mediterranean  had  grown  up, 
but  was  greatly  interfered  with  by  the 
Algerine  pirates,  who  sallied  out  from  their 
harbors  on  the  African  coast  and  captured 
many  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade 
and  sold  the  crews  into  slavery.  The 
European  powers  had  purchased  exemption 
from  these  outrages  by  paying  an  annual 
tribute  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers.     The  United 


WASHINGTON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


493 


States  for  the  present  thought  it  best  to 
follow  the  universal  custom,  and  ransomed 
the  captive  American  sailors  by  the  payment 
of  nearly  a  million  of  dollars.  At  the  same 
time  the  more  sensible  policy  of  establishing  a 
navy  for  the  protection  of  American  com- 
merce was  resolved  upon,  and  in  1795  a  bill 
was  passed  by  Congress  for  the  construction 
of  six  first-class  frigates.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  United  States  navy^. 

Mr.  Jefferson  had  retired  from  the  cabinet 
at  the  close  of  1793, 
and    after    his    with- 
drawal party  quarrels 
ran  higher  than  e\  er 
The  motives  and  on 
duct  of  the  Presid(.nt 
were  denounced  w  ith 
rreat  bitterness  by  hi 
opponents,  and  he  \\  1 
subjected  to  considi. 
able  annoyance   t 
these  attacks      H 
continued  with   firn 
ness    the    course    he 
had  marked  out    for 
himself,    trustmg     to 
time    and    the     good 
sense  of  his  countr\ 
men  for  his  vmdi<_  i 
tion.     In    Septembc 
1796,  he  issued  a  fare 
well    address   to   the 

people  of  the  United  States,  in  which  he 
announced  his  purpose  to  retire  from  public 
life  at  the  close  of  his  second  term,  and 
delivered  to  his  countrymen  such  counsels 
and  admonitions  as  he  deemed  suited  to 
their  future  guidance.  It  was  the  warn- 
ing of  a  father  to  his  children  engaged 
in  a  difficult  and  all-important  undertak- 
ing. 

It  had   a  most  happy  effect.      It  brought 
up  the  memory  of  the   great  and   unselfish 


services  of  Washington,  and  enabled  his 
countrymen  to  see  him  in  his  true  light. 
The  gratitude  of  the  nation,  which  had  been 
long  obscured  by  party  passions,  burst  forth 
in  a  mighty  stream,  and  from  every  quarter 
came  evidences  of  the  affection  and  venera- 
tion of  the  American  people  for  their  great 
leader.  Congress  adopted  a  reply  to  the 
farewell  address,  expressing  the  highest  con- 
fidence in  the  wisdom  and  integrity  of 
Washmgton     and     dunng    the    wmter    of 


sCENP     I\    THE    M\M\IOTH    C  V\  E     kE\TLCK\ 

1796-97    nearly   all   the   State    legislatures- 
adopted  similar  resolutions. 

At  the  elections  held  in  the  fall  of  1796 
the  Federalists  put  forward  John  Adams  as 
their  candidate,  while  the  Republicans  sup- 
ported Thomas  Jefferson.  The  contest  was 
very  bitter,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Adams.  Mr.  Jefferson,  receiving  the 
ne.Kt  highest  number  of  votes,  was  declared 
Vice  President,  in  accordance  with  the  law 
as  it  then  stood. 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


494 

During  the  administration  of  President 
Washington  three  new  States  were  admitted 
into  the  Union,  making  the  whole  number 
of  States  sixteen.  They  were  Vermont, 
which  was  admitted  on  the  fourth  of  March, 
1791,  making  tlie  first  new  State  under  the 
fconstitution  ;  Kentuck}-,  which  was  admitted 


of  the  presidency  the  government  was  new 
and  untried,  and  its  best  friends  doubted  its 
ability  to  exist  long ;  the  finances  were  in 
confusion  and  the  country  was  burdened 
with  debt;  the  disputes  with  Great  Britain 
threatened  to  involve  the  country  in  a  new 
war ;   and  the  authority  of  the  general  gov- 


WASHINGTON  S    HOME    AT    MOUNT   VERNON. 


In    1792  ;    and   Tennessee,  admitted    on  the 
first  of  June,  1796. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  of  office,  Wash- 
ington withdrew  to  his  home  at  Mount  Ver- 
non, to  enjoy  the  repose  he  had  so  well 
earned,  and  which  was  so  grateful  to  him. 
His  administration  had  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful.    When  he  entered  upon  the  duties 


ernnicnt  was  uncertain  and  scarcely  recog- 
nized. 

When  he  left  office  the  state  of  affairs 
was  changed.  The  government  had  been 
severely  tested  and  had  been  found  equal 
to  any  demand  made  upon  it ;  the  finances 
had  been  placed  upon  a  safe  and  healthy 
footing,  and  the    debt    of  the  country  had 


WASIIINGTOXS  ADMINISTRATION. 


495 


been  adjusted  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties 
concerned  in  it.  The  disputes  with  England 
had  been  arranged,  and  the  country,  no 
longer  threatened  with  war,  was  free  to 
devote  its  energies  to  its  improvement. 
Industry  and  commerce  were  growing  rap- 
idly. The  exports  from  the  United  States 
had  risen  from  nineteen  millions  to  over  fifty- 
six  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  imports  had 


increased  in  nearly  the  same  proportion. 
The  rule  of  non-interference  in  Euroijcan 
quarrels,  and  of  cultivating  friendly  relations 
with  all  the  world,  had  become  the  settled 
policy  of  the  republic,  and  its  wisdom  had 
been  amply  vindicated.  The  progress  of 
the  republic  during  the  eight  years  of  Wash- 
ington's administration  was  indeed  gratify- 
ing, and  gave  promise  of  a  brilliant  future. 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

The  Administrations  of  John  Adams  and 
Thomas  Jefferson 

Inanguraljon  of  John  Adams — Aggressions  of  France  Upon  the  United  States— The  American  Commissioners  Insulted 
by  the  French  Government— The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws— The  Unite  1  States  Prepare  for  War  with  France— France 
Signifies  Her  Willingness  to  Treat — New  Commissioners  Appointed — Settlement  of  the  Dispute — He 
Capture  of  the  "  lusurgente "  and  "Vengeance" — Death  of  Washii 


-Removal  of  the  Capitol  to  Washingto 


City The  Second  Census — Inauguration  of  Thomas  Jefferson — The  President's  Message — His  First  Measures — Ad- 
mission of  Ohio — Louisiana  Purchased  by  the  United  States — War  with  the  Barbary  Powers^Burning  of  the  "  Phila- 
delphia"  Re-election  of  Mr.   Jefferson — Aaron  Burr  Kills  Alexander   Hamilton   in   a   Duel — Burr's  Subsequent 

Career Fulton's   Steamboat — Outrages   of    England   and   France    Upon  American    Commerce — American   Vessels 

Searched  and  -Vmerican  Seamen  Impressed  by  England — Efforts  to  Settle  These  Questions — Affair  of  the  "  Chesa- 
peake "  and  "  Leopard  " — The  Embargo — Results  of  This  Measure — Losses  of  the  Eastern  States — Election  of  James 
Madison  to  the  Presidency — Repeal  of  the  Embai^o — Retirement  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 


ON  the  fourth  of  March,  1797,  John 
Adams  was  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  took  the  oath 
of  office  as  Vice  President.  Mr.  Adams  was 
in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age,  and  in  the 
full  vigor  of  health  and  intellect.  He  made 
no  changes  in  the  cabinet  left  by  President 
Washington,  and  the  policy  of  his  adminis- 
tration corresponded  throughout  with  that 
of  his  great  predecessor.  He  came  into  office 
at  a  time  when  this  policy  was  to  be  subjected 
to  the  severest  test,  and  was  to  be  triumph- 
antly vindicated  by  the  trial.  Mr.  Adams 
began  his  official  career  with  the  declaration 
of  his  "determination  to  maintain  peace  and 
inviolate  faith  with  all  nations,  and  neutrality 
and  impartiality  with  the  belligerent  powers 
of  Europe." 

The  relations  of  the  United  States  with 
France  had  been  of  an  unfriendly  nature  for 
some  time.  Jay's  treaty  had  greatly  offended 
th^  French  government,  and  the  insolent 
conduct  of  M.  Adet,  the  French  minister  to 
the  United  States,  had  led  to  a  suspension 
of  diplomatic  intercourse  between  the  two 

496 


republics.  The  French  Directory  now  pro- 
ceeded to  manifest  its  disregard  of  the  rights 
of  America  by  ordering  the  seizure  of  all 
American  vessels  in  its  ports  laden  with 
English  manufactured  goods.  At  the  same 
time  the  American  .  minister  to  France, 
Charles  C.  Pinckney,  was  treated  with  such 
studied  insult  that  he  demanded  his  pass- 
ports and  withdrew  to  Holland.  Privateers 
were  sent  out  from  French  ports,  which  cap- 
tured American  merchantmen  and  treated 
their  crews  as  prisoners  of  war. 

France  also  exerted  her  influence  with 
Spain  and  Holland  to  induce  them  to  treat 
the  United  States  with  hostility  because  of 
the  alleged  partiality  of  Jay's  treaty  with 
Great  Britain.  All  this  while  there  was  a 
considerable  party  in  the  United  States 
which  was  anxious  for  the  conclusion  of  an 
alliance  with  P" ranee,  and  which  either  could 
not,  or  would  not,  see  the  deliberate  purpose 
of  that  country  to  treat  with  the  American 
republic  only  as  a  dependent. 

In  May,  1797,  President  Adams  called 
a  special  session  of  Congress  and  laid  before 
it  a  statement  of  the  relations  with  France. 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   ADAMS   AND    JEFFERSON. 


The  announcement  of  the  insults  received  by 
the  American  minister  at  the  hands  of  the 
Directory,  and  the  increased  aggressions 
upon  American  commerce,  aroused  a  feeling 
of  deep  indignation  throughout  the  country, 
and  drew  upon  the  partisans  of  France  in 
America  a  considerable  amount  of  deserved 
odium. 

In  the  hope  that  a  peaceful  and  honorable 
settlement  might  yet  be  had,  John  Marshall 
and  Eldridge  Gerry,  the  former  a  federalist 
and  the  latter  a  republican,  were  appointed 
special  commissioners,  and  were  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Paris  and  unite  with  Mr.  Pincknej,' 
in  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty  which  should 
not  conflict  with  those  existing  with  other 
nations,  and  which  should  place  beyond 
question  the  right  of  the  United  States  to 
maintain  their  neutrality. 

"  Not  One  Cent  for  Tribute." 

Marshall  and  Gerry  joined  Pinckney  in 
Paris  in  October,  1798,  and  made  their  busi- 
ness known  to  the  French  minister  of  foreign 
affairs,  the  famous  Talleyrand.  He  at  first 
refused  to  receive  the  American  envoys  in  an 
official  capacity,  and  afterwards  employed 
unknown  agents  to  communicate  with  them, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  free  to  disavow  any 
engagement  entered  into  with  them.  It  soon 
transpired  that  the  object  of  these  secret  in- 
terviews was  to  extort  money  from  the  com- 
missioners. They  were  given  to  understand 
that  if  they  would  pay  Talleyrand  a  certain 
sum  of  money  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his 
friends,  and  would  pledge  the  United  States 
to  make  a  loan  to  France,  negotiations  would 
be  begun  without  delay. 

The  answer  of  the  American  commission- 
ers was  well  expressed  in  the  indignant  words 
of  Pinckney  :  "  Millions  for  defence,  not  one 
cent  for  tribute."  Marshall  and  Pinckney 
were  ordered  to  quit  France  at  once,  but  Mr. 
Gerry  was  invited  to  remain  and  negotiate  a 


497 

treaty.  He  was  nevertheless  unable  to  accom- 
plish anything.  The  correspondence  between 
the  commissioners  and  Talleyrand's  agents 
was  published  in  thi  United  States,  and 
aroused  such  a  storm  of  indignation  that  the 
French  party  disappeared.  It  never  dared  to 
make  its  appearance  again. 


-^^^^^ 


JOHN    ADA.MS. 

About  thirty  thousand  French  exiles  were 
residing  in  the  United  States  at  this  time, 
and  it  was  believed  by  the  government  that 
some  of  these  had  acted  as  spies  for  the 
Directory.  It  was  known  that  many  had 
abused  the  hospitality  extended  to  them  by 
seeking  to  induce  the  people  of  the  south 
and  west  to  join  them  in  an  effort  to  wrest 
Louisiana  and  Florida  from  Spain,  and  by 
endeavoring  to  strengthen  the  opposition  to 
the  efforts  of  the  government  to  discharge  its 
duty  of  neutrality  towards  the  European 
powers. 

In  the  spring  of  1798,  in  order  to  remedy 
this  trouble.  Congress  passed  the  measures 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


498 

known  as  the  "  alien  and  sedition  acts,"  by 
the  first  of  which  the  President  was  em- 
powered to  order  out  of  the  country  "  any 
foreigner  whom  he  might  believ^e  to  be  dan- 
gerous to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  United 
States."  By  the  sedition  act  it  was  made  a 
crime,  with  a  very  heavy  penalty,  for  any  one 
to  "  to  write,  utter,  or  publish  "  any  "  false, 
scandalous,  and  malicious  writing  "  against 
"either  House  of  the  Cvingress  of  the  United 
States  or  the  President  of  the  United  States, 


JOHN    MARSHALL. 

with  intent  to  defame,  or  to  bring  them,  or 
either  of  them,  into  contempt  and  disrepute." 
These  acts  met  with  great  opposition  through- 
out the  country,  and  the  latter  especially  was 
regarded  as  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
government  to  destroy  the  freedom  of  the 
press. 

The  alien  act  was  not  executed,  but  a  large 
number  of  foreigners  left  the  country  soon 
after  its  passage.  Several  persons  were  pro- 
secuted under  the  sedition  act  for  their  severe 


criticisms  of  the  government,  and  the  result 
was  invariably  to  increase  the  ranks  of  the 
Republican  party,  which  steadfastly  opposed 
the  laws  as  unconstitutional  and  violative  of 
the  freedom  of  the  people  of  the  Union; 

In  the  summer  of  1798  Mr.  Marshall 
returned  fron:  France,  and  his  report  con- 
firmed the  statements  that  had  been  made 
respecting  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  country.  The  President 
submitted  to  Congress  a  statement  of  the 
disputes  between  the  two  republics,  and 
Congress,  recognizing  the  danger  of  war, 
began  to  prepare  for  it.  It  was  resolved  f:o 
create  a  navy,  and  the  three  frigates  just  com- 
pleted were  fitted  for  sea. 

A  State  of   Defence. 

The  President  was  authorized  to  nave 
built,  or  to  purchase  or  hire  twelve  ships  of 
war  of  twenty  guns  each.  An  army  was 
ordered  to  be  raised,  and  the  prominent 
points  on  the  coast  were  to  be  placed  in  a 
state  of  defence.  Washington  was  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  with  the 
rank  of  Lieutenant-General.  He  accepted 
the  position,  and  applied  himself  with  energy 
to  the  task  of  preparing  the  country  for 
defence.  He  gave  a  hearty  support  to  the 
measures  of  the  President,  and  used  his  great 
influence  to  secure  for  them  a  similar  approval 
on  the  part  of  the  people.  In  the  winter  of 
1798-99  Congress  appropriated  a  million  of 
dollars  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  military 
preparations,  and  authorized  the  construc- 
tion of  si.K  ships  of  war  of  seventy-four  guns 
each,  and  six  sloops  of  war  of  eighteen  guns 
each. 

The  energy  and  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  Americans  prepared  for  war  opened  the 
eyes  of  Talleyrand.  He  had  not  supposed 
they  would  fight,  and  now  that  he  found 
they  would,  he  was  not  willing  to  add  to  the 
difficulties  of  France  by  engaging  in  a  new 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   ADAMS    AND   JEFFERSON. 


war.  He  therefore  signified  in  an  informal 
manner  to  Mr.  Van  Murray,  the  United 
States  minister  in  Holland,  that  the  French 
government  was  willing  to  renew  diplomatic 
intercourse  with  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Adams,  upon  being  informed  of  this,  resolved 
to  make  one  more  effort  to  secure  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  the  quarrel. 

A  Council  of  Peace. 

He  sent  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States;  William  R.  Davie  and 
William  Van  Murray,  minister  to  Holland, 
as  commissioners  to  treat  with  the  French 
republic  for  a  settlement  of  all  difficulties 
between  the  two  countries.  In  taking  this 
step  he  greatly  offiended  many  of  the  leaders 
of  his  party,  who  insisted  that  overtures  for 
peace  should  come  from  France.  The  most 
rational  and  probable  solution  of  Mr.  Adams' 
course,  in  the  absence  of  direct  proof,  says 
,tlie  Hon.  A.  H.  Stephens,  "  is  that  he  acted 
i  under  the  urgent  private  advice  of  Washing- 
ton. Be  that  as  it  may,  it  proved  to  be  one 
of  the  wisest  and  most  beneficent  deeds  of 
his  life."  The  commissioners  were  ordered 
by  the  president  not  to  enter  France  unless 
they  were  assured  they  would  be  received  in 
a  "  manner  befitting  the  commissioners  of 
an  independent  nation." 

Upon  reaching  Paris  the  commissioners 
found  that  a  great  change  had  taken  place 
in  the  affairs  of  France.  A  revolution  had 
unseated  the  Directory,  and  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte was  at  the  head  of  the  government  as 
first  consul.  Commissioners  were  appointed 
to  meet  the  American  envoys,  and  negotia- 
tions were  begun  and  carried  forward  with 
'such  success  that  on  the  thirtieth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1800,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
between  the  United  States  and  France. 

In  the  meantime,  though  war  was  not 
actually  declared,  hostilities  had  begun. 
More  tlian    three  hundred   merchant  vessels 


499 

were  licensed  to  carry  arms  for  their  defence. 
On  the  ninth  of  February,  1799,  the  Ameri- 
can frigate  "Constellation"  captured  the 
French  frigate"  LTnsurgente,"  of  about  equal 
force,  after  a  severe  engagement  of  an  hour 
and  a  quarter,  inflicting  upon  her  a  severe 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded.  Somewhat  later 
the  "Constellation  "  encountered  the  French 
frigate  "La  Vengeance,"  of  superior  force, 
and  in  an  engagement  of  about  five  hours' 
duration  silenced  her  fire  and  inflicted  upon 
her  a  loss  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  men 
in  killed  and  wounded.  The  French  vessel 
succeeded  in  making  her  escape.  These 
successes  were  very  gratifying  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  they  showed  what  their  navy  could 
accomplish  if  given  a  fair  trial.  The  news 
of  the  conclusion  of  peaee  put  a  stop  to 
hostilities.  The  army  was  disbanded,  but 
the  navy  was  kept  afloat  and  the  coast 
defences  were  maintained. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  new  treaty  the 
country  was  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss 
of  its  most  illustrious  citizen,  George  Wash- 
ington. He  took  cold  while  riding  over  his 
estate  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  was  seized 
with  a  violent  sore  throat,  from  the  effects  ol 
which  he  died  on  the  fourteenth  of  Decern 
ber,  1799,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  hi^ 
age.  He  was  buried  in  his  family  vault  at 
Mount  Vernon,  where  his  ashes  still  lie. 

Honors  to  the  Dead  Patriot. 
The  highest  honors  were  paid  to  his 
memory  by  Congress  and  by  the  various 
State  governments,  and  in  all  parts  of  the 
Union  a  universal  mourning  was  held  for 
the  Father  of  his  Country.  Not  less  sincere  . 
were  the  tributes  paid  in  foreign  lands  to  the  ■ 
memory  of  the  illustrious  dead.  Upon  the 
receipt  of  the  sad  news  the  flags  of  tlie 
Channel  fleet  of  Great  Britain  were  placed 
at  half-mast  by  order  of  the  Admiral  Lo.-d 
Bridport,      Napoleon,   then    first  consul    of 


FROM    THE   REVOLUTION   TO    THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


France,  caused  the  standards  of  the  French 
army  to  be  draped  in  mourning  for  ten  days 
and  announced  the  news  to  the  army  in  the 
orders  of  the  day.  The  proudest  tribute  of 
all  to  the  grandeur  and  purity  of  the  charac- 
ter of  Washington  is  the  unceasing  and  ever 
increasing  love  and   veneration  with  which 


session  of  Congress  was  opened  in  the  un- 
finished Capitol  of  Washington. 

The  elections  for  President  and  Vice- 
President  were  held  in  the  autumn  of  1800. 
Mr.  Adams  was  the  Federalist  candidate  for 
the  Presidency,  and  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney    the    candidate  ot  that  party  for 


WASHINGTON  S    GRAVE 

his   country' 


MOU\i-    VERNON. 


his  memory  is   cherished   b 
men. 

During  the  summer  of  the  year  1800  the 
seat  of  the  general  government  was  removed 
from  Philadelphia  to  the  new  federal  city  of 
Washington,  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
On    the    twenty-second     of    November  the 


Vice-President.  The  Republican  or  Demo- 
cratic party  nominated  Thomas  Jefferson  for 
the  Presidcno}'.  and  Colonel  A.aron  Burr,  of 
New  York,  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

The  alieti  and  sedition  laws  had  rendered 
the  Federalist  parly  so  unoopular  that  the 
electors  chosen  at  the  pf^Us  fa-v'ed  to  make  a 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   ADAMS   AND   JEFFERSON. 


choice,  and  the  election  was  thrown  upon  the 
House  of  Representatives,  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  Constitution.  On  the  seventeenth 
ofFebruar)^,  i So i, after  thirty-six  ballots,  the 
House  elected  Thomas  Jefferson  President, 
and    Aaron    Burr    Vice-President,    of    the 


501 

capitol,  in  the  cit}-  of  Washington,  on  the 
fourth  of  March,  1801.  He  was  in  his  fifty- 
eighth  year,  and  had  long  been  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  men  in  America. 
He  was  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, had  represented  the  country  as 


^-/-^-^-^    . 


MAS    JEFFERSON. 


United  States,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  from 
and  after  the  fourth  of  March,  180 1. 

The  second  census  of  the  United  States, 
taken  in  1800,  showed  the  population  of  the 
country  to  be  5,319,762  souls. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  the  third  President  of 
the  United  States,  was  inaugurated  at  the  new 


minister  to  France,  had  served  in  the  cabinet 
of  General  Washington  as  Secretary  of  State, 
and  had  filled  the  high  office  of  Vice-Presi- 
dent during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams. 
Me  was  the  founder  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  was  regarded  by  it  with  an  enthusiastic 
devotion    which    could  see  no  flaw  in    his 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


502 

character.  By  the  Federalists  he  was  de- 
nounced with  intense  bitterness  as  a  Jacobin, 
and  an  enemy  of  organized  government.  He 
was  unquestionably  a  believer  in  the  largest 
freedom  possible  to  man,  but  he  was  too 
deeply  versed  in  the  lessons  of  statesman- 
ship, and  was  too  pure  a  patriot  to  entertain 
for  a  moment  the  levelling  principles  with 
which  his  enemies  charged  him.  Under  him 
the  government  of  the  republic  suffered  no 
diminution  of  strength,  but  his  administration 
was  a  gain  to  the  country'. 

Mr.  Jefferson  began  his  administration  by 
seeking  to  undo  as  far  as  possible  the  evil 


\\Ko\  ri\R 

effects  of  the  sedition  act  of  1798.  A  number 
of  persons  were  in  prison  in  consequence  of 
sentences  under  this  act  at  the  time  of  his 
inauguration.  These  were  at  once  pardoned 
by  the  President  and  released  from  prison. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  seventh  Congress,  in 
December,  1801,  President  Jefferson,  in  pur- 
suance of  an  announcement  made  some  time 
before,  inaugurated  the  custom  which  has 
since  prevailed  of  .sending  a  written  message 
to  each  House  of  Congress,  giving  his  views 
on  public  affairs  and  the  situation  of  the 
country.  Previous  to  this  the  President  had 
always  met  the  two  houses  upon  their  assem- 


bling, and  had  addreseed  them  in  person.  A 
strong  Democratic  majority  controlled  this 
Congress,  and  gave  a  hearty  support  to  the 
President. 

The  obnoxious  measures  of  the  last  admin- 
tration,  such  as  the  internal  taxes,  the  taxes 
on  stills,  distilled  spirits,  refined  sugars,  car- 
riages, stamped  paper,  etc.,  were  repealed. 
In  accordance  with  a  suggestion  of  the  Presi- 
dent a  period  of  naturalization  was  reduced 
from  fourteen  to  five  years.  Measures  were 
also  set  on  foot  for  the  redemption  of  the 
public  debt,  and  it  was  provided  that  seven 
millions  three  hundred  thousand  dollars 
should  be  annually  appropriated  as  a  sinking 
fund  for  that  purpose.  Another  act,  of  which 
the  wisdom  was  n<it  so  apparent,  was  passed 
for  the  reduction  of  the  army. 

Rapid  Settlement  of  Ohio. 

During  the  interval  which  had  elapsed  since 
the  orginzation  of  the  Territory  of  the  North- 
west, emigrants  had  bsen  pouring  into  the 
southern  and  eastern  part  of  it  with  great 
rapidity.  In  one  year  twenty  thousand  new 
settlers  were  added  to  the  population  of  the 
Territory  of  Ohio.  The  population  had  now 
become  so  large  that  the  eastern  part  of  the 
northwest  Territory  applied  for  admission 
into  the  Union  as  a  separate  State.  Its 
request  was  granted,  and  on  the  nineteenth 
of  February  it  was  admitted  into  the  Union, 
as  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  a  population  of 
seventy  thousand. 

In  1 801  France  by  a  secret  treaty  received 
back  from  Spain  the  Territory  of  Louisiana. 
The  French  did  not  occupy  the  country,  but 
left  it  under  Spanish  rule.  In  1803  the 
Spanish  governor  of  New  Orleans,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  treaty  of  1795,  closed  the  port  of 
New  Orleans  to  American  commerce.  This 
act  aroused  the  mo.st  intense  indignation 
among  the  people  along  the  tributaries  of- 
the  Mississippi,  who  were  thus  cut  of  from 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF  ADAMS   AND   JEFFERSON. 


the  sea,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  they 
could  be  restrained  from  an  attempt  to  take 
possession  of  Louisiana. 

Mr.  Jefferson  had  long  been  anxious  to 
obtain  for  the  United  States  the  country 
bordering  the  lower  Mississippi,  as  he  was 
convinced  that  the  power  holding  the  mouth 
of  that  river  must  of  necessity  control  the 
great  valley  through  which  it  flows.  Accord- 
ingly, Robert  R.  Livingston,  the  American 
minister  at  Paris,  was  ordered  to  open  nego- 
tiations with  the  French  government  for  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana. 

Purchase  of  Louisiana. 

He  found  this  an  easier  task  than  he  had 
expected,  for  Napoleon,  who  was  on  the  eve 
of  a  great  European  war,  was  much  in  need 
of  money,  and  was  by  no  means  anxious  to 
add  to  his  troubles  by  being  obliged  to 
defend  Louisiana.  A  bargain  was  soon  con- 
cluded by  which  the  United  States  became 
the  possessors  of  the  whole  region  of 
Louisiana,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Pacific,  embracing  over  a  million  of  square 
miles. 

The  United  States  paid  to  France  the  sum 
of  g 1 5,000,000  for  this  immense  region,  and 
guaranteed  to  the  then  inhabitants  all  the 
rights  of  American  citizens.  "  This  acces- 
sion of  territory,"  said  Napoleon,  upon  the 
completion  of  the  purchase,  "  strengthens 
forever  the  power  of  the  United  States,  and 
I  have  just  given  to  England  a  maritime  rival 
that  will  sooner  or  later  humble  her  pride.'' 

This  purchase  was  of  the  highest  import- 
ance. It  about  doubled  the  area  of  the 
United  States,  and  placed  the  whole  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  within  the  territory  of  the 
republic.  It  was  naturally  a  most  popular 
act,  and  was  approved  by  the  entire  nation, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  number  of  the 
old  Federalist  leaders.  Congress  divided 
this    great  region   into    two  territories — the 


503 

Territory  of  Orleans,  corresponding  to  the 
present  State  of  Louisiana,  and  the  District 
of  Louisiana,  comprising  the  remainder  of 
the  purchase- 
Mention  has  been  made  of  the  payment  of 
tribute  to  the  dey  of  Algiers  by  the  United 
States  during  the  administration  of  Wash- 
ington. Previous  to  1801  the  United  States 
expended  nearly  two  million  dollars  in  pur- 
chasing exemption  from  capture  for  its  mer- 
chant vessels  in  the  Mediterranean.  Th^;se 
payments    were    made   to    all    the    Barbary 


powers,  Tunis,  Tripoli,  Algiers  and  Morcetc. 
The  tribute  for  1800  was  taken  to  Algiers 
by  Captain  William  Bainbridge,  in  the  fugate 
"  George  Washington."  Nothing  could  be 
more  distasteful  to  the  gallant  Bainbndge, 
but  he  had  to  obey  orders.  While  thus 
engaged,  the  dey  of  Algiers  told  him  to  take 
the  tribute  of  the  dey  to  the  Sultan  ai  Con- 
stantinople, and  to  haul  down   his  own  flag 


504 


FROM    THE    RF.VOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


and  run  up  that  of  Algiers.     This  Bainbridge     castle  guns  in  the  harbor  held  Bainbridge  at 
refused,  whereupon  the  dey  insolently  said,  |  their  mercy,  he  took  the  advice  of  the  Amer- 


NAPOLEON    I. 


"You  are  my  slaves ;  for  if  you  are  not, 
why  do  you  pay  me  tribute  ?  I  have  the 
right   to  order   you  as   I   please."     As  the 


ican  consul  and  obeyed  the  orders  of  his 
master,  the  dcy,  but  the  captain  expressed 
the    hope    that    he   might   deliver  the    next 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF    ADAMS    AND   JEFFERSON. 


505 


tribute  from  the  throats  of  his  cannon.  As 
the  American  republic  lay  at  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  its  ships  of  war  were  not 
often  seen  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  African 
pirates  did  not  trouble  themselves  to  comply 
with  their  agreements, 
and  continued  their 
outrages  upon  Amer- 
ican ships  in  spite  of 
the  tribute  paid  them. 
In  1 80 1  the  bey  of 
Tripoli,  dissatisfied 
with  the  tribute  paid 
him,  declared  war 
against  the  United 
States,  and  a  number 
of  American  war  ves- 
sels were  sent  to  the 
Mediterranean  to  pro 
tect  the  commerce  c 
their  country  in  that 
sea.  In  1803  Com 
modore  Preble  was 
sent  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean with  a  fleet. 
The  frigate  "  Philadel- 
phia "  was  stationed 
to  blockade  Tripoli, 
while  Preble,  with  the 
remainder  of  the  ves- 
sels, sought  to  punish 
the  emperor  of  Mo- 
rocco by  an  attack  on 
Tangiers.  While  thus 
engaged  the  "  Phila- 
delphia "  ran  ashore 
in  chasing  an  Algerine 
cruiser.  In  this  help- 
less condition  she  was 
surrounded  by  Tripo- 


cers  were  held  for  ransom,  but  the  seamen 
were  reduced  to  slaver\'. 

On  the  fifth  of  February,  1 804,  Lieutenant 
Stephen    Decatur,  with    a    picked   crew    of 

seventy--:-:  ;rc:i,  entered  the  harbor  of  Tripoli 


CAPTAIN  (afterward  COMMODORE)   BAI 


IDGE  AND  THE   DEY  OF 


litan  gunboats  and  captured  after  a  fight 
which  lasted  the  entire  day.  Captain  Bain- 
bridge,  her  commander,  and  three  hundred 
of  her  crew  were  made  prisoners.     The  offi- 


in  a  small  schooner  named  the  "  Intrepid." 
Placing  his  vessel  alongside  of  the  "  Phila- 
delphia "  by  night,  he  b  ,arded  the  frigate  as 
she  lay  under  the  guns  of  tlie  castle  and  the 


5o6 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


Tripolitan  fleet,  drove  the  Turkish  crew  into 
the  sea,  set  fire  to  the  friijate  in  ever)-  part, 
and  retreated  from  the  harbor  without  the 
loss  of  a  man. 

During  the  year  1S04  the  American  fleet 
repeatedly  bombarded  Tripoli,  and  did  con- 
siderable damage  to  it.     The  war  went  on 


In  the  fall  of  1C04  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
elected  president  for  a  second  term,  but  this 
time  Colonel  Burr  was  dropped  by  his  party, 
who  nominated  and  elected  George  Clinton, 
of  New  York,  vice-president  in  his  place. 
Burr  had  at  last  experienced  the  reward  of 
his  insincerit}- :    both    parties  had  come  to 


until  the  summer  of  1805,  when  the  bey  of     distrust  him.     After  his  defeat  for  the  vice- 


DUIX    BETWEEN    BURR    AND    HAMILTON 


Tripoli  asked  for  peace,  and  a  treaty  was 
made  by  which  the  Tripolitan  pirates  sur- 
rendered their  captives  on  payment  of  a 
ransom,  and  agreed  to  refrain  from  aggres- 
sions upon  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States  in  future  without  payment  of  further 
tribute.  For  some  years  the  American  ves- 
sels were  safe  from  the  outrages  of  the 
Barbary  pirates. 


presidency  he  had  been  nominated  by  his 
party  as  their  candidate  for  governor  of  New- 
York.  He  was  warmly  opposed  by  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  who  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  bringing  about  his  deteat.  Burr 
never  forgave  Hamilton  for  his  course  in  this 
election,  and  took  advantage  of  the  first 
opportunity  to  challenge  him  to  a  duel. 
They  met   at  Weehawken,  on  the   banks  of 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   ADAMS   AND   JEFFERSON 

New  York,  on   th 


507 


the  Hudson,    opposit 
eleventh  of  July,  1S04. 

Hamilton,  who  had  accepted  the  challenge 
in  opposition  to  his  better  judgment,  and 
who  had  expressed  his  intention  not  to  fire 
at  Burr,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  died 
within  twenty-four  hours.  In  him  perished 
one  of  the  brightest  intellects  and  most  ear- 
nest patriots  of  the  republic.     His  loss  was 


remaining  years  were  passed  in  restless 
intrigue.  In  1S05  he  went  west,  and  there 
undertook  the  organization  of  a  military 
movement  of  some  sort,  which  from  the 
secrecy  with  which  it  was  conducted,  was 
generally  regarded  as  treasonable  and  in- 
tended for  his  own  aggrandizement.  In 
1S06  he  was  arrested  by  the  United  States, 
and  after  a  prolonged  trial,  during  which  he 


FULTON  S    FIRST   STEAMBOAT. 


regarded  as  second  only  to  that  of  Wash- 
ington, and  the  sad  news  of  his  death  was 
received  in  all  parts  of  the  country  with 
profound  and  unaffected  sorrow.  A  feeling 
of  deep  and  general  indignation  was  aroused 
against  Burr,  who  found  it  expedient  to 
withdraw  from  New  York  and  retire  to 
Georgia  until  the  excitement  had  subsided. 

The  murder  of  I  lamilton,  for  it  was  nothing 
else,    closed    Burr's    political    career.       His 


defended  himself  with  great  ability,  he  was 
acquitted  of  the  charge  of  treason.  His  sub- 
sequent career  was  obscure,  and  he  died  in 
1836,  friendless  and  alone.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  ability :  but  he  failed  to  put  his 
great  talents  to  an  honest  use. 

In  the  year  1807  a  great  change  was  made 
in  the  system  of  navigation  by  Robert  Ful- 
ton, a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  built  and 
successfully    navigated    the  first  steamboat.. 


So8 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


He  named  it  the  "  Clermont,"  and  made  the 
voyage  from  New  York  to  Albany,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
in  thirty-six  hours.  From  this  time  steam 
navigation  rapidly  superseded  the  old  sys- 
t'm  of  sailing  vessels  in  the  waters  of  the 
United  states  and  exercised  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  the  development  of  the  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  the  country. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  century  France 
and  England  had  been  at  war  with  each 
■other,  and  their  quarrels  had  drawn  the 
whole  European  world  into  the  struggle. 
The  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson  had 
continued  the  neutrality  of  its  predecessors, 
but  in  a  fit  of  mistaken  economy  it  exhibited 
the  greatest  hostility  to  the  navy,  which  had 
been  reduced  to  the  most  inefficient  state 
possible.  The  commerce  of  the  Union  had 
grown  with  remarkable  rapidity,  and  the 
need  of  a  navy  for  its  protection  was  now 
greater  than  ever.  The  administration 
could  not  be  brought  to  recognize  this  fact, 
however,  and  it  regarded  the  na\y  as  of  no 
■other  use  than  to  enforce  the  revenue  laws 
in  its  home  waters. 

Seizure  of  American  Vessels. 

The  general  character  of  the  European  war 
had  thrown  the  commerce  of  the  old  world 
into  the  hands  of  the  few  nations  which  were 
not  engaged  in  the  struggle.  The  United 
States  obtained  the  largest  share  of  this 
trade,  but  were  not  left  long  to  enjoy  it  in 
peace.  The  efforts  of  Great  Britain  and 
France  to  injure  each  other  had  caused  them 
to  extend  their  attacks  to  neutral  nations. 
The  British  government,  by  its  "orders  in 
council,"  declared  all  vessels  engaged  in 
conveying  West  India  produce  from  the 
United  States  to  Europe  legal  prizes. 

This  measure  was  intended  to  cripple 
France,  and  at  the  same  time  to  injure  the 
United  States,  which   had  become  too  suc- 


cessful a  commercial  rival  to  England.  A 
number  of  American  vessels  were  seized  and 
condemned  upon  this  pretext.  Great  indig- 
nation was  expressed  throughout  the  United 
States,  but  the  government  did  nothing  to 
remedy  the  trouble.  In  May,  1806,  Great 
Britain  declared  the  European  coast,  from 
Brest  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Elbe,  in  a 
state  of  blockade,  thus  forbidding  neutral 
vessels  to  trade  with  any  port  within  these 
prescribed  limits  on  pain  of  capture  and  con- 
fiscation. This  high-handed  measure  was  a 
direct  blow  to  the  United  States. 

Mutterings  of  War. 

It  was  met  on  the  part  of  France  by  an 
act  equally  unjustifiable.  Napoleon  issued 
his  famous  "  Berlin  decree,"  by  which  he 
declared  the  whole  coast  of  Great  Britain  in 
a  state  of  blockade,  and  forbade  the  intro- 
duction of  English  goods  into  France,  and 
the  admission  into  French  ports  of  any 
neutral  vessel  that  should  first  touch  at  an 
English  port.  In  answer  to  this  decree 
Great  Britain  forbade  all  trade  with  France 
by  neutral  nations.  Napoleon  thereupon 
issued  his  "  Milan  decree,"  confiscating  not 
only  the  vessels  and  cargoes  that  should 
violate  the  "  Berlin  decree,"  but  also  such  as 
submit  to  be  searched  by  the  English.  Thus 
the  commerce  of  the  world  was  placed  at 
the  mercy  of  these  two  nations.  The  Un  ited 
States  were  the  chief  sufferers  by  these  arbi- 
trary measures.  Their  ships  were  captured 
by  both  British  and  French  cruisers,  and  their 
remonstrances  produced  no  cessation  of  the 
outrages. 

It  was  not  possible  to  do  anything  for  the 
protection  of  the  commerce  of  the  country, 
as  the  mistaken  policy  of  the  administration 
had  deprived  it  of  an  efficient  navy.  The 
whole  Atlantic  seaboard  demanded  a  change 
in  this  respect,  antl  petitions  poured  in  upon 
Congress  asking  for  the  construction  of  more 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF 

vessels  of  war  and  for  protection  from  the 
aggressions  of  tiie  European  powers.  The 
only  result  of  these  petitions  was  a  recom- 
mendation from  the  president  to  Congress 
to  build  more  gunboats.  It  was  not  possi- 
ble to  go  to  war  with  both  England  and 
France,  and  the  American  government  was 
left  to  make  a  choice  as  to  which  power 
it  would  undertake  to  settle  the  question 
with.  The  popular  feeling  was  stronger 
against  England,  which,  being  the  most 
active  power  at  sea,  was  the  principal  ag- 
gressor, and  the  events  to  be  related  finally 
turned  the  scale  against  England. 

Remonstrance  Against  British  Outrages. 

The  British  government  maintained  the 
doctrine  that  no  subject  could  expatriate 
himself  or  become  a  citizen  of  another  coun- 
try. This  was  the  opposite  of  the  view  held 
by  the  United  States,  which  welcomed  emi- 
grants from  other  countries,  bestowed  upon 
them  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  in  their 
new  character  of  adopted  citizens  protected 
them.  The  commanders  of  the  British  men- 
of-war  were  accustomed  to  stop  American 
vessels  on  the  high  seas  and  search  them  for 
deserters. 

Under  this  head  they  included  all  persons 
born  within  the  dominions  of  Great  Britain, 
whether  naturalized  American  citizens  or 
not.  When  found  on  American  vessels 
these  persons  were  removed  by  force  and 
compelled  to  serve  on  board  English  ships  of 
war.  The  British  officers  did  not  confine 
these  impressments  to  "  deserters,"  but 
seized  and  forced  into  their  service  great 
numbers  of  native-born  Americans,  who 
were  thus  torn  from  their  homes  and  con- 
signed to  a  slavery  which  was  bitter  and 
cruel  to  them. 

The  government  of  the  United  States 
addressed  urgent  remonstrances  to  that  of 
Great   Britain   against   these   outrages,  and 


ADAMS   AND    JEFFERSON.  509 

finally,  in  the  spring  of  1806,  sent  William 
Pinckney  as  joint  commissioner  with  James 
Monroe,  then  minister  to  England,  for  the 
purpose  of  negotiating  a  treaty  which  should 
put  a  stop  to  the  acts  complained  of.  The 
commissioners  appointed  by  Great  Britain 
expressed  the  desire  of  their  country  not  to 
impress  American  seaman,  and  their  willing- 
ness to  redress  as  promptly  as  possible  any 
mistake  of  the  kind.  They  declined  to 
relinquish  the  right  to  search  for  deserters, 


as  it  would  be  ruinous  to  the  English  navy. 
The  truth  is  Great  Britain  treated  her  sea- 
men with  such  cruelty  that  they  would  have 
deserted  by  the  thousand  had  they  been 
assured  of  protection  from  arrest. 

The  British  commissioners  declared  that 
while  their  country  would  not  relinquish  the 
right  of  search  and  impressment,  strict  orders 
would  be  issued  to  their  naval  commanders 
to  use  the  right  with  caution  and  moder- 
ation. The  British  government  itself  was 
sincerely  desirous  oi  conciliating  the  United 


5IO  FROM    THE    RF.\-OLUTION    TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR 

States,  but  its  naval  commanders,  tempted 
by  the  weakness  of  the  American  navy,  paid 


no  attention  to  its  orders  and  conducted 
themselves  with  liaughty  insolence  towards 
American  vessels,  seizing  and  searching 
them,  and  forcing  men  from  their  decks  with 
the  same  activity  as  before,  and  rarely  miss- 
ing  an   occasion    to    insult   the  flag  of  the 


upon  an  act  which  threw  the  relations  be- 
tween the  two  countries  into  a  more  hope- 
less state  than  ever.  The  United  States 
frigate  "  Chesapeake,"  38,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Commodore  Barron,  was  about  to 
sail  for  a  European  station.  Strict  orders 
were  issued  to  her  officers  not  to  enlist  any 
British  subject,  knowing  him  to  be  such  ;  but 


OFFICERS    OF   THE    CHESAPEAKE   SURRENDERING    THEIR    SWORDS. 


republic.  Meanwiiile  the  commissioners 
concluded  a  treaty  for  ten  years  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  It  was  on 
the  whole  more  advantageous  than  Jay's 
ireaty,  but  the  president  was  not  satisfied 
A'ith  it,  and  assumed  the  responsibiHty  of 
rejecting  it,  in  the  spring  of  1807,  without 
submitting  it  to  the  Senate. 

A  British  naval  commander  now  ventured 


it  was  said  that  four  of  her  crew  were  desert- 
ers from  the  British  frigate  "  Melampus." 
Several  British  war  vessels  were  lying  in  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  one  of  these,  the 
"  Leopard,"  a  fifty-gun  frigate,  put  to  sea  a 
few  hours  before  the  "  Chesapeake  "  sailed. 
The  latter  vessel  sailed  before  she  was  fully 
ready  for  sea,  and  the  work  of  getting  the 
ship  in  order  was  still  in  progress,  when  she 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   ADAMS    AND   JEFFERSON.  511 

all  merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States 
were  prevented  from  leaving  the  ports  of  this 
countr_\-.  This  measure  entirely  put  an  end 
to  the  intercourse  between  the  United  States 
and  the  European  nations. 


was  hailed  off  the  capes  by  the  "  Leopard," 
under  the  pretence  of  sending  despatches  to 
Europe. 

A  lieutenant  of  the  British  frigate  came 
on  board  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 
four  men  we  have  mentioned.  Commodore 
Barron  refused  the  demand  on  the  ground 
that  there  were  no  such  men  on  board.  The 
lieutenant  then  returned  to  his  ship,  and  the 
"  Leopard  "  opened  fire  upon  the  "  Chesa- 
peake," and  killed  three  of  her  men  and 
wounded  eighteen  others.  The  "  Chesa- 
peake" was  utterly  unprepared  for  resist- 
ance, and  Barron  struck  his  colors  after  a 
single  gun  had  been  fired.  The  four  men 
were  taken  from  the  "  Chesapeake,"  the 
"  Leopard  "  sailed  for  Halifax,  and  the  Amer- 
ican frigate  returned  to  Norfolk. 

The  Embargo  Act. 

The  news  of  this  outrage  excited  the  pro- 
foundest  indignation  throughout  the  coun- 
try. On  the  second  of  July,  1807,  the  presi 
dent  issued  a  proclamation  ordering  all 
British  vessels  of  war  to  depart  from  Ameri- 
can waters,  and  the  people  were  warned 
against  holding  any  intercourse  with  them. 
A  special  session  of  Congress  was  called, 
and  the  American  minister  at  London  was 
ordered  to  demand  satisfaction  for  the  out- 
rage. 

The  British  government  had  received  infor- 
mation of  the  affair  before  the  arrival  of  the 
American  demand.  The  action  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  "  Leopard "  was  disavowed, 
and  a  special  messenger  was  sent  to  the 
United  States  to  arrange  the  matter.  Great 
Eritain  disclaimed  the  right  to  search  vessels 
■of  war,  and  the  excitement  was  quieted  for  a 
time. 

In  Deceember,  1806,  as  the  outrages  upon 
American  commerce  were  continued,  Con- 
gress, at  the  recommendation  of  the  presi- 
dent, passed  the  "  Embargo  Act,"  by  which 


James  Madison  Elected  President. 

In  the  election  of  1S08  Mr.  Jefferson  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  Washington,  declined 
to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term,  and  the 
Democratic  or  administration  party  support- 
ed James  Madison  for  the  Presidency,  and 
George  Clinton  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 
They  were  elected  by  large  majorities  ;  but 
the  effect  of  the  embargo  was  seen  in  the 
casting  of  the  electoral  votes  of  the  five  New 
England  States  against  the  administration. 

The  disaffection  of  the  New  England  States 
induced  Mr.  Jefferson,  just  before  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  of  office,  to  recommend  to 
Congress  the  repeal  of  the  embargo  act.  His 
opinion  was  unchanged  as  to  the  propriety 
of  the  embargo,  but  he  recommended  its 
repeal  as  a  measure  of  peace  and  concilia- 
tion. The  law  was  repealed  on  the  first  of 
March,  1809,  and  in  the  same  month  Con- 
gress passed  an  act  prohibiting  trade  with 
France  and  England. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  of  office  Mr, 
Jefferson  withdrew  from  public  life,  and 
retired  to  his  home  at  Montecello,  in  Virginia. 
The  wisdom  and  success  of  the  general  policy 
of  his  administration  had  far  outweighed  his 
mistakes,  and  he  retired  from  office  with 
undiminished  popularity,  and  with  the  res- 
pect and  confidence  of  the  nation.  Indeed 
his  popularity  was  greater  at  the  close  of  his 
administration  than  at  the  beginning — a  rare 
and  gratifying  reward  to  a  public  servant. 
His  great  services  in  the  revolution,  his  draft 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  his 
acquisition  of  Louisiana,  and  the  purity  and 
grandeur  of  his  character,  placed  liim,  in  the 
public  estimation,  next  to  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

The  Administration  of  James    Madison— The   Sec(nid 
War  with   England 

Inauguration  of  Mr.  Madison— Negotiations  with  Mr.  Ersl<ine— Tlieir  Failure— Seizure  of  .'\mcrican  Vessels  in  France— 
Sufferings  of  American  Ship-Owners— Great  Britain  Stations  Her  Ships  of  War  Off  American  Tuits— Aftair  of  the 
"  President "  and  "  Little  Belt  "—Trouble  with  the  Northwestern  Indians— Tecumseh— Battle  of  Tippecanoe— Meet- 
ing of  the  Twelfth  Congress— Measures  for  Defence— .\dmission  of  Louisiana  Into  the  Union— Death  of  George 
Clinton — The  British  Ultimatum — War  Declared  Against  Great  Britain — Opposition  to  the  War— The  British  Offer  of 
Settlement  Rejected — The  War  for  "  Free  Trade  and  the  Sailors'  Rights  " — Mr.  Madison  Reelected — Campaign  of 
1S12 — Preparations  for  the  Invasion  of  Canada — General  Hull  Surrenders  Detroit  to  the  British — Loss  or  the  North- 
western Frontier — Failure  of  the  Attack  on  Queenstown — Exploits  of  the  Navy— Capture  of  the  "  Guerri^re  "  by  the 
"Constitution"— The  Privateers — Russia  Offers  to  Mediate  Between  the  United  States  and  England — Financial 
Affairs — Harrison's  Campaign — Massacre  at  the  River  Raisin — Defence  of  Forts  Meigs  and  Stephenson — Perry's  Vic- 
tory on  Lake  Erie — Battle  of  the  Thames — Death  of  Tecumseh— Recovery  of  the  Northwest — Capture  of  York — 
British  Attack  on  Sackett's  Harbcr  Repulsed — Removal  of  General  Dearborn — Failure  of  the  Campaign  on  the  Lower 
Lakes — The  Creek  War — Jackson's  Victories — Naval  Affairs — The  British  Outrages  in  Chesapeake  Bay — Negoti- 
ations for  Peace — Capture  of  Fort  Erie — Batdes  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy's  Lane — Siege  of  Fort  Erie — Successes  of 
the  .A.mericans — Advance  of  Prevost — Battle  of  Plattsburg — Macdonough's  Victory  on  Lake  Champlain — ^Battle  of 
Bladensburg — Capture  of  Washington — Destruction  of  the  Public  Buildings  by  the  British —Attack  on  Baltimore — 
Death  of  General  Ross—"  The  Star  Spangled  Banner  "—The  British  Attack  on  the  New  England  Coast— Oppo- 
sition of  New  England  to  the  War — The  Hartford  Convention — The  British  in  Florida — General  Jackson  Expels 
Them — Jackson  at  New  Orleans — .\rrival  of  the  British  Expedition  Oft  the  Coast — Vigorous  Measures  of  Jackson — 
Battle  of  New  Orleans — Defeat  of  the  British— Naval  Affairs— The  Treaty  of  Peace— The  Barbary  Powers  Humbled— 
The  Tariff— The  Bank  of  the  United  States— Admission  of  Indiana— James  Monroe  Elected  President. 


JAMES  MADISON,  the  fourth  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  was  inaug- 
urated at  Washington  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  1809.  He  was  in  the  fifty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  had  long  been 
one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the 
Union.  He  had  borne  a  distinguished  part 
in  the  convention  of  1787,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  Virginia  resolutions  of  1786, 
which  brought  about  the  assembling  of  this 
convention.  He  had  entered  the  convention 
as  one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  the 
national  party,  which  favored  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  States  into  one  distinct  and 
supreme  nation,  and  had  acted  with  Ran- 
dolph, Hamilton,  Wilson,  Morris,  and  King, 
in  seeking  to  bring  about  such  a  result. 
When  it  was  found  impossible  to  carry  out 
S12 


this  plan  Mr.  Madison  gave  his  cordial  sup- 
port to  the  system  which  was  finally  adopted 
by  the  convention ;  and  while  the  constitu- 
tion was  under  discussion  by  the  States,  he 
united  with  Hamilton  and  Jay  in  earnestly 
recommending  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion by  the  States,  in  a  series  of  able  articles, 
to  which  the  general  title  of  the  "  Federalist  " 
was  given. 

After  the  organization  of  the  government 
Mr.  Madison  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Federalist  party,  and  gave 
to  Hamilton  his  cordial  support  in  the 
finance  measures  of  that  minister.  Towards 
the  close  of  Washington's  administration, 
however,  Mr.  Madison's  political  v  ows 
underwent  a  great  change.     He  was  ;   near 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    MADISON, 
neighbor  and  \vann   friend  of  Mr.  Jefferson, 


and  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  opinions 
and  the  strong  personal  character  of  that 
great  statesman.  As  the  political  contro- 
versies of  the  times  deepened  he  became  more 
and  more  inclined  to- 
wards the  Republican 
or  '■  Strict  Construc- 
tion "  party,  and  in 
Mr.  Adams'  adminis- 
tration took  his  posi- 
tion as  one  of  the 
"leaders  of  that  party. 

At  the  time  of  his 
election  to  the  Presi- 
dency, Mr.  Jefferson 
having  withdrawn 
from  public  life,  Mr. 
Madison  was  the  re- 
cognized leader  of  the 
Democratic  party,  as 
the  Republican  party 
had  come  to  be  called. 
In  1/99  his  famous 
report  upon  the  Vir- 
ginia resolutions,  of 
1798  stamped  him  as 
one  of  the  first  states- 
men in  America,  and 
this  report  has  always 
been  regarded  by  suc- 
ceeding generations 
as  the  most  masterly 
exposition  of  the  true 
principles  of  the  con- 
stitution ever  penned. 
During  the  whole  of 
Mr.  Jefferson's  admi- 
nistration Mr.  Madison  served  as  secretary 
of  state,  and  not  only  added  to  his  great  fame 
by  his  eminent  services  in  that  capacity,  but 
prepared  himself  for  the  difficult  duties  of 
the  presidency. 

Mr.  Madison   had   opposed  the  cmbari^o, 


513 

while  sustaining  the  general  foreign  policy 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  but  was  in  favor  of  the  non- 
intercourse  act,  which  forbade  the  country 
to  trade  with  England  and  France.  This 
act  contained  a  clause   which   provided  chat 


it  should  cease  to  apply  to  eitlier  or  both  of 
them  as  soon  as  they  should  repeal  their 
"  decrees,"  or  "  orders  in  council,"  affecting 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Erskine,  the   British    minister   to  the 
United  States,  a  man  of  noble  and  "^enerous 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


514 

character,  was  anxious  that  the  differences 
between  the  two  countries  should  be  settled 
amicably,  and  he  entered  heartily  into  nego- 
tiations with  the  American  government  for 
this  purpose.  In  accordance  with  the  in- 
structions he  had  received  from  England,  he 
believed  himself  authorized  to  inform  the 
American  government  that  the  "  orders  in 
council  "  of  Great  Britain  would  be  revoked 
l)y  that  government,  as  far  as  they  applied 
1 1  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and 
t )  offer  "  a  suitable  provision  for  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  those  who  were  killed  on 
board  the  '  Chesapeake.'  "  Upon  these 
assurances  the  President,  on  the  nineteenth 
of  April,  1810,  issued  a  proclamation  sus- 
pending the  non-intercourse  act.  as  to  Eng- 
land, after  the  tenth  of  June  following. 

Seizure  of  American  Ships. 

The  news  was  received  with  joy  all  over 
the  country,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks 
over  one  thousand  vessels  sailed  from  the 
United  States,  laden  with  American  pro- 
ducts, for  foreign  ports.  They  had  hardly 
gotten  to  sea  when  the  President  was  in- 
formed by  the  British  government  that  Mr. 
Erskine  had  exceeded  his  powers  in  promis- 
ing the  withdrawal  of  the  "  orders  in  coun- 
cil." The  President  immediately  issued  a 
.second  proclamation,  withdrawing  his  first, 
and  matters  resumed  their  old  footing.  Mr. 
Erskine  was  recalled,  and  a  Mr.  Jackson  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  The  failure  of  the 
negotiations  with  Erskine  had  greatly  morti- 
fied not  only  the  President  and  his  cabinet, 
but  the  whole  nation,  and  Mr.  Jackson  was 
coldly  received.  That  gentleman  adopted  a 
tone  and  style  in  his  correspondence  with  the 
secretary  of  state,  which  were  so  offensive 
that  the  President  refused  to  hold  communi- 
cation with  him,  and  demanded  his  recall. 
All  the  diplomatic  intercourse  between  the 
two  countries  tiius  came  to  an  end. 


The  outrages  upon  American  commerce 
continued.  Danish  privateers  almost  drove 
the  American  merchantmen  from  the  Baltic. 
The  American  ship-owners  asked  permission 
to  arm  their  vessels  for  their  own  defence,  as 
the  government  had  not  a  navy  sufficient  to 
protect  them  ;  but  their  petition  was  refused 
by  Congress,  on  the  ground  that  such  a  state 
of  affairs  would  be  equivalent  to  war.  The 
sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  country  was 
rapidly  settling  in  favor  of  war,  and  they 
could  see  little  difference  between  the  exist- 
ing state  of  affairs  and  open  hostilities. 
France  was  equally  guilty  with  Great  Britain. 
In  the  spring  of  18 10  Napoleon  issued  a 
decree  by  which  any  American  vessel  enter- 
ing any  port  of  France,  or  of  any  country 
under  French  control,  was  made  liable  to 
seizure  and  confiscation.  The  decree  was 
held  back  for  si.K  weeks  after  its  date,  with 
the  deliberate  design  of  involving  as  many 
American  ships  as  possible  in  the  ruin 
intended  for  them.  The  first  intimation  given 
to  the  United  States  of  its  existence  was  the 
seizure  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  Amer- 
ican ships  in  the  French  jjcjrts.  They  were 
shortly  afterwards  sold  with  their  cagoes, 
and  added  the  sum  of  eight  millions  of  dol- 
lars to  the  French  treasury.  The  government 
of  the  United  States  remonstrated  against 
this  high-handed  outrage,  but  to  no  purpose, 
until  Napoleon's  want  of  money  induced  him 
to  adopt  a  more  honest  course. 

Great  Britain's  Unlawful  Acts. 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  iSio  the 
American  minister  at  Paris  was  informed 
that  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  were  re- 
voked, and  would  cease  to  have  effect  after 
the  first  of  November  of  that  year.  In  accord- 
ance with  this  information  the  President,  on 
the  first  of  November,  1810,  issued  a  procla- 
mation suspending  the  non-intercourse  act 
with  respect  to  France,  and  ani^ouncing  that 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 


the  provisions  of  the  act  would  be  continued 
\v  th  respect  to  Great  Britain  unless  her 
"  orders  in  council  "  should  be  revoked 
within  three  months  from  that  date. 

The  President  also  called  the  attention  of 
the  British  government  to  the  repeal  of  the 
French  decrees,  and  as  the  "  orders  in 
council "  were  based  upon  these  decrees, 
urged  their  repeal.  Great  Britain  replied  that 
the  evidence  of  the  revocation  of  the  Berlin 
and  Milan  decrees  was  insufficient,  and  that 
the  non-intercourse  acts  of  Congress  and  the 
President's  proclamation  were  partial  and 
unjust.  This  "answer  was  regarded  in  the 
United  States  as  evidence  of  Great  Britain's 
deliberate  intention  to  continue  her  outrages 
upon  this  country,  and  very  greatly  increased 
the  popular  desire  for  war.  England  persisted 
in  her  determination  to  enforce  her  "  orders 
in  council,"  and  even  went  to  the  inexcusable 
length  of  stationing  her  war  vessels  off  the 
principal  harbors  of  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  intercepting  our  merchant- 
men., and  injuring  our  commerce. 

British  Sloop  Disabled. 

While  matters  were  in  this  unsettled  con- 
dition, the  American  frigate  "  President,"  on 
the  evening  of  the  sixteenth  of  May,  1811, 
encountered  a  strange  vessel  off  the  mouth 
of  the  Delaware.  As  the  dusk  of  the  evening 
was  too  deep  for  Commodore  Rodgers  to 
distinguish  the  stranger's  nationality,  he 
hailed  her,  and  was  insolently  answered  by 
a  gun  from  her.  He  replied  with  a  broad- 
side, and  after  an  action  of  twenty  minutes 
the  stranger  was  disabled.  Rodgers  then 
hailed  again,  and  was  answered  that  the  dis- 
abled vessel  was  the  British  sloop  of  war 
"  Little  Belt."  She  was  greatly  damaged,  and 
had  thirty-two  of  her  crew  killed  and  wound- 
ed. The  "  President"  was  scarcely  injured, 
an  1  had  but  one  man  slightly  wounded. 

A  different  statement  of  the  affair  was  ren- 


dered to  his  government  by  each  of  the  com- 
manding officers,  and  was  accepted  by  each 
government.  In  this  conflict  of  testimony, 
the  matter  was  suffered  to  pass  by.  The  news 
of  the  prompt  chastisement  of  the  insolence 
of  the  British  commander  was  received  with 
delight  in  the  United  States,  and  the  affair 
was  generally  regarded  as,  in  some  measure, 
an  atonement  for  the  disgrace  of  the  sur- 
render of  the  "  Chesapeake "  to  the 
"  Leopard." 

Furious  Attack  by  the  Savages. 

The  Indians  of  the  northwest  were  becom- 
ing very  troublesome,  and  their  aggressions 
were  attributed  to  the  instigation  of  the 
British  in  Canada.  Tecumseh,  a  Shawnee 
chief  of  unusual  abilities,  attempted  to  unite 
the  Indians  of  the  continent  in  a  grand  effort 
against  the  Americans,  and  for  this  purpose 
passed  from  tribe  to  tribe,  from  the  great 
lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  urged  them 
to  take  up  the  hatchet.  He  was  assisted  by 
his  twin  brother,  Elskwatawa,  generally 
called  "  the  Prophet,"  who  appealed  to  the 
superstitious  fears  of  the  savages  by  his 
jugglery. 

The  federal  government  determined  to 
strike  a  blow  at  the  savages  before  their 
plans  for  union  could  be  brought  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  In  the  autumn  of  i8ii,Major- 
General  William  Henry  Harrison,  then  gov- 
ernor of  Indiana  Territory,  was  sent  to 
operate  against  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash. 
He  took  with  him  a  body  of  Kentucky  and 
Indiana  militia,  and  one  regiment  of  regular 
troops.  On  the  sixth  of  November  he 
arrived  at  the  junction  of  the  Tippecanoe 
and  Wabash  rivers  near  the  town  of  the 
Prophet,  the  brother  of  Tecumseh. 

The  Prophet  sent  several  of  the  principal 
Indian  chiefs  to  meet  Harrison  with  offers  oi 
submission.  They  informed  him  that  the 
Prophet  would    come    into  camp   the  next 


FROM    THI'    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


day,  and  make  a  treaty  with  him.  Harrison 
suspected  that  the  purpose  of  the  Indians 
was  simply  to  gain  time,  and  that  they  would 
probably  seek  to  surprise  him  during  the 
night,  and  accordingly  caused  his  men  to 
bivouac  on  their  arms  that  night.  His  pre- 
cautions were  well  taken.  About  four  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  November  seventh  the 
savages  made  a  furious  attack  on  the  Ameri- 
can camp.     They  were  promptly  received, 


In  \^iew  of  the  threatening  condition  of 
affairs  the  President,  by  his  proclamation, 
convened  the  twelfth  Congress  in  session  a 
month  earlier  than  usual,  and  that  body  met 
on  the  fourth  of  November,  1811.  It  was 
remarkable,  as  was  also  its  successor,  the 
thirteenth  Congress,  for  the  number  of  its 
members  who  afterwards  took  their  places 
among  the  great  men  of  the  republic.  The 
public  men  of  the  revolutionar)-  period  were 


\    IMOM  LR    III  RO-1    1  I( 

and  after  a  severe  conflict  of  several  hours 
were  put  to  flight.  Tecumseh  was  not  pres- 
ent in  this  engagement.  General  Harrison 
followed  up  his  victory  by  destroying  the 
Prophet's  town,  and  building  some  forts  for 
the  protection  of  the  country.  The  battle 
of  Tippecanoe  quieted  the  Indians  of  the 
northwest  for  a  while,  but  greatly  increased 
the  desire  of  the  people  of  that  region  for 
war  with  England. 


T   WUH    THE   S\V\GEs 

dropping  out  of  political  life,  and  new  men, 
with  new  ideas,  were  taking  their  places  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation. 

Among  the  new  members  of  Congress 
were  Henry  Clay,  a  native  of  Virginia,  but  a 
representative  from  Kentucky ;  John  C.  Cal- 
houn, of  South  Carolina ;  John  Randolph, 
of  Virginia;  Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee; 
Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Lang- 
don  Cheeves  and  William  Lowndes,  of  South 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


S17 


Carolina.  There  was  a  large  administration 
majority  in  both  Houses,  and  the  prevailing 
•sentiment  of  Congress  was  in  favor  of  war 
with  England.  In  this  respect  Congress 
fairly  reflected  the  feeling  of  the  country. 

Under  the  influence  of  this  feeling,  Con- 
gress during  this  session  voted  to  increase 
the  regular  army  to  thirty-five  thousand 
men,  and  authorized  the  President  to  accept 
the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and 
to  call  out  the  militia  whenever  occasion 
might  require.  The  vessels  of  the  navy 
were  ordered  to  be  fitted  for  sea,  and  new- 
ships  were  to  be  constructed.  There  was 
need  for  these  measures,  as  the  army  at  the 
time  consisted  of  but  three  thousand  men, 
and  the  navy  of  less  than  twenty  frigates  and 
sloops  of  war  in  commission,  and  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  gunboats  for  harbor  defence. 
The  third  census,  taken  in  18 10,  showed  the 
population  of  the  country  to  be  7,239,903. 

War  Declared  Against  Great   Britain. 

During  this  winter  the  government  de- 
tected and  laid  before  Congress  an  effort  of 
Great  Britain  to  produce  disaffection  in  the 
New  England  States,  with  a  view  to  secure 
their  withdrawal  from  the  Union.  The 
agent  of  this  plot  was  one  John  Henry. 
The  committee  appointed  by  Congress  to 
investigate  the  matter  reported  that  "the 
transaction  disclosed  by  the  President's  mes- 
sage presents  to  the  mind  of  the  committee 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  British  govern- 
ment, at  a  period  of  peace,  and  during  the 
most  friendly  professions,  have  been  delib- 
erately and  perfidiously  pursuing  measures 
to  divide  these  States  and  to  involve  our 
citizens  in  ail  the  guilt  of  treason  and  the 
horrors  of  civil  war." 

Amid  these  troubles  the  State  of  Louisiana 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  eighth 
of  April,  1812.  Shortly  afterwards  the  por- 
tion of  the  Louisiana  purchase  lying  outside 


of  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  was 
organized  into  the  Territory  of  Missouri. 

On  the  twentieth  of  April,  1805,  George 
Clinton,  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  died  at  Washington,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three.  His  place  was  filled  by 
William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  the  presi- 
dent/;'^ tempore  of  the  Senate. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  May,  18 12,  the  British 
minister  at  Washington  delivered  to  the 
govern-nent  of  the  United  States   the   final 


reply  of  his  government  to  the  demands  of 
this  country  in  the  questions  at  issue  between 
them.  This  ultimatiu>i  was  submitted  to 
Congress  by  the  President  on  the  first  of 
June,  accompanied  by  a  message  in  which  he 
recapitulated  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  Great 
Britain  upon  this  countr)-,  her  violations  of 
the  rights  of  neutrals,  her  impressment  of 
American  seamen,  her  seizures  of  American 
ships  and  her  refusal  to  enter  into  an\'  equit- 
able arrangement  for  the  settlement  of  these 
questions.       The     determination    of    Great 


5is 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    IHE    CIVIL    WAR. 


Britain  to  drive  American  commerce  from 
the  seas  was  evident,  and  the  question  was 
submitted  to  Congress  whether  the  United 
States  should  continue  to  submit  to  these 
outrages  or  should  resort  to  war  to  protect 
their  rights. 

After  a  debate  of  several  days  an  act 
declaring  war  against  Great  Britain  was 
passed  by  Congress  and  was  approved  by 
the  President  on  the  eighteenth  of  June, 
1 812.  On  the  nineteenth  the  President 
issued  a  proclamation  declaring  that  war 
existed  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  and  her  dependencies.  Congress 
authorized  the  President  to  enlist  twenty-five 
thousand  men  for  the  regular  army,  to  raise 
a  force  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  to 
call  out  one  hundred  thousand  militia  for 
garrison  duty.  General  Henry  Dearborn, 
of  Massachusetts,  was  appointed  to  the  chief 
command  of  the  army. 

Opposition  to  the  War. 

The  war  measures  of  Congress  were  not 
passed  without  considerable  opposition.  A 
large  party,  composed  of  some  of  the  ablest 
and  best  men  in  that  party,  was  opposed  to 
the  war,  and  resented  the  effort  to  go  to  war 
with  England  alone.  They  claimed  that 
France  had  given  as  good  cause  for  war,  but 
that  nothing  was  said  of  punishing  her. 
This  was  true,  but  this  party  lost  sight  of 
the  fact  that  the  United  States  could  not  go 
to  war  with  both  powers,  and  were  compelled 
to  direct  their  efforts  against  the  principal 
offender,  which  was  clearly  England. 

The  war  was  regarded  as  an  administra- 
tion measure,  and  though  it  was  sustained 
by  a  large  majority  of  the  American  people, 
there  was  still  a  strong  and  respectable  party 
especially  in  the  New  EIngland  States,  which 
opposed  it,  and  which  claimed  that  all 
peaceful  means  of  settlement  had  not  yet 
been  exhausted.      John  Randolph,   of  Vir- 


ginia, opposed  the  declaration  of  war  in  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  re- 
markable for  its  boldness  and  vigor,  and 
declared  that  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  he  should  prefer  a  contest  with  France 
to  one  with  England. 

Soon  after  the  declaration  of  war  England 
made  an  effort  to  settle  the  controversy  with 
the  United  States  by  negotiation.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1812,  Admiral  Warren,  command- 
ing the  British  fleet  at  Halifax,  addressed  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Monroe,  the  secretary  of  state, 
informing  him  that  he  was  authorized  by  his 
government  to  enter  into  negotiations  for  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  upon  a  basis  of  revo- 
cation of  the  "orders  in  council." 

The  Cause  of  Hostilities. 

Mr.  Monroe  replied  that  the  President  was 
willing  to  enter  into  an  armistice  provided 
Admiral  Warren  had  power  and  was  willing 
to  include  in  the  negotiations  measures  for 
the  discontinuance  of  the  practices  of  seizing 
and  searching  American  vessels  and  impress- 
ing American  sailors  from  their  decks,  as 
experience  had  shown  that  no  peace  be- 
tween the  two  countries  could  be  lasting 
which  did  not  include  a  settlement  of  these 
questions.  As  Admiral  Warren  had  no 
authority  to  enter  into  these  questions,  the 
President  declined  to  proceed  further,  and 
the  effort  at  negotiations  came  to  an  end. 
It  has  been  held  by  many  that  the  rejection 
by  the  President  of  the  British  overture  was 
a  grave  error. 

John  Randolph  thought  that  ail  the  ques- 
tions at  issue,  save  the  right  of  a  British  sub- 
ject to  expatriate  himself  and  receive  Amer- 
ican protection,  could  be  settled  by  negoti- 
ation. That  point  he  did  not  believe  Eng- 
land would  ever  concede.  His  opinion  was 
to  some  extent  vindicated  by  the  uncondi- 
tional revocation  of  the  French  decrees,  and 
the  immediate  repeal  of  the  British  "  orders 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


in  council  "  upon  the  receipt  of  the  news 
of  this  revocation.  These  measures  were 
repealed  within  a  month  after  the  declaration 
of  war  by  the  United  States.  The  only  cause 
of  the  war  remaining  unsettled  was  the  im- 
pressment question.  The  war  thus  became 
a  struggle  for  the  personal  freedom  of  Amer- 
ican sailors  ;  and  in  a  better  cause  no  nation 
ever  drew  the  sword. 

Plan  of  Carrying  On  the  War. 

The  weakness  of  the  American  navy  made 
it  impossible  for  this  country  to  attempt  any 
distant  enterprise  against  Great  Britain,  and 
it  was  not  believed  by  even  the  most  enthu- 
siastic Americans  that  we  could  contend 
with  her  upon  terms  of  equality  at  sea.  The 
only  means  by  which  she  could  be  crippkd 
by  this  country  was  by  the  invasion  and 
conquest  of  Canada,  and  to  this  end  the 
efforts  of  the  United  States  were  directed 
during  the  war.  It  was  also  believed  that 
the  commerce  of  England  could  be  seriously 
injured  by  the  efforts  of  American  privatcis 
and  from  the  commencement  of  hostilii 
great  activity  was  displayed  in  getting  ve^-. 
of  this  class  to  sea. 

In  the  autumn  of  1812  Mr.  Madison  \\as 
reelected  to  the  presidency  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. Elbridge  Gerry,  of  Connecticut,  was 
chosen  Vice-President.  Mr.  Madison  entered 
upon  his  second  term  on  the  fourth  of  March, 
1813,  some  months  after  the  war  had  begun. 

At  the  outset  of  the  war  the  American 
forces  were  stationed  along  the  Canadian 
frontier  as  follows :  General  Dearborn,  the 
commander-in-chief,  held  the  right,  or  east- 
ern part  of  the  line ;  the  centre  was  com- 
manded b)'  General  Stephen  Van  Rens- 
selaer; and  the  left  was  held  by  General 
William  Hull,  then  governor  of  Michigan 
Territory.  The  forces  under  these  com- 
manders were  to  cooperate  with  each  other 
in  their    movements,  and  were  to  converge 


upon  Montreal  as  the  objective  point  of  the 
campaign. 

Early  in  July  General  Hull,  who  had  seen 
service  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  col- 
lected a  force  of  about  two  thousand  men 
at  Detroit.  His  position  was  very  much 
exposed,  Detroit  being  at  that  time  sep- 
arated from  the  other  settlements  by  about 
two  hundred  miles  of  unbroken  forest.  He 
urged  upon  the  go\ernment  to  increase  his 
force  to  three  thousand  men,  and  to  secure 
the  command  of  Lake  Erie  before  the  British 


STEPHEN    VAN    RENSSELAER. 

should  obtain  possession  of  it.  His  requests 
could  not  be  complied  with,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  depend  upon  the  force  at  Detroit. 
Immediately  upon  the  declaration  c  f  war 
the  British  commanders  in  Canada  displa\ed 
great  activity,  seizing  the  most  important 
points  along  the  frontier.  In  less  than  a 
month  Fort  Mackinaw  and  other  points  were 
in  their  possession,  and  Hull's  position  at 
Detroit  was  surrounded  and  his  communi- 
cations with  the  States  cut  off  Hull  there-' 
upon  fortified  his  position,  and  endeavored, 
but  without  success,  to  open  communication 


520  FROM 

with  llic  couiitiN-  in  liis  rear.  In  the  mean- 
time a  strons,'  British  force  assembled  at 
Fort  Maiden,  in  Canada,  opposite  Detroit, 
under  the  command  of  General  Brock,  the 
governor  of  Upper  Canada  ;  and  the  British 
agents  set  to  work  to  arouse  the  Indians  of 
the  northwest  against  the  Americans. 

In    these    efforts    they     were     successful. 


IHIC    REVOLUTION    TO    THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


lines  they  were  astounded  to  see  a  whii  lu^ 
flying  from  them.  An  officer  rode  up  to 
inquire  the  cause.  The  flag  was  the  signal 
for  a  parley.  Negotiations  were  begun,  and 
later  in  the  day  Detroit,  with  its  garrison 
and  stores,  and  the  whole  of  Michigan  ter- 
ritory, was  surrendered  to  the  British  by 
General   Hull.     The  American  troops  were 


MASSACRE    BY    INDIANS    AT    FORT    DEARBORN. 


Brock  erected  batteries  on  the  Canadian 
-side  of  the  river,  in  a  position  to  command 
Detroit,  and  demanded  of  Hull  the  surrender 
of  that  place.  The  demand  being  refused. 
Brock  crossed  his  forces  to  the  American 
-shore,  about  three  miles  below  the  position 
occupied  by  General  Hull,  on  the  sixteenth 
of  August,  and  advanced  to  attack  him.  As 
the  British  army    drew  near  the  American 


overcome  with  astonishment  and  mortifica- 
tion at  this  shameful  surrender;  for  the  force 
of  the  enemy,  to  whom  they  were  betrayed 
by  their  commander,  consisted  of  but  seven 
hundred  British  and  Canadians,  and  six 
hundred  Indians. 

By  the  surrender  of  Detroit  the  whole 
northwestern  frontier  was  exposed  to  the 
British  and  their  Indian  allies.    Great  Britain, 


ADMIMISTRATION    OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


unmindful  of  the  shame  she  had  incurred 
Ly  her  employment  of  the  savages  durini^ 
the  revolution,  did  not  hesitate  once  more  to 
■devote  the  American  frontier  to  the  horrors 
of  a  savage  war.  The  west  was  greatly 
alarmed,  and  ten  thousand  volunteers  offered 
their  services  to  the  government  for  the 
defence  of  the  frontier.  They  were  accepted, 
and  were  placed  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Harrison,  who  was  appointed  to  succeed 
Hull. 

General  Hull  Guilty  of  Cowardice. 

Two  years  later,  after  being  exchanged. 
General  Hull  was  brought  to  trial  by  a  court- 
martial  for  the  surrender  of  Detroit  and  his 
army.  He  was  found  guilty  of  cowardice 
and  neglect  of  duty,  and  was  sentenced  to 
be  shot.  He  was  pardoned  by  the  President 
in  consideration  of  his  services  during  the 
revolution. 

When  Detroit  surrendered,  Fort  Dearborn 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  and 
was  occupied  by  Captain  Nathan  Heald  and 
fifty  regulars.  Receiving  orders  from  Gcn- 
HuU  to  evacuate  the  fort  and  join  him  at 
Detroit,  he  attempted  to  obey,  though  warned 
by  several  scouts  and  friendly  Indians  that 
it  was  certain  death  to  make  the  attempt. 
Afraid  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  large 
number  of  Indians  around  the  fort.  Captain 
Heald  destroyed  during  the  night  the  gun- 
powder, firearms  and  liquor  which  he  had 
promised  them.  The  exasperated  savages 
waited  till  he  was  well  on  his  way  with  the 
fifty  soldiers  and  several  families,  and  then 
attacked  him.  The  women  fought  as  bravely 
as  the  men.  Twenty-six  of  the  regular 
troops,  all  the  militia,  and  a  number  of  tlie 
men  and  women  were  killed.  One  of  the 
savages  leaped  into  a  wagon  containing 
twelve  little  ones  and  tomahawked  tiiem  all. 
The  next  day  Fort  Dearborn  was  burned  to 
the  <rround. 


521 

This  was  a  sorry  beginning  for  the  war, 
and  was  followed  by  another  disaster.  Gen- 
eral Van  Rensselaer,  the  commander  of  the 
centre  of  the  American  line,  had  collected  a 
force,  principally  New  York  militia,  at  Lewis- 
ton,  on  the  Niagara  river.  At  Queenstown, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  General 
J5rock  had  stationed  himself  with  a  British 
force.  On  the  thirteenth  of  October  General 
\''an  Rensselaer  crossed  a  force,  under  Col- 
onel Van  Rensselaer,  and  attacked  the  British 
fort  and  captured  it.  General  Brock  now 
arrived  with  a  force  of  six  hundred  men, 
and  endeavored  to  regain  the  fort,  but  was 
defeated  and  killed.  General  Van  Rensselaer 
hastened  back  to  the  American  side  to  bring 
over  more  troops,  but  his  men  refused  to 
obey  his  orders,  alleging  that  they  could  not 
be  ordered  out  of  their  own  State  without 
their  consent.  The  British  were  heavily 
reinforced,  and  the  Americans  were  attacked 
and  defeated  ;  all  who  had  crossed  to  the 
Canada  side  being  killed  or  captured. 

Brilliant  Successes  of  the  Navy. 

Among  the  prisoners  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Winfield  Scott,  afterwards  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  American  army,  then 
a  young  man,  who  had  crossed  over  as  a 
volunteer  to  aid  the  force  on  the  Canada  side. 
Utterly  disgusted  with  the  conduct  of  his 
troops.  General  Van  Rensselaer  resigned  his 
command  after  the  battle  of  Queenstown. 
General  Smyth,  of  Virginia,  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him.  He  made  one  or  two  efforts 
to  enter  Canada,  but  being  each  time  pre- 
vented by  his  council  of  war,  resigned  his 
command. 

Thus  closed  the  year  1812,  and  the  first 
campaign  of  the  war.  Its  results  were  dis- 
astrous and  disheartening.  The  attempts  to 
invade  Canada  had  ended  with  the  surrender 
of  Detroit  and  the  defeat  at  Queenstown.  A 
large  "^rt  of  the  f-'o'^tier  nas  lost,  and  over 


52: 


FROM    THi:    REV(3LUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


twenty-five  hundred  men  had  been  captured 
by  the  enemy.  These  failures  had  aroused 
the  discontent  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  people  of  the  Union,  and  the  opposition 
of  the  New  England  States  to  the  war  was 
greatly    increased.       ]\Iatters    would     have 


they  would  certainly  be  captured  by  the 
British  cruisers.  The  officers  of  the  navy 
were  indignant  at  these  insinuations,  and 
as  soon  as  the  news  of  the  declaration  of  war 
was  received  at  New  York,  several  of  the 
vessels  of  war  in  that  port    put    to    sea  at 


seemed  hopeless  had   not  the    navy,  which      once  to  avoid  the  orders  which  their  corn- 
had  been  the   ill  ist  neglected  branch  of  the  !  manders  feared   were  on  the  way  to   detain 


MKF.   OF    THE    "GUERRlEk 

public  service,  redeemed  the  national  honor 
by  a  series  of  brilliant  .s-iccesses. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  government  at 
the  outset  of  the  war  to  retain  the  vessels  of 
the  navy  in  the  ports  of  the  country  to  assist 
in  the  defence  of  *.he  harbors  of  the  United 
States.  The  fear  was  openly  expressed  that 
if  these  ve=s'^ls  should  venture  to  put  to  sea 


them  in  port,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  dash  at  the  Jamaica  fleet,  whicli 
was  on  its  way  to  England.  They  followed 
this  fleet  to  the  entrance  to  the  British  chan- 
nel, but  without  overtaking  it. 

A  British  squadron  sailed  from  Halifax  to 
cruise  off  the  port  of  New  York.  The  Amer- 
ican   frigate    "Constitution,"    Captain    Hull, 


ADMINISTRATIOX    OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


while  endeavoring  to  enter  New  York  har- 
bor, fell  in  with  this  squadron,  andwas  chased 
by  it  for  four  days.  Her  escape  was  due 
entirely  to  the  superior  skill  of  her  officers 
and  the  energy  of  her  crew.  The  chase  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  history,  and 
the  escape  of  the  American  frigate  won  great 
r.redit  for  Captain  Hull.  Failing  to  reach 
New  York,  Hull  sailed  for  Boston,  and 
reached  that  port  in  safety.  Remaining  there 
a  few  days,  he  put  to  sea  again,  just  in  time 
to  avoid  orders  from  Washington 
to  remain  in  port. 

In  July  the  American  frigate 
"Essex"  captured  a  transport 
filled  with  British  soldiers,  and 
a  few  days  later  encountered  the 
British  sloop  of  war  "  Alert," 
which  mistook  her  for  a  mer- 
chantman. The  "  Essex  "  suf- 
fered her  to  approach,  and  then 
opened  a  rapid  fire  upon  her, 
which  soon  disabled  her,  and 
forced  her  to  surrender. 

The  "  Constitution "  sailed 
from  Boston  to  the  northeast. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  August. 
while  cruising  off  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  she  fell  in  with 
the  British  frigate  "  Guerriere," 
Captain  Dacres,  one  of  the  ves- 
sels that  had  chased  her  during 
the  previous  month.  The 
"Guerriere"  immediately  stood  towards  her, 
and  both  vessels  prepared  for  action.  The 
English  commander  opened  his  fire  at  long 
range,  but  Captain  Hull  refused  to  reply 
until  he  had  gotten  his  ship  into  a  favorable 
position,  and  for  an  hour  and  a  half  he 
manoeuvred  in  silence,  under  a  heavy  fire 
from  the  British  frigate. 

At  length,  having  got  within  pistol  shot  of 
her  adversary,  the  "  Constitution  "  opened  a 
terrib'"  fire   upon   her,    and    poured    in  her 


523 

broadsides  with  such  effect  that  the  "  Guer- 
riere "  struck  her  colors  in  thirty  minutes. 
The  "  Guerriere"  lost  seventy-nine  men 
killed  and  wounded,  while  the  loss  of  the 
"  Constitution  "  was  but  seven  men.  The 
"  Guerriere  "  was  so  much  injured  in  the  fight 
that  she  could  not  be  carried  into  port,  and 
Hull  had  her  burned. 

The  "  Constitution  "  then  returned  to  Bos- 
ton with  her  prisoners,  and  was  received  with 
an  ovation.     It  was   the  first  time  in  half  a 


COMMODORE    HULL. 

century  that  a  J5ritish  frigate  had  struck  her 
flag  in  a  fair  fight,  and  the  victory  was  hailed 
with  delight  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  October  the  Ameri- 
can sloop-of-war  "  Wasp,"  eighteen,  Captain 
Jones,  met  the  British  brig  "  Frolic,"  twenty- 
two,  convoying  six  merchantmen.  In  order 
to  give  her  convoy  a  chance  to  escape,  the 
"Frolic"  shortened  sail  and  awaited  the 
approach  of  the  "Wasp."  The  "Wasp" 
poured  a  raking  fire  into  her  antagoni-t  and 


FROM    THE    R]:V()LUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


524 

then  boarded  her.  The  boarders  found  the 
deck  of  the  "  Frolic"  covered  with  the  dead. 
Only  one  man  remained  unhurt,  and  he 
stood  gallantl)-  at  his  po.st  at  the  wheel. 
Before  the  prize  could  be  secured  the 
British  frigate  "  Poictiers, "  74,  ho\e  in 
sight  and  captured  both  vessels.  The 
"  Wasp  "  lost  eight  men  in  the  engagement ; 
the  "  Frolic"  eighty. 

On  the  twenty-fifth    of  October  the   fri- 
gate 'United  States,"  44,  Captain  Decatur, 


Captain  Bainbridge,  captured  the  British 
frigate  "Java,"  38,  off  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
after  an  action  of  three  hours.  The 
"Java"  was  reduced  to  a  wreck,  and  as  he 
was  not  able  to  get  her  into  a  friendly  port. 
Captain  Bainbridge  caused  her  to  be  burned. 
The  "Java"  lost  one  hundred  and  sixty-one 
men  out  of  a  crew  of  four  hundred  ;  the 
"  Constitution  "  lost  thirty-four  in  killed  and 
wounded.  Among  the  wounded  was  Cap- 
tain Hainbridire. 


THE  "wasp       boarding   THE   "FROLIC. 


encountered  the  British  frigate  "  Mace 
donian,"  49,  off  the  Azores,  and  after  a 
running  fight  of  an  hour  and  a  half  forced 
her  to  strike  her  colors.  The  "United 
States"  lost  seven  killed  and  five  wounded  ; 
the  "  Macedonian,"  thirty-si.K  killed  and 
sixty-eighty  wounded  out  of  a  crew  of  three 
hundred  men.  Decatur  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing his  prize  into  New  York. 

On    the  twenty-ninth   of    December    the 
"  Constitution,"  now  under  the  command  of 


These  victories  aroused  the  greatest  en- 
thusiasm in  the  United  States.  The  great 
disparity  in  the  losses  sustained  by  the 
respective  combatants  made  it  evident  to 
both  nations  that  the  American  ships  had 
been  better  handled  in  every  engagement. 
The  British  endeavored  to  account  for  the 
American  successes  by  declaring  that  the 
United  States  vessels  were  seventy-fours  in 
disguise,  or  that  they  carried  heavier  guns 
than  their  adversaries  ;  but  the  thinking  men 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


of  both  countries  saw  that  they  had  been 
won  by  the  superior  skill  of  the  American 
officers,  and  that  they  were  the  plain  an- 
nouncement of  the  fact  that  England  had 
found  a  rival  capable  of  contesting  her 
supremacy  on  the  ocean. 

British  Commerce  Damaged. 

The  American  privateers  inflicted  great 
damage  upon  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain. 
During  the  year  i8i2  these  vessels  captured 
about  five  hundred  British  merchantmen  and 
made  prisoners  of  three  thousand  British 
seamen.  The  cargoes  of  the  captured  vessels 
amounted  to  an  enormous  sum. 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1813,  the  Rus- 
sian minister  at  Washington  communicated 
to  President  Madison  an  offer  from  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  of  his  mediation  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  about  a  peace  between 
them.  The  President  at  once  accepted  the 
Russian  offer,  and  sent  Albert  Gallatin  and 
James  A.  Bayard  to  St.  Petersburg  to  join 
John  Quincy  Adams,  then  Minister  to 
Russia,  as  ministers  to  negotiate  a  treaty. 
The  British  government  declined  the  Rus- 
sian mediation  and  the  matter  was  drop- 
ped. 

The  thirteenth  Congress  met  on  the 
twenty-fourth  of  May,  1S13,  and  entered 
upon  the  task  of  providing  the  means  of 
carrying  on  the  war.  The  principal  measure 
resorted  to  was  the  imposition  of  direct  taxes 
and  internal  duties.  The  financial  situation 
of  the  government  was  disheartening.  The 
expenses  of  the  war  had  greatly  exceeded 
the  estimates,  and  a  heavy  deficit  had  to  be 
provided  for.  To  meet  the  necessities  of 
the  occasion  new  loans  were  authorized,  but 
they  were  generally  paid  in  the  depreciated 
treasury  notes  which  had  been  issued  ac- 
cording to  act  of  Congress,  and  did  not  yield 
much  to  the  government. 


525 

The  business  of  the  country  was  in  a  state 
of  confusion.  Ail  the  banks,  save  a  few  in 
New  England,  had  suspended  specie  pay- 
ments, and  the  war  spirit  was  dying  out 
in  many  parts  of  the  Union.  New  England 
had  entered  into  the  war  with  great  reluc- 
tance and  was  a  heavy  loser  by  it.  Her 
opposition  to  it  was  increasing  daily 

Discontent  and  Disagreement. 

The  government  opened  the  campaign  of 
1813  with  thedetermination  to  make  another 
effort  to  conquer  Canada.  The  army  of  the 
west,  under  General  Harrison,  was  stationed 
at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Erie  ;  that  of  the 
centre,  under  General  Dearborn,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, was  posted  along  the  Niagara. 
river ;  and  that  of  the  east,  under  General 
Wade  Hampton,  was  at  Lake  Champlain. 
Simultaneous  movements  were  to  be  made 
from  these  points  against  the  British  in 
Canada.  To  oppose  these  forces  the  British 
stationed  their  armies  along  their  frontier  as 
follows  :  General  Proctor  was  stationed  with 
a  considerable  force  near  Detroit ;  General 
Sheaf  with  another  force  covered  Montreal 
and  the  approaches  from  the  United  States 
by  way  of  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Sorel 
ri\er;  and  Sir  George  Prevost,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, held  the  line  of  the  Niagara 
river. 

General  Harrison  was  charged  with  the 
duty  of  recovering  the  territory  lost  by 
General  Hull.  Volunteers  flocked  to  him 
from  all  parts  of  the  west,  and  especially 
from  Kentucky.  A  part  of  his  force,  under 
General  Winchester,  held  a  fort  on  the 
Maumee.  In  January,  1813,  the  British 
made  a  demonstration  against  Frenchtown, 
on  the  river  Raisin,  and  Winchester  sent  z 
detachment  to  its  relief,  which  compelled 
the  British  to  retreat.  A  little  later  Win- 
chester followed  with  the  rest  of  his  troops 
and  took  position  in  the  open  country.     His. 


526 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO  THE   CIVIL   WAR. 
carcely  one  thou 


whole  force  amounto 
sand  men. 

Hearing  of  Winchester's  exposed  posi- 
tion, General  Proctor  marched  from  Fort 
Maiden,  opposite  Detroit,  with  fifteen  hun- 
dred British  and  Indians,  and,  crossing  the 
lake  on  the  ice,  attacked  Winchester  on  the 
twenty-second  of  January,  and  after  a  des- 
perate encounter  forced  him  to  surrender; 
Proctor  promised  Winchester  that  his  men 


save  his  reputation  by  protecting  his  prison- 
ers, and  his  inhuman  conduct  in  leaving 
them  to  the  fury  of  the  savages,  in  violation 
of  his  pledge,  met,  as  it  deserved,  the  un- 
qualified denunciation  of  every  honorable 
man.  It  roused  a  fierce  spirit  of  revenge 
througout  the  west. 

Harrison  was  on  his  march  to  Winches- 
ter's assistance  when  he  learned  of  his 
surrender.       He    halted    at    the    rapids    of 


INDI.VNS    TORTURING    PRISONERS 

should  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  in 
violation  of  his  pledge  set  out  at  once  on 
his  retreat  to  Maiden,  leaving  the  wounded 
Americans  behind.  The  Indians  of  Proc- 
tor's    command     fell     upon     the     helpless 


Maumee,  and  built  a  fort  which  he  named 
Fort  Meigs,  in  honor  of  the  governor  of 
Ohio.  Proctor  advanced  in  the  spring  to 
attack  this  fort,  and  on  the  first  of  May 
opened  his  batteries   upon    it.     A   force  of 


wounded  men,  massacred  the  majority  of  I  twelve  hundred  Kentuckians,  under  &en- 
them,  and  carried  the  remainder  to  Detroit.  |  eral  Green  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  advanced 
Some  of  these  they  offered  to  release  on  pay-  |  to  the  relief  of  the  fort,  and  the  British 
ment  of  heavy  ransoms ;  the  others  they  '  and  Indians  were  obliged  to  raise  the  siege 
held  for  torture.     Proctoi    made  no  effort  to  i  and  retreat. 


ADMINISTRATION    O 

General  Clay  was  placed  in  command  of 
Fort  Meigs.  In  July  Proctor  again  advanced 
and  made  siege  to  it,  but  was  unable  to  cap- 
ture it.  Hearing  that  Fort  Stephenson,  on 
the  Sandusky,  had  a  small  garrison,  Proctor 
withdrew  from  Fort  Meigs  and  attacked  Fort 
Stephenson.  This  fort  had  a  garrison  of  one 
hundred  and  si.vty  men,  and  was  commanded 
by  Major  George  Croghan,  ayoung  man  in  his 
twenty-second  year.  He  was  summoned  to 
surrender,  but  answered  that  he  should  hold 
the  fort  to  the  last  man.  On  the  second  of 
August  Proctor  made  a  determined  assault 
upon  the  fort,  and  his  regulars  gained  the  ditch , 
into  which  they  crowded  preparatory  to 
attempting  to  scale  the  parapet.  At  this 
moment  the  only  cannon  in  the  fort,  which 
had  been  doubly  charged  with  musket-balls, 
opened  upon  them  from  a  masked  port-hole. 
The  British  were  cut  down  by  the  score,  and 
retreated  in  confusion.  That  night,  fearing 
that  Harrison  would  come  to  Croghan's 
relief,  Proctor  abandoned  the  siege,  and  re- 
treated towards  Maiden. 

Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

It  was  clear  that  nothing  of  importance 
could  be  accomplished  in  this  quarter  as  long 
as  the  British  held  Lake  Erie.  Oliver  Hazard 
Perry,  a  young  lieutenant  of  the  United 
States  navy,  volunteered  to  win  back  the 
lake  from  the  enem\-,  who  held  it  with  a 
■small  squadron  under  Captain  Barcla\'.  B_\- 
extraordinary  exertions  Perry  built  and 
equipped  a  fleet  at  Presque  Isle,  now  Erie. 
It  consisted  of  nine  vessels  of  various  sizes, 
from  one  which  carried  twenty-five  guns 
down  to  one  which  carried  one  gun.  Its 
total  armament  amounted  to  fifty-five  guns. 
It  was  manned  by  a  small  force  of  sailors 
from  the  east,  and  by  a  large  number  oi 
volunteers  from  General  Harrison's  ar^l\^ 
As  soon  as  his  fleet  was  in  proper  condition 
Perry  stood   out  into  the  lake  to  seek  the 


F   JAMES   MADISON.  527 

enemy.  The  British  squadron  consis.^>d  ot 
six  vessels,  carrying  sixty-three  guns.  P'ach 
fleet  carried  about  five  hundred  men. 

The  two  squadrons  soon  encountered  each 
other,  and  on  .the  tenth  of  September  a  severe 
battle  was  fought  between  them  at  the 
western  end  of  the  lake.  Perry  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  fight  displayed  a  flag  from  his 
vessel  bearing  the  words  of  the  brave  Law- 
rence, "  Don't  give  up  the  ship."  It  was 
greeted  with  cheers  from  the  men.  During 
the  battle  the  American  flag-ship,  the  "  Law- 


COMMODORE    FERRY. 

rence,"  was  disabled,  and  Perry  passed  in  an 
open  boat,  under  a  heavy  fire,  to  the  "  Nia- 
gara," the  next  largest  ship,  and  tranferred 
his  flag  to  her.  The  result  was  that  the 
British  fleet  was  defeated  and  forced  to  sur- 
render. Perry  announced  his  victory  to 
General  Harrison  in  the  following  character- 
istic message  :  "  We  have  met  the  enemy  and 
they  are  ours.  Two  ships,  one  brig,  a 
a  schooner,  and  a  sloop." 

This  victory  was  of  the  highest  imijortancc 
to  the  Americans.  It  gave  them  the  com- 
mand of  Lake  Erie,  and  opened  the  way  to 


5-8 


"ROM  Tiir:  Rrx^ni.uTiox  to  tiik  civil  war. 


PEKKVS    VICTOKV    ON    I.AKK    ERIE. 

Canada.     Harrison  hastened   to  profit  by  it,  I  govern.^ 
^  and  advanced  rapidly  toward.s  Detroit  and  |  Detroit 


Maiden.  Proctoraban- 
doned  thoseplaces  and 
retreated  with  his  own 
forces  and  Tecumseh 
and  his   Indians  into 
Canada.      At  Detroit 
Harrison    was  joined 
by  thirty-five  hundred 
mountedKentuckians, 
under  the  aged  Gov- 
ernor Shelby,  one  of 
the  heroes  of  King's 
iMountain,   and    Col- 
onel Richard  M.John- 
son.    He  at  once  en- 
tered Canada  in  pur- 
suit  of  Proctor,   and 
by  a  forced  march  of 
sixty  miles  came  up 
with  him  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames,  on  the 
fifth  of  October.      A 
short    but    desperate 
battle  ensued,  in  which 
Tecumseh  was  killed 
and    his    Indians  put 
to  flight.    The  British 
\  ere  routed, and  Proc- 
oi  saved  himself  only 
b\    the    speed  of  his 
hor;e. 

l>y  these  successes- 
JiL  Americans  won 
b  ick  Michigan  Terri- 
toij  ,and  for  the  pres- 
sent  gave  peace  and 
security  to  the  north- 
n  estern  frontier.  The 
Kcntuckians  returned 
home,  and  Colonel 
Lewis  Cass,  who  was 
soon  after  appointed 
n.  Michigan,  was  left  to  garrison 
ith    his    brigade.       With    fifteen. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    MADISON, 
hundred    regulars    Harrison    embarked 


529 


Lake  Erie  and  sailed  for  Buffalo  to  assist 
in  the  invasion  of  Canada  from  that  quar- 
ter 

A  small  fleet  of  armed  vessels  was  main- 
tained in  Lake  Ontario  by  each  of  the  com- 
batants. The  American  fleet  was  commanded 
by  Commodore  Chauncey.  In  April  General 
Dearborn  embarked  a  force  of  seventeen 
hiinilroii  picki-d   men    in    these  vessels    and 


stores   fell   into    the    hands  of   the   captors. 
They  were  transferred  to  Sackett's  Harbor. 

As  it  was  not  part  of  the  plan  of  General 
Dearborn  to  hold  York,  the  place  was  eva- 
cuated. Just  before  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Americans  a  small  buildin^j,  known  as  the 
Parliament  House,  was  burned.  The  British 
attributed  this  act  to  the  Americans,  who 
disclaimed  it.  The  American  officers 
believed  that  tiie  house  was  set  on  fire  by 


<^- 


:--  'fis 


BATTLE    OF   THE    THAMES- 

sailed  across  Lake  Ontario  to  attack  York, 
now  Toronto,  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada. 
The  Americans  landed  a  short  distance  below 
the  town,  and  advanced  upon  it.  On  the 
the  twenty-seventh  of  April  the  place  was 
carried  by  assault.  The  British  fired  the 
magazine  of  one  of  the  works  from  which 
they  were  driven,  and  General  Pike,  the 
commander  of  the  storming  party,  and  one 
or  two  hundred  of  his  troops  were  killed  by 
the  explosion.     A  large  amount  of  military 


—  DEATH    OF    TECUMSEH. 

the  disaffected  Canadians,  who  had  threat- 
ened to  burn  it.  The  burning  of  this  build- 
ing was  made  by  the  British  the  pretext  for 
the  destruction  of  the  capitol  and  oilier 
public  buildings  at  Washington,  the  next 
year. 

From  York  General  Dearborn  sailed  to 
the  Niagara  to  attack  Fort  George.  The 
commander  of  this  work,  on  the  approach  of 
the  Americans,  blew  up  his  magazines  and 
retreated   to    Burlington    Heights,  near   the 


530 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION    TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


western  end  of  the  lake.  Dearborn  followed 
tliem  in  pursuit,  but  was  attacked  and  driven 
back  by  the  British  on  the  nit,'ht  of  the  sixth 
of  June.  Two  American  generals,  Winder 
and  Chanler_  were  made  prisoners  in  this 
engagement.  Dearborn  fell  back  in  haste 
to  Fort  George. 

In  the  meantime  General  Prevost,  having 
learned  of  Dearborn's  absence  from  Sackett's 
Harbor,  attacked  that  place,  on  the  twent)'- 
ninth  of  May,  with  one  thousand  men.  He 
was  repulsed  with  such  vigor  by  the  gar- 
rison, under  General  Brown,  that  he  retreated 
to  his  ships,  leaving  his  wounded  behind. 

Failure  of  a  Canadian  Expedition. 

Soon  after  this  General  Dearborn  suffered 
another  reverse  at  Fort  George,  and  allowed 
a  detachment  of  six  hundred  men  of  his 
army  to  be  cut  off  by  the  British.  In  con- 
.sequence  of  these  failures  General  Dearborn 
was  removed  by  the  President,  who  appointed 
General  Wilkinson,  the  commander  of  the 
troops  at  New  Orleans,  as  his  successor. 

It  was  proposed  that  General  Wilkinson 
should  enter  Canada  with  his  troops  and 
advance  upon  Montreal,  and  that  General 
Hampton,  commanding  the  forces  on  Lake 
Champlain,  should  join  him  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence. Wilkinson  and  Hampton  were  not 
on  friendly  terms,  and  neither  of  them  were 
possessed  of  sufficient  patriotism  to  overlook 
their  personal  differences  for  the  good  of 
their  countr\-.  Wilkinson  advanced  as  far 
as  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  sent 
a.  body  of  troops,  under  General  Brown,  to 
cover  the  descent  of  the  rapids  by  the  army. 

An  engagement  occurred  at  Chrysler's 
JFarm,  on  the  eleventh  of  November;  the 
British  were  driven  back  ;  bnt  the  Americans 
lost  more  than  three  hundred  men.  Wilk- 
inson now  .sent  word  to  Hampton  to  move 
forward  to  his  support,  but  the  latter 
answered  that  he  had  abandoned  the  expe- 


dition, and  was  going  into  winter  quarters. 
Under  these  circumstances  Wilkinson  fell 
back  to  French  Mills,  about  nine  miles  from 
St.  Regis,  where  he  went  into  winter  quar 
ters.  Hampton  prepared  to  pass  the  winter 
at  Plattsburg  on  Lake  Champlain.  Thus  the 
expedition  was  ruined  by'  the  quarrels  of  it\ 
commanders.  * 

British  Depredations. 

In  December  the  Americans  abandoned 
Fort  George,  and  retreated  across  the 
Niagara  river.  Before  doing  so  General 
McClure,  the  commanding  officer,  burned 
the  village  of  Newark,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  using  it  as  quarters  fur  liieir 
troops  during  the  winter.  There  was  no 
necessity  and  no  excuse  for  the  destruction 
of  this  village,  and  it  was  speedily  avenged 
by  the  enemy.  About  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber the  British  crossed  the  Niagara  river, 
surprised  Fort  Niagara,  and  put  the  garrison 
to  the  sword.  In  retaliation  for  the  burning 
of  Newark  they  burned  every  town  and 
house  that  could  be  reached  on  the  Amer- 
ican side  of  the  river,  including  Lewistown, 
Youngstown,  Manchester,  Black  Rock,  and 
Buffalo. 

The  war  was  not  confined  to  the  northern 
frontier.  In  the  spring  of  1813  Tecumseh 
had  visited  the  Creek  tribes  in  the  southwest 
and  aroused  their  war  spirit.  In  August 
seven  hundred  Creeks  attacked  and  captured 
Fort  Minis,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Alabama 
river,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tombigbee. 
Between  three  and  four  hundred  settlers, 
w^ho  had  taken  refuge  in  the  fort,  were  mas- 
sacred. 

The  south  was  soon  aroused  by  the  news 
of  this  massacre,  and  in  a  short  while  a  force 
of  seven  thousand  volunteers  was  marching 
into  the  Indian  country  in  four  divisions. 
One  division,  under  General  Andrew  Jack- 
son, of  Tennessee,  moved  southward   from 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    MADISON.  531 

General  Jackson  at  Emucfau.  Jackson  suc- 
ceeded in  repulsing  them,  but  in  spite  of  his 
victory  deemed  it  best  to  fall  back  to  Fort 
Strother.  On  the  twenty-fifth  the  Indians 
again  attacked  him  and  were  again  defeated. 
Soon  after  this  Jackson,  being  largely  rein- 


Nashville;    another   from    East    Tennessee, 
under  General  Cocke  ;  a  third  from  Georgia, 
under  General  Floyd,  and  a  fourth  from  Mis- 
sissippi   Territory.       In    addition    to   these 
forces  the  lower  Creeks  took  up  arms  against 
their  brethren,  and  the  Cherokees  and  Choc- 
taws  joined  the  Amer- 
ricans.    The  principal 
villages  of  the  hostile 
Creeks  lay  on  and  near 
the  Coosa  and  Talla- 
poosa Rivers,  and  their 
hunting-grounds    ex- 
tended   much    farther 
north. 

The  Tennessee  for- 
ces, under  General 
Jackson,  were  the  first 
to  enter  the  Indian 
country,  and  a  num- 
ber of  unimportant 
encounters  occurred. 
On  the  third  of  Nov- 
ember the  Indians 
were  defeated  in  a 
bloody  battle  at  Tal- 
lasehatche,  and  on  the 
eighth  of  the  same 
month  at  Talladega. 
These  were  hard-won 
victories  for  the  Amer- 
icans, and  terrible 
blows  to  the  savages. 
On  the  twenty-ninth 
of  November  the 
Georgia  volunteers^ 
under  General  Floyd, 
attacked    the     Creek 


CAPTAIN    (afterward    SIR    PHILIP)    BROKE. 


town  of  Autossee,  and  killed   two  hundred 
warriors. 

The  Creeks  were  badly  armed,  but  their 
spirit  was  unbroken  by  their  reverses.  Early 
in  the  j-ear  18 14  they  assumed  the  offensive, 
and  on  the  twenty-second  of  January  attacked 


forced,  advanced  into  the  Indian  country 
with  an  army  of  four  thousand  Tennes- 
seeans. 

At  the  Horse-Shoe  Bend  of  the  Tallaposa 
the  Creeks  had  their  principal  settlement,  an 
intrenched  camp,  in  which  they  had  collected 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION  TO   THE   CIVIL   WAk. 


53^ 

their  women  and  children,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  one  thousand  warriors.  They 
were  attacked  here  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
March,  1814,  by  Jackson's  army,  and  their 
camp  was  carried,  after  a  desperate  fight,  in 
which  six  hundred  warriors  were  killed  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  women  and  children 
were  made  prisoners.  This  terrible  blow 
put  an  end  to  the  resistance  of  the  Creeks. 
They  sought  peace,  and  were  compelled  to 
purchase  it  by  the  surrender  of  more  than 
two-thirds  of  their  hunting-grounds. 

Hot  Naval    Engagements. 

The  year  1813  was  eventful  and  important 
in  the  naval  history  of  the  republic,  and 
once  more  the  naxy  sustained  the  spirits  of 
the  country,  which  had  been  cast  down  by 
the  failure  of  the  army.  On  the  twenty-fifth 
of  February  the  American  sloop-of-war 
'•  Hornet,"  Captain  Lawrence,  captured  the 
British  brig  "  Peacock,"  off  the  mouth  of 
Demerara  River,  after  an  action  of  fifteen 
minutes.  The  "  Peacock  "  was  so  terribly 
cut  up  by  her  adversary's  fire  that  she  sank 
in  a  few  minutes  after  she  struck  her  flag. 
Captain  Lcwrence  returned  to  the  United 
States  and  was  promoted  to  the  command  of 
the  frigate  "  Chesapeake,  which  was  lying  in 
Boston  harbor  preparing  for  sea. 

While  there  Lawrence  was  challenged  by 
Captain  Broke,  of  the  British  frigate  "  Shan- 
non," which  was  cruising  off  Boston  harbor. 
Although  his  ship  was  badly  manned  and 
his  crew  undisciplined,  Lawrence  accepted 
the  challenge  and  put  to  sea  on  the  first  of 
June  to  meet  the  "  Shannon."  The  action 
was  begun  about  thirty  miles  east  of  Boston 
Light  and  lasted  but  fifteen  minutes.  The 
"Shannon"  was  in  every  way  superior  to 
the  "  Chesapeake,"  and  the  latter  ship  was 
forced  to  strike  her  flag,  with  a  loss  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  of  her  crew.  Captain 
Lawrence  was  mortally  wounded.      As    he 


was  being  carried  below  his  last  words  were, 
"  Don't  give  up  the  sliip  1 " — words  which 
have  since  become  the  watchword  of  the 
service  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  brightest 
ornaments. 

Two  Commanders  Fall. 

The  rejoicings  in  England  over  the  cap- 
ture of  the  "  Chesapeake  "  were  very  great. 
Although  not  gratifying  to  the  Americans, 
yet  the  little  navy  of  the  Union  gained 
new  courage,  for  its  splendid  services  had 
won  the  respect  of  the  "  mistress  of  tlie  seas." 

In  the  summer  of  1813  the  "United 
States,"  '■  Macedonian  "  and  "  Hornet."  while 
attempting  to  get  to  sea  from  New  York 
through  Long  Island  sound,  were  driven  into 
the  harbor  of  New  London,  and  blockaded 
there  by  a  British  squadron.  In  August  the 
American  sloop  of  war  "  Argus  "  was  cap- 
tured while  cruising  in  the  English  channel 
by  the  "  Pelican."  In  September  the  Ameri- 
can brig  "  Enterprise,"  twelve  guns.  Captain 
Burrows,  captured  the  British  brig  "  Boxer," 
Captain  Blythe,  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  Both 
commanders  fell  in  the  engagement,  and  were 
buried  with  equal  honors. 

During  the  summer  of  181 3  the  British 
fleet  of  Sir  George  Cockburn  entered  the 
Chesapeake  repeatedly  and  ravaged  its 
shores.  All  the  shipping  that  could  be 
reached  by  the  enemy  was  destroyed,  and 
the  towns  of  Frenchtown,  Georgetown, 
Havre  de  Grace  and  Fredericktown  were 
plundered  and  burned.  An  attack  was  made 
on  Norfolk,  but  was  repulsed  with  heavy 
loss.  Cockburn  then  plundered  the  town 
of  Hampton,  and  sailed  to  the  southward. 
The  barbarities  committed  by  this  fleet 
along  the  Chesapeake  and  its  tributaries 
were  horrible.  Neither  age  nor  se.x  were 
spared  by  the  British  sailors  and  marines, 
and  women  were  ravished,  and  old  men  and 
little  children  murdered,  with  the  knowledge 


533 


FRO:\I    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR, 


534 

of  the  admiral,  who  made  no  effort  to  stop 

the  outrages. 

During  the  winter  of  1S13-14  a  communi- 
cation was  received  from  the  British  govern- 
ment, stating  that  although  Great  Britain 
had  declined  the  Russian  mediation,  she  was 
wiUing  to  enter  into  direct  negotiations  with 
the  United  States,  either  at  London  or  Got- 
tenburg,  in  Sweden.  The  President  at  once 
accepted  the  English  offer,  and  Henrj^  Clay 
and  Jonathan  Russell  were  added  to  the 
commissioners  already  in  Europe.  Gotten- 
jurg  was  at  first  selected  as  the  place  of 
meeting,  which  was  afterwards  changed  to 
Ghent. 

Great  Britain  Ready  for  Peace. 

At  this  time  the  opposition  to  the  war  was 
very  great  in  many  parts  of  the  Union.  The 
New  England  States  continued  bitterly  hos- 
tile to  it,  and  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
in  a  remonstrance  addressed  to  Congress, 
denounced  the  war  as  unreasonable,  and 
urged  the  conclusion  of  a  peace.  Congress 
Itself  was  more  divided  upon  the  support  of 
the  war  than  it  had  ever  been.  It  contained 
many  new  men,  some  of  them  destined  to 
play  prominent  parts  in  the  future  history  of 
the  country.  Pre-eminent  among  those  was 
Daniel  Webster,  of  New  Hampshire,  who 
from  the  first  took  a  high  position  as  one  of 
the  most  gifted  men  in  Congress. 

Hostilities  were  resumed  by  the  Americans 
on  the  Niagara  frontier  with  the  beginning  of 
the  spring  of  1814.  Early  in  May  General 
Brown,  whose  force  had  been  increased  to 
five  thousand  men,  crossed  the  Niagara. 
Fort  Erie  surrendered  to  him  without  a  blow 
on  the  third  of  July.  On  the  fourth  General 
Scott,  with  the  advanced  guard  of  the  army, 
moved  towards  the  British,  who  had  taken 
position,  under  General  Riall,  at  Chippewa, 
fifteen  miles  distant.  Scott  was  joined  by 
General    Brown,  with  the  rest  of  the  aimy, 


on  the  night  of  the  fourth,  and  the  next  day 
a  severe  engagement  occurred,  in  whicli  the 
British  were  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  five 
hundred  men.  The  loss  of  the  Americans 
was  three  hundred. 

Victory  at  Lundy's  Lane. 

After  his  defeat  at  Chippewa  General  Riall 
fell  back  to  Burlington  Heights,  and  the 
Americans  advanced  to  Queenstown,  but 
soon  after  withdrew  to  Chippewa.  Being 
strongly  reinforced  by  a  body  of  troops,, 
under  General  Drummond,  Riall  advanced 
from  Burlington  Heights  to  attack  the  Amer- 
icans, followed  by  General  Drumniond's 
command  ;  and  at  the  same  time  General 
Brown,  who  had  heard  of  Drummond's  arri- 
val, set  out  from  Chippewa  to  attack  the 
British.  The  advanced  forces  of  the  Amer- 
icans were  commanded  by  General  Scott.. 
The  two  armies  unexpectedly  met  at  Bridge- 
water,  or  Lundy's  Lane,  immediately  opposite 
Niagara  Falls,  at  sunset,  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  July.  The  British  occupied  a  strong 
position,  and  notwithstanding  the  lateness 
of  the  hour,  Scott  resolved  to  attack  them. 
The  main  body  of  the  Americans,  under 
General  Brown,  soon  arrived,  and  the  battle 
became  general.  The  British  had  posted  a 
battery  on  a  hill  which  commanded  the  field, 
and  were  doing  great  execution  in  the  Amer- 
ican ranks.  It  was  captured  by  the  regiment 
of  Colonel  James  Miller,  and  General  Drum- 
mond, who  had  arrived  on  the  field  and  had 
taken  command  in  place  of  General  Riall, 
who  had  been  wounded  and  captured  by  the 
Americans,  advanced  to  recover  it. 

Drummond  made  three  determined  efforts 
to  retake  the  battery,  but  was  driven  back 
each  time.  It  was  now  midnight,  and  about 
eight  hundred  men  had  fallen  on  each  side. 
The  Americans  had  exhausted  their  ammu- 
nition and  were  dependent  now  upon  the 
cartridges  thej'  obtained  from  the  bo.xes  of 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES    MADISON.  533 

killed  and  wounded  upon  the  eneni}-,  and 
retreated  into  the  fort,  carrying  with  them 
four  hundred  prisoners.  The  American  loss 
in  this  brilliant  sally  was  three  hundred  men. 
Drummond  immediately  raised  the  siege 
and  retreated  across  the  Cliippewa. 


the  fallen  British.  Finding  all  their  efforts 
vain  the  British  sullenly  withdrew  and  left 
the  field  to  the  Americans.  The  latter  were 
so  exhausted  by  their  hard  march  of  fifteen 
miles  and  five  hours  of  constant  fighting 
that  they  made  no  effort  at  pursuit,  and  soon 
withdrew  from  the  hill  to  their  camp.  As 
they  had  no  means  of  hauling  off  the  cap- 
tured guns  they  were  obliged  to  leave  them 
on  the  field.  General's  Brown  and  Scott 
were  both  wounded  during  the  battle,  as 
were  nearly  all  of  the  field  officers. 

Repulse  at  Fort  Erie. 

The  victory  of  Lundy"s  Lane  was  particu- 
larly gratifying  to  the  Americans.  It  was 
won,  not  over  Canadian  militia,  but  over 
veteran  troops  who  had  served  under  Wel- 
lington in  the  wars  with  Napoleon.  It  broke 
the  long  series  of  defeats  sustained  by  the 
Americans  since  the  opening  of  the  war, 
and  showed  what  could  be  accomplished  by 
American  soldiers  under  competent  and 
determined  commanders  and  in  anything 
like  a  fair  fight. 

General  Browne  withdrew  to  Fort  Erie 
after  the  battle,  and  being  disabled  by  his 
wounds,  relinquished  the  command  to  Gen- 
eral Gaines.  General  Drummond  moved 
forward  and  on  the  fourth  of  August  laid 
siege  to  Fort  Erie.  On  the  fifteenth  he 
attempted  to  carry  the  fort  by  an  assault  at 
midnight,  but  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of 
one  thousand  men.  In  spite  of  this  reverse 
he  pressed  the  siege  with  vigor,  and  in  the 
meantime  General  Brown  recovered  from  his 
wounds  and  resumed  the  command  of  the 
fort.  On  the  seventeenth  of  September  the 
Americans  made  a  sortie  against  the  batteries 
of  the  Brittish,  which  were  two  miles  in 
advance  of  their  camp.  By  a  sudden  dash 
from  the  fort  they  stormed  and  carried  the 
batteries,  spiked  the  guns,  set  fire  to  the 
magazines,  inflicted  a  loss  of  six  hundred  in 


Around  Lake  Champlain. 

In  October  a  reinforcement  of  four  thou-  1 
sand  men  arrived  from  Lake  Champlain 
under  General  Izard,  who  assumed  the  com- 
mand of  the  American  Army  on  the  Niagara, 
He  was  one  of  the  old-style  commanders, 
and  at  once  proceeded  to  neutralize  the 
gallant  achievements  of  Brown  and  Scott. 
He  did  nothing  until  November,  when,  fear- 
ing that  Drummond  would  be  reinforced,  he 
blew  up  Fort  Erie  and  retreated  across  the 
Niagara,  leaving  the  entire  Canadian  shore 
in  the  possession  of  the  British. 

General  Izard  had  succeeded  General 
Hampton  in  command  of  the  army  on  Lake 
Champlain.  Upon  his  withdrawal  to  the 
Niagara,  General  Macomb  took  command  of 
the  troops  that  remained  on  Lake  Champlain, 
and  held  Plattsburg  with  a  force  of  about 
three  thousand  men.  Hearing  that  General 
Prevost  was  advancing  to  attack  him, 
Macomb  called  on  the  militia  of  New  York 
and  Vermont  to  come  to  his  aid,  and  about 
three  thousand  of  them  joined  him,  bringing 
his  force  to  si.x  thousand  men.  General 
Prevost  having  been  reinforced  from  l-.ng- 
land,  advanced  against  Plattsburg  with  a 
force  of  twelve  thousand  veteran  troops,  for 
the  purpose  of  invading  the  State  of  New 
York. 

Upon  the  approach  of  tliis  force  Macomb 
fell  back  behind  the  Saranac,  a  deep  and 
rapid  stream  which  empties  into  the  lake  at 
Plattsburg,  and  the  small  American  squadron, 
underCommodorcMacdonough,  was  moored 
across  the  entrance  of  Plattsburg  bay.  This 
squadron  carried  eighty-si.x  guns,  and  was 


536 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


manned  by  eight  hundred  and  fifty-six  men. 
The  British  army  was  accompanied  by  a 
squadron  superior  in  strength  to  that  of  the 
Americans,  and  upon  which  they  depended 
for  the  control  of  Lake  Champlain.  It  was 
commanded  by  Captain  Downie,  mounted 
ninety-fi\e  guns,  was  manned  by  one  thou- 
sand men,  and  had  plenty  of  ammunition. 


Macdonough  called  the  crew  of  his  flag-ship 
around  him,  and  kneeling  on  the  quarter- 
deck of  his  vessel,  prayed  God  to  crown  the 
American  arms  with  victory  that  day. 

After  a  severe  engagement  of  two   hours 

and  a  quarter,  the  British  fleet  was  defeated 

and  forced  to  surrender,  with  the  exception 

of  a  few  gunboats,  which  escaped.  While  this 

^  ,  battle  was  going  on. 


Prevost  tried  repeat- 
edly to  cross  the  Sara- 
nac,  but  was  each  time 
driven  back  with  heavy 
loss.  During  the  night 
till  British  army  re- 
tiLited  in  disorder, 
^  .^-^  lb  uidoning  their  sick 

.W-^  >•  ..««s9fi*i^i  '"''   ^^'ounded    and    a 

\S>  "  1^^^^^  luge  quantity  of  mili- 

t  iry  stores,  having  lost 
twenty-five  hundred 
HKn  in  the  engage- 
n  Lnt. 

The     country    had 

-imple  cause  to  regret 

the    weakness   of    its 

niw  during  this  war. 

The  exploits  of  those 

\  Lssels   which    had 

managed  to  get  to  sea 

id  shown  what  could 

c    accomplished    by 

branch    of    the 

public     service,     and 

Prevost  arrived  before   Plattsburg  on  the  |  our   deficiency  in   this   respect  enabled  the 
seventh  of  September,  and  proceeded  to  erect  j  enemy  to  blockade  the  ports  of  the  Union, 


l#K\ 


LI     OF    I  AK 


batteries  to  cover  his  passage  of  the  Saranac. 
On  the  eleventh  of  September  he  made  a 
combined  attack  by  land  and  water  upon  the 
American  position.  The  British  squadron 
advanced  to  force  an  entrance  ir.to  Platts- 
burg bay,  and  the  British  army  at  the  same 
time  attempted  to  force  a  passage  of  the 
Saranac.     As   the  enem\'s  fleet    advanced, 


and  to  use  the  Chesapeake  bay  with  as 
much  freedom  as  if  it  were  one  of  their 
own  harbors.  In  the  summer  of  .^814  a 
fleet  of  sixty  British  ships  under  Adrrvirals 
Cockburn  and  Cochrane,  having  on  bo^-d 
a  land-force  of  five  thous-and  men  under 
General  Ross,  assembled  in  the  Chesa- 
peake. 


J 


DECATUR  S    CONFLICT    WITH    THE    ALGEKINE    AT    TRIPOLI. 


©  E  pa  I' - 


M  E  A  [Q  E. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES   MADISON. 


Admiral  Cochrane  endeavored  to  induce 
the  slaves  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  to 
desert  their  masters,  and  offered  them  free 
transportation  to  the  West  Indies  and 
Canada.  As  it  was  not  known  at  what 
oint  General  Ross  would  land  his  troops, 
General  Winder  of  Mar>'land  was  ordered 
to  collect  a  force  of  fifteen  thousand  militia 
from  the  neighboring  States.  He  proposed 
to  occupy  a  central  position  from  which  he 
::ould  cover  Washington  City,  Annapolis, 
and  Baltimore,  and  was  anxious  to  call  out 
the  militia  at  once  ;  but  General  Armstrong, 
the  secretary  of  war,  decided  that  it  would 
be  time  enough  to  call  out  the  militia  when 
the  British  had  revealed  their  designs  more 
plainly.  He  did  not  believe  the  British  had 
any  idea  of  advancing  upon  Washington, 
and  thought  Baltimore  could  defend  itself 
Mr.  Madison  submitted  to  the  decision  of 
the  secretary  of  war,  and  the  national  capital 
was  left  defenceless. 

Attack  on  Washington. 

In  the  meantime,  the  British  commanders, 
learning  the  exposed  condition  of  the  city  of 
Washington,  determined  to  attack  it.  They 
divided  their  fleet  for  this  purpose,  one  por- 
tion ascending  the  Potomac,  and  another  the 
Patuxent.  The  latter  division  conveyed  the 
troops  of  General  Ross,  and  landed  them  at 
Benedict,  on  the  Patuxent,  about  fifty  miles 
from  Washington.  General  Ross  at  once 
set  out  for  Washington,  advancing  slowly 
and  meeting  with  no  resistance.  As  he  had 
no  horses,  his  troops  were  obliged  to  drag 
their  three  or  four  cannon  by  hand,  and  the 
British  made  but  about  ten  miles  a  day.  A 
few  determined  troops  might  have  driven 
them  back,  ana  the  roads  might  at  least  have 
been  obstructed  and  the  progress  ol  the 
enemy  impeded. 

General  Winder  gathered  a  small  force  of 
militia,  and  took  position  at  Bladensburg,  on 


537 

the  east  branch  of  the  Potomac,  about  three 
miles  irom  Washington.  He  was  joined  here 
by  Commodore  Barney  with  five  hundred 
sailors  and  marines  from  the  gunboat  flotilla 
in  the  Patu.xent,  which  Barney,  unable  to 
offer  any  resistance,  had  burned  upon  the 
approach  of  the  British  fleet.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  August  the  British  reached  Blad- 
ensburg, and  attacked  the  force  under  Gen- 
eral Winder.  The  militia  fled  at  the  first 
fire,  but  Barney  and  his  sailors  and  marines 
stood  their  ground,  and   ser\'ed  their  guns 


UOKE    .M.\CDONOUGH. 


With  vigor  until  their  position  was  turned  on 
both  flanks  by  the  superior  force  of  the 
enemy,  when  they  retreated,  leaving  their 
guns  and  wounded  in  the  hands  ot  che  vic- 
tors. The  so-called  battle  ot  Bladensburg 
was  little  more  than  a  skirmish. 

General  Ross  halted  to  resi.  his  men,  vvho 
were  worn  out  with  the  heat,  and  towards 
sunset  resumed  his  march,  and  entered  Wa.sh- 
ington  a  little  before  dark.  The  government, 
had  abandoned  the  city  some  hours  before, 
and  had  removed  the  greater  part  of  its 
papc.-  vand  archives,  and  such  public  property 


538 


FROM   Till'    REVOLUTION   TO   THE 


as  could  be  carried  away,  and  only  a  few 
frightened  citizens  remained  in  the  town. 
Admiral  Cochrane  had  some  time  before 
announced  that  the  British  forces  were 
ordered  "  to  destroy  and  lay  waste  all  towns 
and  districts  of  the  United  States  found 
accessible  to  the  attacks  of  British  arma- 
ments," and  the  army  of  General  Ross  now 
proceeded  to  carry  out  these  infamous  in- 
structions. They  burned  the  capitol,  and 
with  it  the  library  of  Congress,  the  buildings 
occupied  by  the  treasury  and  state  depart- 
ments, and  plundered  the  President's  mansion 
and  set  it  on  fire.  A  number  of  stores  and 
private  dwellings  were  also  pillaged  and  set 
on  fire.  The  navy  yard,  with  all  its  contents 
and  several  vessels  on  the  stocks,  was  entirely 
destroyed. 

Capture  of  American  Vessels. 

The  British  afterwards  attempted  to  excuse 
their  shameful  conduct  in  Washington  by 
alleging  that  it  was  in  retaliation  for  the  burn- 
ing of  the  parliament  house  at  York  in 
Canada,  an  act  which  had  been  disclaimed 
by  the  Americans,  and  which  the  British  had 
not  been  able  to  prove  was  their  work. 
General  Ross  occupied  Washington  during 
the  night  of  the  twenty-fourth,  and  until 
dark  on  the  twenty-fifth.  Then,  fearing  lest 
the  Americans  would  assemble  in  such  force 
as  to  intercept  him,  he  retreated  stealthily 
from  Washington  on  the  night  of  the  twenty- 
fifth,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  reached  Bene- 
dict and  re-cmbarked  his  troops.  The  Eng- 
lish vessels  .sent  up  the  Potomac  succeeded 
in  passing  Fort  Washington,  which  made 
little  or  no  effort  to  stop  them,  and  on 
the  twenth-cighth  anchored  off  Ale.xandria. 
Twenty-one  vessels  were  captured,  and  the 
town  saved  itself  from  bombardment  by  pay- 
ing a  ransom  of  sixteen  thousand  barrels  of 
flour  and  one  thousand  hogsheads  of  to- 
bacco. 


CIVIL   WAR. 
ig    his     men,    General 


After  resting  his  men,  General  Ross 
ascended  the  Chesapeake  to  the  Patapsco, 
for  the  purpose  of  attacking  Baltimore,  which 
was  defended  by  Fort  McHenryat  the  mouth 
of  the  harbor,  and  a  force  of  Maryland  militia 
and  some  volunteers  from  Pennsylvania.  A 
force  of  eight  thousand  men  was  landed  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco,  under  General 
Ross,  and  on  the  twelfth  of  September  ad- 
vanced towards  the  city,  while  the  fleet 
ascended  the  river  to  capture  Fort  Mc Henry 
and  force  its  way  into  the  harbor.  A  small 
party  of  Americans  contested  the  advance  of 
the  British  army,  and  a  skirmish  ensued  in 
which  General  Ross  was  killed. 

Gallant  Defence  of  Fort  McHenry. 

A  sharp  encounter  followed,  each  side 
losing  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
The  American  militia  retired  in  good  order, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  thirteenth  the 
British  resumed  their  march  towards  Balti- 
more. The  Americans  were  discovered  in 
considerable  force,  occupying  a  line  of  in- 
trenchments  defended  by  artillery,  and  com- 
manded by  General  Samuel  Smith,  an  ofiicer 
of  the  revolution.  The  British  commander 
now  deemed  it  best  to  await  the  result  of 
the  engagement  between  the  fleet  and  Fort 
McHenry,  which  was  in  progress  at  the 
time.  The  British  fleet  maintained  a  heavy 
fire  upon  the  fort,  which  replied  with  vigor, 
and  soon  made  it  apparent  to  the  enemy  that 
they  could  not  silence  it  or  pass  it.  The 
attack  on  the  fort  proving  a  failure,  the 
British  withdrew  to  North  Point  on  the 
night  ot  the  thirteenth  and  reiinibarked  on 
their  ships. 

During  this  cannonade  Francis  S.  Key,  of 
Baltimore,  who  had  visited  the  British  fleet 
to  obtain  the  release  of  certain  prisoners, 
and  who  was  detained  by  the  admiral  during 
the  bombardment,  wrote  the  famous  song  of 
"The    Star-Spangled    Banner,"    which    has 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  JAMES    MADISON. 


539 


since  become   the   national   song  of  Amer- 
ica. 

The  Chesapeake  was  not  the  only  part  of 
the  coast  that  suffered  from  the  ravages  of 
the  British.  The  shores  of  Maine  were 
ravaged  with  great  barbarity.  Stonington, 
Connecticut,  was  subjected  to  a  four  days' 
bombardment  by  a  British  fleet,  but  the 
militia  repulsed  every  attempt 
of  the  enemy  to  land.  The 
foreign  commerce  of  the  coun- 
try was  completely  destroyed. 
The  superior  naval  strength  of 
the  British  enabled  them  to 
blockade  the  Atlantic  ports 
so  thoroughly  that  the  gov- 
ernment ordered  the  lights 
along  the  coasts  to  be  des- 
troyed, as  they  only  served  as 
guides  to  British  cruisers. 

The  opposition  of  the  New 
England  States  to  the  war, 
which  had  caused  them  such 
severe  loss,  increased  daily, 
and  at  length  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  recommended 
a  convention  of  delegates  from 
the  seaboard  States  to  devise 
amendments  to  the  Constitu- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing them  from  a  recurrence 
of  such  evils  as  they  were 
suffering  from.  The  conven- 
tion met  at  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, on  the  fourteenth  of 
December,  1814,  and  was  composed  of 
delegates  from  the  New  England  States. 
The  convention  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the 
advocates  of  the  war,  who  charged  it  with 
the  intention  to  make  a  separate  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  which  would  have  been  a 
practical  secession  from  the  Union.  The 
convention  continued  in  session  for  twenty 
days,  and  adoptee!  an  address  to  the  country 


very  moderate  in  its  tone.  It  proposed  to 
amend  the  Constitution  by  making  the  rep- 
resentation in  the  lower  House  of  Congress 
equal  by  basing  it  upon  the  free  population 
only  by  forbidding  embargo  and  non-inter- 
course laws;  and  by  making  the  President 
ineligible  for  a  second  term.  One  of  the 
strong  opponents  of   the  embargo  was  the 


rN(  L\ND    FARM    HOL 


eminent  jurist  and  scholar,  Joseph  Story, 
whose  influence  was  widely  felt  at  this 
time.  The  convention  was  for  many  years 
exposed  to  the  bitterest  denunciation  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  American  people.  One 
of  the  results  of  the  opposition  to  the 
war  was  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
old  Federalist  party  which  had  opposed  the 


540 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

Mobile.  On  the  fifteenth  of  September  an 
attack  was  made  upon  this  fort,  and  was 
repulsed  with  the  loss  to  the  enemy  of  a 
vessel  and  a  number  of  men. 


Previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  conven- 
tion the  President,  in  hope  of  relieving  the 
embarrassments  occasioned  by  the  opposi- 
tion of  New  England  to  the  war,  advised  the 
repeal  of  the  embargo  and  non-intercourse 
acts,  and  the  abandonment  of  the  entire  re- 
strictive system.  His  recommendations 
were  carried  out  by  Congress. 

In  the  meantime  stirring  events  were 
transpiring  in  the  south.  At  this  time 
Florida   was  a   possession  of  Spain,   which 


was  supposed  to  be  a  neutral  power.  Great 
Britain  had  laid  Spain  under  heavy  obliga- 
tions in  her  struggle  against  Napoleon,  and 
the  British  had  now  no  difficulty  in  entering 
Florida,  and  usmg  it  as  a  base  of  operations 
against  the  south.  Their  fleet  entered  Pen- 
sacola  harbor  and  obtained  possession  of 
the  forts.  From  this  point  they  began  to 
stir  up  the  Creek  Indians  to  make  war  on 
the  Americans,  and  fitted  out  an  expedition 
against  Fort  Bowyer,  com.manded  by  Major 
Lawrence,    who    defended    the    harbor    of 


Jackson  and  New  Orleans. 

General  Jackson,  having  collected  a  force 
of  three  thousand  Tennesseeans,  marched  to 
Pensacola,  entered  the  town  on  the  seventh 
of  November,  demanded  that  the  British 
should  leave  the  place  at  once,  and  notified 
the  Spanish  Governor  that  he  should  hold 
liim  responsible  for  the  occupation  of  the 
town  or  the  forts  by  the  British  for  purposes  of 
hostility  towards  the  United  States.  The 
British  immediately  blew  up  a  fort  which 
they  had  erected  seven  miles  below  the  town 
and  embarked  in  their  ships. 

Confident  that  New  Orleans  would  be  the 
ne.xt  object  of  attack  by  the  British,  and 
knowing  that  the  city  was  poorly  prepared 
to  resist.  General  Jackson  at  once  sent 
General  Coffee  with  the  mounted  Tennessee- 
ans to  that  city,  and  followed  with  the  rest 
of  his  troops  as  rapidly  as  possible.  New 
Orleans  was  at  this  time  a  city  of  about 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  less  than  one- 
half  of  whom  were  whites.  The  whites  were 
principally  of  French  birth  or  parentage,  and 
cared  little  for  the  United  States.  They  could 
not  be  relied  upon  to  hold  the  city  against 
the  British.  The  defences  were  in  a  misera- 
ble state,  and  the  people  were  demoralized 
and  insubordinate.  Jackson  .set  to  work  with 
vigor.  He  proclaimed  martial  law,  and  put 
down  the  opposition  to  his  measures  for  the 
safety  of  the  city  with  a  firm  hand.  He 
called  for  volunteers  to  defend  the  city,  and 
urged  the  free  men  of  color  to  come  forward 
and  enroll  themselves.  They  responded  in 
considerable  numbers.  The  prisons  were 
emptied,  and  the  prisoners  enrolled  in  the 
ranks  of  the  army.  The  services  ot  Lafitte. 
a  noted  smuggler  chief  of  Barataria  bay,  and 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES    MADISON. 


541- 


of  his  band,  were  accepted.  Tlie  British  had 
endeavored  to  secure  the  aid  of  this 
band  as  pilots,  as  they  knew  the  coast 
thoroughly,  but  Lafitte  and  his  men  had  re- 
fused to  hold  any  communication  with  them. 

While    Jackson  was    thus    engaged,    the 
British  fleet  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Louisi- 
ana, and  cast  anchor  off  the  mouth  of  Lake 
Borgne,  the  shortest 
passage  by  water  to 
New  Orleans.    It  had 
on    board  a  force  of      t 
twelve  thousand  vet-      ; 
eran  troops,  just  re-      1' 
leased  from  the  wars 
against  Napoleon,  and 
four  thousand  marim  •- 
and  sailors.    The  Bi  i 
tish  army  was    com 
manded   by   Sii    E 
ivard    Pakenham,  tli 
brother-in-law  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington, 
and  an  officer  of  tiiLcl 
ability,  and  under  him 
were  Generals  Gibb- 
Keene,  and   Lambeit 
veterans  of  the  pemn 
sular  war. 

The  Americans  hul 
a  small  flotilla  in  Lake 
Borgne,  and  b)  e\ 
traordinary  exertions, 
Jackson  managed  to 
collect  a  force  of  five 

thousand  troops,  only  one  thousand  of  whom 
were  regulars.  On  the  fourteenth  of  Decem- 
ber the  British  sent  their  boats  into  Lake 
Borgne,  and  after  a  severe  engagement  cap- 
tured the  American  flotilla,  and  opened  the 
way  to  the  city.  On  the  twenty-second  of 
December  the  British  landed  twenty-four 
hundred  men  under  General  Keene,  who 
advanced  to  a  point  on  the  bank  of  the  Mis- 


sissippi, about  nine  miles  below  New  Orleans. 
Jackson  attacked  this  party  on  the  night  of 
the  twenty-third  with  the  regulars  and 
Coffee's  Tennesseeans  dismounted,  and  drove 
them  to  take  shelter  behind  a  levee.  The 
success  of  the  Americans  in  this  engagement 
greatly  encouraged  them  to  hope  for  a 
similar  issue  to  the  final  conflict. 


>F  CH.\LMETTE — SCENE 


\TTLE  OF  NEW  OKLEAN.-f 


The  next  day  Jackson  took  position  on 
solid  ground  behind  a  broad  and  deep 
trench  that  extended  across  the  plain  of 
Chalmette  from  the  Mississippi  to  an  im- 
passable swamp,  and  covered  his  position 
with  a  line  of  intrenchments.  The  British, 
believing  Jackson's  force  to  be  much 
•stronger  than  it  really  was,  made  no  attempt 
to  interfere  with   him   for  several   days,  and 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTIOX   TO   THE   CIVH.   WAR. 


542 

he  employed  this  delay  in  strengthening  his 
line  with  bales  of  cotton.  The  British  on 
the  twenty-eighth  of  December  opened  a 
heavy  cannonade  upon  the  American  line. 
Jackson  replied  with  energy  with  his  five 
pieces  of  artillery,  and  the  firing  was  con- 
tinued without  accomplishing  anything  defi- 
nite for  several  hours.  On  the  first  of 
January,  1S15,  they  attempted  a  second  can- 
nonade, but  the  American  guns  soon  silenced 
their  fire.  On  the  fourth  of  January  a  body 
of  twenty-two  hundred  Kentucky  riflemen, 
who  had  descended  the  Mississippi  to  his 
assistance,  reached  Jackson's  camp.  Only 
one-half  of  them  were  armed.  Jackson  could 
not  supply  the  remainder  with  arms,  but  set 
them  to  work  to  construct  a  second  lir"-  of 
intrenchments  in  the  rear  of  his  first. 

Brilliant   American   Victory. 

Having  finished  their  preparations,  the 
British  erected  a  battery  of  six  eighteen- 
pounders  on  the  night  of  the  seventh  of 
January,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  eighth 
advanced  to  carry  the  American  line  by 
storm.  Their  centre  was  led  by  General 
Pakenham  in  person,  and  other  columns 
under  Generals  Gibbs  and  Keene  mov^ed 
against  the  right  and  left  wings  of  the 
Americans.  The  open  space  over  which  the 
enemy  were  obliged  to  pass  was  nearly  a 
mile  in  width,  and  was  completely  com- 
manded by  Jackson's  guns.  The  British 
advanced  in  .splendid  style,  and  were  soon 
within  range  of  the  American  artillery, 
which  opened  on  them  with  terrible  effect. 
They  never  wavered,  but  closing  up  their 
ranks  firmly  pressed  on.  As  they  came 
within  musket  shot  the  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nes.see  riflemen  opened  a  fatal  fire  upon  them 
which  literally  mowed  them  down.  They 
wavered  and  broke.  General  Pakenham 
attempted  to  rally  them,  and  was  sli  )t  down. 
Generals  Gibbs  and   Keene  were   wounded 


while  engaged  in  the  same  attempt,  tha 
latter  mortally.  The  command  devolved 
upon  General  Lambert,  who  made  two  more 
attempts  to  carr>'  the  line  by  storm.  Each 
time  the  fatal  fire  of  the  American  riflemen 
drove  back  the  tried  veterans  of  Wellington's 
campaigns,  and  at  last  they  broke  and  fled 
in  confusion.  General  Lambert  continued 
the  retreat  to  the  shore  of  the  gulf,  where 
the  British  fleet  lay,  and  about  a  fortnight 
later  embarked  his  troops  and  withdrew. 

Close  of  the  War. 

The  American  loss  in  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans  was  seven  killed  and  six  wounded. 
The  British  lost  two  thousand  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

The  victory  was  of  the  highest  importance. 
It  saved  not  only  New  Orleans  but  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  from  British  con- 
trol. Had  the  army  of  General  Pakenham 
been  successful,  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  England  would  have  refused  to 
relinquish  the  Mississippi,  and  the  war  would 
have  gone  on,  or  peace  would  have  been 
made  with  the  mouth  of  the  great  river 
under  the  control  of  England.  The  victory 
closed  the  \var,  and  was  won  as  we  shall  see 
three  weeks  after  the  treaty  of  peace  was 
sijrned. 

At  sea  the  war  was  carried  on  by  the  few 
American  cruisers  that  managed  to  elude 
the  blockade  of  our  coast.  The  frigate 
"  Essex,"  Commodore  Porter,  went  to  sea 
in  1 81 3,  and  made  a  number  of  captures  in 
the  Atlantic.  Learning  that  the  British 
whalers,  which  had  been  armed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  capturing  American  vessels,  engaged 
in  the  same  trade,  were  doing  considerable 
damage  in  the  Pacific,  Commodore  Porter 
sailed  around  Cape  Horn  and  entered  that 
ocean.  He  captured  twelve  armed  British 
whalers  in  the  course  of  a  few  months, 
and  then  learning   th.it-  the   British   frigate 


543 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


544 

"  Phoebe  "  had  been  sent  in  pursuit  of  him, 
Porter  sailed  to  Valparaiso  to  look  for  her. 
While  he  lay  there  the  "  Phcebe,"  accompa- 
nied by  the  English  sloop  of  war  "  Cherub," 
arrived  off  the  harbor. 

The  "  Phoebe  "  was  herself  a  full  match 
for  the  "  Essex,"  but  Porter  resolved  to  fight 
both  vessels.  As  he  was  leaving  the  harbor 
a  sudden  squall  carried  away  his  maintop- 
mast,  and  left  him  at  the  mercy  of  his  ene- 
mies,   which    at    once    attacked    him.     His 


COMMODORE    DEC.\TLK. 

desperate  in  history,  but  he  was  forced  to 
surrender,  but  not  until  he  had  lost  fifty- 
eight  of  his  crew  killed,  and  sixtj'-six 
wounded. 

In  January,  1815,  the  frigate  "  President," 
Commodore  Decatur,  managed  to  elude  the 
blockade  of  New  York,  and  get  to  sea.  She 
was  chased  by  a  British  squadron  of  five 
vessels,  and  a  running  fight  ensued.  Being 
entirely  disabled,  the  "  Prcsitlent  "  was  forced 
to  surrender. 

In  February,  181 5,  while  cruising  off  the 
port   of  Lisbon,  one   fine   moonliglu  night. 


the  "  Constitution,"  Captain  Stewart,  encoun- 
tered two  British  sloops  of  war,  the  "Cy  ane," 
24,  and  the  "  Levant,"  18,  and  captured  both 
of  them  after  a  short  engagement.  These 
vessels  were  captured  after  peace  was  signed, 
and  were  restored  to  the  British.  On  the 
twenty-third  of  March,  the  "  Hornet,"  Cap- 
tain Biddle,  captured  the  British  brig  "  Pen- 
guin" of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The 
"  Penguin  "  was  so  much  injured  that  Biddle 
was  forced  to  destroy  her.  On  the  thirtieth 
c  f  June  the  "  Peacock,"  Captain  Warrington, 
ignorant  of  the  close  of  the 
war,  captured  the  "  Nau- 
tilus "  in  the  East  Indies. 
The  latter  vessel  was  res- 
tored to  the  British.  Thus 
the  war,  which  opened  so 
gloomily  for  the  Americans, 
closed  with  a  series  of  bril- 
liant successes  for  them. 

In  the  meantime  negotia- 
tions for  peace  had  been 
conducted  between  the 
American  and  British  com- 
missioners at  Ghent,  in 
Belgium.  The  American 
commissioners  had  been 
instructed  to  demand  the 
settlement  of  the  impress- 
ment question,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  give  assurance  that  upon  the 
relinquishment  of  that  claim  by  England 
Congress  would  enact  a  law  forbidding  the 
enlistment  of  English  sailors  in  either  the 
navy  or  merchant  service  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  fourteenth  of  December, 
18 14,  the  labors  of  the  commissioners  were 
brought  to  a  close,  and  a  treaty  of  peace 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britairj 
was  signed. 

The  treaty  provided  that  all  places  cap- 
tured by  either  party  during  the  war  should 
be    restored    to    their    rightful    possessors. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES    MADISON. 


545 


Arrangements  were  made  for  determining 
the  northwest  boundary  of  the  United  States, 
and  for  settling  matters  of  minor  importance. 


to  revive  it,  so  that  the  object  of  the  war  the 
protection  of  American  sailors  from  impress- 
ment  bv    England,  was   attained   after   all. 


The  treaty  was    silent   on   the   subject    of  ,  The  treaty  was  unanimously  ratified  by  the 


DECATUR   AND  THE   DEY   OF   ALGIERS. 


rr.pressments,  the  cause  of  the  war.  Nev- 
ertheless Great  Britain  ceased  to  exercise 
her  claim  to  this  right  as  regarded  the 
United  States,  and   has   not  since  attempted  i  to  Congrc; 


Senate,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  February 

peace  was  proclaimed  by  the  President.     A 

few  days  later  the  President  recommended 

the  passage  of  a  law  forbidding 


54€ 


FROM   THE   RFVOLUTION   TO    THE  CIVIL  WAR. 


the  enlistment  of  foreign  seamen  in  American 
vessels. 

The  proclamation  of  peace  was  hailed  with 
delight  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  especial  .y 
in  the  Atlantic  cities  which  had  suffered 
heavily  by  the  war,  and  the  national  rejoic- 
ings were  intensified  by  the  news  which 
arrived  a  few  days  later  of  the  brilliant 
victory  of  New  Orleans. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  the  United  States  were  called 
upon  to    punish    the  insolence  of  the    dey 


WILLI.\M    C.  C.    CLAIBORNE. 

of  Algiers.  That  ruler,  thinking  that  the 
United  States  was  too  much  crippled  by 
their  recent  conflict  with  Great  Britain  to 
punish  his  insolence,  ."suddenly  made  war 
upon  them.  He  threatened  to  reduce  Mr. 
1  Lear,  the  American  consul,  to  slavery,  and 
compelled  him  to  purchase  his  liberty  and 
that  of  his  family  by  the  payment  of  a  large 
ransom.  Several  American  merchantmen 
were  captured  by  the  Algerine  pirates,  and 
their  crews  reduced  to  slavery.  The  e.xcuse 
offered  by  the  dey  for  these  outrages  was 


that  the  presents  of  the  American   govern- 
ment were  not  satisfactory. 

The  government  of  the  United  States 
determined  to  compel  the  Sarbary  powers 
to  make  a  definite  settlement  of  the  questions 
at  issue  between  them  and  this  country,  and 
in  May,  1815,  Commodore  Decatur  was 
despatched  to  the  Mediterranean  with  a 
fleet  ol  ten  vessels,  three  of  which  were 
frigates.  He  was  ordered  to  compel  the 
dey  to  make  satisfaction  for  his  past  out- 
rages, and  to  give  a  guarantee  for  his  future 
good  conduct.  On  the  voyage  out  Decatur 
fell  in  with  the  largest  frigate  in  the  Algerine 
service,  near  Gibraltar,  on  the  seventeenth 
of  June,  and  captured  her  after  a  fight  of 
thirty  minutes.  On  the  nineteenth  another 
Algerine  cruiser  was  taken. 

Decatur  at  Tunis  and  Tripoli. 

The  fleet  then  proceeded  to  Algiers,  but 
upon  its  arrival  found  the  dey  in  a  very 
humble  frame  of  mind.  The  loss  of  his  two 
best  ships,  and  the  determined  aspect  of  the 
Americans,  terrified  him  into  submission, 
and  he  humbly  sued  for '  peace.  He  was 
required  to  conxe  on  board  of  Decatur's  flag- 
ship, and  there  sign  a  humiliating  treaty  with 
the  United  States,  by  which  he  bound  him- 
self to  indemnify  the  Americans  from  whom 
he  had  extorted  ransoms,  to  surrender  all  his 
prisoners  unconditionally,  to  renounce  all 
claim  to  tribute  from  the  American  gevern- 
ment,  and  to  cease  from  molesting  American 
vessels  in  future. 

The  difficulty  with  Algiers  having  been 
satisfactorily  settled,  Decatur  sailed  to  Tunis 
and  Tripoli,  and  demanded  of  the  govern- 
ment of  each  of  those  countries  in- 
demnity for  some  American  vessels  which 
had  been  captured  by  the  British  in  their 
harbors  with  their  connivance.  The  demand 
was  coupled  in  each  case  with  a  threat  of 
bombardment,    and     was     complied    with. 


AD.MINTSTRATION   OF    JAMES    MADISON. 


547 


About  the  middle  of  the  summer  Commo- 
dore Bainbridge  joined  Decatur  with  the 
"  Independence,"  seventy-four,  the  "Con- 
gress," and  several  other  vessels,  but  the 
energetic  Decatur  had  settled  all  difficulties, 
and  had  so  humbled  the  Barbary  powers 
•hat  they  never  again  renewed  their  aggres- 
sions upon  American  commerce.  The 
American  fleet  then  visited  the  principal 
ports  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  brilliant 
record  made  by  the  navy  during  the  war 
with  England  secured  it  a  flattering  recep- 
tion everj'where. 

Indian  Tribes  at  Peace. 

In  the  autumn  of  1815  the  Indian  tribes, 
deprived  of  the  support  of  Great  Britain, 
made  peace  with  each  other  and  with  the 
United  States.  The  northwestern  frontier 
was  thus  secured  against  the  further  hostility 
of  the  savages. 

The  finances  of  the  country  were  in  a 
wretched  condition  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
All  the  banks  but  those  of  New  England 
had  suspended  specie  payments,  and  none 
were  now  in  a  condition  to  return  to  a  specie 
basis.  The  public  debt  was  over  $  100,000,000 
and  there  was  a  general  lack  of  confidence 
throughout  the  countiy.  Mr.  A.  J.  Dallas, 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  in  view  of  the 
general  distress,  proposed  to  abolish  a  num- 
ber of  the  internal  taxes  which  had  been 
levied  for  the  support  of  the  war.  In  their 
place  he  advised  the  imposition  upon  im- 
ports from  foreign  countries  of  duties  suffi- 
ciently high  not  only  to  afford  a  revenue,  but 
also  to  protect  the  manufactures  which  had 
prung  up  during  the  war,  and  which  were 
iircatened  with  ruin  by  the  competition  of 
European  goods.  The  President,  in  his 
annual  message,  warmly  recommended  such 
a  course.     Another  important  measure  was 


also  enacted.  The  charter  of  the  first  Bank 
of  the  United  States  expired  in  181 1.  Efforts 
had  been  made,  without  success,  to  obtain 
its  renewal,  and  Mr.  Madison  in  January, 
1 8 14  had  vetoed  a  bill  for  this  purpose 
which  had  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress. 
In  the  spring  of  i8i6abill  was  passed  by 
Congress  chartering  a  new  Bank  of  the 
United  States  for  twenty  years,  with  a  capital 
of  $35,000,000,  and  received  the  President's 
signature  on  the  tenth  of  April.  It  was 
located  in  Philadelphia,  but  had  branches  in 
other  States.  It  gave  the  people  a  uniform 
currency,  good  in  all  parts  of  the  countr3% 
and  redeemable  on  demand  in  gold  and 
silver,  and  thus  did  much  to  remedy  the 
financial  difficulties  of  the  times.  Somewhat 
later  a  law  was  passed  requiring  that  all 
sums  of  money  due  the  United  States  should 
be  paid  in  gold  or  silver  coin,  "  in  treasury 
notes,  in  notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  notes  of  banks  payable  and  paid 
on  demand  in  specie." 

On  the  nineteenth  of  April,  18 16,  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Indiana  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  State,  making  the  nineteenth 
member  of  the  Confederacy.  William  C.  C. 
Claiborne,  a  distinguished  lawyer  and  states- 
man and  former  governor  of  the  Territory, 
was  one  of  the  senators-elect  of  the  new 
State,  and  became  a  famous  member  of  that 
body. 

The  Presidential  election  took  place  in  the 
fall  of  1816.  Mr.  Madison  having  declined 
to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term,  the 
Democratic  party  nominated  James  Monroe, 
of  Virginia,  for  President,  and  Daniel  D. 
Tompkins,  of  New  York,  for  Vice-President, 
and  elected  them  by  large  majorities  over 
the  Federal  candidates,  who  were:  For 
President,  Rufus  King,  of  New  York  ;  for 
Vice-President,  John  Howard,  of  Maryland. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 


The  Administrations  of  James  Monroe  and 
John   Quincy  Adams 

Inauguration  of  Mr.  Monroe — His  Tour  through  the  Eastern  States — Admission  of  Mississippi  into  the  Union-- •Tiiifcles 
with  the  Indians — General  Jackson's  Vigorous  Measures  against  the  Spaniards  in  Florida — Purcliase  of  f'orida  by 
the  United  States — Illinois  becomes  a  State — The  First  Steamship — Maine  admitted  into  the  Union — Tlie  Slavery 
Question — The  Missouri  Compromise — Admission  of  Missouri  as  a  State— The  Fourth  Census — Re-election  of  Mr. 
Monroe — The  TarilT— Protective  Policy  of  the  Government — Recognition  of  the  Spanish  Republics — The  Monroe 
Doctrine — Visit  of  Lafayette  to  the  United  States — Retirement  of  Mr.  Monroe — John  Quincy  Adams  elected  President 
— His  Inauguration — Rapid  Improvement  of  the  Country — Increase  of  Wealth  and  Piospenly — Internal  Improve- 
ments—The Creek  Lands  in  Georgia  Ceded  to  the  United  States— Death  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams— 
The  Anti-Masons— TiieTariflT of  1S28— Andrew  Jackson  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 


JAMES  MONROE  was  inaugurated 
President  of  the  United  States,  at 
Washington,  on  the  fourth  of  March, 
18 1 7.  He  had  served  during  the 
revolution  in  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
and  had  entered  Congress  soon  after  the  for- 
mation of  the  government  as  a  representative 
from  Virginia,  and  had  won  great  credit  by 
his  services  in  that  body.  He  had  been 
secretary  of  state  during  the  eight  years  of 
Mr.  Madison's  administration,  and  had 
greatly  increased  his  fame  by  his  discharge 
of  the  difficult  and  delicate  duties  of  this  posi- 
tion. He  was  a  man  of  amiable  and  con- 
ciliatory character,  and  was  popular  with 
both  parties. 

In  his  inaugural  address  he  declared  his 
intention  to  adininister  the  government  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  principles  of  Washington, 
and  the  sentiments  of  this  document  were 
warmly  applauded  throughout  the  country 
by  Federalists  as  well  as  Democrats.  The 
administration  of  Mr.  Monroe  covered  a 
period  generally  known  in  our  political 
history  as  "  the  era  of  good  feeling."  Party 
lines  were  almost  blotted  out,  and  the  people 
Df  the  country  were  more  united  than  at  any 
548 


previous  or  subsequent  period  in  the  support 
of  national  measures. 

A  few  months  after  his  inauguration  Presi- 
dent Monroe  made  a  tour  through  the 
Eastern  States.  He  was  received  with 
marked  attention  everywhere,  and  the  Fed- 
eralist city  of  Boston  entertained  him  with 
the  cordial  hospitality  which  is  one  of  her 
characteristics. 

On  the  tenth  of  December,  1817,  the 
western  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Mississ- 
ippi was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  the  State 
of  Mississippi.  The  eastern  portion  of  the 
former  Territory  became  the  Territory  of 
Alabama,  for  which  a  government  was  pro- 
vided by  Congress. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  18 17  the 
Seminole  Indians,  whose  lands  lay  within  the 
Spanish  province  of  Florida,  began  to  com 
mit  depredations  along  the  borders  of  Geor- 
gia and  Alabama  Territory.  They  were 
joined  by  the  Creeks,  and  their  operations 
soon  became  so  important  as  to  demand  the 
immediate  action  of  the  federal  government. 
General  Gaines,  commanding  the  federal 
troops  in  Alabama,  attempted  to  check  the 
Indians,  but  his  forces  were  inadequate  to  the 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF    MONROE    AND   J 

task,  and  he  was  compelled  to  ask  assistance 
of  the  government.     General  Jackson,  com- 
manding   the     southern    department,    was 
ordered  to  call  out  the  militia  and  take  the 
field  against  the  Indians.   He  collected  a  force 
of  one  thousand  mounted  Tennesseeans,  and 
in  March,  1818,  invaded 
the  Indian  country,  and 
in  a  few  weeks    laid  it 
waste,  the  villages    and 
cornfields  were   burned, 
and  the  cattle  captured 
or  killed. 

Being  satisfied  that  the 
Spaniards  in  Florida  had 
incited  the  Indians  to 
make  war  on  the  United 
States,  General  Jackson, 
as  soon  as  he  had  pun- 
ished the  Indians.march- 
■edinto  Florida  and  seized 
St.Marks.onAppalachee 
bay,  the  only  fortified 
town  of  the  Spaniards  in 
that  part  of  Florida.  An 
armed  American  vessel, 
cruising  ofif  the  Florida 
coast,  hoisted  the  British 
colors,  and  two  promin- 
•ent  hostile  Creek  chiefs 
were  decoyed  on  board, 
and  were  summarily 
hanged  by  order  of Jack- 
son. 

In   one  of  his  forays 
against  the  Indians  Jack- 
son   captured    two    Bri- 
tish traders,   Robert    C. 
Ambrister,    or    Ambuster,   and    Alexander 
Arbuthnot.  They  were  accused  of  aiding  the 
Indians,   were  tried  and   found  guilty  by  a 
court-martial,   and   were   promptly   hanged. 
The  Spanish  governor  indignantly  protested 
against  the  invasion  of  Florida,  but  Jackson, 


Q.    ADAMS. 


549 


unmoved  by  this  protest,  advanced  in  May  to 
Pensacola,  the  seat  of  the  Spanish  provincial 
government,  which  place  was  immediately 
surrendered  to  him.  The  Spanish  governor 
fled  to  Fort  Barrancas,  below  the  town. 
Jackson  attacked  the  fort  and  compelled  it 


JAMES    MONROE. 

to  surrender  after  a  brief  resistance,  where- 
upon the  governor  continued  his  flight  to 
Havana.  The  invasion  of  Florida  by  Jackson 
drew  forth  an  indignant  protest  from  the 
Spanish  government,  but  his  conduct  was 
sustained    by   a  decisive    majority    in    both 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


550 

Houses  of  Congress.  The  Spanish  govern- 
ment did  not  press  the  matter,  as  negotiations 
were  soon  entered  upon  which  brought  about 
an  amicable  settlement  of  the  difficulty. 

The  Spanish  kingdom  was  indebted  to 
certain  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  sums 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  five  million 
dollars.  Spain  instructed  her  minister  at 
Washington  to  conclude  a  treat)'  with  the 
United  States  ceding  Florida  to  them  as  an 
equivalent  for  these  claims.  The  treaty  was 
arranged  in  1819.  Spain  ceded  to  the  United 
States  all  her  claims  to  East  and  West 
Florida,  and  to  the  territory  claimed  by  her 
on  the  Pacific  coast  north  of  forty-two  degrees 
of  north  latitude,  and  the  federal  government 
assumed  the  Spanish  debt  to  the  citizens  of 
this  country.  Two  years  later  this  treaty 
v.'as  ratified  by  Spain,  and  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  April,  1 82 1,  the  President  formally 
announced  the  acquisition  of  Florida  by  the 
United  States. 

Oregon  and  Illinois. 

This  purchase  also  included  the  territory 
5n  Oregon  claimed  by  Spain,  and  embraced 
an  area  of  367,320  square  miles.  Florida 
was  at  once  organized  as  a  Territory,  and 
General  Jackson  was  appointed  its  first  gov- 
ernor. 

On  the  third  of  December,  18 18,  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Illinois  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
as  a  State. 

The  year  1S19  was  marked  by  an  event  Of 
great  importance  in  the  history  of  the  world_ 
Steam  had  been  used  for  some  time  in  the 
inland  navigation  of  the  Union,  but  it  was 
not  generally  believed  it  could  be  applied  to 
sea-going  vessels.  The  steamship  "  Savan- 
nah," built  in  New  York,  but  owned  in  the 
city  from  which  she  was  named,  made  a  suc- 
cessful voyage  from  New  York  to  Savannah 
in  the  early  part  of  1819.  In  May  of  that 
year  she  sailed  from  Savannah  for  Liverpool, 


and  reached  that  port  in  safety  From  Liver- 
pool she  subsequently  made  a  voyage  tu  St. 
Petersburg.  She  was  the  first  steam  vessel 
that  ever  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and,  wherever 
she  went,  was  an  object  of  the  greatest 
interest  The  question  of  steam  navigation 
on  the  ocean  was  thus  satisfactorily  settk 
by  America.  ' 

On  the  fourteenth  of  December,  1 8 19, 
Alabama  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  making  the  total  number  of  States 
twenty-two. 

North  and  South.  = 

On  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1820,  Maine, 
which  had  formed  a  part  of  Massachusetts, 
but  had  been  ceded  by  that  State  to  the  gen- 
eral government,  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
as  a  State.  The  object  of  the  erection  of 
this  new  State  was  to  offset  the  growing 
power  of  the  Southern  States  by  the  creation 
of  a  new  member  of  the  Union  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  number  of  the  New  England 
i  States  was  thus  increased  to  six. 

For  some  years  past  the  question  of  African 
slaverj'  in  the  States  had  been  assuming  an 
important  and  alarming  position  in  the  public 
mind.  The  States  of  the  north  and  west 
had  gotten  rid  of  such  negro  slaves  as  they 
had  originnlly  possessed,  and  had  forbidden 
their  citizens  to  own  or  bring  within  their 
limits  for  purposes  of  labor  any  persons  of 
this  class.  The  Southern  States,  on  the 
other  hand,  comprised  a  region  in  which 
slave  labor  was  particularly  profitable,  and  it 
was  believed  by  the  people  of  this  region 
that  the  industry  of  many  parts  of  the  south 
could  not  be  properly  developed  by  white 
men,  as  the  climate  was  more  unsuited  to 
them  than  the  negroes.  The  production  of 
cotton,  rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco  depended  oa 
the  labor  of  the  negro,  and  in  the  States 
where  those  great  staples  were  raised  slaver>' 
was  regarded  as  a  necessity. 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF    MONROE   AND    J 

At  the  period  we  are  now  considering 
slavery  existed  in  the  States  of  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Missis- 
sippi, Tennessee,  and  Kentucky.  Being 
regarded  by  these  States  as  necessary  to  their 
prosperitj^  they  considered  any  and  all  plans 
for  its  removal  as  attacks  upon  their  chief 
source  of  wealth. 

In  the  non-slaveholding  States  the  feelm- 
that  slavery  was  sinful 
had    been    gradually 
gaining    ground,   and 
there  were  many  per- 
sons in  the  south  w  li 
held  the  same  vic 
Certain   religious   b 
dies  in  the  country  h 
distinctly  expressi 
their  belief  that  it  v,i . 
contrary  to  the  teach- 
ings of  Christianity  t 
own  slaves,  and  mc 
orials  had    been   pi 
sented  to  the  legi-.  i 
tures  of  some  of  th 
States,  and  to  the  C    i 
gress    of  the    Unit 
States,  praying  for  th 
abolition  of  slaver}- 

The  law  for  the 
organization  of  the 
Northwest  Terii"or_\ 
forbade  the  admis- 
sion   of    slavery    into 

the  States  to  be  formed  out  of  that 
Territory,  and  thus  secured  them  for  free 
labor.  Though  Congress  did  not  hesitate 
to  legislate  upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in 
this  case,  it  steadily  refused  to  comply  with 
the  demands  of  the  petitions  presented  to  it 
praying  it  to  take  measures  for  the  abolition 
of  slavery  throughout  the  nation.  The  exist- 
ence of  slavery  within  the  individual   States 


O.    ADAMS. 


551 


was  recognized  and  protected  by  the  Con.sti- 
tution,  and  Congress  held  that  it  had  no  right 
to  interfere  with  the  domestic  relations  of 
those  States  in  which  slavery,  thus  recog- 
nized and  protected,  was  established. 

In  February,  1819,  the  Territory  of  ]\I  s- 
souri,  which  was  formed  out  of  a  part  of  the 
Louisiana  purchase,  asked  permission  to\ 
form  a  constitution  preparatory  to  being 
admitted   into  the  Union  as  a  State.     When 


OLD    \\A\     OF    PICKING    COTTON 


the  bill  for  this  purpose  was  presented  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  on  the  thirteenth 
of  February,  Mr.  Tallmadge,  of  New  York, 
proposed  to  insert  a  clause  providing  "  that 
the  further  introduction  of  slavery,  or  invol- 
untary servitude,  be  prohibited,  except  for 
the  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party 
shall  have  been  duly  convicted  ;  and  that  all 
children  born  in  said   State,  after  the  admis- 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION    TO   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


552 

sion  thereof  into  the  Union,  shall  bo   free  at 

the  age  of  Uventy-five  years. 

The  announcement  of  this  amendment 
produced  a  great  sensation  in  the  House, 
and  throughout  the  country.  It  was  believed 
by  the  advocates  of  sla\'ery  that  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
1790,  in  reply  to  the  first  petition  presented 
lo  it  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  had  settled 
the  question  of  the  powers  of  the  federal 
government  respecting  slavery.  No  effort 
had  been  made  to  revive  the  subject  in  the 
admission  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Louis- 
iana, Mississippi,  or  Alabama,  in  each  of 
which  States  negro  slavery  existed.  Many 
of  the  most  determined  opponents  of  slavery 
believed  that,  under  the  constitution  and  the 
Louisiana  treaty  with  France,  Congress  had 
no  right  to  adopt  the  proposed  restriction 
upon  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  State. 

Free  and  Slave  Labor. 

Among  these  were  Mr.  Jefferson,  then 
living  in  retirement  at  Monticello,  and  John 
Quincy  Adams,  the  secretary  of  state  in  Mr. 
Monroe's  cabinet.  Both  of  these  gentlemen 
were  sincerely  desirous  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  Mr.  Jefferson  believed  that  the 
States  alone  had  power  to  legislate  upon  the 
subject  within  their  respective  limits.  The 
opponents  of  slavery,  on  the  other  hand, 
contended  that  while  Congress  had  no  power 
to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  thirteen  orig- 
inal States,  it  had  full  power  to  legislate 
concerning  it  in  the  Territories,  which  were 
the  common  property  of  the  States  north 
and  south.  The  advocates  of  slavery  con- 
tended that,  as  the  treaty  under  which  the 
Louisiana  purchase  was  made  contained  a 
pledge  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  Territory 
that  they  should  enjoy  "  all  the  privileges  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States,"  such  a  restric- 
tion as  that  proposed  by  Mr.  Tallmadge 
would  be  a  violation  of  this  pledge. 


They  claimed  also  that  as  slaves  were 
property,  and  the  Territories  the  common 
possession  of  the  States,  the  citizens  of  the 
slaveholding  States  had  the  right  to  carry 
their  property  into  the  Territories  ;  and  that 
the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Territories 
would  be  to  deprive  the  south  of  her  share 
in  their  enjoyment.  The  anti-slavery  advo- 
cates replied  to  this,  that  slave  and  free  labor 
could  not  coexist  on  the  same  soil,  and  that 
to  allow  slavery  in  the  Territories  would  be 
to  drive  free  labor  out  of  them  ;  and  that  it 
would  be  a  great  wrong  to  allow  the  intro- 
duction of  a  few  hundred  thousand  slaves  at 
the  cost  of  driving  millions  of  free  men  from 
the  Territories. 

The  National  Controversy. 

The  discussion  of  this  question  produced 
intense  feeling  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States,  and  the  sectional  division 
of  the  country  was  drawn  too  deep  to  be 
effaced  while  the  cause  of  it  remained.  It 
was  very  clear  to  thinking  men  that  the 
feelings  aroused  by  this  controversy  could 
not  be  quieted  until  the  institution  of  slavery 
should  be  abolished  throughout  the  country, 
or  should  be  introduced  into  every  new  State 
formed  out  of  the  Territories  remaining  to 
the  republic.  The  excitement  deepened 
daily,  and  at  one  time  became  so  intense  as 
to  threaten  the  existence  of  the  Union. 
Good  men  of  all  parties  gave  their  best 
efforts  to  the  task  of  effecting  a  settlement  oi 
the  difficulty,  but  amid  the  storm  of  passion 
which  was  aroused  by  the  debate  in  Congress 
it  was  hard  to  accomplish  anything. 

The  bill  allowing  the  people  of  Missouri 
to  form  a  State  constitution  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  with  Mr.  Tall- 
madge's  amendment  by  a  small  majority. 
It  was  defeated  in  the  Senate.  When  Con- 
gress met  again  in  December,  18 19,  the 
debate    was    renewed     upon    the     Missouri 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   I.IONROE   AND   J.   Q 

question.  The  House  again  passed  the  bill  for- 
bidding the  existence  of  slavery  in  Missouri. 

The   Senate    struck    out    Mr.    Tallmadge's 

amendment,  and  added  to  the  House  bill,  as 

a  substitute   for  it,  a  proviso   offered  by  Mr. 

Thomas,  of  Illinois,  that  slavery  should  not 

exist  in  any  part  of  the  Louisiana  Territory 

north  of  thirt\--six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes 

north   latitude,  and    west   of  the    proposed 

State  of    Missouri,  or    in    any  State    to  be 

formed  out  of  this   Territory.     The   House 

refused  to  accept  the  Senate's  amend- 
ment, and    in  order  to  adjust  their   dif- 

erences  a  committee  of  conference  was 

appointed  by  the  two  Houses. 

Maine,  whose  admission  we  have  re- 
lated,  was    an    applicant    for   admission 

into  the  Union  at  this  time,  and  it  was 

contended    by    the    south    that    it    was 

unjust  to  admit  her  without  any  restric- 
tion as  to  her  domestic  institutions,  and 

yet  to  impose  upon  Missouri  a  restric- 
tion  which   would  deprive  a  large  part 

of  her  population  of  their  property,  and 

close  the  State  against  emigration  from 

the  south.     The  result  of  the  committee 

on  conference  was  that  after  long  and 
exciting  debates  the  amendment  offered 
by  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Illinois,  was  accepted. 

Maine  was  admitted  as  a  free  State.     It 
was   enacted  by  Congress   that  sla\ery 
should  never  exist  north  of  the  line  of 
thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes  north 
latitude;  and  that  Missouri  should  be  admit- 
ted   into    the  Union  as  a  slave  State    upon 
the  adoption  of  a  constitution  by  her  people. 
This  was  regarded  as  an  equitable  settle- 
ment of  the  difficulty,  and  the  measure  is 
known  as  the   Missouri   Compromise.     The 
act  for  the  admission  of  Maine  received  the 
President's  approval  on  the  third  of  March, 
1820,  and  the   State  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  under   it  on  the   fifteenth   of  March. 
Tlic  separate  act  in  relation  to  Missouri  was 


ADAMS. 


553 


approved  by  the  President  on  the  eighth  of 
March,  1820.  Its  title  shows  its  object.  It 
was  "  An  act  to  authorize  the  people  of  Mis- 
souri Territory  to  form  a  constitution  and 
State  government,  and  for  the  admission  of 
such  State  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  the  original  States,  and  to  prohibit  i 
slavery  in  certain  Territories."  As  we  shall! 
see,  the  State  of  Missouri  was  not  admitted 
into  the  Union  under  the  famous  Missouri 
Compromise. 


HE.NKV    CLAV. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1820, 
the  constitution  adopted  by  Missouri  was 
presented  to  that  body.  It  contained  a  clause 
which  prevented  free  people  of  color  from 
settling  in  the  State.  "  This  clause,"  says 
Colonel  Benton,  "  was  adopted  for  the  sake 
of  peace — for  the  sake  of  internal  tranquil-' 
ity — and  to  prevent  the  agitation  of  the  slave 
question."*     It  was  objected  to  in  Congress 

*  Benton's  Thirly   Years'   View,  vol.  i.,  p.  S. 


554 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


b\'  the  party  that  had  previously  opposed  the 
admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  State.  This 
party  argued  that  the  constitution  required 
that  the  citizens  of  one  State  should  be 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  citizens  in  the 
other  States  ;  and  that  as  some  of  the  States 
recognized  free  people  of  color  as  citizens, 
this  provision  of  the  Missouri  constitution 
was  in  open  hostility  to  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  since  it  deprived  the  citi- 
zens of  some  of  the  States  of  their  rights. 

The  friends  of  the  compromise  measure 
were  astounded,  as  they  ha  i  supposed  that 
it  had  removed  all  obstacles  to  the  admis- 
sion of  Missouri,  which  had  already  exer- 
cised the  privileges  of  a  State  in  electing 
senators  and  representatives  to  Congress,  and 
in  taking  part  in  the  presidential  election  of 
1820.  The  subject  was  reopened  in  Con- 
gress in  all  its  bitterness,  and  the  country 
again  plunged  into  profound  agitation. 

The  Struggle  Renewed. 

At  this  juncture  Henry  Clay  e.xerted  him- 
selfwith  great  energy  to  bring  about  a  settle- 
ment of  the  dispute.  He  induced  the  House 
to  commit  the  matter  to  a  committee  of  thir- 
teen, of  which  he  was  made  chairman.  This 
committee  advi.sed  the  admission  of  Missouri 
upon  the  condition  that  the  obnoxious  clause 
in  her  constitution  should  be  withdrawn  and 
that  her  legislature  should  pass  no  law  vio- 
Litiveof  the  rights  of  citizens  of  other  States. 
Mr.  Clay  supposed  that  as  this  recommenda- 
tion amply  met  the  objection  to  the  admis- 
sion of  Missouri,  it  would  remove  the  last  ' 


obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  object. 
To  his  astonishment  it  was  defeated  by  a  vote 
of  eighty  for  it  and  eighty-three  against  it. 

The  struggle  now  became  more  bitter  than 
ever.  The  anti-slavery  party,  which  had  by 
this  time  obtained  a  definite  existence,  were 
determined  that  the  right  of  the  general 
government  to  control  the  slavery  question 
should  be  acknowledged.  The  pro-slavery 
party  were  determined  to  resist  the  exercise 
of  that  claim.  Threats  were  freely  indulged 
to  destroy  the  Union  by  the  withdrawal  of 
the  States.  Mr.  Clay,  undaunted  by  his 
failure,  renewed  his  patriotic  efforts  to  bring 
about  a'  settlement  of  the  dispute,  and  at 
length  secured  the  passage  of  measures  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  those  advised  by  his 
first  committee.  The  act  of  Congress  for 
this  purpose  was  approved  by  the  President 
on  the  second  of  March,  1821.  The  Missouri 
legislature  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  June 
expunged  the  obnoxious  article  from  the 
constitution  of  the  State,  and  on  the  tenth  of 
August  the  President  issued  his  proclamatior 
admitting  Missouri  into  the  Union.* 

The  slavery  question  was  quieted  for  a 
time  by  the  admission  of  Missouri,  but  it  was 
not  settled.  We  shall  encounter  it  again 
and  again  in  the  remaining  chapters  of  this 
work. 

In  1820  the  fourth  census  of  the  United 
States  placed  the  population  of  the  republic 
at  9,638, igi'souls. 

In  the  fall  of  1820  Air.  Monroe  and  Gov- 
ernor Tompkins  wee  re-elected  President 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 


*  "  A  general  idea  prevails  very  extensively  that  Missouri  was  admitted  as  a  slave  State  in  1S20,  under  an  agree- 
ment with  the  Restrictionists,  or  Centralists,  proposed  by  Mr.  Clay,  that  she  should  be  so  admitted  upon  condition  that 
negro  slavery  should  be  forever  prohibited  in  the  public  domain  north  of  36  degrees  30  minutes  north  latitude.  No 
greater  error  in  any  important  historical  event  ever  existed.  The  truth  is,  Mr.  Clay  was  not  the  author  of  the  territorial 
line  of  36  degrees  30  minutes,  incorporated  in  the  act  of  1S20,  nor  was  Missouri  admitted  under  the  provisions  of  thai 
act.  On  the  contrary,  she  was  admitted  on  the  tenth  of  August,  1 821,  by  presidential  proclamation,  upon  the  '  Funda- 
mental Conditions,*  in  substance,  that  the  Stale  government,  in  all  its  departments,  should  be  subject  to  the  constitution 
ol  the  United  States,  as  all  the  Slate  governments  were,  and  are."— ^  Compendium  of  the  History  of  the  Untied  States. 
By  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  p.  329. 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   MONROE   AND   J.    Q.   ADAMS. 


555 


Monroe  received  at  the  polls  a  majoiity  of 
the  votes  of  every  State  in  the  Union,  and 
every  electoral  vote  but  one,  which  was  one 
in  the  college  of  New  Hampshire,  and  was 
cast  for  John  Ouincy  Adams.  Mr.  Monroe 
entered  upon  his  second  term  on  the  fourth 
of  March.  1821. 

Nex'   in    importance  to  the  slaver\-  que^- 


world,  and  compelled  the  States  to  depend 
upon  their  own  exertions  for  the  supply  of 
their  wants.  During  this  period  numerous 
manufacturing  enterprises  had  sprung  up^ 
especially  in  New  England,  where  capital 
was  idle  and  labor  abundant. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  country  was 
ll.r.Jed   with    European  floods,    which   were 


UNIOUE  COTTON  HARVESTER. 

tion  was  that  of  the  tariff,  or  the  imposition  1  sold  at  reduced  prices  for  the  especial  pur- 
of  a  protective  duty  in  favor  of  home  manu-  j  pose  of  ruining  American  manufactures.  In 
factures.  In  his  inaugural  address  the  Presi-  their  weak  and  helpless  condition  the  Ameri- 
dent  had  recommended  the  imposition  of  1  can  enterprises  could  not  endure  this  corn- 
such  a  system  of  duties.  During  the  war  ,  petition,  and  the  tariff  was  proposed  as  the 
the  non-intercourse  laws  of  Congress,  and  ;  only  means  of  saving  them  from  ruin.  The 
the  rigid  blockade  maintained  by  the  British  !  first  measure  of  this  kind  was  passed  by 
fleet,  entirely  cut  the  United  States  off  from  '  Congress  in  1816,  and  was  opposed  by  the 
commercial  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  tlie  New  England  States,  which  were  then  largely 


•556 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


engaged  in  commerce,  and  was  supported  by 
the  south.  In  1 820  the  tariff  was  revised. 
The  New  England  States,  which  had  directed 
the  chief  efforts  to  manufactures  since  18 16, 
iiad  felt  the  beneficial  effects  of  protective 
duties,  and  now  became  the  warm  supporters 
•f  the  tariff.  The  south  being  an  agricultural 
-cction  had  found  that  its  interests  demanded 
free  trade,  had  changed  its  position  and 
resolutely  opposed  the  tariff.  In  spite  of  the 
opposition  to  the  measure,  however,  the 
duties  were  increased  in  the  tariff  of  1820. 

Mexico  and  South  America. 

For  some  years  past  Mexico  and  the 
States  of  South  America  formerly  held  by 
Spain  as  provinces  had  been  struggling  to 
achieve  their  independence  of  the  mother 
country.  Henry  Clay  had  exerted  himself 
with  enthusiasm  to  obtain  from  Congress  a 
recognition  of  their  independence,  but  such 
a  step  had  been  considered  premature.  In 
March,  1822,  however,  his  efforts  were 
crowned  with  success,  and  a  bill  was  passed 
by  Congress  in  accordance  with  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  President,  recognizing  the 
independence  of  Mexico  and  the  South 
American  republics,  and  providing  for  the 
establishment  of  diplomatic  relations  with 
them. 

The  next  year  President  Monroe  declared 
in  a  message  to  Congress  tliat,  "  as  a  princi- 
ple, the  American  continents,  by  the  free 
and  independent  position  they  have  assumed 
and  maintained,  are  henceforth  not  to  be 
considered  as  subjects  for  future  colonization 
by  any  European  power."  This  claim  that 
America  belongs  to  republicanism,  and  is 
not  to  be  the  scene  of  European  schemes  for 
territorial  aggrandizement,  has  since  been 
known  as  tlie  "  Monroe  doctrine,"  and  been 
regarded  as  one  of  the  cardinal  points  of  the 
policy  of  tile  government  of  the  United 
States. 


The  lastyear  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administra- 
tion was  marked  by  an  advent  of  the  deepest 
interest  to  the  whole  country.  In  1824  the 
venerable  Marquis  de  Lafayette  came  to  the 
United  States  at  the  express  invitation  of 
Congress  to  visit  the  nation  whose  freedom 
he  had  helped  to  achieve.  He  reached 
New  York  on  the  thirteenth  of  August,  and 
was  received  with  enthusiasm.  He  travelled 
through  all  the  States,  and  was  everj^where 
received  with  demonstrations  of  respect  and 
affection,  and  he  was  given  abundant  evi- 
dence in  all  parts  of  the  country  that  the 
nation  cherished  with  love  and  pride  the 
memory  of  the  generous  stranger  who  came 
to  its  aid  in  its  darkest  hour  of  trial.  Re- 
turning to  Washington  during  the  session 
of  Congress,  Lafayette  spent  several  weeks 
there.  Congress,  as  a  token  of  the  gratitude 
of  the  nation  for  his  services,  voted  him  a 
a  township  of  land  and  the  sum  of  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  The  frigate  "  Brandy- 
wine,"  just  finished,  was  appointed  to  ccnvey 
him  back  to  France,  a  delicate  compliment, 
as  the  vessel  was  named  after  the  stream  on 
whose  banks  Lafayette  fought  his  first  battle 
and  was  wounded  in  the  cause  of  American 
independence.  At  the  time  of  his  visit  to 
the  United  States  Lafayette  was  nearly 
seventy  years  old. 

Election  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 

In  the  fall  of  1824  the  Presidential  election 
was  held  amid  great  political  excitement. 
The  "  era  of  good  feeling  "  was  at  an  end, 
and  party  spirit  ran  high.  There  were  four 
candidates  in  the  field,  Mr.  Monroe  having 
declined  a  third  term  :  Andrew  Jackson, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  William  H.  Crawford 
and  Henry  Clay. 

None  of  these  received  a  popular  majority 
and  the  election  was  thrown  into  the  House 
of  Representatives  in  Congress,  and  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  John  Quincy    Adams,  of 


ad:\iinistrations  of 


Massachusetts,  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  CaroHna, 
had  been  chosen  Vice-President  by  the 
popular  vote. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1825,  John 
Quincy  Adams  was  inaugurated  President 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  the  son  of 
John  Adams,  the  second  President  of  the 
republic,  and  was  in  his  fifty-eighth  year. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  ability,  of 
strong  personal  character,  and  of  unbending 
integrity.  He  had  been  carefully  educated, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  learned  men  in  the 
Union. 

Apart  from  his  general  education  he  had 
received  a  special  training  in  statesmanship. 
He  had  served  as  minister  to  the  Nether- 
lands, and  in  the  same  capacity  at  the  courts  of 
Portugal,  Prussia  Russia  and  England,  where 
he  had  maintained  a  high  reputation.  He 
had  represented  the  State  of  Massachusetts 
in  the  Federal  Senate,  and  had  been  secretary 
of  state  in  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Monroe  during 
the  last  administration.  He  was  therefore 
thoroughly  qualified  for  the  duties  of  the 
high  office  upon  which  he  now  entered. 

"  King    Cotton." 

He  called  to  his  cabinet  men  of  marked 
ability,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Henry 
Clay,  who  became  secretary  ot  state.  The 
administration  of  Mr.  Adams  was  one  of  re- 
markable prosperity.  The  country  was 
growing  wealthier  by  the  rapid  increase  of 
its  agriculture,  manufactures  and  commerce, 
and  abroad  it  commanded  the  respect  of  the 
world.  Still  party  spirit  raged  with  great 
violence  during  the  whole  of  this  period. 

The  invention  of  the  cotton  gin  by  Eli 
Whitney,  in  1793,  by  which  the  seed  was 
separated  from  the  cotton,  had  so  cheapened 
the  cost  of  producing  that  great  staple,  that 
it  had  become  the  principal  article  of  export 
from    tile   United   States,  and  a   source   of 


MONROE   AND   J.    Q.   ADA:\IS.  557- 

great    and    growing    wealth    to    the    whole 
country. 

Several  important  undertakings  were- 
prosecuted  with  vigor,  or  were  completed 
during  Mr.  Adams'  term  of  office.  The 
National  Road,  a  splendidly  constructed 
highway,  built  by  the  general  government, 
from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  across  the 
mountains,  was  completed  to  Wheeling,  on 
the  Ohio,  in  1820,  and  was  carried  beyond 
that  stream  during  Mr.  Adams'  administra- 


JOHN    OUINCV    ADAMS. 

tion,  the  design  being  to  extend  it  to  the 
Mississippi.  It  furnished  a  broad  and  well- 
built  thoroughfare  between  the  seaboard  and 
the  west,  and  exerted  a  marked  influence 
upon  the  internal  trade  of  the  country.  The 
road  from  Cumberland  to  Wheeling  cost 
$1,700,000. 

The  Erie  canal,  extending  from  Buffalo  on 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson  at  Albany,  was 
projected  by  De  Witt  Clinton.  The  plan 
was  at  first  pronounced  impracticable,  but 
Clinton  succeeded  in  inducing  the  State  of 


55S 


FROM 


New  York  to  undertake  the  scheme,  and  in 
1825  the  great  work  was  completed  and  the 
waters  of  the  lakes  and  the  Hudson  were 
united.  The  completion  of  this  canal  secured 
to  the  city  of  New  York  the  control  of  the 
western  trade,  and  added  to  its  wealth  and 
imnnrtanci-iii  a  m.rkcd  ilec^ree. 


THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

Mauch  Chunk  railway,  from  the  coal  mines 
to  the  Lehigh  river,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1827. 
These  were  merely  local  works,  and  of  but 
little  importance,  except  in  so  far  as  they 
helped  to  demonstrate  to  the  public  mind  the 
possibility  and  the  usefulness  of  such  enter- 
prises upon  a  larger  scale. 


% 


STEAMBOAT   LOADING  WITH   COTTON. 


Steam  had  been  for  some  years  in  use  as 
the  motive  power  in  the  navigation  of  the 
rivers  of  the  Union,  and  it  now  began  to  be 
applied  to  purposes  of  land  transportation. 
The  first  railroad  in  this  country  was  a  mere 
tramway,  for  the  transportation  of  granite 
Irom  the  quarries  at  Quincy  to  the  Neponsett 
river,  in  Massachusetts,  and  was  constructed 
in  the  year  1826.     This  was  followed  by  the 


Charters  for  roads  of  more  importance 
were  soon  obtained  in  several  of  the  States. 
In  1828  work  was  begun  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  railroad,  and  in  1829  on  the  South 
Carolina  railroad,  In  the  year  1827  there 
were  three  miles  of  railroad  in  operation  in 
the  United  States.  In  1875  the  number  of 
miles  in  operation  is  a  little  over  seventy 
thousand. 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF 


For  some  time  previous  to  the  entrance  of 
Mr.  Adams   upon  office,  Georgia  had  been 
involved  in  a  dispute  with  the  general  gov- 
ernment and   with  the  Creek  Indians  con- 
cerning the   lands  of  the  latter,  which  the 
United   States  had  agreed  to  purchase  for 
the  benefit  of  Georgia. 
Twenty-five  years  passed 
after    tlie    promise    was 
made,  and  the  lands  re- 
mained unpurchased  be- 
cause the  Indians  would  ,^ 
not  sell  them.     A  treat\'  ^ 
was  finally  made  in  1825 
by  which   some    of  the 
chiefs  ceded  to  the  gen- 
eral   government  the 
lands  in  question. 

The  majority  of  the 
Indians  declared  the 
chiefs  had  no  authority 
to  enter  into  this  treaty, 
and  called  upon  the 
United  States  to  repudi- 
ate it.  It  was  cancelled 
by  the  general  govern- 
ment, but  the  State  of 
Georgia  determined  to 
enforce  it.  The  general 
government  took  the 
side  of  the  Indians,  and 
for  a  while  it  seemed  that 
an  open  conflict  would 
ensue  between  the  State 
and  federal  authorities. 
The  matter  was  settled 
by  the  Creeks  consent- 
ing to  sell  their  lands  and  to  accept  new 
homes  in  the  west.  The  Indian  lands 
were  purchased  by  the  United  States,  and 
the  Creeks  emigrated  beyond  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  1826,  died,  within  a 


MONROE   AND   J.   O.   ADAMS.  559 

the  republic — John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson— the  latter  the  author  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  and  the  former  its  most 
efficient  supporter.  Mr.  Adams  died  at  his 
home  at  Ouincy,  INIassachusetts,  at  the  ripe 
old  age  of  ninety  years  ;  Mr.  Jefferson,  at 


STATUE   OF    lEFFERSOX    AT    VV.\SHINGTON. 


I  ;\Ionticello,  his  beautiful  Virginian  home,  at 
I  the  age  of  eighty-two.  Both  had  filled  the 
I  highest  stations  in  the  republic,  and  both  had 

lived  to  see  the  country  they  loved  take  rank 
;  among  the  first  nations  of  the  globe.     They 

died  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  American 
few  hours  of  each  other,  two  ex-presidents  of  I  independence. 


56o 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


In  the  year  1826  a  iiJW  party  made  its 
appearance  in  our  politics.  A  man  named 
William  Morgan,  residing  in  the  western 
part  of  New  York,  published  a  book  purport- 
ing to  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  order  of  Free- 
masons. He  suddenly  disappeared,  and  it 
was  charged  that  he  had  been  seized  and 
murdered  by  the  Freemasons  in  revenge  for 
his  exposures.  The  affair  caused  great  ex- 
citement in  the  Northern  and  some  of  the 
Western  States,  and  gave  rise  to  a  political 


DANIEL    WEBSTER. 

party  known  as  the  Anti-Masons,  whose 
avowed  object  was  the  exclusion  of  Masons 
from  office.  It  acquired  considerable  strength 
in  some  of  the  States,  but  in  a  few  years  died 
out. 

The  tariff  question  now  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  country  once  more.  The  manu- 
facturing interests  were  still  struggling  against 
foreign  competition,  and  it  was  the  opinion  of 
the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  that  the  gen- 


imposition  of  high  duties  upon  products  of 
foreign  countries  imported  into  the  Union. 
The  south  was  almost  a  unit  in  its  opposition 
to  a  high  tariff.     Being,  as  we  have  said,  an 
agricultural  section,  its  interests  demanded  a 
free  market,  and  it  wished  to  avail  itself  of 
the  privilege  of  purchasing  where  it  could 
buy  cheapest.     The  south  and  the  west  were 
the  markets  of  the  east,  and  the  interests  of 
that  section  demanded  the  exclusion  of  for- 
eign competition  in  supplying  these  markets. 
In  July,  1827,  a  convention  of  manu- 
facturers was  held  at  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  a  memorial  was  adopted 
praying  Congress  to  increase  the  duties 
on    foreign  goods   to    an  extent  which 
would  protect  American  industry.  When 
Congress   met  in  December,    1827,  the 
protective  policy  was  the  most  important 
topic  of  the  da\'.      It  was  warmly  dis- 
cussed in   Compress  and  throughout  the- 
country.    The  interests  of  New  England 
were  championed  by  the  matchless  elo- 
quence of  Daniel  Webster,  who  claimed 
that  as  the  adoption  of  the  protective 
policy  by  the   government   had  forced. 
New  England  to  turn  her  energies  to- 
manufacturers,     the     government     was 
bound  to  protect  her  against  competi- 
tion. 

After  a  very  able  and  exhaustive  dis- 
cussion, the  tariff  bill  was  passed  by  the 
House  on  the  fifteenth   of  April,   1828^ 
and  was  approved  by  the  President  a  little 
later.     It  was  termed  by  its  opponents  the 
"  Bill  of  Abominations." 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement  the  Presi- 
dential election  occurred.  Mr.  Adams  was 
a  candidate  for  re-election,  but  was  over- 
whelmingly defeated  by  Andrew  Jackson,  ot 
Tennessee.  John  C.  Calhoun  was  chosen 
Vice-President.  The  election  of  Jackson 
was  regarded  as  a  popular  condemnation  of 


eral  government  should  protect  them  by  the  I  the  protective  policy  of  the  government 


CHAPTER  XXXV 


The  Administrations  of  Andrew  Jackson  and 
Martin  Van   Buren 

Character  of  Andrew  Jackson — Indian  Policy  of  this  Administration — The  President  Vetoes  the  Bill  to  Renew  the  Char- 
ter of  the  United  States  Bank — Debate  Between  Hayne  and  Webster — Jackson's  Quarrel  With  Calhoun — Death  of 
ex-President  Monroe — The  Cholera — Black  Hawk's  War — Re-election  of  President  Jackson — The  Tariff— Action  of 
South  Carolina — The  Nullification  Ordinance — Firmness  of  the  President — The  Matter  Settled  by  Compromise — Pa- 
triotism of  Henrj-  Clay — The  Removal  of  the  Deposits — The  Seminole  War  Begun — Great  Fire  at  New  York — Settle- 
ment of  the  French  Claims — Arkansas  Admitted  Into  the  Union — The  National  Debt  Paid — Death  of  ex- President 
Madison — Martin  Van  Buren  Elected  President — Michigan  Admitted  Into  the  Union — The  Panic  of  1837 — Cause; of 
It — Suspension  of  Specie  Payments — Great  Distress  Throughout  the  Union — The  Sub- Treasury — Repudiation  of  State 
Debts — The  Canadian  Rebellion — The  President's  Course — The  Seminole  War  Ended — The  Anti-Slavery  Party^ 
Resolutions  of  Congress  Respecting  Slavery — William  Henry  Harrison  Elected  President — The  Sixth  Census. 


ANDREW  JACKSON,  the  seventh 
President  of  the  United  States,  was 
inaugurated  at  Washington,  on  the 
fourth  of  March,  1829. 
President  Jackson  was  in  many  respects 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  day. 
He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  was 
born  in  North  CaroHna  during  the  contro- 
versy between  the  colonies  and  Great 
Britain,  which  preceded  the  revolution.  He 
was  left  fatherless  at  an  early  age,  and  his 
youth  was  passed  amid  the  stirring  scenes 
of  the  war  for  independence.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen  he  began  his  career  by  taking  part 
in  the  fight  at  Hanging  Rock,  under  General 
Sumter.  The  home  of  the  Jacksons  was 
broken  up  and  pillaged  by  the  Tories,  and 
the  mother  and  her  two  sons  became  wan- 
derers. The  sons  were  shortly  after  made 
prisoners  by  the  Tories,  and  the  day  after 
his  capture  Andrew  Jackson  was  ordered  by 
a  British  officer  to  clean  his  boots.  He 
indignantly  refused,  and  the  officer  struck 
him  with  the  flat  of  his  sword.  The  boys 
were  at  length  exchanged  through  the  exer- 
tions of  their  mother.  Both  had  contracted 
the  small-po.x  during  their  captivity,  and  the 
elder  son  soon  died  of  his  disease. 
^6 


Not  long  afterwards  Mrs.  Jackson,  with 
some  other  ladies,  went  to  Charleston  to 
minister  to  the  wants  of  the  American  pri- 
soners of  war  confined  there  by  the  British. 
A  fever  was  raging  among  these  unfortunates 
at  the  time,  and  Mrs.  Jackson  was  soon  num- 
bered among  its  victims.  Thus,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen,  Andrew  Jackson  was  left  alone  in 
the  world  without  a  relative.  Though  young 
in  years,  he  had  been  greatly  matured  in 
character  by  his  trials.  Even  at  this  early 
age  he  was  generous  to  a  fault  to  his  friends, 
and  immovable  in  his  resolutions  when  once 
formed. 

A  few  years  later  he  removed  to  Tennes- 
see, then  a  Territory,  and  upon  the  admis- 
sion of  the  State  into  the  Union  was  elected 
as  her  first  representative  in  Congress.  His 
services  during  the  war  of  1 8 12- 1 5  have  been 
related.  His  brilliant  victory  over  the  British 
at  New  Orleans  made  him  one  of  the  most 
noted  men  of  the  day,  and  his  prompt  and 
decisive  measures  against  the  Spaniards  in 
Florida  during  Mr.  Monroe's  administratioa 
greatly  added  to  his  reputation. 

During  the  administration  of  John  Adams- 
General  Jackson  occupied  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  gave  a  cordial  support  to 
S6i     , 


562 


FRO^I   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


the  principles  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  Resigning 
his  seat  in  the  Senate  before  the  close  of  his 
term,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee. 

The  election  of  General  Jackson   to  the 


E\V   JACKSON. 


Presidency  was  regarded  with  some  anxiety, 
for  though  his  merits  as  a  soldier  were  con- 
ceded, it  was  feared  by  many  that  his  known 
impcriousness  of  will  and  his  inflexibility  of 
purpose  would  seriously  disqualify  him  for  the 
delicate  duties  of  the  Presidenc>'.    Nature  had 


made  him  a  ruler,  however,  and  his  adminis* 
tration  was  marked  by  the  fearless  energy 
that  characterized  every  act  of  his  life,  and 
was  on  the  whole  successful  and  satisfactory 
to  the  great  majority  of  his  countrymen. 

General  Jackson 
began  his  administra- 
tion by  appointing  a 
new  cabinet,  at  the 
head  of  which  he 
placed  Martin  Van 
Buren,  of  New  York, 
as  secretary  of  state. 
Until  now  the  Post- 
master-General had 
not  been  regarded  as 
a  cabinet  officer.  Gen- 
eral Jackson  now  in- 
vited that  officer  to  a 
seat  in  his  cabinet  and 
a  share  in  its  delibera- 
tions, and  his  course 
has  since  been  pur- 
sued by  each  and  all 
of  his  successors. 

The  first  important 
act  of  the  new  Presi- 
dent was  to  recom- 
mend to  Congress  the 
removal  of  all  the  In- 
dian tribes  remaining 
east  of  the  Mississippi 
to  new  homes  west  o{ 
that  stream.  Such  a 
measure,  he  con- 
tended, would  give 
to  them  a  broader 
range,  and  one  more 
suited  to  their  wants,  and  would  relieve 
the  States  cast  of  the  Mississippi  from  all 
further  apprehension  of  Indian  wars.  This 
removal  involved  considerable  loss  and  hard- 
ship to  the  Creeks  in  Georgia,  who  had  made 
an  encouraging  advance  in  civilization,     A 


ADMINISTR.-\TIONS   OF  JACKSON    AND   VAN   BUREN. 


563 


bill  was  passed  by  the  Twenty-first  Congress 
in  May,  1830,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
this  poHcy  into  effect ;  but  the  removal  of  the 
Indians  was  not  completed  for  some  years 
afterwards. 

In  his  first  annual  message  to  Congress,  in 
1829,  the  President  took  strong  ground 
against  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  which  was  about 
to  expire.  This  was  a  bold  step,  as  the  bank 
was  the  most  powerful  institution  in  the 
United  States,  and  had  warm  friends  in  every 
part  of  the  country.  The  stockholders  of 
the  bank  applied  to  the  Twenty-second  Con- 
gress during  its  first  session,  which  began  in 
December,  183 1,  for  a  renewal  of  their  char- 
ter, and  in  the  late  spring  of  1832  a  bill 
renewing  this  charter  was  passed  by  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  The  President  refused 
to  sign  the  bill,  and  returned  it  to  Congress 
with  his  objections.  He  held  that  Congress 
had  no  constitutional  power  to  charter  such 
a  bank,  and  regarded  it  as  inexpedient  to 
continue  its  existence.  An  effort  was  made 
by  the  friends  of  the  bill  to  pass  it  over  the 
President's  veto,  but  it  failed  to  obtain  the 
necessary  two-thirds  vote,  and  consequently 
did  not  become  a  law.  The  bank  was  there- 
fore obliged  to  suspend  its  operations  at  the 
expiration  of  its  charter  in  1836. 

A  Historic  Debate. 

In  1 830  Senator  Foot,  of  Connecticut,  sub- 
mitted a  resolution  of  inquiry  to  the  Senate 
concerning  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands. 
The  debate  upon  the  resolution  extended  far 
beyond  the  subject  embraced  in  that  docu- 
ment, and  in  the  course  of  it  Senator  Robert 
Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina,  a  brilliant 
orator,  declared  that  any  State  had  the  right, 
in  the  exercise  of  its  sovereign  power,  to 
declare  null  and  void  any  act  of  Congress 
which  it  should  consider  unconstitutional. 
This  was  a  plain  statement  of  the  doctrine 


that  the  Union  was  simply  a  compact  between 
the  States,  from  which  any  of  the  States  could 
secede  at  pleasure,  and  it  was  the  first  time 
such  a  sentiment  had  been  expressed  on  the 
floor  of  Congress.  Mr.  Webster,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, replied  to  Mr.  Hayne,  in  an  oration 
of  superb  eloquence.  He  denied  the  doc- 
trine that  the  Union  was  a  compact  of  sover 
eign,  independent  States,  from  which  any 
one  of  them  could  withdraw  at  pleasure ;  and 
argued  that  the  constitution  was  the  work  of 
the  people  themselves,  not  as  separate  States. 


ROBERT    V.    HAY 


but  as  members  of  a  great  nation,  and  was 
designed  to  make  the  Union  perpetual ;  that 
the  controversies  between  the  States  and  the 
general  government  were  to  be  decided  by 
the  supreme  court,  the  tribunal  created  for 
that  purpose  by  the  constitution,  and  not  by 
the  States  themselves  ;  and  that  any  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  people  of  a  State  to  with- 
draw from  the  Union  was  treason. 

The  debate  added  greatly  to  the  fame  of 
both  senators,  and  the  sentiments  of  Mr. 
Webster  were  unanimously  re-echoed  by  the 


564 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION  TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


north,  and  by  a  large  majority  at  the  south. 
The  effect  of  the  debate  was  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  people  to  a  study  of  the 
principles  of  the  constitution.  Different 
views  were  maintained.  The  Northern  and 
Western  States  regarded  the  Union  as  indis- 
soluble, while  the  Southern  States  held  that 
't  was  a  compact  of  sovereign  Statc^    and 


I  UMIitKM  \N  > 


that   any    State    could    withdraw   from   the 
Union  for  just  cause. 

During  the  session  of  the  Twenty-first 
Congress  a  breach  occurred  between  Presi- 
dent Jackson  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  vice- 
president.  The  former  was  told  for  the  first 
time  that  Mr.  Calhoun,  while  a  member  of 
Mr.  Monroe's  cabinet,  had  endeavored  to 
prevent  the  government  from  sustaining  him 


in  his  invasion  of  Florida  in  18 18.  General 
Jackson  deeply  resented  this,  and  the  breach 
between  himself  and  Mr.  Calhoun  widened 
daily.  Shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Calhoun  re- 
signed the  vice-presidency,  and  was  elected 
to  the  Senate  by  the  legislature  of  South  ^ 
Carolina  in  1831.  In  the  same  year  Mr. 
Lla).  was  elcctLd  to  the  Senate  from  Ken- 
tuck\ ,  and  Edward 
Livingston  was  made 
secretarj'^  of  state. 

On  the  fourth  of 
lul)  1 83 1,  ex-Presi- 
cnt  Monroe  died  in 
\(.\\  York,  in  the  se- 
\i.nt\ -fourth  year  of 
his  age. 

In  June,  1832,  the 
Vsntic  cholera  made 
t  first  appearance  in 
the  United  States,  and 
wept  with  fearful  ra- 
pidity over  the  whole 
)untry.  Thousands 
f  persons  of  all  ages 
id  conditions  died 
I  Jt  within  a  few 
nonths,  and  a  feeling 
I  f  general  terror  per- 
\  ided  the  country. 
Its  principal  ravages 
occurred  in  the  North- 
ern States  and  in  the 
\ alley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi 
In  the  spring  of  1832  the  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
and  some  other  tribes  of  Indians,  inhabiting 
the  region  now  known  as  Wisconsin,  made 
incursions  against  the  frontier  settlements  of 
Illinois.  General  Atkinson  was  sent  by  the 
general  government  with  a  force  of  troops  to 
crush  them,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
militia,  after  a  series  of  skirmishes,  drove 
them  beyond  the  Mississippi.    Black  Hawk, 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   JACKSON   AND   VAN   BUREN. 


56s 


a  chief  of  the  Sac  nation,  and  the  leader  of 
the  movement,  was  talcen  prisoner.  He  was 
kindly  treated,  and  to  impress  him  with  the 
folly  of  attacking  a  great  nation,  he  was 
taken  to  Washington,  and  then  to  the  prin- 
cipal eastern  cities,  that  he  might  see  for 
himself  the  power  of  the  whites. 

Jackson  Re-elected. 

Early  in  1S31  General  Jackson  was  nomi- 
nated for  re-election  to  the  Presidency  by 
the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Presi- 
dential election  took  place  in  the  fall  of 
1832.  General  Jackson  was  supported  by 
the  Democratic  part}',  and  Mr.  Clay  by  the 
Whigs,  for  the  Presidency.  The  contest 
was  marked  by  intense  bitterness,  for  Jack- 
son's veto  of  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  his  other  vetoes  of  public 
improvement  bills,  and  his  attitude  in  the 
*'  Nullification  "  controversy  between  the 
United  States  and  South  Carolina  had 
created  a  powerful  opposition  to  him  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  In  spite  of  this  op- 
position he  was  re-elected  by  a  triumphant 
majority,  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New 
York,  the  Democratic  nominee,  was  chosen 
vice-president. 

In  the  meantime  serious  trouble  had  arisen 
between  the  general  government  and  the 
State  of  South  Carolina.  During  the  year 
1832  the  tariff  was  revised  by  Congress, 
and  that  body,  instead  of  diminishing  the 
duties,  increased  many  of  them.  This  action 
gave  great  offence  to  the  Southern  States, 
which  regarded  the  denial  of  free  trade  as  a 
great  wrong  to  them.  They  were  willing  to 
submit  to  a  tariff  sufficient  for  a  revenue,  but 
Acre  utterly  opposed  to  a  protective  tariff 
for  the  reasons  we  have  already  stated.  The 
States  of  Virginia,  Georgia  and  South  Caro- 
lina were  the  most  energetic  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  measure,  but  the  first  two,  upon 
its  passage,  submitted  to  it,  hoping  to  carry 


out  their  w'shes  by  constitutional  means  at 
some  future  time. 

The  State  of  South  Carolina,  holding  the 
views  advocated  by  Mr.  Hayne  in  the 
Senate,  in  his  debate  with  Mr.  Webster, 
resolved  to  "  nullify  "  the  law  within  its  own 
limits.  A  convention  of  the  people  of  the 
State  was  held,  which  adopted  a  measure 
known  as  the  "  Nullification  Ordinance." 
This  ordinance  declared  that  the  tariff  act  of 
1832,  being  based  upon  the  principle  of  pro- 


JOHN   C.    CALHOUN. 

tection,  and  not  upon  the  principle  of  raising 
revenue,  was  unconstitutional,  and  was  there- 
fore null  and  void.  Provision  was  made  by 
another  clause  for  testing  the  constitutionality 
of  the  law  before  the  courts  of  the  State. 

The  State  assumed  the  right  to  forbid  the 
collection  of  the  duties  imposed  by  the  tariff 
within  its  limits  ;  and  if  the  general  govern- 
ment should  resist  the  course  of  the  State 
by  force,  the  State  of  South  Carolina  was 
declared  to  be  no  lonp--jr  a  member  of  the 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


see 

Union.  This  ordinance  was  to  take  effect 
on  the  twelfth  of  February,  1833,  unless  in 
the  meantime  the  general  government  should 
abandon  its  policy  of  protection  and  return 
.  to  a  tariff  for  revenue  only. 

Matters  had  reached  this  state  when  the 
Presidential  election  occurred  in  the  fall  of 
1832.  The  country  at  large  was  utterly 
opposed  to  the  course  of  South  Carolina, 
and  denied  its  right  to  nullify  a  law  of  Con- 
gress or  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  in 
support  of   this  right.     Intense  excitement 


EinV.XKU    LIVI.NG5TON. 

prevailed,  and  the  course  of  the  President 
was  watched  with  the  gravest  an.xicty.  He 
was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  protective 
policy ;  but  it  was  generally  believed  that  he 
was  firm  in  his  intention  to  enforce  the  laws, 
however  he  might  disapprove  of  them. 

Congress  met  in  December,  1832,  and  in 
his  annual  message  President  Jackson  urged 
upon  that  body  a  reduction  of  the  tariff. 
The  message  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the 
opponents  of  the  tariff.  A  few  days  later 
the  President  issued  a  proclamation  against 


nullification,  moderate  in  language,  but  firm 
in  tone.  He  expressed  his  opinion  that  the 
course  of  South  Carolina  was  unlawful  and 
wrong,  and  intimated  that  he  would  exert 
the  power  intrusted  to  him  to  compel  obedi- 
ence to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
Union.  He  appealed  to  the  people  of  South 
Carolina  not  to  persist  in  the  enforcement  o"" 
their  ordinance,  as  such  a  course  on  their 
part  must  inevitably  bring  them  in  collision 
with  the  forces  of  the  federal  government ; 
and  told  them  plainly  that  any  citizen  of  any 
of  the  States  who  should  take  up  arms 
against  the  United  States  in  such  a  conflict 
would  be  guilty  of  treason  against  the  United 
States. 

Referring  to  the  action  of  the  convention, 
he  said  :  "  This  ordinance  is  founded,  not  on 
the  indefeasible  right  of  resisting  acts  which 
are  plainly  unconstitutional,  and  too  opprcs- 
si\-e  to  be  endured;  but  on  the  strange  posi- 
tion that  any  one  State  may  not  only  declare 
an  act  of  Congress  void,  but  prohibit  its 
execution ;  that  they  may  do  this  consist- 
ently with  the  constitution ;  that  the  true 
construction  of  the  instrument  permits  a 
State  to  retain  its  place  in  the  Union,  and 
yet  be  bound  by  no  other  of  its  laws  than 
those  it  may  choose  to  consider  as  constitu- 
tional." 

Trouble  in  South  Carolina. 

The  leaders  of  the  South  Carolina  mow.-- 
rnent  were  Governor  Hayne  and  John  C. 
Calhoun,  then  a  senator  of  the  United  States 
from  South  Carolina.  Governor  Hayne  re 
plied  to  the  President  \vith  a  counter  procla- 
mation, in  which  he  warned  the  people  of 
the  State  against  "  the  dangerous  and  perni- 
cious doctrines  "  of  the  President's  procla- 
mation, and  called  upon  them  to  disregard 
"  those  vain  menaces  "  of  military  force,  and 
"to  be  fully  prepared  to  sustain  the  dignity 
and  protect  the  liberties  of  the  State,  if  need 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   JACKSON   AND   VAN   BUREN.  567 

ginia  sent  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen,  as  commissioner  to  South 
Carolina,  to  urge  her  to  suspend  the  execu- 
tion of  her  ordinance  until  March  4th,  as 
there  was  a  probability  that  a  peaceful  set- 
tlement of  the  difficulty  would  be  arranged 
before  that  time.  South  Carolina  consentea 
to  be  guided  by  this  appeal. 

Henry  Clay,  with  his  usual  patriotic  self- 
sacrifice,  now  came  forward  in  the  Senate- 
with  a  compromise  which  he  hoped  'vould 


be,  with  their  lives  and  fortunes."  The 
State  prepared  to  maintain  its  position  by 
force.  Troops  were  organized  and  arms 
and  militar)'  stores  were  collected. 

The  President,  on  his  part,  took  measures 
promptly  to  enforce  the  law.  He  ordered  a 
large  body  of  troops  to  assemble  at  Charles- 
ton under  General  Scott,  and  a  ship  of  war 
was  sent  to  that  port  to  assist  the  federal 
officers  in  collecting  the  duties  on  imports. 
Civil  war  seemed  for  a  time  inevitable.     The 


THE  L-.NITED  STATES  TKEASCRV  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


President  was  firmly  resolved  to  compel  the 
submission  of  South  Carolina  and  to  cause 
the  arrest  of  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  other 
leading  nullifiers  and  bring  them  to  trial  for 
treason.  The  issue  of  such  a  conflict  could 
not  be  doubtful. 

Fortunately  a  peaceful  settlement  of  tlic 
trouble  was  effected.  Mr.  Verplanck,  of 
New  York,  a  supporter  of  the  administra- 
tion, introduced  a  bill  into  Congress  for  a 
reduction  of  the  tariff,  and  the  State  of  Vir- 


put  an  end  to  the  trouble.  He  was  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  protective  system,  but  he  was 
prepared  to  sacrifice  it  to  the  welfare  of  the 
country.  He  introduced  a  bill  providing 
for  the  gradual  reduction  in  ten  years  of  all 
duties  then  above  the  revenue  standard. 
••  One-tenth  of  one-half  of  all  the  duties  for 
protection  above  that  standard  was  to  be 
taken  off  annually  for  ten  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  period  the  whole  of  the  other  half 
was  to  be  taken  off,  and  thereafter  all  duties 


568 


FROM    THE   REVOLUTION    TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


were  to  be  levied  mainly  with  a  view  to 
revenue  and  not  for  protection."  This 
measure  with  some  modifications  was 
adopted  by  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and 
was  approved  by  the  President  on  the  second 
of  March,  1S33.  The  people  of  South  Caro- 
lina rescinded  their  "  Nullification  Ordi- 
nance," and  the  trouble  was  brought  to  an 
end.* 

It  was  generally  believed  that  the  Union 
had  escaped  from  a  grave  peril.  The  firm- 
ness of  the  President  received  the  approval 
of  the  nation,  except  in  South  Carolina.   The 


the  United  States  and  deposit  them  with 
certain  State  banks.  The  majority  of  the 
cabinet  were  opposed  to  the  measure,  and 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  William  J. 
Duane,  when  ordered  by  tfie  President  to 
withdraw  the  funds,  refused  to  obey  him  as 
he  considered  the  President's  course  "  un- 
necessary, unwise,  arbitrary  and  unjust."  He 
was  at  once  removed  from  his  position  by 
President  Jackson,  who  appointed  Roger 
B.  Taney,  of  Maryland,  in  his  place.  Mr. 
Taney  issued  an  order  to  the  collectors,  for- 
bidding them  to   deposit  the  public  moneys 


action  of  that  State  was  generally  condemned,  |  paid  to  them   in  the  Bank  of  the    United 
and  the  result  was  looked  upon  as  a  decided 
triumph  of  the  national  authority. 

Renewed  Excitement. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1833,  General 
Jackson  entered  upon  his  second  term  of 
office.  The  troubles  which  had  disquieted 
the  country  had  been  satisfactorily  settled, 
and  the  President  took  advantage  of  the 
peaceful  condition  of  affairs  to  visit  New 
York  and  the  New  England  States.  He 
was  received  everywhere  with  enthusiasm. 

Upon  his  return  to  the  capital  the  Presi- 
dent took  a  step  which  plunged  the  country 
into  great  excitement  once  more.  The 
charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
made  that  institution  the  legal  depository  of 
the  funds  of  the  United  States.  The  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury,  with  the  sanction  of 
Congress,  alone  had  authority  to  remove 
them.  The  President  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  public  funds  were  not  safe  in  the 
keeping  of  the  bank,  and  announced  his  in- 
tention to  remove  them  from  the   Bank  of 


States.  As  for  the  funds  already  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  bank  it  was  decided  to  with- 
draw them  as  they  were  needed  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  current  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment. This  measure  was  productive  of 
great  financial  distress  throughout  the 
Union,  which  continued  for  some  time. 

President  Jackson  Censured. 

The  President's  course  also  produced  open 
war  between  himself  and  the  Senate,  in 
which  body  he  was  opposed  by  Clay,  Cal- 
houn and  Webster,  its  foremost  members. 
He  was  defended  by  Benton,  of  Missouri, 
and  Forsyth,  of  Georgia,  but  in  spite  of  their 
efforts  a  resolution  declaring  the  President's 
course  unconstitutional  and  severely  censur- 
ing him  for  it  was  adopted  by  the  Senate. 
The  President  remained  firm,  however.  He 
submitted  an  able  protest  against  the  action 
of  the  Senate,  and  by  the  help  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  defeated  the  bank  on 
every  point.  The  Senate  subsequently 
recognized  the  propriety  of  the   President's 


*"  Mr.  Clay,  on  this  occasion,"  says  Hon.  .Alexander  H.  Stephens,  "had  to  break  with  his  old  political  friends,  while 
he  was  offering  up  the  darling  system  of  his  heart  uiwn  the  altar  of  his  country.  Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  him,  no 
one  can  deny  that  Henry  Clay  was  a  jiatriot — every  inch  of  him — a  patriot  of  the  highest  standard.  It  was  said  that  when 
he  was  importuned  not  to  take  the  course  he  had  resolved  uiK)n,  for  the  reason  amongst  others  that  it  would  lessen  his 
chances  for  the  presidency,  liis  reply  was, '  I  would  rather  be  right  than  be  president.'  This  showed  the  material  he  was 
made  of.    It  was  worthy  a  Marcellus  or  Ca.to."—TAc  IVar  Between  the  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  438. 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   JACKSON   AND    VAX    BUREN.  569 

action,  and  of  its  own  motion  expunged  the     ship  of  their  great  chief,  Osceola,  opposed  a 
resolution  of  censure  from  its  journal.  |  determined  resistance  to   the  efforts  of  the 

In  inn'suan.cc  of  i  ^  I  ti      Ti       ^lii  .;.i;ii   :'..      1"'.'       T^.^'le,  with  one 


■HIKF   OF   THE   SEMINOLES. 


.  dians,  the  government  attempted  in  183510 
remove  the  Seminoles  from  Florida  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  They  were  unwilling  to 
relinquish  their  lands  ;  and  under  the  leader- 


hundred  and  seventeen  men,  was  sent  from 
Tampa  Bay  to  the  assistance  of  General 
Clinch  at  Fort  Drane,  which  was  threatened 
by  the    Indians.     He   was  attacked   on  the 


570 


FROM 


twenty-eighth  of  December,  1835,  while  on 
the  march,  and  he  and  all  but  four  of  his 
men  were  massacred.  On  the  same  day 
another  blow  was  struck  at  Fort  King,  many 
miles  away  from  the  scene  of  this  massacre. 
Mr.  Thompson,  the  Indian  commissioner, 
and  a  party  of  his  friends,  while  dining  out- 
side of  the  walls  of  the  fort,  were  attacked 
by  a  band  of  Seminoles  led  by  Osceola  in 
person,  and  killed  and  scalped.  General 
Clinch  at  on:e  took  the  field  against  the 
savages,  and  on  the  thirt\--first  of  December 
defeated  them  at  Withlacooche,  ninety  miles 
north  of  Tampa  Bay.  In  February,  1836, 
General  Gaines  won  an  important  victor)^ 
over  the  savages  ne^r  the  same  place. 

The  Seminole  War. 

The  Creeks  joined  the  Seminoles  in  May, 
1836,  and  the  war  spread  into  Georgia.  The 
former  were  soon  crushed  by  the  United 
States  troops,  and  were  sent  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  Seminoles  continued  the 
war,  and  as  often  as  they  were  defeated  in 
the  open  field  would  take  refuge  in  the 
swamps  and  everglades,  where  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  the  whites  to  follow  them,  and  from 
which  they  maintained  a  constant  and  effect- 
ive warfare  upon  their  enemies.  Osceola 
was  always  ready  to  make  a  treaty,  and  never 
hesitated  to  break  it.  At  last  he  was  con- 
quered by  his  own  weapon  of  deceit.  In 
October,  1S37,  he  came  into  the  American 
camp  under  a  flag  of  truce.  He  was  at  once 
seized,  with  all  his  followers,  by  General 
Jessup,  the  American  commander.  Osceola 
was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Fort  Moultrie, 
in  South  Carolina,  where  he  died  of  a 
fever.  The  war  went  on  for  several  years 
longer. 

'  The  winter  of  1834-5  was  one  of  the 
coldest  ever  known  in  America.  The  Chesa- 
peake Bay  was  frozen  from  its  head  to  the 
Capes,  and  on  the  eighth  of  February,  1S35, 


TME    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

the  mercury  stood  at  eight  degrees  below 
zero  as  far  south  as  Charleston.  On  the 
fourth  of  January  the  mercury  congealed  at 
Lebanon,  New  York.  On  the  night  of  De- 
cember 16,  1835,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  in  fourteen  hours  con- 
sumed the  greater  part  of  the  business  por- 
tion of  the  city,  and  destroyed  over  seven- 
teen million  dollars  worth  of  property. 


Dispute  with  France  Settled. 

In  the  last  years  of  his  administration  Pres- 
ident Jackson  brought  to  a  successful  close 
a  vexatious  dispute  with  France,  which  had 
long  been  a  source  of  annoyance  to  the  coun- 
try. American  merchants  held  claims  to  the 
amount  of  five  million  dollars  against  France^ 
for  the  "  unlawful  seizures,  captures,  and 
destruction  of  vessels  and  cargoes"  during 
the  wars  of  Napoleon.  The  government  of 
Louis  Philippe  acknowledged  the  justice  of 
these  claims,  and  in  183 1  a  treaty  was  nego- 
tiated between  the  United  States  and  France 
for  their  payment. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  refused  three 
times  during  as  many  years  to  appropriate 
the  money  for  the  payment  of  these  claims, 
and  in  1S34  President  Jackson  ordered  the 
United  States  minister  at  Paris  to  demand' 
his  passports,  and  advised  Congress  to  make 
reprisals  on  French  vessels.  This  vigorous- 
course  brought  France  to  her  senses,  and  at 
this  juncture  Great  Britain  offered  her  media- 
tion for  the  settlement  of  the  difficulty.  The 
Chamber  of  Deputies  appropriated  the  neces- 
sary sum,  and  the  American  claims  were 
paid  and  the  matter  settled  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all  parties. 

Claims  for  similar  seizures  were  brought 
against  Spain,  Naples,  and  Denmark,  and 
were  satisfactorily  settled  through  the  firm- 
ness of  the  President.  Treaties  of  friendship 
and  commerce  were  negotiated  with  Russia 
and  Turkey. 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   JACKSON   AND    VAN    BUREX. 


On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1836,  Arkansas 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 

One  of  the  most  important  acts  of  General 
Jackson's  administration  was  the  payment 
of  the  national  debt.  He  not  only  left  the 
nation  free  from  debt,  but  handed  over  to 
his  successor  a  sur- 
plus of  forty  millions 
of  dollars  in  the  na- 
tional treasury. 

On  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  June,  1836, 
ex-President  James 
Madison  died  at 
Montpelier,  his  home, 
in  Virj^inia,  in  the 
eighty-sixth  year  of 
his  age. 

The  Presidential 
election  was  held  in 
the  fall  of  1836.  Gen- 
eral Jackson  having 
declined  to  be  a  can- 
didate for  a  third  term, 
the  Democratic  party 
supported  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  President 
and  Richard  M.  John- 
son, of  Kentucky,  for 
Vice-President.  Mr. 
Van  Buren  was  elected 
by  a  large  majority; 
but  the  electors  hav- 
ing failed  to  make  a 
choice  of  a  candidate 
for  Vice-President, 
that  task  de\-olved 
upon  the  Senate, 
which  elected  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson 
by  a  majority  of  seventeen  votes. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  January,  1837, 
Michigan  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  making  the  twenty-sixth  member  of 
the    Confederacv.       The    original    thirteen 


571- 

States  had  been  doubled  in  number,  and  the 
Union  was  strong  at  home,  and  respected 
abroad. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  General  Jackson 
retired  from  public  life,  and  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days  at  his  beautiful  home,. 


near  Nashville,  in  Tennessee,  which  he  had 
named  the  "  Hermitage."  He  had  conducted 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  administrations 
in  our  history,  and  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful, and  had  shown  himself  to  be  an  earnest, 
incorruptible,  and  self-sacrificing  patriot,  and. 


•572 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


.a  man  of  unbending  honesty  and  of  extra- 
ordinary energy  and  inflexibility  of  purpose. 
Martin  Van  Buren,  the  new  President, 
.entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the 
fourth  of  March,  1837.  He  was  in  his  fifty- 
. fifth  year,  and  had  occupied  many  distin- 
guished positions  in  public  life.  He  had 
represented  the  State  of  New  York  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  had  been 
governor  of  that  State.  He  had  been  min- 
ister to  England,  had  been  made  secretary  of 
state  at  the  commencement  of  General  Jack- 
•son'.s  first  term,  and  had  been  elected  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States  at  the  period 
•of  Jackson's  re-election. 

Wild  Speculation. 

The  extraordinary  prosperity  which  had 
^prevailed  throughout  the  nation  during  the 
last  year  of  Jackson's  term  came  to  a  sudden 
•  end  almost  immediately  after  the  inaugura- 
tion of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  For  some  time  past 
a  reckless  spirit  of  speculation  had  engrossed 
the  nation,  and  had  led  to  excessive  banking 
and  the  issuing  of  paper  money  to  an  extent 
far  beyond  the  necessities  of  the  country. 
The  State  banks,  with  which  the  public  funds 
had  been  deposited  by  President  Jackson, 
supposed  they  would  be  able  to  control  these 
funds  for  an  indefinite  period,  as  the  revenue 
of  the  government  was  largely  in  e.xcess  of 
its  expenses  ;  and  they  made  loans  freely, 
and  upon  not  the  best  securities,  in  all  cases. 
Few  of  the  new  banks  which  sprang  into 
existence  had  enough  gold  and  silver  in  their 
vaults  to  redeem  the  notes  with  which  they 
flooded  the  countr)-.  Fictitious  values  pre- 
vailed in  every  department  of  trade,  and  the 
banks  vied  with  each  other  in  affording  the 
means  for  the  wildest  speculations. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement  two  acts 
of  the  general  government  brought  matters  to 
a  crisis.  The  speculation  mania  had  extended 
to  the  public  lands,  and  in  order  to  restrain 


it  within  manageable  bounds  President  Jack- 
son caused  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  to 
issue  an  order  to  the  collectors  at  the  local 
offices  to  receive  only  gold  and  silver  in  pay- 
ments for  land.  This  order  was  generally 
known  as  the  "  Specie  Circular."  In  the 
summer  of  1836  a  law  was  passed  by  Con- 
gress requiring  the  President  to  distribute 
among  the  States  the  funds  on  deposit  in  the 
banks.  This  was  an  unexpected  measure  to 
the  banks,  and  forced  them  to  call  in  their 
loans  to  meet  the  withdrawal  of  the  govern- 
ment funds.  The  operations  of  the  "  Specie 
Circular"  at  the  same  time  sent  large  quan- 
tities of  their  notes  back  to  them  to  be 
redeemed  in  coin. 

This  complication  of  difficulties  brought 
them  at  once  to  the  end  of  their  resources, 
and  they  were  rendered  powerless  to  extend 
their  usual  facilities  to  their  customers.  The 
result  was  that  the  business  of  the  country 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  hopeless  confusion, 
and  by  the  spring  of  1837  the  failures  in 
New  York  alone  amounted  to  one  hundred 
million  dollars.  All  parts  of  the  countrj' 
were  affected  by  the  financial  troubles,  and, 
in  New  Orleans  the  failures  amounted  to 
twenty-seven  million  dollars. 

Suspension  of  Specie  Payments. 

Petitions  were  addressed  to  the  President 
from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  praying  him  to 
take  some  steps  to  relieve  the  general  distress, 
and  in  May  a  deputation  of  merchants  and 
bankers  from  New  York  waited  upon  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren,  and  urged  him  to  postpone 
the  immediate  collection  of  duties  for  which 
merchants  had  given  bonds,  to  withdraw  the 
treasury  orders  requiring  sums  duethe  United 
States  to  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  and  to 
convene  Congress  in  extra  session  for  the 
purpose  of  devising  measures  of  relief 

The  President  complied  with  their  request 
to  suspend  the  collection  of  duties  for  which 


AD.MIXISTRATIONS   OF   JACKSON   AND   VAN   BUREN. 


bonds  had  been  given,  but  declined  to  take 
the  other  steps  asked  of  him.  Within  a  few- 
days  after  his  answer  was  known  the  banks 
of  New  York  suspended  specie  payments, 
and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  rest 
of  the  banks  throughout  the  Union. 

The  Country  in  Distress. 

The  distress  of  the  country  was  very 
great.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  laborers 
were  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  busi- 
ness of  all  kinds  was  at  a  standstill.  The 
government,  which  a  few  months  before  had 
been  out  of  debt  and  in  possession  of  a  sur- 
plus of  forty  millions,  now  found  itself 
unable  to  provide  funds  for  its  ordinary  ex- 
penses. The  President  was  compelled  to 
summon  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  which 
met  on  the  fourth  of  September,  1837.  The 
President  in  his  message  attributed  the  em- 
barrassed condition  of  the  country  to  the 
excessive  issues  of  bank  notes,  the  great  fire 
in  New  York  in  1835,  and  the  reckless 
speculations  of  the  people  for  several  years 
past.  He  suggested  no  special  legislation 
for  the  relief  of  these  troubles,  as  he  regarded 
such  a  course  as  beyond  the  constitutional 
authority  of  the  general  government. 

Indeed,  the  government  could  do  but  little 
to  restore  public  confidence  ;  that  was  the 
task  of  the  people  themselves,  and  it  was  not 
accomplished  for  several  years.  To  meet 
the  necessities  of  the  government  and  pro- 
vide a  legal  currency  Congress,  at  the  re- 
commendation of  the  President,  issued 
treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  ten  millions 
of  dollars.  Another  recommendation  of  the 
President  did  not  give  such  general  satisfac- 
tion. The  President  advised  the  creation  of  an 
independent  treasury  for  the  public  funds,  as 
a  means  of  avoiding  the  risks  assumed  by 
the  government  in  depositing  its  funds  in  the 
banks.  These  treasuries  were  to  be  located 
at    certain    central    points,    and    the    sub- 


573- 

treasurers  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  were  to  give  bonds  for  the  proper 
fulfilment  of  their  duties.  The  President 
believed  that  the  adoption  of  this  measure 
would  withdraw  large  sums  of  money  from 
active  circulation  and  so  put  a  stop  to  specu- 
lation. 

The  bill  for  the  creation  of  the  inde- 
pendent treasury  was  warmly  opposed  in 
and  out  of  Congress,  as  it  was  feared  by 
many  that  the  withdrawal  of  so  much  gold 
and  silver  from  circulation  would  seriously 
injure  the  business  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Calhoun  supported  the  measure  with  all  his- 
great  abilities,  and  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Web- 
ster opposed  it.  The  measure  failed  at  the 
extra  session,  but  became  a  law  in  1840.  In- 
1 84 1  it  was  repealed,  and  in  1846  it  was  re- 
enacted.  It  is  still  in  force,  and  its  wisdom 
and  usefulness  are  now  generally  admitted. 

Great    Increase    of    Debt. 

The  spirit  of  speculation  had  extended  to 
the  State  governments  as  well  as  to  private 
individuals,  and  State  bonds  had  been  issued 
to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  million  dol- 
lars. The  pretext  for  this  excessive  increase 
of  debt  was  the  necessity  of  raising  funds  to 
carry  out  their  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments. The  panic  involved  the  States  in  its 
effects,  and  eight  of  them  found  themselves 
unable  in  1838  to  pay  the  interest  on  their 
bonds.  In  course  of  time  they  made  good 
their  obligations,  but  the  State  of  Mississippi 
and  the  Territory  of  Florida  not  only  refused 
to  pay  the  interest  on  their  bonds,  but  repu- 
diated their  debts.  The  sale  of  their  bonds 
had  been  made  principally  in  Europe,  and 
their  repudiation  of  their  debts  aroused  great  i 
indignation  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, ' 
and  brought  disgrace  upon  the  whole  nation. 
The  effects  of  this  were  seen  a  few  years 
later,  when  the  United  States  sought  to 
negotiate  a  national  loan  in  Europe.     Not  a 


FROM   THE 


,74  ri^^.v.    .1..^    RF.VOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

bond   could  be  sold    or  a    dollar    obtained 

there. 

In  1837  a  movement  was  made  by  the 
people  of  Canada  to  throw  off  their  connec- 
tion with  Great  Britain  and  to  establish  their 
independence.  It  aroused  the  sympathies 
of  a  large  number  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  northern  New  York  associa- 
tions called  "  Hunters'  Lodge= "  were  formed 
for   the    purpose   of   aidin  i  '•■ 


of  Schlosser  on  the  American  shore  to  the 
island.  The  British  authorities  in  Canada 
determined  to  destroy  the  boat.  One  dark 
night  in  December,  1 837,  a  detachment  from 
Canada  was  sent  to  Navy  Island  for  this 
purpose. 

Not  finding  the  "  Caroline "  they  went 
over  to  Schlosser,  where  she  was  moored  at 
her  dock.  The  boat  was  captured  after  a 
^-      •  '      ■        '--.-'-,    .-7~  .\:"crican  was 


CANADIAN    TRAPPERS. 


patriots.  The  President  of  the  United  States  1 
and  the  Governor  of  New  York  endeavored  I 
to  suppress  these  illegal  associations,  but  j 
without  success. 

A  body  of  seven  hundred  Canadians  and 
American  sympathizers  took  possession  of 
Mavy  Island  in  the  Niagara  River.  The 
island  is  a  part  of  Canada,  and  lies  near  the 
shore  of  that  country.  The  force  on  the 
island  employed  the  steamboat  "  Caroline  " 
to  convey  men  and  provisions  from  the  town 


killed,  and  was  carried  out  into  the  stream 
and  set  on  fire.  She  drifted  down  to  the 
falls  and  plunged  over  them  in  a  blaze.  The 
British  minister  at  Washington  at  once  de- 
clared the  responsibility  of  his  government 
for  the  capture  of  the  boat,  and  justified  it  on 
the  ground  of  self-defence. 

In  the  meantime  the  President  had  sent 
General  Wool  with  a  strong  force  to  the 
Canadian  border  with  orders  to  prevent  any 
expedition  from  lea\-ing  this  countrj-  to  aid 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   JACKSON    AND    VAN    BUREN. 


575 


the  Canadians.  He  compelled  the  force  on 
Navy  Island  to  surrender,  but  the  border 
war  continued  until  the  close  of  1838,  when 
it  was  put  down. 

On  the   first  of  September  of   this   year 
(1838)  the  United    States,    by    their   agent, 
received  the  liberal  donation  which  was  be- 
queathed to  them  in  trust  for  the  "  general 
diffusion    of   knowledge   among    men,"    by 
James  Smithson,an  Englishman,  which  con- 
stitutes the  endowment  of  the  Institute  in 
Washington     city    that 
bears    his    name.       The 
amount    of    the    legacy 
received,    in     American 
coin,  was  3575,169. 

In  1840  the  question 
-of  the  "  Carolina  "  re- 
vived. Ale.xander  Mc- 
Leod,  a  British  subject 
residing  in  Canada, 
boasted  that  he  had  been 
engaged  in  the  capture 
of  the  "  Caroline,"  and 
had  killed  the  American 
who  fell  in  the  conflict. 
Shortly  afterwards  he 
visited  the  New  York 
side  of  the  river  and  was 
at  once  arrested  upon  a 
charge  of  murder  by  the 
authorities  of  that  State. 
The  British  government 
demanded  his  unconditional  release  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  simply  obeyed  the  orders 
•of  his  government,  which  was  alone  respon- 
sible for  his  act.  The  general  government  of 
theUnited  States  also  demanded  the  surrender 
of  McLeod  to  the  Federal  authorities.  The 
State  of  New  York,  however,  held  that  the 
■offence  with  which  McLeod  was  charged  had 
been  committed  on  her  soil,  and  brought  the 
prisoner  to  trial.  As  he  succeeded  in  prov- 
ing that  lie  was  not  engaged  in  or  present  at 


the  attack,  he  was  acquitted.  This  conflict 
between  the  Federal  and  State  authority  led 
to  the  passage  by  Congress  of  a  law  requir- 
ing similar  offences  to  be  tried  before  the 
United  States  courts. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Canadian  controversy 
a  quarrel  sprang  up  between  the  State  of 
Maine  and  the  British  provinces  of  New 
Brunswick,  concerning  the  northeast  bound- 
ary of  the  United  States.  Both  parties  pre- 
pared for  a  conflict,  but  the  President  sent 


THE   SMITH^OM-\N    INsTITL  1 


General  Scott  to  the  scene  of  danger,  and 
he,  by  his  moderation  and  firmness,  suc- 
ceeded in  maintaining  peace  until  the  matter 
could  be  settled  by  treaty. 

The  war  with  the  Seminole  Indians  in 
Florida  continued  through  the  whole  of  this 
administration.  The  capture  and  death  of 
Osceola,  which  we  have  related,  though  a 
severe  blow  to  his  followers,  did  not  dis- 
hearten them.  On  the  twenty-fifth  of 
December,   1838,    Colonel    Zacharv  Tavlor 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


5/6 

inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  the  Indians  at 
Lake  Okeechobee.  The  war  was  at  length 
brought  to  an  end  in  1842,  but  not  until  it 
had  lasted  seven  years  and  had  cost  many 
valuable  lives  and  the  enormous  sum  of 
nearly  forty  million  dollars.  The  Seminoles 
were  subdued  and  were  removed  from  Florida 
to  new  homes  beyond  the  Mississipi. 

The  Missouri  Compromise  did  not  quiet 
the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question.  It 
gave  to  the  country  only  a  momentary 
respite.  The  Anti-slavery  or  Abolition  party 
had  now  become  one  of  the  recognized  politi- 
cal organizations  of  the  country.  Its  avowed 
object  was  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  every 
State  in  which  it  existed.  It  was  argued  in 
opposition  to  their  principles  that  the  consti- 
tution recognized  and  protected  slavery  in 
the  States  in  which  it  existed ;  but  they  met 
this  assertion  by  the  bold  declaration  that 
they  would  continue  their  agitation  until 
they  had  destroyed  either  slavery  or  the 
Union.  They  did  not  wish  to  live  under  a 
constitution  which  protected  slavery,  and 
which  one  of  their  principal  ■  leaders  de- 
nounced as  "  a  covenant  with  death  and  an 
agreement  with  hell."'  The  body  embraced 
the  extreme  Anti-slavery  men  of  the  north. 

Opposition   to  the  Abolitionists. 

Among  its  adversaries  were  some  of  the 
sincerest  opponents  of  slavery,  who  hoped 
to  accomplish  their  ends  by  constitutional 
means  and  by  the-influences  of  a  better  and 
more  enlightened  public  opinion,  and  who 
deprecated  and  opposed  the  violence  of  the 
extreme  Abolitionists.  The  leader  of  the 
ultra  party  in  Congress  was  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  had  been  returned  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  from  Massachusetts  in 
1 83 1.  Memorials  were  presented  to  Con- 
gress praying  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  gave  rise  to  excit- 
ing debates  in  that   body,  which  affected  the 


whole  country  profoundly,  and  did  much  to 
widen  the  breach  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States.  This  agitation  continued 
through  the  whole  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  term 
of  office. 

Congress  Must  Not  Interfere. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1838-39,  Mr.  Ath- 
erton,  of  New  Hampshire,  offered  a  series  of 
resolutions  expressing  the  relations  of  the 
general  government  towards  the  States,  and 
declaring  the  inability  of  Congress  to  inter- 
fere with  slavery  in  those  States  in  which  it 
already  existed,  or  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, or  the  Territories.  These  resolutions 
were  adopted  by  the  House  by  decisive 
majorities,  and  were  regarded  by  Mr.  Clay 
and  by  the  leading  public  men  of  the  country 
as  effectually  disposing  of  the  troublesome 
question  as  far  as  the  general  government 
was  concerned.  The  resolutions  were  as 
follows  : 

"  JUc'So/vftf,  That  this  government  is  a  govern- 
ment of  limited  powers,  and  that  by  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  Congress  has  no  jurisdiction 
whatever  over  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  sev- 
eral States  of  the  confederacy." 

The  vote  upon  this  resolution  stood  :  196 
for  it,  and  6  against  it. 

The  second  resolution  was  in  these  words  : 

"  Resolved,  That  petitions  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the  Terri- 
tories of  the  United  States,  and  against  the  removal 
of  slaves  from  one  State  to  another,  are  a  part  of  a 
plan  of  operations  set  on  foot  to  affect  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States,  and  thus  indi- 
rectly to  destroy  that  institution  within  their  limits.' 

On  this  resolution  the  vote  stood  :  136  for 
it,  and  65  against  it. 

The  third  resolution  was  in  these  words  r 

"  Resolved,  That  Congress  has  no  right  to  do  that 
indirectly  which  it  cannot  do  directly  ;  and  that  the 
agitation  of  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  or  the  Territories,  as  a  means,  and  with 
a  view,  of  disturbing  or  overthrowing  that  institution 
in  the  several  States,  is  against  the   true   spirit  and 


37  '^'"■''^'  ^'    "^"E   NATIONAL   CAPITOL   AT   WASHINGTON.  3-^ 


578 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO  THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


meaning  of  the  constitution,  an  infringement  of  the 
rights  of  the  States  affected,  and  a  breach  of  the 
pubHc  faith  upon  which  they  entered  into  the  con- 
federacy." 

The  vote  on  this  resolution  was:  164  in 
favor  of  it,  and  40  against  it. 

The  fourth  of  this  series  was  in  these 
words : 

"  Resohred,  The  constitution  rests  on  the  broad 
principle  of  equality  among  the  members  of  this 
confederacy,  and  that  Congress,  in  the  exercise  of 
its  acknowledged  powers,  has  no  right  to  discrimi- 
nnte  between  the  institutions  of  one  portion  of  the 
States  and  another,  with  a  view  of  abolishing  the 
one  and  promoting  the  other." 

The  vote  on  this  resolution  was:  174  in 
favor  of  it,  and  24  against  it. 

Resolution   Against    Slavery    Agitation. 
The  fifth  and  last  of  Mr.  Atherton's  reso- 
lutions was  in  these  words : 

"  Resolved,  That  all  attempts  on  the  part  of  Congress 
to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  the 
Territories,  or  to  prohibit  the  removal  of  slaves  from 
State  to  State,  or  to  discriminate  between  the  insti- 
tutions of  one  portion  of  the  confederacy  and  another, 
with  the  view  aforesaid,  are  in  violation  of  the  con- 
stitution, destructive  of  the  fundamental  principle 
on  which  the  union  of  these  States  rests,  and  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  Congress ;  and  that  every  peti- 
tion, memorial,  resolution,  proposition,  or  paper, 
touching  or  relating  in  any  way,  or  to  any  extent 


I  whatever  to  slaven.',  as  aforesaid,  or  the  abol'hfon 
thereof,  shall  on  the  presentation  thereof,  without 
any  further  action  thereon,  be  laid  upon  the  table, 
without  being  debated,  printed,  or  referred." 
i  The  vote  on  the  first  branch  of  this  reso- 
lution was,  146  in  favor,  and  52  against  it ; 
on  the  second  branch  of  the  resolution  the 
vote  stood,  126  for  it,  and  78  against  it. 

As  we  shall  see,  this  declaration  of  Con- 
gress was  far  from  quieting  the  agitation 
upon  this  troublesome  question.  The  slavery 
conflict  had  in  reality  just  begun. 

In  the  fall  of  iS40the  Presidential  election 
was  held.  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent Johnson  were  nominated  for  re-election 
by  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  Whigs 
supported  General  William  Henry  Harrison, 
of  Ohio,  for  President,  and  John  Tyler,  of 
Virginia,  for  Vice-President.  The  financial 
distress  of  the  country  had  been  but  slightly 
relieved,  and  was  generally  attributed  by  the 
people  to  the  interference  of  the  government 
with  the  currency.  This  feeling  made  the 
Democratic  nominees  exceedingly  unpop- 
ular, and  the  political  campaign,  which  was 
one  of  the  most  exciting  ever  conducted  in 
this  countrj',  resulted  in  the  election  of  Har- 
rison and  Tyler  by  overwhelming  majorities. 

In  1840  the  si.xth  census  showed  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States  to  be  17,069,453. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI 


The   Administrations  of   William   Henry    Harrison  and 

John  Tyler 

An  Extra  Session  of  Congress  Summoned — Death  of  President  Harrison — John  Tyler  becomes  President  of  the  Unitet- 
States — Meeting  of  Congress — The  Bankrupt  Law — President  Tyler  Vetoes  the  Bills  to  Revive  the  United  States 
Bank— His  Quarrel  with  His  Party— The  "  Tyler  WTiigs  "—The  Tariff  of  18+2— The  Treaty  of  Washington— The 
United  States  will  not  Tolerate  the  Exercise  of  the  Right  of  Search— Dorr's  Rebellion— The  Mormons— Invention  of 
the  Electric  Telegraph — Explosion  on  the  "  Princeton  " — Efforts  to  Secure  the  Annexation  of  Texas — Early  History 
ot  Texas — The  Texan  War  of  Independence — Battle  of  San  Jacinto — Texan  Independence  Established — Texas  Ap- 
plies for  Admission  into  the  Union — Opposition  to  the  Measure — Significance  of  the  Vote  at  the  Presidential  Election — 
James  K.  Polk  Elected  President — Texas  Admitted  into  the  Union — Iowa  and  Florida  become  States. 


OX  THE  fourth  of  March,  1841, 
Wilham  Henrj^  Harrison  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the 
United  States  at  Washington  in 
the  presence  of  an  immense  concourse  of 
citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  He 
was  in  his  sixty-ninth  year,  and  had  spent 
forty  years  of  his  life  in  the  public  service. 
His  services  during  the  Indian  hostilities 
which  preceded  the  war  of  18 12-15,  ^n<^  ^^^ 
exploits  during  that  war,  have  been  related. 
He  had  served  as  governor  of  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory, and  had  been  both  a  member  of  Con- 
gress and  a  senator  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  a  man  of  pure  life  and  earnest 
character,  and  the  certainty  of  a  change  of 
policy  in  the  measures  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment had  caused  the  people  of  the  country 
to  look  forward  to  his  administration  with 
hope  and  confidence.  He  began  by  calling 
to  seats  in  his  cabinet  men  of  prominence 
and  ability.  At  the  head  of  the  cabinet  he 
placed  Daniel  Webster,  as  secretary  of  state. 
The  President  issued  a  proclamation  con- 
vening Congress  in  special  session  on  the 
thirty-first  of  May,  1841.  He  was  not 
destined  to  fulfil  the  hopes  of  his  friends, 
however.     He    was    suddenly    seized    with 


pneumonia,  and  died  on  the  fourth  of  April, 
1841 — ^just  one  month  after  his  inaugura- 
tion. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  a  president  of  the 
United  States  had  died  in  office,  and  a  gloom 
was  cast  over  the  nation  by  the  sad  event. 
The  mourning  of  the  people  was  sincere,  for 
in  General  Harrison  the  nation  lost  a  faith- 
ful, upright  and  able  citizen.  He  had  spent 
forty  years  in  prominent  public  positions, 
and  had  discharged  every  duty  confided  to 
him  with  ability  and  integrity,  and  went  to 
his  grave  a  poor  man. 

"  Brave  old  Cincinnatus  !  he  left  but  his  plow." 

Upon  the  assembling  of  Congress,  that 
body,  "  out  of  consideration  of  his  expenses 
in  removing  to  the  seat  of  government,  and 
the  limited  means  he  had  left  behind,"  appro- 
priated the  equivalent  of  one  year's  presi- 
dential salary — twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
— to  Mrs.  Harrison. 

According  to  the  terms  of  the  constitution, 
upon  the  death  of  General  Harrison,  the  office 
of  president  of  the  United  States  devolved 
upon  the  vice-president,  John  Tyler,  of  Vir- 
ginia. Mr.  Tyler  was  not  in  the  city  of 
Washington  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  his 
predecessor,  but  repaired  to  that  city  without 
579 


58o 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

crisis  had  involved  thousands  of  merchants 
in  hopeless  bankruptcy,  and  under  the  old 
laws  they  had  no  means  of  recovering  their 
lost  position,  as  they  were  crushed  down  by 
their  debts.  Neither  their  creditors  nor  the 
country  at  large  derived  any  benefit  from 
this  state  of  affairs,  and  Congress  at  once 
passed  a  general  bankrupt  law  for  the  relief 
of  persons  thus  situated.  It  was  highly 
beneficial  to  the  country,  and  was  repealed  in 
1843,  when  the  necessity  for  it  had  ceased 
to  exist. 


loss  of  time,  upon  being  notified  of  the  need 
of  his  presence,  and  on  the  si.Kth  of  April 
took  the  oath  of  office  before  Judge  Cranch, 
chief  justice  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Mr.  Tyler  was  in  his  fifty-second  year,  and 
had  served  as  governor  of  Virginia,  and  as 
representative  and  senator  in  Congress  from 
that  State.  On  the  ninth  of  April  President 
Tyler  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  there  was  no  indica- 
tion of  a  departure  from  the  policy  announced 
in  the  inaugural  of  General  Harrison.     He 


WILLIAM    HENKV    H.VRRISON. 

retained  the  cabinet  ministers  of  liis  prede- 
cessor in  their  respective  positions. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  Maj'  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Congress  convened  in  e.\tra  session. 
It  was  known  as  the  "Whig  Congress,"  as 
a  large  majority  of  its  members  were  of  that 
party.  Had  this  party  remained  united  they 
could  have  controlled  the  action  of  Congress 
to  suit  themselves,  but  as  we  shall  see,  the 
policy  of  the  executive  soon  divided  them. 
The  first  act  of  this  Congress  was  to  repeal 
the  sub-treasury  bill  which  had  been  passed 
in    1840.     The   effects    of  llic    commercial 


Important  Veto  by  President  Tyler. 

Efforts  were  made  to  revive  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  and  a  bill  was  passed 
establishing  an  institution  known  as  the 
"  Fiscal  Bank  of  the  United  States."  Mr. 
Tyler,  who  was  a  member  of  the  strict  con- 
structionist school,  now  found  himself  at 
variance  with  a  majority  of  his  party  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  As  he  did  not  believe 
that  Congress  could  constitutionally  charter 
such  an  institution,  he  vetoed  this  bill.  Tlie 
advocates  of  the  measure  could  not  com- 
mand the  requisite  two-thirds  majority  for 
the  passage  of  the  bill  over  the  president's 
veto,  and  his  action  was  sustained.  Another 
bill  was  passed  by  Congress  of  a  similar 
character,  establishing  "  The  Fiscal  Corpora- 
tion of  the  United  States,"  but  this  also  was 
vetoed  by  the  president  for  the  same  reasons. 
His  veto  was  sustained  by  Congress  in  this 
instance  also.  The  vetoes  of  these  measures 
were  generally  approved  by  the  strict  con- 
structionists throughout  the  Union,  without 
regard  to  party ;  but  they  were  bitterly  de- 
nounced by  the  majority  of  the  Whigs,  who 
charged  the  president  with  having  violated 
the  implied  pledges  upon  which  he  was 
elected,  and  with  having  betrayed  his  party. 

The  Whigs  were  for  the  time  forgetful  of 
the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  his  nomination 
tt)  the  vice-presidency  Mr.  Tyler  was  known 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   HARRISON   AND   TYLER. 


581 


to  be  opposed  to  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States.  The  members  of  the  cabinet,  with 
the  single  exception  of  the  secretary  of  state, 
resigned  their  positions  in  consequence  of 
Mr.  Tyler's  course.  Mr.  Webster  retained  his 
position  in  order  to  complete  the  important 
negotiations  he  was 
at  the  time  conducting 
with  England.  The 
places  of  the  other 
members  of  the  cabi- 
net were  filled  by  the 
President  with  pro- 
minent members  of 
the  strict  construc- 
tionist school  of  the 
Whig  party,  who  sus- 
tained the  President. 

The  second  session 
of  the  Twenty-seventh 
Congress  met  in  De- 
cember, 1841, and  con- 
tinued its  sittings  until 
August,  1842.  It  was 
noted  as  the  longest 
session  ever  held  up 
to  this  time.  It  found 
the  Whig  party  divid- 
ed, and  the  opposing 
factionsbitterly  hostile 
to  each  other.  The 
majority,  led  by  Mr. 
Clay,  opposed  the 
administration.  The 
minority,  because  of 
their  support  of  the 
President,  received 
the  name  of  "  Tyler 
Whigs."  The  principal  question  agitated 
during  this  session  was  the  tariff".  Accord- 
ing to  the  compromise  act  of  1833,  the 
duties  this  year  were  to  be  regulated  accord- 
ing to  a  revenue  standard. 

The  majority  in  Congress,  however,  paid 


no  regard  to  the  pledge  given  in  this  com- 
promise, and  a  new  tariff  bill  was  passed  by 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  regulating  the 
duties  on  a  strongly  protective  basis,  and 
with  the  avowed  object  of  reviving  the  pro- 
tective policy.     It  was  vetoed  by  the  Presi- 


dent. Another  measure  of  a  similar  though 
slightly  modified  character  was  passed,  and 
this  was  vetoed  also.  Congress  then  passed 
the  tariff  of  1842,  in  which  the  principles  of 
the  compromise  of  1833  were  altogether  set 
aside,  and  the  '^utie*  made  strictly  protectivs^ 


582 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


It  required  a  sharp  struggle  in  Congress  to 
secure  the  passage  of  this  bill,  which  received 
the  executive  signature  on  the  thirtieth  of 
August. 

Settlement  of   Disputes. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Webster  succeeded 
in  bringing  the  negotiations  with  Great  Bri- 
tain to  a  successful  close.  These  negotia- 
tions had  grown  out  of  the  revolutionary 
disturbances  in  Canada,  and  the  controversy 
respecting  the  northeast  boundary  of  the 
United  States  during  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  which  we  ha\'e  related. 
The  boundary  question  was  of  older  origin 
than  the  former  controversy,  and  had  been 
pending  between  the  United  States  and  Eng- 
land for  fifty  years.  Mr.  Webster,  imme- 
diately upon  his  entrance  upon  the  office  of 
secretary  of  state,  had,  with  the  approval  of 
the  President,  signified  the  desire  of  this 
co-mtry  to  terminate  the  controversy,  and 
Lord  Ashburton  had  been  sent  by  the  British 
government  as  special  minister  to  the  United 
States,  with  full  power  to  settle  all  the  con- 
troversies between  the  two  countries.  The 
treaty  of  Washington  was  concluded  in  1842, 
and  was  accepted  by  both  countries  as  a 
settlement  of  the  questions  at  issue  between 
them. 

B\-  the  terms  of  this  treaty  the  northeastern 
boundary'  was  arranged  as  it  exists  at  present ; 
the  United  States  obtained  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  St.  John's  river  to  the  sea ;  and 
gained  possession  of  the  important  military 
position  of  Rouse's  Point,  at  the  outlet 
of  Lake  Ciiamplain.  The  two  countries 
mutually  agreed  to  surrender  upon  proper 
demand  all  fugitives  from  justice  escaping 
from  the  territory  of  one  into  that  of  the 
other  ;  and  to  maintain  a  certain  number  of 
ships  of  war  on  the  African  coast  to  aid  in 
suppressing  the  slave  trade. 

When  the  treaty  was  completed  two  sub- 


jects presented  themselves  to  the  negotiators. 
One  of  these  was  the  right  claimed  by  Great 
Britain  for  her  cruisers  to  stop  and  if  neces- 
sary to  search  merchant  vessels  belonging 
to  other  nations  on  the  high  seas  ;  the  other 
was  the  impressment  of  seamen  from  Amer- 
ican merchant  vessels  by  British  cruisers. 
Mr.  Webster,  in  a  paper  of  great  ability,  ad- 
dressed to  the  American  minister  at  London, 
but  intended  for  the  British  foreign  minister, 
denied  the  right  of  search,  and  sustained  his 
position  by  arguments  that  were  simpl_\'  irre- 
futable. 

In  a  letter  to  Lord  Ashburton  Mr.  Web- 
ster refused  to  consider  the  impressment 
question,  as  the  United  States  could  in  no 
case  admit  such  a  claim  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  and  declared  that  every  case  of  im- 
pressment would  be  considered  an  act  of 
hostility  and  would  be  repelled  as  such.  He 
declared  as  the  unalterable  policy  of  this 
country  the  doctrine  that  "  Every  merchant 
vessel  on  the  high  seas  is  rightfully  con- 
sidered as  a  part  of  the  territory  to  which  it 
belongs  ;  "  that  "  in  every  regularly  docu- 
mented American  merchant  vessel  the  .jrew 
who  navigate  it  will  find  their  protection  in 
the  flag  which  is  over  them  ;  "  and  that  "  the 
American  government,  then,  is  prepared  to 
say  that  the  practice  of  impressing  seamen 
from  American  vessels  cannot  hereafter  be 
allowed  to  take  place."  The  tone  of  the 
secretary  of  state,  though  firm,  was  courteous 
and  conciliatory,  and  the  negotiations  were 
conducted  in  the  same  spirit  of  conciliation 
by  the  British  minister. 

Insurrection  in  Rhode  Island. 
With  this  treaty  the  United  States  for- 
mally took  their  position  as  one  of  the  great 
powers  of  the  world.  The  negotiations  being 
completed,  Mr.  Webster  resigned  his  place 
in  the  cabinet  in  May,  1843,  and  was  suc> 
ceeded  by  Abel  P.  Upshur,  of  Virginia. 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   HARRISON   AND   TYLER. 


583 


In  1842  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island,  which  required  the 
intervention  of  the  United  States  for  its  sup- 
pression. It  is  known  as  the  Dorr  rebellion. 
The  old  charter  of  the  colony,  granted  by 
Charles  II.,  in  1663,  had  up  to  this  time 
served  as  the  constitution  of  the  State.  It 
was  found  to  be  unsuited  to  the  requirements 
of  the  people  in  their  more  prosperous  condi- 
tion, and  an  effort  was  made  to  change  it. 
Two  parties  were  formed,  one  in  favor  of  the 
proposed  changes,  the  other  opposed  to  them. 
Each  party  nominated  its  candidate  for  the 
office  of  governor  and  elected  him.  The 
"  suffrage  party,"  which  favored  the  changes, 
elected  Thomas  W.  Dorr  governor,  took  up 
arms,  and  attacked  the  State  arsenal  for  the 
purpose  ofarming  their  followers.  They  were 
repulsed  by  the  State  militia  assisted  by  the 
United  States  troops.  Dorr  was  arrested, 
tried  for  treason,  and  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment for  life.  He  was  released  in  1845. 
The  opponents  of  the  "  suffrage  party " 
deemed  it  best  to  yield  to  the  popular  wish, 
however,  and  in  November,  1842,  a  new 
constitution,  embracing  the  desired  changes, 
was  adopted  by  the  legislature. 

Mormons  Found  a  City. 

About  the  same  time  a  series  of  disturb- 
ances occurred  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  which 
were  but  the  forerunners  of  a  more  serious 
embarrassment  to  the  general  government  at 
a  later  period.  A  new  religious  sect  had 
sprung  up  some  years  before  in  the  western 
part  of  New  York.  They  called  themselves 
Mormons,  and  were  founded  by  a  remarkable 
man  named  Joseph  Smith,  who  professed 
to  have  received  a  new  revelation  from  God, 
written  on  plates  of  gold.  Among  the  arti- 
cles of  the  Mormon  faith  is  one  which  teaches 
the  doctrine  of  a  plurality  of  wives.  Feeling 
that  the  east  was  not  favorable  to  their 
growth,    the     Mormons    at    an    early    day 


removed  to  the  west.     They  settled  at  first 
in   Missouri,  but  so  exasperated  the  people 


^ 

T^ 

^ 

<^ 

C-f 

-N 

^ 

^ 

1 

i^ 

\^ 

^ 

i^ 

u 

sfj 

^ 

^ 

V 

1 

d^     (^ 


of  that  State  by  their  conduct,  that  they  were 
soon  driven  out  of  Missouri. 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF    HARRISON   AND    TYLER. 


5^5 


Crossing  the  Mississippi,  they  settled  in 
Illinois,  and  founded  a  city  which  they  called 
Nauvoo,  and  built  a  temple.  Their  numbers 
increased  rapidly  from  emigration  from 
nearly  everj'  country  in  Europe.  The  new- 
comers were  mainly  persons  of  low  position 
and  without  education.  Conscious  of  their 
strength  they  raised  troops,  and  set  the 
authority  of  the  State  of  Illinois  at  defiance. 
The  State  endeavored  to  reduce  them  to 
obedience,  and  their  conduct,  as  in  Missouri, 


'  westward,  and  after  a  long  and  painful  jour- 
ney across  the  plains,  reached  the  valley  of 

j  Salt  Lake,  and  established  a  settlement 
there.  Out  of  this  settlement  grew  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Utah. 

In  1S44  occurred  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant events  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
In  I  S3 2  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  invented  the  electric  tele- 
graph. He  spent  some  years  in  perfecting 
his  invention,  and  in  1 838  applied  to  Congress 


HE    MORxMON    HA.ND-CART    COMPANY    CROSSING    THE    PLAINS. 


turned  the  people  against  them.  Several 
conflicts  ensued  between  the  Mormons  and 
the  authorities.  In  one  of  these  Joe  Smith, 
the  prophet,  and  his  brother  were  seized  and 
put  in  jail,  and  while  lying  there  were 
murdered  by  the  mob  in  July,  1844.  This 
brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  and  the  people 
of  Illinois  determined  to  drive  the  Mormons 
across  the  Mississippi.  Nauvoo  was  attacked 
in  1845,  and  the  Mormons  were  compelled  to 
leave  the  State.   In  1 846  they  bent  their  steps 


for  a  small  appropriation  to  assist  him  in 
building  a  line  of  wire  to  demonstrate  the 
usefulness  of  his  discovery.  He  was  obliged 
to  wait  five  years  for  a  favorable  answer,  and 
it  was  not  until  he  had  given  up  all  hope  of 
receiving  aid  from  Congress  that  that  body, 
on  the  last  day  of  the  session  of  1843,  appro- 
priated the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  to 
construct  a  telegraph  line  between  Washing- 
ton City  and  Baltimore,  a  distance  of  forty 
miles.     The  line  was  completed  in  1844,  and 


SS6 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


was  successfully  operated  by  Professor  ]\Iorse. 
This  was  the  first  line  established  in  the 
world.  In  the  thirty-one  \ears  which  have 
elapsed  since  then  the  use  of  the  telegraph 
has  become  general  throughout  the  civilized 
world,  and  in  the  United  States  alone  over 
sixty  thousand  miles  of  telegraph  lines  are 
in  operation  at  the  present  time. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  February,  1844, 
the  President,  accomnnni"-;!  hy  the  members 


spectators.  This  sad  event  was  greatly 
lamented  throughout  the  country.  Judge 
L^pshur  was  succeeded  as  secretary  of  state 
by  John  C  Calhoun,  then  a  senator  from 
South  Carolina. 

The  last  years  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administra* 
tion  were  devoted  to  the  effort  to  secure  the 
anne.xation  of  the  republic  of  Texas  to  the 
United  States.  The  territory  embraced 
".-itliin  r!ve  l:"-!its  of  Texns  con-titutcc!  a  part 


1^- 

i 

1 

^0' 

.MORMO.N  TABF.KNACLE  AT  SALT  LAKE,  UTAH. 


of  his  cabinet  and  a  number  of  distinguished 
citizens,  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  and 
ladies,  went  on  board  the  new  steam  frigate 
"  Princeton,"  lying  in  the  Potomac,  to  wit- 
ness the  experimental  firings  of  a  new  cannon 
of  unusual  size  on  board  that  ship,  to  which 
the  name  of  "  The  Peacemaker  "  had  been 
given.  At  one  of  the  discharges  the  gun 
exploded,  causing  the  instant  death  of 
Messrs.  Upshur  and  Gilmer,  the  secretaries 
of  state  and  of  the  na\  y,  and   .several   other 


of  the  Spanish-American  possessions,  and 
was  generally  regarded  as  a  part  of  Mexico. 
During  the  last  century  a  number  of  forts 
had  been  erected  in  Texas  by  the  Spaniards 
as  a  means  of  holding  the  province  against 
the  French,  and  each  fort  was  made  a  mis- 
sionary station,  from  which  efforts  were 
made  to  convert  the  Indians,  but  without 
success.  The  United  States  were,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  incl  nod  to 
regard  Texas    as    rightfully  a  pait  of  the 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF    HARRISON    AND    TYLER. 


5S7 


Louisiana  purchase,    but    this    claim    was 
waived  when  Florida  was  purchased. 

Early  in  the  present  century  pioneers  from 
the  United  States  began  to  find  their  way  to 
Texas  which  was  then  a  wild  country,  in- 
habited only  by  roving  Indians  and  the  gar- 
risons of  the  few  Spanish  forts  within  its 
limits.  One  of  these  emigrants,  Moses  Austin, 
of  Durham,  Connecticut,  conceived  the  plan 
of  colonizing  Texas  with  settlers  from  the 
United  States. 

For  this  purpose  he  obtained  from  the 
Spanish  government,  in  1820,  the  grant  of 
an  extensive  tract  of  land ;  but  before  he 
could  put  his  plans  in  execution  he  died. 
His  son,  Stephen  F.  Austin,  inherited  the 
rights  of  his  father  under  this  grant,  and 
went  to  Texas  with  a  number  of  emigrants 
from  this  country,  and  explored  that  region 
for  the  purpose  of  locating  his  grant.  He 
selected  as  the  most  desirable  site  for  his 
colony  the  country  between  the  Brazos  and 
Colorado  rivers,  and  founded  a  city,  which 
he  named  Austin,  in  honor  of  the  originator 
of  the  colony,  to  whom  Texas  owes  its 
existence  as  an  American  commonwealth. 
Having  seen  the  settlers  established  in  their 
new  homes,  Mr.  Austin  returned  to  the 
United  States  to  collect  other  emigrants  for 
his  colony. 

During  his  absence  Mexico  and  the  other 
Spanish  provinces  rose  in  revolt  against 
Spain,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  their  in- 
dependence. Te.xas,  being  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  Mexican  territory,  shared  the  fortunes 
of  that  country.  Upon  his  return  to  Texas, 
Austin,  in  consideration  of  the  altered  state  of 
affairs,  went  to  the  city  of  Mexico  and  obtained 
from  the  Mexican  government  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  grant  made  to  his  father.  Such 
a  confirmation  was  necessary  in  order  to 
enable  him  to  give  the  settlers  valid  titles  to 
the  lands  of  his  colony.  Mexico  at  first 
exercised  but  a  nominal  authority  over  the 


new  settlements,  and  the  ct)Ionists  were 
allowed  to  live  under  their  own  laws,  subject 
to  the  rules  drawn  up  by  Austin.  In  order 
to  encourage  settlements  in  Texas,  the  Mexi- 
can Congress  on  the  second  of  May,  182.:], 
enacted  the  following  law,  declaring,  "  That 
Texas  is  to  be  annexed  to  the  Mexican  prov 
ince  of  Cohahuila,  until  it  is  of  sufficient 
importance  to  form  a  separate  State,  when  it 
is  to  become  an  independent  State  of  the 
Mexican  republic,  equal  to  the  other  States 
of  which  the  same  is  composed,  free,  sover- 


PROFESSOK    .\1UKSE. 

eign,  and  independent  in  whatever  exclu- 
sively relates  to  its  internal  government  and 
administration." 

Encouraged  by  this  decree,  large  num 
bers  of  Americans  emigrated  to  Texas,  and 
to  these  were  added  emigrants  from  all  llvj. 
countries  of  Europe.  The  population  grew 
rapidly,  new  towns  sprang  up,  and  Austin's 
colony  prospered  in  a  marked  degree,  until 
1830,  when  Bustamente  having  made  himself 
by  violence  and  intrigue  president  of  the 
so-called    Mexican  republic,   prohibited  the 


588 


FROM  THE  rp:volution  to  the  civil  war. 


emigration  of  foreigners  to  the  Mexican 
territory,  and  issued  a  number  of  decrees 
very  oppressive  to  the  people,  and  in  viola- 
tion of  the  constitution  of  1824.  In  order 
to  enforce  these  measures  in  Texas,  he  occu- 
pied that  province  with  his  troops,  and  placed 
Texas  under  military  rule.  The  Texans 
resented  this  interference  with  their  rights, 
and  finally  compelled  the  Mexican  troops  to 
withdraw     fr-.pi     t!v>    pro\inr.\       In     iS:;-' 


"I- 
1 


;p--r 


^ 


A    VILLAGE    IN    ThXAS. 


another  revolution  in  Mexico  drove  Busta- 
mente  from  power,  and  placed  Santa  Anna 
at  the  head  of  affairs  as  president  or  dictator. 
Texas  took  no  part  in  the  disturbances  of 
Mexico,  but  after  the  accession  of  Santa 
Anna  to  power,  formed  a  constitution,  and 
applied  for  admission  into  the  Mexican 
republic  as  a  State,  in  accordance  with  the 
constitution  of  1S24,  and  the  act  of  the 
Mexican  Congress  which   we  have  quoted. 


Stephen  F.  Austin  was  sent  to  the  city  of 
Mexico  to  present  the  petition  of  Texas  for 
this  purpose.  He  was  refused  an  answer 
to  this  petition  for  over  a  year,  and  at  last 
wrote  to  the  authorities  of  Te.xas,  advising 
them  to  organize  a  State  government  without 
waiting  for  the  action  of  the  Mexican  Con-  1 
gress. 

For  this  recommendation,  which  the  Mexi- 
r;\n  ;j;overnment  regarded  as  treasonable, 
Santa  Anna  caused  the  arrest 
:^fc-^^  of  Austin,  and  kept  him  in 
1  prison  for  over  a  year.  Texas 
now  began  to  manifest  the 
most  determined  opposition 
to  the  usurpation  of  Santa 
Anna,  and  measures  were 
taken  to  maintain  the  rights 
of  the  province  under  the 
constitution  of  1824.  Troop.« 
were  organized,  and  prepara 
tions  made  to  resist  the  forct 
which  it  was  certain  Mexico 
would  send  against  them. 

Santa  Anna  did  not  allow 
them  to  remain  long  in  sus- 
pense, but  at  once  despatched 
a  force  under  General  Cos,  to 
disarm  the  Texans.  On  the 
second  of  October,  I  S3  5,  Cos 
attacked  the  town  of  Gon- 
zalez, which  was  held  by  a 
Texan  force,  but  was  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss.  A  week  later, 
on  the  ninth  of  October,  the  Texans  captured 
the  town  of  Goliad,  and  a  little  later  gained 
possession  of  the  mission  house  of  the 
Alamo.  Both  places  were  garrisoned,  and 
the  Texan  army,  which  was  under  the  com- 
mand of  Austin,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  succeeded  in  driving  the  Mexicans 
out  of  Texas. 

On  the  twelfth  of  November,  1835,  a  con- 
vention  of  the  people  of  Texas  met   at  the 


rj^S^^^^SS^fe^-i 


ADMIXISTRATIOXS   OF    HARRISON    AND   TYLER. 


5S9 


city  of  Austin,  and  organized  a  regular  State 
go\-ernment.  Prominent  among  the  members 
was  General  Sam  Houston,  a  settler  from  the 
United  States.  Soon  after  the  meeting  of  the 
convention  General  Austin  resigned  the  com- 
mand of  the  army,  and  was  sent  to  the 
United  States  as  the  commissioner  of  that 
State  to  this  government,  and  was  succeeded 
as  commander-in-chief  by  General  Sam 
Houston.  Henry  Smith  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  Texas  by  the  people. 

Orders  to  Shoot  Prisoners. 

As  soon  as  Santa  Anna  learned  that  his 
troops  had  been  driven  out  of  Texas,  and 
that  the  Texans  had  set  up  a  State  govern- 
ment, he  set  out  for  that  country  with  an 
army  of  seventy-five  hundred  men.  He 
issued  orders  to  his  troops  to  shoot  ever}- 
prisoner  taken,  and  intended  to  make  the 
struggle  a  war  of  extermination.  He  arrived 
before  the  Alamo  late  in  February,  1836. 
This  fort  was  very  strong,  and  was  held  by 
a  force  of  one  hundred  and  forty  Texans 
under  Colonel  Travis.  It  was  besieged  by 
the  whole  Mexican  army,  and  was  subjected 
to  a  bombardment  of  eleven  days.  At  last, 
on  the  sixth  of  March,  the  garrison  being 
worn  out  with  fatigue,  the  fort  was  carried 
by  assault,  and  the  whole  garrison  was  put 
to  the  sword.  Among  the  heroes  who  fell 
at  the  Texan  ThermopylE  was  the  eccentric 
but  chivalrous  Colonel  Daxy  Crockett  of 
Tennessee,  who  had  generously  come  to  aid 
the  Texans  in  their  struggle  for  liberty.  The 
capture  of  the  Alamo  cost  the  Mexicans  a 
loss  of  sixteen  hundred  men,  or  over  eleven 
men  for  every  one  of  its  defenders. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  1S36,  the  conven- 
tion adopted  a  constitution  for  an  independ- 
ent republic,  and  formally  proclaimed  the 
independence  of  Texas.  David  G.  Burnett 
Aas  elected  president  of  the  republic. 

The  fort  at  Goliad  was  held  by  a  force  of 


three  hundred  and  thirty  Te.vans,  under- 
Colonel  Fanning,  a  native  of  Georgia.  On 
the  twenty-seventh  of  March  it  was  attacked 
by  the  Mexican  army.  The  garrison  main- 
tained a  gallant  defence,  but  their  resources 
being  exhausted,  and  the  Me.xicans  being 
reinforced  during  the  night,  Fanning  decided 
to  surrender  his  force,  if  he  could  obtain 
honorable  terms.     He    proposed   to    Santa 


SANTA    ANNA. 

Anna  to  lay  down  his  arms  and  surrender 
the  post  on  condition  that  he  and  his  men 
should  be  allowed  and  assisted  to  return  to 
the  United  States.  The  proposition  was 
accepted  by  Santa  Anna,  and  the  terms  of 
the  surrender  were  formally  drawn  up  and 
were  signed  by  each  commander.  As  soon  as 
the  surrender  was  made,  however,  and  the 
arms  of  the  Texans  were   delivered,   Santa 


590 


FROM    Till-    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


•  Anna,  in  base  violation  of  his  pledge,  caused 
Fanning  and  the  survivors  of  the  garrison, 
to  the  number  of  three  hundred  men,  to  be 
put  to  death. 

The  massacres  of  the  Alamo  and  Goliad, 
and  the  steady  advance  of  the  Mexican  army 
'under  Santa  Anna  caused  a  feeling  of  pro- 
found alarm  throughout  the  new  republic. 
The  government  was  removed  temporarily 
to  Galveston,  and  General  Houston  retreated 


GENER.\L   HOUSTON. 

behind  the  San  Jacinto.  Santa  Anna  pur- 
sued the  Te.xan  forces,  and  at  length  came 
up  with  them  on  the  banks  of  that  stream. 
Houston  had  but  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
men  with  him,  and  these  were  imperfectly 
armed  and  without  discipline. 

With  this  force  he  surprised  the  Mexican 
camp,  on  the  twenty-first  of  April,  and  routed 
the  Mexican  army,  inflicting  upon  it  a  loss 
of  over  six  hundred  killed,  and  taking  more 
than  eight  hundred  prisoners.     Santa  Anna 


himself  was  among  the  prisoners.  Houston 
at  once  entered  into  negotiations  with  him 
for  the  withdrawal  of  the  Mexican  forces 
from  Texas.  This  was  done  at  once,  and 
the  independence  of  Texas  was  achieved. 
Santa  Anna  also  recognized  the  independ- 
ence of  the  new  republic,  but  the  Mexican 
Congress  refused  to  confirm  this  act. 

Houston  was  now  the  idol  of  the  Texan 
people  as  the  deliverer  of  their  country'  from 
the  hated  Mexicans.     At  the  next  gen- 
eral election  he  was  chosen  President  of 
the  republic,  and  was  inaugurated  on  the 
twenty-second  of  October,  1 836.   General 
Mirabeau  B.  Lamar  was  the  third  Presi- 
dent of  the  republic  of  Texas,  and  entered 
upon  his  office  in   1838.     He  was  suc- 
ceeded   in    1844   by  Anson   Jones,  the 
fourth  President.     The  territory  of  the 
republic  was  sufficiently  large  to  make 
five  States  the  size   of  New  York,  and 
its  climate  and  soil  were  among  the  most 
delightful  and  fertile  in  the  world.      It 
contained    a    population    of  about    two 
hundred  thousand,  and   was   increasing 
rapidly  in  inhabitants  and   in  prosperity. 
On  the  third  of  March,  1837,  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  republic  of  Texas  was 
acknowledged  by  the  United  States,  and 
in  1839  by  France  and  England.     Being 
young  and  feeble,  and  being  settled  al- 
most entirely  by  Americans,  the  people 
of  Texas  at  an  early  day  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  their  best  interests  required 
them  to  seek  a  union  with  the  United  States, 
and  as  early  as  August,  1837,  a  proposition 
was  submitted  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  looking  to 
such  a  union.     It  was  declined  by  him,  but 
the  question  was  taken  up  by  the  press  and 
people  of  the  Union,  and  was  discussed  with 
the  greatest  interest  and  activity. 

The  south  was  unanimously  in  favor  ofl 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  as  it  was  a  region 
In  which  slave  laho"-  would  be  particularly 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF    HARRISON    AND    TYLER. 


591 


profitable ;  and  a  strong  party  in  the  north 
opposed  the  annexation  for  the  reason  that  it 
would  inevitably  extend  the  area  of  slaver>^ 
An  additional  argument  against  annexation 
was  that  it  would  involve  a  war  with  Mexico, 
which  had  never  acknowledged  the  inde- 
pendence of  Texas. 

In  April,  1S44,  Te.xas  formally  applied  for 
admission    into    the    United    States,    and  a 


ing  issues  of  the  campaign.  Its  candidates 
were  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  and 
George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pcnns}  Kaiiia.  The 
Whig  parly  supported  Henry  Clay,  of  Ken- 
tuck}-,  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  of  New 
Jerse>-,  and  opposed  the  annexation  of 
Texas. 

During  this  campaign,  which  was  one  ot 
unusual  excitement,  the  Anti-slavery   part_\- 


treaty  for  that  purpose  was  negotiated  with 
her  by  the  government  of  this  country.  It 
-was  rejected  by  the  Senate. 

In  the  fall  of  1844  the  Presidential  election 
took  place.  The  leading  political  question 
of  the  day  was  the  annexation  of  Texas.  It 
was  advocated  by  the  administration  of 
President  Tyler  and  by  the  Democratic 
party.  This  party  also  made  the  claim  of 
the  United  States  to  Oregon  one  of  the  lead- 


made  Its  appearance  for  the  first  time  as  a 
distinct  political  organization,  and  nominated 
James  G.  Birney  as  its  candidate  for  the 
Presidency. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  was  a  decisive 
victory  for  the  Democrats.  This  success 
was  generally  regarded  as  an  emphatic 
expression  of  the  popular  will  respecting 
the  Texas  and  Oregon  questions.  Mr. 
Birney  did    not    receive    a   single   electoral 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


592 

vote,  and  of  the  popular  vote  only  sixty-four 
thousand  six  hundred  and  fift}'-three  ballots 
were  cast  for  him. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1S44, 
the  efforts  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  were 
renewed.  A  proposition  was  made  to  receive 
Texas  into  the  Union  by  a  joint  resolution 
of  Congress.  A  bill  for  this  purpose  passed 
the  House  of  Representatives,  but  the  Senate 
added  an  amendment  appointing  commis- 
sioners to  negotiate  with  Mexico  for  the 
annexation  of  Texas,  which  she  still  claimed 
as  a  part  of  her  territory.  The  President 
was  authorized  by  a  clause  in  these  resolu- 
tions to  adopt  either  the  House  or  the  Senate 
plan  of  annexation,  and  on  the  second  of 
March,  1845,  the  resolutions  were  adopted. 
Senator  Benton,  of  Missouri,  the  author  of 
the  Senate  plan,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the 
matter  would  be  left  to  Mr.  Polk,  the  Presi- 
dent-elect, to  be  conducted  by  him  ;  and  that 
gentleman  had  expressed  his  intention  to 
carry  out  the  Senate  plan,  as  he  hoped  an 
amicable  arrangement  could  be  made  with 
Me.xico.  Mr.  Tyler,  however,  determined 
not  to  leave  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  his 
successor,  and  at  once  adopted  the  plan 
proposed  in  the  House  resolutions, and  on  the 
night  of  Sunday,  March  3d,  a  messenger 
was  despatched  with  all  speed  to  Texas  to 
lay  the  proposition  before  the  authorities  of 
that  State.     It  was  accepted  by  them,  and 


on  the   fourth   of  July,  1845,  Texas  became 
one  of  the  United  States. 

The  area  thus  added  to  the  territorj'  of 
the  Union  comprised  two  hundred  and 
thirty-icven  thousand  five  hundred  and  four 
square  miles.  It  was  provided  by  the  act  of 
admission  that  four  additional  States  might 
be  formed  out  of  the  territory  of  Texas, 
when  the  population  should  increase  to  an 
extent  which  should  make  such  a  step  desir- 
able. Those  States  lying  north  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  line — 36°  30'  north  lati- 
tude— were  to  be  free  States  ;  those  south  of 
that  line  were  to  be  free  or  slaveholding,  "  as 
the  people  of  each  State  asking  admission 
may  desire."  To  Texas  was  reserved  the 
right  to  refuse  to  allow  the  division  of  her 
territory. 

On  the  third  of  March,  1845,  the  President 
approved  an  act  of  Congress  admitting  the 
Territories  of  Iowa  and  Florida  into  the 
Union  as  States. 

No  President  has  ever  been  more  unpop- 
ular during  his  administration  than  Mr. 
Tyler.  His  administration  speaks  for  itself 
however,  and  bears  out  the  truth  of  his  mem- 
orable words  :  "  I  appeal  from  the  vituper- 
ation  of  the  present  day  to  the  pen  of  impar- 
tial history,  in  the  full  confidence  that  neither 
my  motives  nor  my  acts  will  bear  the  inter- 
pretation which  has,  for  sinister  purposec, 
been  placed  upon  them." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

The  Administration    of  James   K.    Polk — The  War 
With    Mexico. 


rhe  Oregon  Question — Position  of  President  Polk  respecting  it — The  Question  Settled — Treaty  for  Settlement  of  Qainn 
against  Mexico — Mexico  Resents  the  Annexation  of  Texas — General  Taylor  Ordered  to  Texas— He  Advances  to  tha 
Rio  Grande — Battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma — The  War  with  Mexico  Begun — Invasion  of  Mexico- 
Occupation  of  Matamoras — Action  of  the  United  States  Government — Taylor  Advances  into  the  Interior — The  Storm- 
ing and  Capture  of  Monterey — The  Armistice — Return  of  Santa  Anna  to  Mexico — President  Polk  Duped — Sant» 
Anna  Seizes  the  Mexican  Government — General  Wool  Joins  General  Taylor — Troops  Taken  from  Taylor's  Army- 
Advance  of  the  Mexicans — Battle  of  Buena  Vista — Conquest  of  California  by  Fremont  and  Stockton — Occupation  o» 
Santa  Fe — New  Mexico  Conquered — Doniphan's  March — Occupatio:  of  Chihuahua — Sailing  of  Scott's  Expedition — 
Reduction  of  Vera  Cruz — Santa  Anna  Collects  a  New  Army— Batl  j  of  Cerro  Gordo — Occupation  of  Puebla  by 
Scott — Trouble  with  Mr.  Trist — Vigorous  Measures  of  Santa  Anna — Scott  /.cvances  upon  the  City  of  Mexico — E> 
Peiion  Turned — Battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubusco — Capture  of  Moiino  del  Rey — Storming  of  Chapultepec— 
Capture  of  the  City  of  Mexico— Siege  of  Puebla  Raised— Flight  of  Santa  Anna— Treaty  of  Peace  Negotiated— Clos# 
of  the  War — Acquisition  of  California  and  New  Mexico— Discover)'  of  Gold  in  California — Rapid  Emigration  to  tha 
Pacific— Death  of  John  Quincy  Adams— The  Wilmot  Proviso — Revival  of  the  Slavery  Question— General  Taylot 
Elected  President. 


THE  inauguration  of  James  K.  Polk, 
as  President  of  the  United  States, 
took  place  on  the  fourth  of  March, 
1845.  He  had  served  the  country 
as  governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and 
for  fourteen  years  had  been  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  Congress  from 
that  State,  and  had  been  several  times  chosen 
speaker  of  that  body.  His  cabinet  ■was 
selected  from  the  first  men  of  his  party. 
James  Buchanan  was  secretary  of  state ; 
Robert  J.  Walker  was  secretary'  of  the  treas- 
ury; William  L.  Marcy,  secretary  of  war, 
and  George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  secretary 
of  the  navy. 

Two  important  questions  presented  them- 
selves to  the  new  adininistration  for  settle- 
ment: the  troubles  with  Mexico  growing  out 
of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  northwestern  boundary  of  the 
United  States. 

The  question  of  the  northwestern  bound- 
ary had  been  left  unsettled  by  the  treaty  of 

38 


Washington  in  1842.  Great  Britain  was 
anxious  to  arrange  the  matter,  and  late  in  the 
year  1842  Mr.  Fox,  the  British  minister  at 
Washington,  proposed  to  Mr.  Webster,  then 
secretary  of  state,  to  open  negotiations.  The 
British  proposition  was  accepted,  but  nothing 
further  was  done  until  February,  1844,  when 
Sir  Richard  Packenham,  the  British  minister 
at  Washington,  proposed  to  take  up  the 
question  of  the  Oregon  boundary  and  settle 
it.  Mr.  Upshur,  the  secretary  of  state, 
accepted  the  offer,  but  was  killed  a  few  days 
later  by  the  explosion  on  board  tne  "  Prince- 
ton." Six  months  later.  Sir  Richard  Pack- 
enham renewed  the  proposal  to  Mr.  Calhoun, 
who  had  become  secretary  of  state,  and  nego- 
tiations were  entered  upon  in  earnest. 

The  territory  of  Oregon  lay  between  the 
forty-second  and  fifty-fourth  parallels  of  north 
latitude,  and  extended  from  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains on  the  east  to  the  Pacific  ocean  on  the 
west  This  region  was  original!)-  claimed 
by  Spain,  bv  whose  subjects  it  was  first 
593 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


S94 

discovered.  At  the  cession  of  Florida,  Spain 
ceded  to  the  United  States  all  her  territory- 
north  of  the  forty-second  parallel  of  north 
latitude,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Arkan- 
sas to  the  Pacific.  Mexico,  upon  achieving 
her  independence,  had  acknowledged  by  a 
treaty  with  the  United  States  the  validity  of 
this  boundary  The  line  of  fifty-four  degrees 
forty  minutes  north  latitude  was  established 
by  treaty  betAveen  the  United  States,  Great 
Britain  and  Russia  as  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  Russian  possessions  in  America. 


JAMES   K.    POLK. 

The  United  States  claimed  the  entire  re- 
gion of  Oregon  in  virtue  of  the  cession  of 
Spain  in  the  Florida  treaty ;  the  discoveries 
of  Captain  Gray  of  Boston,  who  circumnavi- 
gated the  globe,  and  in  1792  discovered  to  a 
certain  extent  and  explored  the  Columbia 
river  ;  the  explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clarke 
in  1805  and  1806  of  the  southern  main 
branch  of  the  Columbia,  and  of  the  river 
itself  from  the  mouth  of  that  branch  to  the 
sea  ;  and  the  settlement  of  Astoria,  planted 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  181 1  by 
John  Jacob  A''-'^'-  of  New  York.     Oregon 


was  also  claimed  by  England,  who  also  rested 
her  pretensions  on  discovery,  and  on  the  set- 
tlement made  by  the  Northwest  Company 
on  Eraser's  river  in  1806,  and  on  another 
near  the  head  waters  of  the  north  branch  of 
the  Columbia. 

"  All  of  Oregon,  or  None." 

In  18 18  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  had  agreed  upon  the  forty-ninth 
degree  of  north  latitude,  as  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  British  Amer- 
ica from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Mr.  Calhoun 
now  opened  the  negotiations  by  proposing 
to  continue  this  line  to  the  Pacific.  The 
British  minister  would  not  consent  to  this, 
but  proposed  to  extend  the  forty-ninth  paral- 
lel from  the  mountains  to  the  north  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  and  then  to  make  the  boun- 
dary follow  that  stream  from  this  point  of 
intersection  to  the  sea.  Mr.  Calhoun  at  once 
declined  to  accept  this  boundary,  and  the 
further  consideration  of  the  subject  was  post- 
poned until  Packenham  could  receive  addi- 
tional instructions  from  his  government. 

During  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1844 
the  Democratic  party  adopted  as  its  watch- 
word, "  all  of  Oregon  or  none,"  and  the  ex- 
citement upon  the  question  ran  high.  The 
election  of  Mr.  Polk  showed  that  the  Ameri- 
can people  were  resolved  to  insist  upon  their 
claim  to  Oregon,  and  when  the  new  President 
in  his  inaugural  address  took  the  bold  ground 
that  the  American  title  to  "  Oregon  terri- 
tory "  "  was  dear  and  indisputable,"  and 
declared  his  intention  to  maintain  it  at  the 
cost  of  war  with  England,  the  matter  assumed 
a  serious  aspect,  and  for  a  while  it  seemed 
that  party  passion  would  involve  the  two 
countries  in  hostilities.  President  Polk,  upon 
a  calmer  consideration  of  the  subject,  caused 
the  secretary  of  state  to  reopen  the  negotia- 
tions by  proposing  to  Great  Britain  the  forty 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    K.    POLK 


595 


tfinth  parallel  of  latitude  as  a  boundary.  The 
British  minister  declined  the  proposition,  and 
the  matter  was  dropped. 

According  to  the  treaties  of  iSi8  and 
1S28,  the  joint  occupation  of  Oregon  could 
be  terminated  by  either  party  by  giving  the 
other  twelve  months'  notice.  The  President 
now  proposed  to  give  the  required  notice, 
which  was  done  b\-  a  resolution  of  Congress. 


British  ministry-  decided  at  length  to  reopen 
negotiations,  and  Sir  Richard  Packenham 
shortly  after  communicated  to  Mr.  Buchanan 
the  willingness  of  his  government  to  accept 
the  forty-ninth  parallel  as  a  boundary. 

The  time  at  which  thejoint  occupation  would 
terminate  was  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close,  and 
the  President  was  anxious  to  settle  the  mat- 
trr.  hut  at  the  same  time  was  not  willing  to 


A  BASIN  ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER,  OREGON — AND  MOUN TAIN-riCAK. 


E  DISTANCE. 


This  put  an  end  to  the  old  arrangement,  and 
compelled  the  two  countries  to  make  a  new 
settlement  of  the  difficulty  ;  and  this  was  the 
object  of  the  President  in  terminating  the 
joint  occupation. 

The  subject  was  brought  to  the  notice  of 
the  British  Parliament  by  Sir  Robert  Peel 
who  expressed  his  regret  that  the  last  offer 
of  the  United  States  had  been  declined.    The 


assume  the  responsibility  of  accepting  a 
boundary  which  fell  so  far  short  of  the 
popular  expectations.  At  the  suggestion  of 
Senator  Benton,  of  Missouri,  he  r.sked  the 
advice  of  the  Senate  as  to  the  propriety  of 
accepting  the  British  offer,  and  pledged  him- 
self to  be  guided  by  its  decision.  The  Senate 
advised  liim  to  accept  it,  andwlien  the  treaty 
was  sent  to  it.  ratified  it  after  a  warm  debate 


596 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Thus  the  matter 


extending  over  two  days, 
was  brought  to  a  close. 

By  the  treaty,  which  was  concluded  in 
1S46,  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  lati- 
tude was  made  the  boundary  between  the 
United  States  and  the  British  possessions, 
from  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  the  middle  of  ihe  channel  between  Van- 
couver's Island  and  the  mainland,  and  thence 
southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  Straits 
of  San  Juan  de  Fuca  to  the  Pacific.  The 
navigation  of  tlie  Columbia  river  and  its  main 
northern  branch  was  made  free  to  both 
parties. 

Trouble  with  Mexico. 

In  tl-,e  meantime  the  Mexican  difficulty 
had  been  found  much  harder  of  settlement. 
Mexico  had  never  acknowledged  the  inde- 
pendence of  Texas,  and  since  the  defeat  at 
San  Jacinto  had  repeatedly  threatened  to 
restore  her  authority  over  the  Texans  by  force 
of  arms.  She  warmly  resented  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  by  the  United  States,  and  a  few 
days  after  that  event  was  completed,  General 
Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at  Washing- 
ton, entered  a  formal  protest  against  the 
course  of  the  United  States,  demanded  his 
passports  and  left  the  country. 

Some  years  before  this  a  number  of 
American  ships  trading  with  Mexican  ports 
had  been  seized  and  plundered  by  the  Mex- 
ican authorities,  who  also  confiscated  the 
property  of  a  number  of  American  residents 
in  that  country.  The  sufferers  by  these 
outrages  appealed  for  redress  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  which  had  repeat- 
edly tried  to  negotiate  with  Mexico  for  the 
collection  of  these  claims,  which  amounted 
to  six  millions  of  dollars.  Mexico  made 
several  promises  of  settlement,  but  failed  to 
comply  with  them.  In  1840.  however,  a  new 
treaty  was  made  between  that  country  and 
the  United  States,  and  Mexico  pledged  her- 


self to  pay  the  American  claims  in  twenty- 
annual  instalments  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars  each.  Three  of  these  instalments 
had  been  paid  at  the  time  of  the  annexatiori 
of  Texas  ;  but  Mexico  now  refused  to  make 
any  further  payment. 

Troops  Sent  to  Texas. 

Mexico  claimed  that  the  limits  of  Texas 
properly  ended  at  the  Neuces  river,  while 
the  Texans  insisted  that  their  boundary  was 
the  Rio  Grande.  Thus  the  region  between 
these  two  rivers  became  a  debatable  land, 
claimed  by  both  parties,  and  a  source  of 
great  and  immediate  danger.  It  was  evident 
that  Mexico  was  about  to  occupy  this  region 
with  her  troops,  and  the  legislature  of  Texas, 
alarmed  by  the  threatening  attitude  of  that 
country,  called  upon  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment to  protect  its  territory.  The  Presi- 
dent at  once  SL-nt  General  Zachary  Taylor 
with  a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  regular  troops, 
called  the  "  army  of  occupation,"  to  "  take 
position  in  the  country  between  the  Neuces 
and  the  Rio  Grande,  and  to  repel  any  inva- 
sion of  the  Texan  territory." 

General  Taylor  accordingly  took  position 
at  Corpus  Christi,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Neuces,  in  September,  1845,  and  remained 
there  until  the  spring  of  1S46.  At  the  same 
time  a  squadron  of  war  vessels  under  Com- 
modore Conner  was  despatched  to  the  Gulf 
to  cooperate  with  General  Taylor.  Both  of 
the.se  officers  "  were  ordered  to  commit  no 
act  of  hostility  against  Mexico  unless  she 
declared  war,  or  was  herself  the  aggressor 
by  striking  the  first  blow." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  dispute 
betwee.i  the  two  countries,  Herrera  was 
President  of  Mexico.  Although  diplomatic 
communications  had  ceased  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  he  was  anxious 
to  settle  the  quarrel  by  negotiation,  but  at 
the  Presidential  election  held  about  this  time 


ADMINISTRATION 

Herrera  was  <Iefeated,  and  Paredes,  who  was 
bitterly  hostile  to  the  United  States,  was 
chosen  President  of  the  Mexican  republic. 
Paredes  openly  avowed  his  determination  to 
drive  the  Americans  beyond  the  Neuces. 

In  February,  1S46,  General  Taylor  was 
ordered  by  President  Polk  to  advance  from 
the  Neuces  to  a  point  on  the  Rio  Grande, 
opposite  the  Mexican  town  of  Matamoras, 
and  establish  there  a  fortified  post,  in  order 
to  check  the  Mexican  forces  which  were 
assembling  there  in  large  numbers  for  the 
purpose  of  invading  Texas.  Taylor  at  once 
set  out,  and  leaving  the  greater  part  of  his 
stores  at  Point  Isabel,  on  the  Gulf,  advanced 
to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  built  a  fort  and 
established  a  camp  opposite  and  within 
cannon  shot  of  Matamoras.  General  Am- 
pudia,  commanding  the  Mexican  forces  at 
Matamoras,  immediately  notified  General 
Taylor  that  this  was  an  act  of  war  upon 
Mexican  soil,  and  demanded  that  he  should 
"  break  up  his  camp  and  retire  beyond  the 
Neuces  "  within  twenty-four  hours. 

First  Blood  Shed. 

Taylor  replied  that  he  was  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  orders  of  his  govern- 
ment, which  was  alone  responsible  for  his 
conduct,  and  that  he  should  maintain  the 
position  he  had  chosen.  He  pushed  forward 
the  work  on  his  fortifications  with  energy, 
and  kept  a  close  watch  upon  the  Mexicans. 
Neither  commander  was  willing  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  beginning  the  war,  and  Am- 
pudia,  notwithstanding  his  threat,  remained 
inactive.  His  course  did  not  satisfy  his  gov- 
ment,  and  he  was  removed  and  General 
Arista  appointed  in  his  place.  Arista  at 
once  began  hostilities  by  interposing  detach- 
ments of  his  army  between  Taylor's  force 
and  his  depot  of  supplies  at  Point  Isabel. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  of  April  Taylor  sent  a 
party    of    si.xty    dragoons    under    Captain 


OF  JAMES   K.    POLK.  597 

Thornton  to  reconnoitre  the  Mexican  lines. 
The  dragoons  were  surprised  with  a  loss  of 
sixteen  killed.  The  remainder  were  made 
prisoners,  and  Thornton  alone  escaped.  This 
was  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  war  with 
Mexico,  the  beginning  of  the  struggle. 

Gallant  Major  Brown. 

A  day  or  two  later,  being  informed  by 
Captain  Walker,  who,  with  his  Texan 
Rangers  was  guarding  the  line  of  communi- 
cation with  Point  Isabel,  that  the  Mexicans 
were  threatening  the  latter  place  in  heavy 
force.  General  Taylor  left  Major  Brown  with 
three  hundred  men  to  hold  the  fort,  and 
marched  to  Point  Isabel  to  relieve  that  place. 
He  agreed  with  Major  Brown  that  if  the  fort 
should  be  attacked  or  hard  pressed,  the 
latter  should  notify  him  of  his  danger  by 
firing  heavy  signal  guns  at  certain  intervals. 
He  reached  Point  Isabel,  twenty  miles  dis- 
tant, on  the  second  of  May  without  meeting 
any  opposition  on  the  march. 

General  Arista,  attributing  Taylor's  with-' 
drawal  to  fear,  determined  to  capture  the' 
fortification  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  On  the  third  of  May  he  opened  fire 
upon  it  from  a  heavy  battery  at  Matamoras, 
and  sent  a  large  force  across  the  Rio  Grande, 
which  took  position  in  the  rear  of  the  fort 
and  intrenched  themselves  there.  In  the 
face  of  this  double  attack  the  little  garrison 
defended  themselves  bravely,  but  at  length 
Major  Brown  fell  mortally  wounded.  The 
command  devolved  upon  Captain  Hawkins, 
who  now  felt  himself  justified  in  warning 
Taylor  of  his  danger,  and  began  to  fire  the 
signal  guns  agreed  upon. 

Taylor  was  joined  at  Point  Isabel  by  a 
small  detachment,  and  his  force  was  increased 
to  twenty-three  hundred  men.  He  listened 
an.xiously  for  the  booming  of  the  signal  guns 
from  the  fort  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  at 
length  they  were  heard.     He  knew  that  the 


598 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


need  of  assistance  must  be  great,  as  the  little 
band  in  the  fort  had  held  out  so  long  with- 
out calling  for  help,  and  he  at  once  set  out 
to  join  them.  He  left  Point  Isabel  on  the 
seventh  of  May,  taking  with  him  a  heavy 
supply  train.  The  steady  firing  of  the  sig- 
nal guns  from  Fort  Brown  (for  so  the  work 
was  afterwards  named  in  honor  of  its  gallant 
commander)  urged  the  army  to  its  greatest 
exertions. 


Ringgold's  light  battery  on  the  right,  Dun- 
can's battery  on  the  left,  and  a  battery  of 
eighteen-pounders  in  the  centre.  The 
artillery  was  thrown  well  in  front  of  the 
infantry,  and  the  order  was  given  to  advance. 
The  Mexicans  at  once  opened  fire  with  their 
batteries,  but  the  distance  was  too  great  to 
accomplish  anything.  The  American  bat- 
teries did  not  reply  until  they  had  gotten 
within  easy  range,  when  they  opened  a  fire 


On  the  eighth  of  May  the  Mexican  army, 
six  thousand  strong,  was  discovered  holding 
a  strong  position  in  front  of  a  chaparral,  near 
the  small  stream  called  the  Palo  Alto,  in- 
tending to  dispute  the  advance  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. Taylor  promptly  made  his  disposi- 
tions to  attack  them.  His  troops  were 
ordered  to  drink  from  the  little  stream  and 
to  fill  their  canteens.  The  train  was  closed 
up,  and  the  line  was  formed    with    Major 


the  accuracy  and  rapidity  of  which  astonished 
the  Mexicans. 

Their  lines  were  broken  and  they  fell  back, 
and  the  Americans  advanced  steadily  through 
the  chaparral,  which  had  been  set  on  fire  by 
the  discharge  of  cannon,  until  a  new  position 
within  close  range  was  reached.  Paying  no 
attention  to  the  Mexican  artillerj',  the 
American  guns  directed  their  fire  upon  the 
enemy's    infantry   and    cavalry,    and    broke 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   K.    POLK. 


599 


them  again  and  again.  The  battle  lasted 
five  hours  and  ceased  at  nightfall.  It  was 
fought  entirely  by  the  artillery  of  the  two 
armies,  and  was  won  by  the  superior  hand- 
ling and  precision  of  the  American  guns. 

The  loss  of  the  Mexicans  was  four  hun- 
dred killed  and  wounded ;  that  of  the 
Americans  nine  killed  and  forty-four 
wounded.  Early  in  the  battle  Major  Ring- 
gold was  mortalh-  wounded  and  died  a  little 


occupying  a  much  stronger  position  than 
they  had  held  at  Palo  Alto.  Their  line  was 
formed  behind  a  ravine,  called  Rcsaca  de  la 
Palma,  or  the  Dry  River  of  Palms.  Their 
flanks  were  protected  by  the  thick  chaparral, 
and  their  artillery  was  thrown  forward  beyond 
the  ravine  and  protected  by  an  intrenchment, 
and  swept  the  road  by  which  the  Americans 
must  advance.  During  the  night  fresh  troop ; 
had    joined   the    Mexican    army,    and    J.aJ 


MAJOR    RINGGOLD    MORTALLY    WOUNDED. 


later.  He  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
gifted  officers  of  the  army,  and  to  him  was 
chiefly  due  the  precision  and  rapidity  of 
movement  acquired  by  the  "  flying  artil- 
lery" of  the  American  army,  which  were  so 
successfully  tested  during  this  war. 

The  American  army  encamped  on  the 
battle-field,  and  the  next  morning,  May  pth, 
as  the  Mexicans  had  retreated,  leaving  their 
dead  unburicd,  resumed  its  advance.  In  the 
afternoon    the     Mexicans    were    discovered 


increased    their    force    to    seven    thousand 
men. 

Taylor  formed  his  line  with  his  artillery 
in  the  centre.  The  artillery  was  ordered  to 
advance  along  the  road  commanded  by  the 
Mexican  battery,  and  the  infantry  were 
directed  to  move  as  rapidly  as  possible 
through  the  chaparral,  and  drive  out  the 
Mexican  sharpshooters.  The  infantry  execut- 
ed this  order  in  handsome  style,  but  the 
chaparral  was   so  dense   that  each  man  was 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


600 

obliged  to  act  for  himself  as  he  forced  his  way 
throught  it.  The  Mexican  battery  was 
handled  with  great  skill  and  coolness,  and 
held  the  centre  in  check  until  some  time 
after  the  infantry  had  forced  their  way  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  ravine. 

At  this  juncture  Captain  May  was  ordered 
to  charge  the  Mexican  guns,  and  started 
down  the  road  at  a  trot.     As  he  reached  the 

,..-.:  ...  .,f  ..I,  .   \.„,,.-;.-^^.,  ^_.f;n..,-,-^  ]^;^„l-emnt 


guns.  Leaving  the  batter>'  to  the  American 
infantry  which  now  hurried  forward  to  secure 
it,  the  dragoons  charged  the  Mexican  centre 
and  broke  it.  The  whole  American  line  then 
advanced  rapidly  ;  the  Mexicans  gave  way, 
and  were  soon  flying  in  utter  confusion 
towards  the  Rio  Grande,  which  they  crossed 
in  such  haste  that  many  of  them  were 
drowned  in  the  attempt  to  reach  the  Mexican 

chore. 


CH.\RGE   OP   THE    DRAGOONS. 


Ridgely  suggested  that  May  should  halt  and 
allow  him  to  draw  the  Mexican  fire.  Ridgely 
opened  a  rapid  fire  on  the  Mexican  guns, 
■which  answered  immediately.  At  the  same 
moment  May  dashed  at  the  Mexican  battery 
with  his  dragoons,  and  reached  it  before  the 
cannoneers  could  reload  their  pieces.  They 
were  sabred  at  their  guns,  and  the  battery 
was  carried.  Captain  May  himself  made  a 
prisoner  of  General  La  Vega,  as  the  latter 
v.-as   in  the   act  of  discharging  one  of  the 


General  Arista,  the  Mexican  commander, 
fled  alone  from  the  field,  leaving  all  his  pri- 
vate and  official  papers  behind  him.  The 
Americans  lost  one  hundred  and  twent}--two 
men  killed  and  wounded ;  the  Mexicans 
twelve  hundred.  All  the  Mexican  artiUer}-, 
two  thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  six  hundred 
mules  were  captured  by  the  Americans. 

General  Taylor  advanced  from  the  battle- 
field to  Fort  Brown,  the  garrison  of  which 
had  heard  the  distant  roar  of  the  battle,  and 


0 


^ 


•/%^*.X- 


•^iliri:^^ 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES   K.    POLK 
ht  of  the  Mexicans  across 


60 1 


had  seen   the  fl 
the  Rio  Grande. 

The  defeat  of  the  Mexicans  at  Palo  Alto 
and  Resaca  do  la  Palma  had  greatly  disheart- 
ened them.  They  not  only  abandoned  their 
intention  to  invade  Texas,  but  gave  up  all 
hope  of  holding  the  Rio  Grande  frontier. 
On  the  night  of  the  seventeenth  of  May  their 
army  evacuated  Matamoras,  and  retreated 
upon  Monterey.  On  the  eighteenth  the 
American  army  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
occupied  Matamoras.  General  Taylor 
scrupulously  respected  the  municipal 
laws  of  the  town,  and  protected  the 
citizens  in  the  exercise  of  their  civil  and 
religious  privileges.  All  supplies  needed 
by  the  troop'}  were  purchased  at  a  liberal 
price,  and  no  plundering  or  disorder  was 
allowed  or  attempted. 

In  the  meantime  the  news  of  the  attack 
upon  the  dragoons  under  Captain  Thorn- 
ton had  reached  the  United  States,  and 
with  it  the  rumor  that  the  American 
army  was  confronted  on  the  Texan  side 
of  the  Rio  Grande  by  a  vastly  superior 
force  of  Mexicans,  and  that  its  destruc- 
tion was  almost  certain.  The  President 
sent  a  special  message  to  Congress  on  the 
eleventh  of  May,  in  which  he  informed 
that  body  that  "  war  existed  by  the  act 
of  Mexico,"  and  called  upon  Congress  to 
recognize  the  state  of  war,  and  to  provide 
for  its  support  by  appropriating  the  necessary 
funds,  and  to  authorize  him  to  call  for  vol- 
unteers. 

Under  the  impression  that  the  perilous 
^ituation  of  Taylor's  army  made  instant 
action  necessary,  Congress  appropriated  ten 
millions  of  dollars  for  the  prosecution  of  the 
war,  and  authorized  the  President  to  accept 
the  services  of  fiftj  thousand  volunteers. 
On«:-halfof  this  force  was  to  be  mustered 
into  the  service  ;  the  remainder  held  as  a  re- 
serve.    The  President's  call  was  responded 


to  with  enthusiasm  all  o\'cr  the  land,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks  two  hundred 
thousand  volunteers  offered  their  services. 
General  Wool  was  ordered  to  muster  the 
volunteers  accepted  by  the  President  into  the 
service. 

Preparations  were  made  b\'  the  American 
government  to  prosecute  the  war  with  vigor 
At  the  suggestion  of  General  Scott  a  com- 
prehensive plan  of  operations  was  adopted. 
Two  separate  expeditions  were  to  be  organ- 


ized. One,  called  the  "  Army  of  the  West," 
was  to  assemble  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  on 
the  Missouri,  to  cross  the  plains  and  the 
Rocky  mountains,  and  to  invade  and  con- 
quer the  northern  provinces  of  Me.xico.  A 
powerful  fleet  was  to  be  sent  around  Cape 
Horn  to  attack  the  Mexican  ports  on  the 
Pacific  and  cooperate  with  the  Army  of  the 
West.  A  second  force,  called  the  "  Army  of 
the  Centre,"  was  to  advance  from  Texas  to 
the  city  of  Mexico,  and,  if  it  was  tliought 
best,  was  to   cooperate  with  the  "  Arm)'  of 


6o2 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

On  the  ninth  of  September  the  American 
forces  encamped  within  three  miles  of  I'.Ion- 
terey. 

Monterey  is  an  old  Spanish  city,  nearly 
three  hundred  years  old.  It  lies  in  a  beauti- 
ful valley,  and  is  about  two  miles  in  length, 
by  one  mile  in  breadth.  The  mountains 
approach  close  to  it,  and  protect  it  on  all 
sides  but  two.  On  one  of  these  sides  it  is 
approached  from  the  northeast  by  the  road 
from  Matamoras,  and  on  the  other  by  a  rocky 
gorge  through  which  runs  the  road  connect- 
ing the  cit>'  with  Saltillo.  The  city  has  three 
large  plazas  or  public  squares,  and  is  built 
like  the  towns  of  old  Spain,  with  narrow- 
streets,  and  houses  of  stone  one  story  in 
height,  with  strong  walls  of  masonry  rising- 
about  three  feet  above  the  fiat  roofs.  The 
city  itself  is  enclosed  with  strong  walls,  in- 
tended for  artillery. 


Occupation  "  under  General  Taylor.  As  we 
shall  see,  the  plan  was  afterwards  modified, 
and  the  advance  upon  the  Mexican  capital 
was  made  from  Vera  Cruz  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

Towards  the  last  of  May  the  news  of  the 
brilliant  victories  on  the  Rio  Grande  was  re- 
ceived at  Washington,  and  was  hailed  with 
rejoicings  throughout  the  Union.  On  the 
thirtieth  of  May  Congress  conferred  upon 
General  Taylor  the  rank  of  major-general  by 
)revet  as  a  reward  for  his  victories. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May  the  Mexican 
Congress  formally  declared  war  against  the 
''Jnited  States,  and  the  call  of  the  Mexican 
government  for  volunteers  for  the  defence  of 
that  country  was  responded  to  with  enthu- 
siasm. 

Thanks  to  the  energ)'  of  General  Wool, 
twelve  thousand  volunteers  were  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  in  six 
weeks.  Nine  thousand  of  these  were  sent 
forward  rapidly  to  reinforce  General  Taylor, 
and  with  the  remainder  Wool  marched  to 
San  Antonio,  in  Texas,  to  await  further 
orders,  and  be  ready  for  action. 

Strong  Intrenchments. 

General  Taylor  had  been  delayed  at  Mata- 
moras for  three  months  by  the  weakness  of 
his  force;  but,  as  soon  as  reinforcements 
reached  him,  he  prepared  to  advance  into 
the  interior.  His  first  movement  was  directed 
against  the  city  of  Monterey,  the  capital  of 
the  State  of  New  Leon,  where  the  Mexicans 
had  collected  an  army.  His  army  numbered 
about  nine  thousand  men  of  all  arms,  and  of 
these  a  little  over  twenty-three  hundred  men 
were  detached  for  garrisons,  leaving  an  active 
force  of  six  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy 
men.  On  the  twentieth  of  August  General 
Worth's  division  marched  from  Matamoras, 
and  a  fortnight  later  General  Taylor  set  out 
from  the  Rio  Grande  with  the  main  army. 


Battle  of  Monterey. 

Every  means  of  defence  had  been  ex- 
hausted by  the  Mexicans.  Forty-two  heavy 
cannon  were  mounted  on  the  city  walls,  the 
streets  were  barricaded,  and  the  flat  roofs 
and  stone  walls  of  the  houses  were  arranged 
for  infantry.  Each  house  was  a  separate  for- 
tress. A  strongly  fortified  building  of  heavy 
stone,  called  the  Bishop's  palace,  stood  on 
the  side  of  a  hill  without  the  city  walls,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city  were  redoubts 
held  by  infantry  and  artillery.  The  com- 
mand of  Monterey  and  its  defences  was  held 
by  General  Ampudia,  and  the  garrison  con- 
sisted often  thousand  veteran  troops. 

Ten  days  were  passed  by  the  American 
army  in  reconnoitering  the  town,  its  peculiar 
situation  rendering  such  movements  very 
difficult.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  twentieth 
of  September  General  Worth  was  ordered  to 
turn  the  hill  on  which  stood  the  Bishop's 
palace,  gain  the  Saltillo  road,  and  carry  the 
works  in  that  direction.  This  movement  was 


ADMINISTRATION 

successfully  accomplished ;  but  in  order  to 
gain  the  desired  position  Worth  was  obliged 
to  cut  a  new  road  across  the  mountain.  His 
troops  bivouacked  for  the  night  just  out  of 
range  of  the  enemy's  guns.  During  the 
night  the  Americans  built  a  batter}'  to  com- 
mand the  Mexican  citadel. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first  of  Sep- 
tember the  American  artillery  opened  fire  on 
Monterey,  and  the  infantr\-  adx  anccd  t..  (-arry 


OF   JAMES   K.    POLK.  605 

During  the  night  of  the  twenty-first  the 
Mexicans  evacuated  the  lower  part  of  the 
cit>',  but  kept  their  hold  upon  the  citadel  and 
the  upper  town,  from  which  they  maintained 
a  vigorous  fire  upon  the  American  positions. 
At  daybreak,  on  the  twent>--second,  Worth's 
division,  advancing  in  the  midst  of  a  fog  and 
rain,  carried  the  crest  commanding  the 
Bishop's  palace,  and  by  noon  had  captured 
the  palace  itself      The  guns  of  the  captured' 


the  Mexican  works.  The  brigade  of  General 
Quitman  carried  a  strong  work  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  town,  and  at  the  same  time 
General  Butler,  with  a  part  of  his  division, 
forced  his  way  into  the  town  on  the  right. 
While  these  operations  were  in  progress 
General  Worth's  division  seized  the  Saltillo 
road,  and  secured  the  enemy's  line  of  retreat. 
Several  fortified  positions  along  the  heights 
I  were  also  carried,  and  their  guns  turned 
upon  the  Bishop's  palace 


Tl      \      \r    MONTERE\ 


works  were  now  directed  upon  the  enemy  in 
the  city  below. 

The  enemy  had  fortified  the  city  so  thor- 
oughly that  the  Americans  were  not  only 
forced  to  carry  the  various  barricades  in  suc- 
cession, but  were  compelled  to  break  through 
the  walls  of  the  fortified  houses,  and  advance 
from  house  to  house  in  this  way.  One  or 
two  field  pieces  were  drawn  up  to  the  flat 
roofs,  and  the  Mexicans  were  driven  from 
point  to  point  during  the  twenty-second  and- 


6o4 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


twenty-third,  until  they  were  confined  to  the 
citadel  and  plaza.  On  the  night  of  the 
twenty-third  General  Ampudia  opened  nego- 
tiations, and  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
fourth  surrendered  the  town  and  garrison  to 
General  Taylor.  The  Mexican  soldiers  were 
allowed  to  march  out  with  the  honors  of 
war.  General  Taylor  was  induced  to  grant 
tliis  concession  by  his  generous  desire  to 
spare  the  people  of  the   cit\-   the  sufferin^'^ 


days'  rations — Taylor  agreed  to  a  cessation 
of  hostilities  for  eight  weeks,  subject  to  the 
consent  of  his  government.  The  Mexican 
army  withdrew  from  Monterey,  and  an 
American  garrison,  under  General  Worth, 
as  governor,  occupied  the  citj-.  The  main 
body  of  Taylor's  army  then  went  into  camp 
at  Walnut  Springs,  three  miles  distant  from 
Monterey.  The  Americans  lost  four  hundred 
and  ei'::ht\--ci'::ht  men,  Irillcd  and  wounded. 


I 

I 


LIEUTEN.WT    GRANT    GOING    FOR    AMMUNITION    .VT    MONTEREY. 


which  would  have  been   caused  by  a  pro- 
longed defence. 

The  Mexican  commander  represented  to 
General  Taylor  that  the  ;\Iexican  government 
was  sincerely  anxious  for  peace,  and  that  it 
would  respond  favorably  to  any  fair  propo- 
sitions upon  this  subject  that  might  be  laid 
before  it.  In  order  to  afford  an  opportunity 
for  such  an  arrangement  of  the  war,  and  influ- 
enced by  the  scarcity  of  provisions — the 
American  army  having  at  the  time  but  ten 


in  the  storming  of  Monterey.     The  Mexican 
loss  was  much  greater. 

General  Grant,  then  an  unknown younglieu- 
tenant,  was  in  the  battle  of  Monterey,  and 
distinguished  himself  on  account  of  "gallant 
and  meritorious  services."  Several  times 
during  the  battle  he  demonstrated  his  supe- 
rior judgment  and  courage,  not  more  in  the 
fierce  charge  than  in  volunteering  to  make  a 
dangerous  ride  under  fire,  in  search  of  ammu-j 
nition. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    K.    POLK. 


605 


In  the  meantime  the  government  of  the 
United  States  had  been  led  into  a  terrible 
blunder  b\-  its  desire  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
speedy  close.  Santa  Anna,  who  had  been 
driven  out  of  Mexico  by  one  of  the  numerous 
revolutions  in  that  country,  was  living  in  exile 
at  Havana.  He  declared  that  if  he  were 
allowed  to  return  to  Mexico  he  would  use  his 
influence  in  favor  of  peace,  and  would  secure 
a  treaty  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  end. 
He  was  sure  he  could  carry  out  this  scheme, 
and  only  needed  to  be  sustained  by  the 
United  States  government  with  the  sum  of 
three  or  four  millions  of  dollars  to  enable 
him  to  get  control  of  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment. President  Polk  was  completely  duped 
by  the  "  illustrious  exile,"  and  not  only  urged 
Congress  to  appropriate  the  sum  of  two 
millions  of  dollars  to  assist  Santa  Anna,  but 
issued  an  order  to  Commodore  Conner,  com- 
manding the  American  fleet  in  the  Gulf,  to 
permit  Santa  Anna  to  pass  through  his  lines 
and  return  to  Mexico.  Santa  Anna  at  once 
availed  himself  of  this  order,  and  landing  at 
Vera  Cruz  hastened  into  the  interior. 

Manifesto  by  Santa  Anna. 

Once  in  Mexico,  Santa  Anna  thought  no 
more  of  his  promises  to  President  Polk.  He 
set  to  work  to  gain  possession  of  the  gov- 
ernment, but  not  with  a  view  to  making 
peace.  He  issued  a  manifesto,  in  which  he 
called  on  his  countrymen  to  rally  under  his 
banner  for  the  defence  of  their  homes  and 
country.  He  assured  them  of  his  undying 
hatred  of  the  "  perfidious  Yankees,"  pointed 
to  the  reverses  of  the  government  of  Paredes, 
and  declared  that  he  alone  could  save  the 
country.  His  appeals  were  successful.  The 
Mexican  people  rose  at  his  call,  deposed 
Paredes,  and  elected  Santa  Anna  President. 
The  repeated  defeats  of  their  armies  were 
forgotten  in  the  new  enthusiasm  which  Santa 
Anna's  presence  and  proclamations  aroused, 


and  in  the  course  of  a  few  months  that  leader 
found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  well-equipped 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men,  which  Mas 
being  steadily  increased  by  the  arrival  of 
fresh  recruits. 

Justice  to  the  Enemy. 

In  the  meantime  General  Wool,  with  a 
reinforcement  of  three  thousand  troops,  had 
marched  from  San  Antonio  to  join  General 
Taylor.  He  had  reached  Monclova,  about 
seventy  miles  from  Monterey,  when  he  heard 
of  the  capture  of  the  latter  place  by  Taylor. 
His  route  had  lain  across  an  uninhabited 
and  desert  region,  in  which  the  troops  suf- 
fered greatly  for  want  of  water.  He  was 
directed  by  General  Taylor  to  take  position 
in  a  fertile  district  in  the  province  of 
Durango,  where  he  could  obtain  supplies 
for  his  own  command  as  well  as  for  the 
army  at  Monterey.  General  Wool  concili- 
ated the  people  of  the  region  occupied  by 
him  by  protecting  them  in  their  liberties  and 
property,  and  paying  fair  prices  for  all  the 
supplies  furnished  by  them.  The  Mexicans 
v.-ere  far  better  treated  by  the  conquering 
army  than  they  had  been  hy  their  own 
rulers. 

In  accordance  with  orders  received  from 
Washington  General  Taylor  put  an  end  to 
the  armistice  on  the  thirteenth  of  November. 
On  the  fifteenth  General  Worth,  with  seven 
hundred  men,  occupied  Saltillo,  the  capital 
of  the  State  of  Coahuila.  Leaving  a  garrison 
in  Monterey,  under  General  Butler,  Taylor 
moved  towards  the  coast  to  attack  Tampico. 
Upon  reaching  Victoria,  the  capital  of  the 
State  of  Tamaulipas,  he  learned  that  Tampico 
had  surrendered  to  the  United  States  squad- 
ron, under  Commodore  Conner,  on  the  four- 
teenth of  November.  Victoria  was  occupied 
on  the  twenty-ninth  of  December.  The 
troops  under  General  Wool  were  now 
ordered  to  join   General   Worth  at  Saltillo, 


6o6 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


and  General  Taylor  prepared  to  resume  his 
forward  movement  into  the  heart  of  Mexico. 
At  this  juncture  his  offensive  operations 
were  suddenly  brought  to  a  close. 

Massing  the  Forces. 

The  plan  of  the  invasion  adopted  by  the 
government  of  tlit  United  States  had  been  so 
far  modified  that  the  "  Army  of  the  Centre," 
under  General  Win  field  Scott,  was  ordered 
to  capture  Vera  Cruz,  the  principal  Mexican 
port  on  the  Gulf,  and  advance  upon  the  cit}' 
of  Mexico  from  that  point.  Troops  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  could  not  be  drawn  from  the 
United  States,  and  General  Scott,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, decided  to  draw  the  desired 
number  of  men  from  Taylor's  army.  The  order 
for  the  withdrawal  of  these  troops  reached 
General  Taylor  just  as  he  was  aboutto  resume 
active  operations.  Taylor  was  keenly  dis- 
appointed at  being  thus  condemned  to 
inactivity,  but  like  the  true  soldier  that  he 
was,  at  once  obeyed  the  orders  sent  him. 

Generals  Worth  and  Quitman,  with  their 
divisions,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the 
volunteers  who  had  come  out  with  General 
Wool,  were  at  once  despatched  to  the  Gulf 
coast  to  join  the  expedition  against  Vera 
Cruz.  The  withdrawal  of  these  troops  left 
General  Taylor  with  a  very  small  force. 
During  the  month  of  January  and  the  early 
part  of  February,  1847,  reinforcements  from 
the  United  States  increased  his  army  to 
about  six  thousand  men.  A  portion  of  these 
was  placed  in  garrison  at  Monterey  and  Sal- 
tillo,  leaving  General  Taylor  about  forty- 
seven  hundred  effective  troops,  of  whom  but 
six  hundred  were  regulars. 

Early  in  January,  1847,  General  Scott  sent 
Lieutenant  Richey  with  an  escort  of  cavalry 
to  convey  a  despatch  to  General  Taylor. 
Lieutenant  Richey  was  killed  by  the  Mex- 
icans on  the  way,  and  his  despatches  were 
forwarded  to  Santa  Anna,  who  learned  from 


them  the  American  plan  for  the  invasion  of 
Mexico.  He  at  once  resolved  upon  his  own 
course.  Relying  upon  the  strength  of  Vera 
Cruz  to  hold  Scott's  army  in  check,  he  de- 
termined to  attack  General  Taylor  at  once, 
and  crush  him.  By  the  most  energetic  and 
despotic  measures  he  silenced  the  opposition 
which  prevailed  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and 
obtained  both  men  and  money  for  his  attempt. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  of  January  he  began  his 
march  upon  Saltillo  with  twenty-three  thou- 
sand well-armed  and  equipped  men,  and 
twenty  pieces  of  artillery. 

Rapid  Marches. 

The  Mexican  army  had  reached  San  Louis 
Potosi,  about  sixty  miles  south  of  Saltillo, 
when  General  Wool,  commanding  at  the 
latter  place,  learned  of  their  approach.  He 
at  once  notified  General  Ta)'lor,  who  ad- 
vanced with  his  whole  effective  force  from 
Monterey  to  Saltillo.  As  the  enemy  con- 
tinued to  approach,  Taylor  left  his  stores  at 
Saltillo,  and  moved  rapidly  to  Agua  Nueva, 
eighteen  miles  beyond  Saltillo,  on  the  road  to 
San  Louis  Potosi.  His  design  was  to  secure  the 
southern  end  of  the  pass  through  the  Sierra 
Nevada.  With  this  pass  in  possession  ofthe 
Americans  the  Mexican  army  would  be  com- 
pelled to  fight  at  once,  as  the  country  in  their 
rear  was  incapable  of  supplying  them  with 
provisions.  The  reports  of  the  reconnoitering 
parties  made  it  evident  that  the  Mexican 
force  was  vastly  superior  to  that  of  the 
Americans,  and  General  Taylor  also  learned 
that  a  strong  body  of  Mexican  cavalry,  under 
General  Minon,  was  some  distance  to  the  left 
of  his  position,  which  could  be  turned.  A 
daring  reconnoissance  was  made  by  Major 
M'Culloch,  of  the  Texan  Rangers.  He 
entered  the  Mexican  camp,  passed  through' 
it,  and  obtained  accurate  information  of  their 
numbers,  and  regained  his  own  lines  in 
safety. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES 

Upon  receipt  of  M'Culloch's  intelligence, 
and  the  report  of  the  effort  of  the  Mexican 
cavalry  to  turn  his  left,  General  Taylor  fell 
■back  from  Agua  Nueva  to  a  new  position, 
eleven  miles  higher  up  the  valley  on  the 
twenty-first  of  February. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  American  army 
,vas  made  in  good  time.  Santa  Anna  had 
sent  Minon  with  the  cavalry  to  gain  the  rear 
of  Taylor's  army,  and  at  the  same  time  en- 
deavored, by  a  forced  march  of  fifty  miles, 

to  surprise  General  Taj-lor    ^ ■ 

at  Agua  Nueva.     Upon  ar-    i 
riving  in  front  of  that  place 
he  found   to  his  astonish- 
ment   and    disappointment 
that  Ta}-lor  had  abandoned    1 
his  position.     Interpretmg    |  ^ ' , 

this  movement  as  a  flight 
the    Mexican    commandci 
pushed  on  in  pursuit  of  his 
adversarj%    and   came     up    I    ^X 
with  him  on  the  morning    u^^ 
of    the     twenty-second    (  f     ,1^^^ 
February.  -  "^ 

The  position  chosen  b\        ^     ^  ~ 
General  Taylor  was  at  the 
north    end    of   the    \alk\ 
known  as  Las  Angostura 
or  the  Narrows,  and  neir 
the  hacienda  or  plantation 
known  as  Buena  Vista,  from 
which  latter  place  the  battle 
took  its  name.     It  was  one  of  great  strength. 
Its  flanks  were  protected  by  the  mountains 
which   arose   abruptly   from  the  defile,  and 
the  ground  in  front  was  broken  by  numerous 
ravines   and  gullies.     The  American  forces 
were  disposed  so  as  to  secure  every  advantage 
afTorded  by  the  nature  of  the  ground  and  the 
road  through  the  pass — the  key  to  the  whole 
position — was  swept  by  the  fire  of  the  artillery. 
The   troops   were    in    high   spirits.     It   was 
Washington's  birthday,  and  this  incident  was 


K.    POLK 


60 ; 


generally  commented  upon  as  a  good  omen. 
About  n6bn  a  Mexican  officer  brought  a 
note  to  General  Taylor,  in  which  Santa 
Anna  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  Ameri- 
can army.  This  demand  was  refused,  and 
skirmishing  at  once  began.  During  the 
afternoon  Santa  Anna  sent  a  force  under 
General  Ampudia  to  ascend  the  mountains 
and  turn  the  American  left.  This  brought 
on  severe  skirmishing  in  this  quarter,  but 
nothing   definite   was   accomplished  during 


ru 


'-pi. 


MEMLAN    C^RI 

I  the  afternoon.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the 
Me.xican  cavalry  under  General  Minon, 
which  had  passed  the  mountains,  appeared 
in  the  plains  north  of  Saltillo.  Minon  was 
ordered  to  halt  in  the  position  he  had  gained 
and  await  the  result  of  the  battle  of  the  next 
day  at  Buena  Vista.  His  appearance  caused 
great  an.xiety  to  General  Taylor,  who 
hastened  to  Saltillo  with  reinforcements 
after  nightfall,  as  he  feared  Minon  would 
seek  to  capture  that  place. 


6o8  FROM    TH 

During  the  night  of  the  twenty-second 
Santa  Anna  reinforced  the  column  under 
Ampudia,  and  opened  the  battle  at  daybreak 
on  the  twenty-third  of  February,  by  endeav- 
oring to  turn  the  American  left.  A  little 
later  he  opened  fire  from  his  artillery,  and 
moved  forward  three  powerful  columns  of 
attack  against  the  American  centre.  The 
movement  of  the  column  of  Ampudia  was 
successful,  the  left  of  the  American  line  was 
completely  turned,  but  the  attack  upon  tiie 
centre  was  repulsed  by  the  splendid  fire  of 
the  American  batteries. 


RI':VOLUTION   TO    THE   CIVIL   WAR 
twenty 


A  Blast  of  Deadly  Fire. 

At  this   moment   General    Taylor 


rrived 


upon  the  field  from  Saltillo,  bringing  with 
him  May's  dragoons,  several  companies  of 
Mississippi  riflemen,  and  a  portion  of  the 
Arkansas  cavalry,  embracing  every  man  that 
could  be  spared  from  Saltillo.  He  had  come 
at  a  critical  moment,  for  the  turning  of  his 
left  flank  by  Ampudia  had  neutralized  the 
natural  advantage  of  the  position.  Many  of 
the  troops  were  in  full  retreat  upon  Buena 
Vista,  and  nothing  but  the  courage  and  con- 
stancy of  those  who  yet  remained  firm  could 
save  the  day.  By  great  exertions  Colonel 
Jefferson  Davis  rallied  the  greater  part  of  his 
own  regiment — the  Mississippi  rifles — and  a 
part  of  the  Second  Indiana,  and  by  a  rapid 
advance  drove  back  a  strong  Mexican  col- 
umn in  his  front.  He  had  scarcely  accom- 
plished this  when  he  was  assailed  by  a  body 
of  one  thousand  s^jlendid  Mexican  lancers. 
Davis  quickly  formed  his  own  men  and  the 
Second  and  Third  Indiana  in  the  shape  of 
the  letter  V,  with  the  opening  towards  the 
enemy,  and  posted  Sherman's  battery  on  his 
left.  The  line  thus  formed  awaited  in  silence 
the  approach  of  the  Mexican  cavalry,  which 
came  on  at  a  gallop. 

As  they   drew   near  the   opening  of  this 
terrible  V  the  Mexicans,  who   had  expected 


the  Americans  to  fire,  when  they  intended  to 
dash  in  upon  them  before  the  men  could 
reload,  were  astonished  at  the  silence  with 
which  they  were  received,  and  slackened 
their  pace  until  they  came  to  a  walk  within 
eighty  yards  of  the  opening  of  the  angle.  In 
an  instant  Davis  gave  the  command,  and  his 
men  took  deliberate  aim.  Then  a  volley 
flashed  from  the  rifles  and  swept  away  the 
head  of  the  Mexican  column.  The  next 
moment  Sherman's  guns  opened  upon  the 
cavalry  with  grape  and  canister.  Under  this 
combined  fire  horses  and  lancers  fell  in  great 
numbers,  forming  a  barricade  over  which  the 
enemy  could  not  pass,  and  the  Mexicans, 
seized  with  a  panic,  wheeled  about  and  fled 
in  confusion. 

While  this  attack  was  in  progress  the 
Mexicans  sent  a  body  of  cavalry  under  Tor- 
rejon  to  seize  the  plantation  of  Buena  Vista. 
Torrejon  made  his  attack  with  vigor,  but 
was  driven  back  by  the  Kentucky  and  Ar- 
kansas volunteers,  assisted  by  Colonel  May's 
dragoons.  Colonel  Yell,  of  the  Arkansas 
regiment,  was  killed  and  Torrejon  was 
wounded  in  this  part  of  the  engagement. 

Splendid  Valor  of  the  Americans. 

During  all  this  while  a  steady  cannonade 
had  been  in  progress  along  the  centre  of  the 
American  line.  The  Me.xicans  endeavored 
tp  silence  the  American  batteries,  but  with- 
out success. 

Santa  Anna  now  sent  a  strong  force  to 
pass  around  the  American  left  and  gain  the 
rear  of  Taylor's  line,  and  this  force  was 
joined  by  a  part  of  Torrejon's  command, 
which  was  retreating  from  Buena  Vista. 
The  movement  was  detected  by  Colonel 
May,  who  met  it  with  his  cavalry  and 
several  companies  of  Illinois  and  Indiana 
volunteers.  General  Taylor  sent  to  his 
assistance  all  the  cavalry  he  could  spr  c  and 
Bragg's  battery. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    K.    POLK. 


609 


The    retreat  of    the    Mexicans,  who    had  j  the  panic  which  had  set  in  among  them.     It 
passed  beyond  the  American  left,  was    cut     seemed   that  the    wliole    Mexican    column. 


KATTLE    OF    IJLtNA    VISTA. 

off,  and  they  were  driven  in  confusion  to  the  I  numbering  five  thousand  men,  must  sur- 
base  of  the  mountain,  while  Bragg's  guns  |  render  or  be  exterminated.  In  this  emcr- 
showered  canister  upon  them  and  increased     gency  the   Mexican   commander   raised   the 


6io 


FROM   Till':   R1-:V0LUTI0N   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


white  flag  and  asked  for  a  parley,  professing 
to  have  a  message  from  Santa  Anna  to 
General  Taylor,  and  the  American  guns 
ceased  firing.  Before  the  trick  was  dis- 
covered the  Mexican  right  escaped  under 
the  cover  of  the  flag  of  truce  by  passing 
along  the  base  of  the  mountain  to  a  point 
from  whicli  they  rejoined  their  main  army. 

Bragg's  Flying  Artillery. 

Santa  Anna  now  brought  up  his  reserves, 
and  late  in  the  afternoon  made  a  determined 
attack  upon  the  American  right,  which  had 
been  greatly  weakened  to  assist  the  troops 
engaged  in  repelling  the  attack  on  the  left. 
The  Mexican  column,  twelve  thousand 
strong,  easily  drove  back  the  few  scattered 
volunteers  that  disputed  their  advance,  and 
captured  O'Brien's  battery,  which  was  with- 
out infantry  support,  but  not  until  every  man 
had  been  killed  or  wounded.  Washington's 
guns  now  opened  upon  the  enemy,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  holding  their  cavalrj'  in  check  for 
a  moment.  The  Mexican  infantry  pushed 
on,  firing  as  they  advanced,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  crisis  of  the  battle  was  at 
hand. 

The  battle  had  been  going  on  for  eight 
hours,  and  the  American  troops  were  greatly 
exhausted  by  the  unusual  exertions  they  had 
been  subjected  to ;  while  the  Mexican  col- 
umn, consisting  mainly  of  their  reserves,  was 
fresh,  and  four  times  as  strong  as  the  whole 
American  army.  Keenly  alive  to  his  dan- 
ger, Taylor  exerted  himself  in  every  possible 
way  to  bring  up  his  scattered  regiments  in 
time  to  save  the  position.  The  flying  artil- 
lery of  Captain  Bragg  was  the  first  to  reach 
the  field.  There  was  not  an  infantry  soldier 
near  to  support  him,  and  the  salvation  of  the 
army  depended  upon  Bragg's  efforts.  He 
unlimbcrcd  his  guns  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  rapidly  advancing  Mexicans,  and  poured 
in  discharge  after  discharge  with  a  rapidity 


which  seemed  wonderful.  The  Mexican 
advance  was  checked,  and  Sherman  now 
came  up  and  opened  fire  from  his  guns  upon 
them.  Washington's  battery  a  little  later 
joined  in  the  fire.  The  Mississippi  and  In- 
diana volunteers  now  reached  the  field,  and 
made  a  spirited  attack  upon  the  enemy's 
right  flank.  Under  this  terrible  fire  the 
Mexicans  wavered  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  broke  in  confusion  and  fled  from  the 
field. 

The  Mexicans  made  no  fiirther  attack  dur- 
ing the  day,  and  that  night  Santa  Anna, 
abandoning  his  wounded,  and  leaving  his 
dead  unburied,  retreated  rapidly  towards 
Agua  Nueva.  The  American  loss  in  the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista  was  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  killed  and  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  wounded.  That  of  the  Mexicans  was 
over  two  thousand  killed  and  wounded,  in- 
cluding many  officers  of  high  rank.  Taylor 
followed  the  Mexican  army  on  the  twenty- 
fourth,  as  far  as  Agua  Nueva,  and  collecting 
their  wounded,  removed  them  to  Saltillo, 
where  they  were  attended  by  the  American 
surgeons. 

Honors  to  General  Taylor. 

The  victorj-  of  Buena  Vista  was  decisive  of 
the  war.  It  saved  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande  from  invasion  by  a  victorious  Mexi- 
can army,  and  enabled  the  expedition  of 
General  Scott  against  Vera  Cruz  to  proceed 
without  delay  to  the  accomplishment  of  its 
objects.  It  also  greatly  disheartened  the 
Mexican  people,  and  during  the  remainder 
of  the  year  Taylor's  army  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  hold  the  country  it  occupied. 

General- Taylor  remained  at  Agua  Nueva 
until  he  was  satisfied  that  no  further  trouble 
was  to  be  apprehended  from  the  Mexican 
army,  and  then  returned  by  easy  stages  to 
his  camp  at  Walnut  Springs,  near  Monterey, 
which  he  reached  by  the  last  of  March.     In 


ADMINISTRATION   OP'   JAMES   K.    POLK. 


6ii 


the  summer  of  1847,  leaving  General  Wool 
in  command  of  the  army,  General  Taylor 
returned  to  the  United  States,  where  he  \vas 
received  with  distinguished  honor. 

While  these  events  were  going  on  in 
Mexico  Captain  John  C.  Fremont,  of  the 
United  States  army,  had  been  engaged  in 
prosecuting  the  discoveries  in  the  Rocky 
mountain  region,  which  he   had  begun  in 


that  Territor\-,  and  to  conciliate  the  good- 
will of  the  inhabitants  toward  the  United 
States.  Fremont  had  but  sixty  men  with 
him,  but  he  at  once  moved  into  the  valley  of 
the  Sacramento. 

The  Mexican  inhabitants  were  seriously 
considering  at  this  time  whether  they  should 
massacre  the  American  settlers,  or  whether, 


i  in  the  event  of  a  war  between  Mexico  and 


1843,  in  which  year  he  had  exolored  theval-  ] 
ley  known  as  the  Great  Basin,  the  region  of  ! 
the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  the  valleys  of  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin,  on  the  Pacific 
coast.    In  May,  1845,  Fremont  set  out  on  his  | 
third  expedition,  and  passed  the  winter  in  the  j 
valley  of  the  San  Joaquin,  then  Mexican  tcrri-  I 
tory.    In  Ma}-,  1846,  he  received  orders  from 
Washington    to    move    into    Calif.irnia   and 
counteract  any  foreign   scheme  for  securing  ! 


the  United  States,  they  should  place  Cali- 
fornia under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain, 
Fremont  was  informed  of  these  plots,  and, 
though  no  war  existed  as  yet  between  the 
two  republics,  he  also  learned  that  the  Mex- 
ican General  De  Castro  was  advancing  to 
drive  him  out  of  California.  The  American 
settlers  flocked  to  Fremont's  camp,  with 
their  arms  and  horses,  and  he  soon  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force. 


FRO.M   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVH.   WAR. 


6l3 

He  was  thus  enabled  to  repulse  De  Castro's 
attack,  and,  after  a  k\v  conflicts,  to  drive  him 
from  Upper  California.  By  July,  1846,  the 
Mexican  authority  was  entirely  overthrown 
in  upper  California,  and  the  flag  of  independ- 
ence was  raised  by  the  settlers. 

Pursued  by  a  British  Squadron. 

The  American  squadron  in  the  Pacific  was 
commanded  by  Commodore  Sloat,  who  was 
ordered  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy  to  seize 
the  port  of  San  Francisco  as  soon  as  he  was 
reliably  informed  of  the  existence  of  war 
between  the  two  countries,  and  to  occupy  or 
blockade  such  other  Mexican  ports  as  his 
force  would  permit.  In  the  early  summer 
of  1S46  the  American  squadron  was  lying 
at  Mazatlan.  A  British  squadron  under 
Admiral  Seymour  also  lay  in  the  harbor,  and 
the  American  commodore  became  convinced 
that  the  British  admiral  was  watching  him 
for  the  purpose  of  interfering  with  his  designs 
upon  California. 

He  therefore  resolved  to  get  rid  of  him^ 
and  put  to  sea  and  sailed  to  the  westward,  as 
if  making  for  the  Sandwich  islands.  The 
British  fleet  followed  him  promptly,  but  in 
the  night  the  commodore  tacked  and  sailed 
up  the  coast  to  Monterey,  while  the  British 
continued  their  course  to  the  islands.  Sloat 
was  coldly  received  at  Monterey  by  the 
authorities.  Hearing  of  the  action  of  Fre- 
mont and  the  American  settlers,  the  com- 
modore a  few  days  later  took  possession  of 
the  town,  and  sent  a  courier  to  Fremont, 
who  at  once  joined  him  with  his  mounted 
men.  California  was  now  taken  possession 
f  in  the  name  of  the  United  States. 

About  the  middle  of  July  Commodore 
Stockton  arrived  in  the  harbor,  and  suc- 
ceeded Commodore  Sloat,  who  returned 
home,  in  the  command  of  the  squadron. 
The  next  day  Admiral  Seymour  arrived  at 
Monterey.     He  saw   he  was   too  late,  and 


quietly  submitted  to  what  he  could  not  pre^ 
vent,  though  he  was  greatly  astonished  to 
find  the  town  in  possession  of  the  American 
forces.  On  the  seventeenth  of  August  Fre- 
mont and  Stockton  occupied  Los  Angeles, 
the  capital  of  Upper  California. 

In  June,  1846,  General  Kearney,  with  tite 
"  Army  of  the  West,"  numbering  eighteen, 
hundred  men,  marched  from  Fort  Leaven- 
worth, on  the  iMissouri.  across  the  plains  to 
Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  the  Mexican  prov- 
ince of  New  Mexico.  After  a  march  of 
nearly  one  thousand  miles,  he  occupied 
Santa  Fe  on  the  eighteenth  of  August. 
Leaving  a  garrison  at  Santa  Fe,  Kearney 
pushed  on  towards  California,  intending  to 
conquer  that  province  also  ;  but  upon  reach- 
ing the  Gila  river,  he  was  met  by  the  famous 
hunter.  Kit  Carson,  who  informed  him  of 
the  conquest  of  California  by  Fremont  and 
Stockton.  Kearney  thereupon  sent  two 
companies  of  dragoons  under  Major  Sumner 
back  to  Santa  Fe,  and  with  the  remainder 
continued  his  march  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

Revolt  in  New  Mexico. 

Upon  leaving  Santa  Fe,  Kearney  had 
instructed  Colonel  Doniphan  to  invade  the 
countrj'  of  the  Navajoe  Indians  and  compel 
them  to  make  peace  with  the  Americans. 
Doniphan  set  out  in  November,  1S46,  and 
crossing  the  mountains,  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing a  treat}^  with  the  Navajoes,  by  which 
they  agreed  to  refrain  from  hostilities 
against  the  people  of  New  Mexico.  He 
then  marched  to  the  southeast  to  meet 
General  Wool  at  Chihuahua. 

The  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico, encouraged 
by  the  absence  of  Doniphan  v.'ith  so  large  a 
force,  rose  in  revolt  against  the  American 
forces,  and  murdered  the  American  governor 
of  the  territor>' and  several  other  ofiicials  on 
the  fourteenth  of  January,  1S47.  Colonel 
Sterling  Price,  commanding   the   troops  at 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES   K.    TOI.K. 


613 


Santa  Fe,  at  once  marched  against  the  insur- 
gents, defeated  thLm  in  two  engagements, 
though  they  greatly  outnumbered  his  force, 
and  suppressed  the  rebellion.  The  insur- 
gents obtained  peace  only  by  surrendering 
their  leaders,  several  of  whom  were  hanged 
by  the  Americans. 

Colonel  Doniphan,  in  the  meantime,  had 
continued  his  march.  His  route  lay  through 
a  barren  region  destitute  of  water  or  grass, 


the  twenty-eighth  he  occupied  El  Paso,  and 

i  there  waited  until  his  artillery  could  join  him 

from  Santa  Fe.     It  arrived  in  the  course  of  a 

j  month,  and   on  the  eighth   of  Febrairy  he 

resumed  his  march  to  Chihuahua. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  he  encounlerrd  and 
defeated  a  Mexican  force  of  over  f  fteeu  hun- 
dred men  with  ten  pieces  of  artillery,  at  -ipass 
of  the  Sacramento  river,  a  tributar/  ofth'*  Xlio 
;  Grande.     The  Mexicans  l\-t  o\-  rthreeh-n- 


THE  GREAT  C 


\NI)  LUWEK  FALLS,  YELLOWSTONE. 


called  the  Jornado  del  Muerto — "The  Jour- 
ney of  Death."  He  pressed  forward  with 
firmness  through  this  terrible  region,  his  men 
and  animals  suffering  greatly  on  the  march, 
and  in  the  latter  part  of  December  entered 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande.  With  a  force  of 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-six  men  he  defeated 
over  twelve  hundred  Mexicans  at  Brazito,  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  December,  1846,  and 
inflicted  upon  them  a  loss  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred men,  losing  only  seven  men  himself  On 


dred  killed  and  a  number  wounded.  Tnc 
Americans  lost  two  killed  and  several 
wounded.  The  Mexicans  were  completely 
routed,  and  left  their  artillery  and  all  their 
train  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 

On  the  first  of  March,  1847,  Doniphan 
entered  Chihuahua,  and  raising  the  American 
flag  on  the  citadel,  took  possession  of  the 
province  in  the  name  of  the  United  States. 
Chihuahua  w-as  one  of  the  largest  cities  in 
Mexico,  and  contained  nearly  thirty  thousand 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


614 

inhabitants.  Doniphan's  force  was  less 
than  one  tliousnnd  men.  He  had  expected 
to  find  General  Wool  here,  and  failing  to 
meet  him  was  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  posi- 
tions of  the  American  forces.  His  own 
position,  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  population, 
was  perilous  indeed,  but  by  his  firm  and  just 
measures  he  conciliated  the  inhabitants.  He 
remained  at  Chihuahua  for  six  weeks,  vainly 
expecting  the  arrival  of  General  Wool,  and 
on   the  twenty-seventh    of  April   e\acuated 


that  place,  and  set  out  for  Saltillo,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant.  He  reached 
that  place  on  the  twenty-second  of  May. 
Remaining  there  but  three  days,  he  continued 
his  march  to  Monterey,  from  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Matamoras.  The  enlistments  of 
his  men  being  over,  they  were  transported  to 
New  Orleans,  and  there  mustered  out  of  the 
service. 

Thus  ended  the  most  remarkable  e.xpedi- 
tirn  on  record.  In  less  than  one  year  a 
corps  of  volunteers,  unused  to  the  hardships 


of  war,  had  marched  over  snow-covered 
mountains  and  across  burning  deserts,  a  dis- 
tance of  over  five  thousand  miles,  over  three 
thousand  of  which  lay  through  an  unknown 
and  hostile  country,  abounding  in  enemies 
who  might  have  crushed  them  at  any  ■ 
moment  had  they  rallied  in  sufficient  force. 

In  the  meantime  there  had  been  new 
troubles  in  California.  In  August,  1847, 
Commodore  Stockton  appointed  Captain 
Fremont  military  commandant  of  California, 

and  soon  after  sailed  from 

San  Francisco  to  Monterey, 
from  which  place  he  con- 
tinued his  voyage  to  San 
Diego.  Soon  after  the  de- 
parture of  the  fleet  Fremont 
learned  of  a  conspiracy  to 
overthrow  his  government. 
By  a  forced  march  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  he 
surprised  and  captured  the 
insurgent  leader,  Don  J. 
Pico.  A  court-martial  sen- 
tenced him  to  death,  but 
Fremont  wisely  spared  his 
life,  and  Pico,  in  gratitude 
for  this  clemency,  gave  him 
his  powerful  aid  in  his 
efforts  to  tranquilize  the 
country. 
General  Kearney  had  con- 
tinued his  march  from  New  Mexico,  encount- 
ering great  difficulties  along  the  route,  and  suf- 
fering considerably  from  the  repeated  attacks 
of  superior  parties  of  the  enemy.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1847,  he  reached  San  Pasqual,  where  he 
was  obliged  to  halt.  His  situation  was  des- 
perate indeed;  his  provisions  were  exhausted; 
his  horses  had  died  on  the  march  ;  his  mules 
were  disabled ;  a  large  number  of  his  men 
were  sick  ;  and  his  camp  was  surrounded  by 
the  enemy,  who  held  every  road  by  which 
he   could    escape.     In    this    situation    three 


ii:!;!' 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   K.    POLK. 


615 


men — Kit  Carson,  Lieutenant  Beales  of  the 
na\y,  and  an  Indian,  whose  name  is  unfor- 
tunately unknown — volunteered  to  make 
their  way  through  the  enemy's  lines  to  San 
Diego,  thirty  miles  distant,  and  inform  Com- 
modore Stockton  of  Kearney's  need  of 
assistance.  They  succeeded  in  reaching 
San  Diego,  and  the  commodore  promptly 
sent  reinforcements  to  Kearney,  which  ena- 
bled him  to  drive  off  the  enemy  and  reach 
San  Die^o  in  safety. 

General  Scott's  Expedition. 

Commodore  Stockton  now  directed  his 
a.tention  to  suppressing  the  insurrection  of 
the  Mexican  inhabitants  of  California,  who 
had  gotten  possession  of  Los  Angeles. 
Driven  to  extremities,  they  surrendered  the 
town  on  the  condition  that  the  Americans 
should  respect  the  rights  and  property  of 
the  citizens. 

Commodore  Stockton  having  been  re- 
lieved of  his  civil  functions  by  orders  from 
Washington,  General  Kearney  claimed  the 
governorship  of  the  territory  by  virtue  of  his 
rank.  Fremont  refused  to  recognize  his 
authority',  and  was  brought  to  trial  before  a 
court-martial,  which  found  him  guilty  of 
disobedience  of  orders  and  mutiny,  and  sen- 
tenced him  to  be  dismissed  from  the  service. 
The  sentence  was  remitted  by  the  President 
on  account  of  Fremont's  meritorious  and 
valuable  services,  but  Fremont  refused  to 
accept  the  clemency  of  the  President  and 
thus  admit  the  justice  of  the  sentence  of  the 
court,  and  resigned  his  commission.  General 
Kearney  remained  in  California  as  governor 
of  that  territory. 

The  expedition  under  General  Scott  sailed 
Irom  New  Orleans  late  in  November,  1846, 
and  rendezvoused  at  the  island  of  Lobos, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
north  of  Vera  Cruz.  The  plan  of  operations 
for  this  army  was  very  simple — to   capture 


Vera  Cruz  and  march  to  the  city  of  Mexico 
by  the  most  direct  route.  At  length  every- 
thing being  in  readiness,  the  expedition 
sailed  from  Lobos  Island,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  ninth  of  March,  1847,  the  army, 
thirteen  thousand  strong,  landed  without 
opposition  at  a  point  selected  by  General 
Scott  and  Commodore  Conner  a  few  days 
before.  The  city  and  vicinity  had  been 
thoroughljf  reconnoitred,  and  the  troops 
were  at  once  marched  to  the  positions 
assigned  them  by  the  commander-in-chief. 

Vera  Cruz  is  the  principal  seaport  of  Mexico, 
and  contained  at  the  time  of  the  siege  about 
fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was  strongly 
fortified  on  the  land  side,  and  towards  the 
Gulf  was  defended  by  the  Castle  of  San  Juan 
de  Ulloa,  the  strongest  fortress  in  America, 
with  the  exception  of  Quebec. 

Attack  Upon  Vera  Cruz. 

On  the  tenth  of  March  the  investment  of 
the  city  was  begun  by  General  Worth,  and 
the  American  lines  were  definitely  estab- 
lished around  the  city  for  a  distance  of  six 
miles.  During  the  day,  and  for  several  days 
thereafter,  bodies  of  Mexicans  attempted  to 
harass  the  besiegers,  and  a  steady  fire  was 
maintained  upon  them  by  the  guns  of  the 
castle  and  the  city  as  they  worked  at  their 
batteries.  The  American  works  being  com- 
pleted, and  their  guns  in  position.  General 
Scott  summoned  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz  to 
surrender,  stipulating  that  no  batteries 
should  be  placed  in  the  city  to  attack  the 
castle  unless  the  city  should  be  fired  upon 
by  that  work. 

The  demand  was  refused  by  General  Mor- 
ales, who  comm.anded  both  the  city  and  the 
castle,  and  at  4  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  twenty-second  of  March,  the  American 
batteries  opened  fire  upon  the  town.  The 
bombardment  was  continued  for  five  days, 
and  the  fleet  joined  in  the  attack  upon  the 


6i6 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   Tlir:    CIVIL   WAR. 


castle.  The  city  suffered  terribly  ;  a  number 
of  the  inhabitants  were  killed,  and  many 
buildings  were  set  on  fire  by  the  shells. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  the  cit}-  and  castle 
surrendered,  and  were  promptly  occupied  by 
the  Americans.  Over  fi\e  thousand  prison- 
ers and  five  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  fell 
;nto  the  hands  of  the  \ictors.     The  i^arrison 


T::;'^-     --^^'J.-«t 

.  1 

^^&i 

""  ' 

91 

^^aaBy^^,  Jgy^ 

^ 

l^jff^^pl^^^ .. 

^^  ^ 

■Hw 

H^^^«[;^ 

^"^%^, 

HH^HJIPl 

HRHRttI^ 

, 

m^msm^ 

m 

^^. 

mk:^  -  \ 

m 

S^^ ' 

'''^aWK 

^%-eii^- 

■r--W^ 

mm 

BOMBARDMENT    OF   VERA    CRUZ. 

were  required  to  march  out,  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  were  then  dismissed  upon  their 
parole.  The  inhabitants  were  protected  in 
their  civil  and  religious  rights.  The  sur- 
render was  completed  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-ninth. 

Having  secured  the  city  and  the  castle, 
General  Scott  placed  a  strong  garrison  in 
each,  and  appointed  General  Worth  governor 


of  Vera  Cruz.  He  then  prepared  to  march 
upon  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  eighth 
of  April  the  advance  division,  under  General 
Twiggs,  set  out  from  Vera  Cruz  towards 
Jalapa.  Deducting  the  force  left  to  garrison 
Vera  Cruz,  Scott's  whole  army  amounted  to 
but  eighty-fi\e  hundred  men. 

Santa  Anna  had  not  found  the  consequen- 
ces  to    himself    of    the 
battle  of  Buena  Vista  as 
bad  as  he  had  e.xpected. 
He    had    succeeded    in 
pursuading  his  countr)-- 
men    that    he    had    not 
been    defeated    in    that 
liattle,    but    had    simply 
retreated    for    want    of 
provisions,  and  they  had 
agreed  to  give  him  an- 
other    trial.       He     had 
pledged  himself  to  pre- 
vent the  advance  of  the 
Americans  to  the  capital, 
in  the  event  of  the  fall 
of  Vera  Cruz,  and  with 
the  aid  of  those  of  his 
countrymen    who    were 
willing  to   support  him 
had  quelled  an  insurrec- 
tion at  the  capital,  and 
had     strengthened     his 
power  to   a  greater  de- 
gree  than    ever.     With 
a  force  of  twelve  thou- 
sand men  he  had  taken 
position   at  Cerro  Gordo,  a   mountain   pass 
at   the  eastern  edge  of  the   Cordilleras,   to 
hold  the  American  army  in  check,  and  had 
fortified  his  position  with  great  skill  and  care. 
General  Twiggs  halted  before  the  Mexican 
position  to  await  the  arrival  of  General  Scott, 
who  soon  joined   him  with  the  main  army. 
The  Mexican  lines  were  carefully  reconnoi- 
tered,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  April  General 


ADMINISTRATIOX    OP^  JAMES   K.    POLK. 


Scott,  avoiding  a  direct  atrack,  turned  the 
enemy's  left,  seized  the  heights  commanding 
their  position,  and  drove  them  from  their 
works  with  a  loss  of  three  thousand  prisoners 
and  forty-three  pieces  of  artillery.  Santa 
Anna  mounted  a  mule,  taken  from  his  car- 
riage, and  fled,  leaving  the  carriage  and  his 
private  papers  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
Besides  their  prisoners,  the  Mexicans  lost 
overone  thousand  men  in  killed  andwounded. 


the  second  city  of  Mexico,  containing  eighty 
thousand  inhabitants,  was  occupied.  Gen- 
eral .Scott  established  his  headquarters  at 
Puebla,  and  awaited  reinforcements.  The 
terms  of  the  volunteers  would  expire  in 
June,  and  they  refused  to  re-enlist,  as  they 
were  afraid  to  encounter  the  yellow  fever, 
the  scourge  of  the  Mexican  climate,  the 
season  for  which  was  close  at  hand.  They 
were  returned  to  the  United  States  and  Gen- 


Scott's  loss  was  four  hundred  and  thirt\--one 
■killed  and  wounded. 

Thebrilliant  victory  of  Cerro  Gordo  opened 
the  way  for  the  American  army  to  Jalapa, 
which  was  occupied  on  the  nineteenth  of 
April.  Continuing  his  advance.  General 
Scot*"  captured  the  strong  fortress  of  Perote, 
situated  on  a  peak  of  the  Eastern  Cordille- 
ras, which  was  abandoned  almost  without  a 
blow  by  its  defenders,  on  the  twenty-second 
of  April.     On  the  fifteenth  of  May,  Puebla, 


bcott  was  forced  to  s[)cnJ  three  months 
at  Puebla  in  inactivity.  The  force  he  had 
with  him  was  greatly  weakened  by  sickness, 
and  eighteen  hundred  men  were  in  the  hos- 
pitals of  Puebla  alone. 

While  at  Puebla  General  Scott  was  ordered 
by  the  secretary  of  war  to  collect  duties  on 
merchandise  entering  the  Mexican  ports, 
and  to  apply  the  money  thus  obtained  to  the 
needs  of  the  army.  He  was  also  ordered  to 
levy  contributions  upon  the  Mexican  people 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


6i8 

for  the  use  of  the  troops.  He  refused  to 
obey  this  order,  declaring  that  the  country 
through  which  he  was  moving  was  too  poor 
to  warrant  impressments,  and  that  such  a 
measure  would  exasperate  the  Mexicans  and 
cause  them  to  refuse  to  supply  the  army  at  all. 
"  Not  a  ration  for  man  or  horse,"  he  said, 
•'  would  be  brought  in  e.xcept  by  the  bayonet, 
whieh  would  oblige  the  troops  to  spread 
themselves  out  many  leagues  to  the  right 
and  left  in  search  of  subsistence,  and  stop  all 
military  operations."  He  continued  to  buy 
provisions  for  his  army  at  the  regular  prices 
of  the  country,  and  by  so  doing  greatly 
allayed  the  bitterness  of  feeling  with  which 
the  Mexicans  regarded  the  Americans. 

Attempt  to  Suspend  Hostilities. 

Another  annoyance  to  which  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  subjected  arose  from 
the  ill-advised  action  of  Mr.  N.  P.  Trist,  who 
had  been  sent  out  to  Mexico  in  the  quality 
of  peace  commissioner.  Soon  after  the  cap- 
ture of  Vera  Cruz,  General  Scott  had  sug- 
gested to  the  Picsident  the  propriety  of 
sending  out  commissioners  to  his  headquar- 
ters, who  should  be  empowered  to  treat  for 
peace  when  a  suitable  occasion  should  offer 
itself.  The  President  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose Mr.  N.  P.  Trist,  who  had  been  United 
States  consul  at  Havana,  and  who  was 
acquainted  with  the  Spanish  language — a 
singular  selection. 

Mr.  Trist  was  furnished  with  the  draft  of 
a  treaty  carefully  prepared  in  the  state  de- 
partment at  Washington,  and  was  intrusted 
with  a  despatch  from  Mr.  Buchanan,  the 
secretary  of  state,  to  the  Mexican  minister 
of  foreign  relations.  He  was  instructed  to 
communicate  confidentially  to  General  Scott 
and  Commodore  Perry  both  the  treaty  and 
his  instructions.  General  Scott  was  informed 
of  Trist's  mission  by  tlie  secretary  of  war, 
and  was  directed  to  suspend  military  opera- 


tions until  further  orders,  unless  attacked. 

Mr.  Trist  reached  Vera  Cruz  in  due  time, 
but  instead  of  explaining  his  mission,  as 
directed,  to  General  Scott,  he  sent  a  note  to 
the  commander-in-chief  from  Vera  Cruz, 
enclosing  the  letter  of  the  secretary  of 
war,  and  the  sealed  despatch  to  the  Mexican 
minister,  which  he  requested  the  general  to 
forward  to  its  destination.  The  letter  of  the 
secretary  of  war  could  not  be  understood  by 
General  Scott  without  the  explanations  Mr. 
Trist  was  directed  to  give,  but  failed  to 
make. 

General  Scott  very  properly  resented  the 
conduct  of  Trist  as  an  attempt  to  degrade 
him  by  making  him  subordinate  to  that  per- 
sonage, and  in  his  reply  to  him  declared 
that  the  suspension  of  hostilities  belonged  to 
the  commander  in  the  field  and  not  to  the 
secretary  of  war  a  thousand  miles  away. 
Trist  thereupon  wrote  to  General  Scott, 
giving  a  full  explanation  of  his  mission,  but 
did  so  in  disrespectful  terms.  In  conclusion 
he  claimed  to  be  the  aid-de-camp  of  the 
President,  and  as  such  to  possess  the  right 
to  issue  orders  to  the  commander  in-chief. 
Scott  referred  the  matter  to  the  government 
at  Washington,  maintaining  in  the  meantime 
his  independence  of  action  as  commanding 
general.  In  due  time  explanations  came 
from  Washington  satisfactory  to  the  general, 
and  Mr.  Trist  was  sharply  reprimanded  by 
the  secretary  of  state  "  for  his  presuming  to 
command  the  general-in-chief." 

Santa  Anna  in  Disgrace. 

Aftei  his  defeat  at  Cerro  Gordo,  Santa 
Anna  repaired  to  Orizaba,  where  he  organ- 
ized a  number  of  guerrilla  bands  to  attack 
the  American  trains  on  the  road  between 
Vera  Cruz  and  Scott's  army.  He  then 
returned  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  he 
was  coldly  received  by  the  people.  The 
affairs  of  the    Mexican    nation  were  i:-.  the 


ADMIXI5TR-\TI0X   OF  JAMES   K.   POLK. 


619 


most  hopeless  confusion,  and  the  people 
were  utterly  disheartened.  Their  army  on 
which  they  had  depended  for  the  defence  of 
the  road  to  the  capital  had  been  routed  at 
Cerro  Gordo,  and  there  was  no  force  in  exist- 
ence with  which  to  stay  the  ad\-ance  of  the 
victorious  Americans.  Had  General  Scott 
been  able  to  advance  upon  Mexico  immedi- 
ately after  his  occupation  of  Puebia,  the  city 
would  have  fallen  at  once,  and  the  war  have 
been  brought  to  an  immediate  close.  A 
number  of  leaders  contested  the  supremacy , 
at  the  capital,  and  the  quarrels  of  these  fac- 
tions paralyzed  the  efforts  of  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  most  capable  of  these  leaders  was 
Santa  Anna,  and  his  strong  qualities  natur- 
ally attracted  to  him  the  largest  following 
By  his  extraordinary  energy  he  suppressed 
the  opposition  to  him,  secured  the  money  he 
needed  by  forced  loans  firom  the  people,  and 
raised  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men 
and  sixty  pieces  of  artillerj^  and  fortified  the 
city  of  Mexico.  The  three  months'  enforced 
delay  of  General  Scott's  army  at  Puebia  ^ave 
him  time  to  carry  out  these  measures,  and 
he  endeavored  to  gain  still  further  advantages 
by  opening  negotiations  secretly  with  Mr. 
Trist,  and  pretending  to  be  anxious  for  peace. 
He  declared  that  he  needed  money  to  enable 
him  to  act  with  freedom  in  arranging  a 
treat}',  and  succeeded  in  getting  about  ten 
thousand  dollars  from  the  secret  ser\'ice 
fund  at  the  disposal  of  General  Scott ;  but 
his  designs  were  soon  detected  by  the  Amer- 
ican commander,  and  the  supply  of  money 
was  discontinued. 

The  American  Army  Advances. 

Reinforcements  fi-om  the  United  States 
arrived  at  Puebia  in  July,  and  on  the  seventh 
of  August  General  Scott  resumed  his  advance 
on  the  cit>-  of  .Mexico,  with  a  force  increased 
to  ten  thousand  men.  The  route  lay  throujjh 


a  beautiful  upland  countrj',  abounding  in 
water,  and  rich  in  the  most  picturesque 
scenery.  The  troops  pressed  on  with 
enthusiasm,  and  on  the  tenth  of  August  the 
summit  of  the  Cordilleras  was  passed,  and 
then  almost  from  the  very  spot  from  which, 
more  than  three  centuries  before,  the  follow- 
ers of  Cortez  looked  down  upon  the  halls  of 
the  Montezumas,  the  American  army  beheld 
the  beautiful  valley  of  Mexico  stretching  out 
for  miles  before  them,  with  the  city  of  Mexico 
lying  in  the  midst,  encircled  by  the  strong 
works  that  had  been  erected   for  its  defence. 

Another  Important  Conquest. 

The  passes  on  the  direct  road  to  the  citj' 
had  been  well  fortified  and  garrisoned  by  the 
Mexicans,  but  the  country  upon  the  flanks 
had  been  left  unprotected,  because  Santa 
Anna  deemed  it  utterly  impossible  for  any 
troops  to  pass  over  it,  and  turn  his  position. 
El  Peiion,  the  most  formidable  of  these 
defences,  was  reconnoitered  by  the  engi- 
neers, who  reported  that  it  would  cost  at 
least  three  thousand  lives  to  cann*-  it.  Scott 
thereupon  determined  to  turn  El  Penon, 
instead  of  attacking  it  The  city  and  its 
defences  were  carefully  reconnoitered,  and  it 
was  discovered  that  the  works  on  the  south 
and  west  were  weaker  than  those  at  any 
other  points.  General  Scott  now  moved  to 
the  left,  passed  El  Peiion  on  the  south,  and 
by  the  aid  of  a  corps  of  skillful  engineers 
moved  his  army  across  ravines  and  chasms 
which  the  Mexican  commander  had  pro- 
nounced impassable,  and  had  left  unguarded. 
General  Twiggs  led  the  advance,  and  halted 
and  encamped  at  Chalco,  on  the  lake  of  the 
same  name.  Worth  followed,  and  passing 
Twiggs,  encamped  at  the  town  of  San 
Augustin,  eight  miles  from  the  capital. 

As  soon  as  Santa  Anna  found  that  the 
Americans  had  turned  El  Penon,  and  had 
advanced  to  the  south  side  of  the  city,  he  left 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION    TO    THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


'620 

that  fortress  and  took  position  in  the  stroncj 
fort  of  San  Antonio,  which  lay  directly  in 
front  of  Worth's  new  position.  Northwest 
•of  San  Antonio,  and  four  miles  from  the  city, 
lay  the  little  village  of  Churubusco,  which 
•li:ul  been  strongly  fortified  by  the  Mexicans. 
A  Tttle  to  the  west  of  San  Augustin  was  the 
I'irtifiod  camp  of  Contreras,  with  a  garrison 
of  about  si.x  thousand  men.  In  the  rear, 
between  the  camp  and  the  city,  was  a  reserve 
force  of  twelve  thousand  men.  The  whole 
number  of  Mexicans  manning  these  defences 
was  about  thirty-five  thousand,  with  at  least 
one  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  of  various 
sizes. 

Driven  Like  Chaff. 

General  Scott  lost  no  time  in  moving 
against  the  enemy's  works.  General  Persifer 
F.  Smith  was  ordered  to  attack  the  en- 
trenched camp  at  Contreras,  while  Shields 
and  Pierce  should  move  between  the  camp 
•and  Santa  Anna  at  San  Antonio,  and  prevent 
him  from  going  to  the  assistance  of  the  force 
at  Contreras.  At  three  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  August  20th,  in  the  midst  of  a  cold 
rain,  Smith  began  his  march,  his  men  hold- 
ing on  to  each  other,  to  avoid  being  sepa- 
rated in  the  darkness.  He  made  his  attack 
at  sunrise,  and  in  fifteen  minutes  had  posses- 
sion of  the  camp.  He  took  three  thousand 
prisoners  and  thirty  three  pieces  of  cannon. 

The  camp  at  Contreras  having  fallen.  Gen- 
eral Scott  attacked  the  fortified  village  of 
Churubusco  an  hour  or  two  later,  and  car- 
ried it  after  a  desperate  struggle  of  several 
hours.  General  Worth's  division  stormed 
and  carried  the  strong  fort  of  San  Antonio, 
and  General  Twiggs  captured  another  im- 
portant work.  The  Mexicans  outnumbered 
their  assailants  three  to  one,  and  fought 
bravely.  Their  efforts  were  in  vain,  how- 
ever, and  late  in  the  afternoon  tliey  were 
driven  from   their  defences,  and  pursued  by 


the  American  cavalry  to  the  gates  of  the 
city. 

These  two  victories  had  been  won  over  a 
force  of  thirty  thousand  Mexicans  by  less 
than  ten  thousand  Americans,  and  a  loss  of 
four  thousand  killed  and  wounded  and  three 
thousand  prisoners  had  been  inflicted  upon 
the  Mexican  army.  The  American  loss  was 
eleven  hundred  men. 

Santa  Anna  retreated  within  the  city,  and 
on  the  twent}--first  of  August  the  American 
army  advanced  to  within  three  miles  of  the 
city  of  Mexico.  On  the  same  day  Santa 
Anna  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  General  Scott, 
asking  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  in  order 
to  arrange  the  terms  of  a  peace.  The  request 
was  granted,  and  Mr.  Trist  was  despatched 
to  the  city,  and  began  negotiations  with  the 
Mexican  commissioners.  After  protracted 
delays,  designed  to  gain  time,  the  Mexican 
commissioners  declined  the  American  con- 
ditions,  and  proposed  others  which  they 
knew  would  not  be  accepted.  Thoroughly 
disgusted,  Mr.  Trist  returned  to  the  Amer- 
ican camp,  and  brought  with  him  the  in- 
telligence that  Santa  Anna  had  violated  the 
armistice  by  using  the  time  accorded  him  by 
it  in  strengthening  his  defences.  Indignant 
at  such  treachery.  General  Scott  at  once  re- 
sumed his  advance  upon  the  city. 

A  Hard-fought  Battle. 

The  Mexican  capital  was  still  defended  by 
two  powerful  works.  One  of  these  was 
M'olino  del  Rey,  "  The  King's  Mill,"  a  foun- 
dry, where  it  was  said  the  church  bells  were 
being  cast  into  cannon  ;  the  other  was  the 
strong  castle  of  Chapultepec.  General  Scott 
resolved  to  make  his  first  attack  upon  Molino 
del  Rey,  which  was  held  by  fourteen  thou- 
sand Mexicans.  It  was  stormed  and  carried 
on  the  eighth  of  September,  after  a  severe 
contest  by  Worth's  division,  four  thousand 
strong.     This  was  regarded  as  the  hardest 


AD^IIXISTRATION    OF    JAMES    K.    POLK. 


621- 


won   victory    of    the    war.     The    Mexicans 
were  nearly  four  times  as  numerous  as  the 
Americans,   and  their  position  was   one  of  I 
very  great  strength.     The  Americans  fought  i 
principally   with    their    rifles    and    muskets,  | 
their  artillery  being  of  but  little  use  to  them, 
owing  to  the  nature  of  the  position.     Their  | 
loss  was  seven    hundred   and    eighty-seven 
killed    and  wounded — nearly    one-fourth   of 
the  force  engaged. 


to  the  city  by  the  causeway  leading  to  the 
Belen  gate,  closely  followed  by  Quitman's 
division.  Worth's  division  was  moved  for- 
ward to  attack  the  San  Cosmo  gate,  while 
Quitman  assailed  the  Belen  gate.  The 
defences  of  the  causeways  were  taken  in 
succession,  and  by  nightfall  the  Belen  and 
San  Cosmo  gates  were  in  possession  of  the- 
Americans  after  a  hard  fight  for  them.  The 
troops  slept  on  the  ground  they  had  won. 


^^^'^I'iSJJiiii, 


V  r^ 


mJi.^^ 


STORMING    OF    CHAPULTEPEC. 


The  castle  of  Chapultepec  stood  on  a  steep 
and  lofty  hill,  and  could  not  be  turned.  If 
won  at  all,  it  must  be  by  a  direct  assault. 
On  the  twelfth  of  September  the  American 
artillery  opened  fire  upon  it,  and  reduced  it 
almost  to  ruins.  On  the  morning  of  the 
thirteenth  a  determined  assault  was  made  by 
the  Americans,  and  the  castle  was  carried 
after  a  sharp  struggle. 

The  fugitives  from   Chapultepec  retreated 


During  the  night  of  the  thirteenth  Santa 
Anna,  with  the  remains  of  his  army,  retreated 
from  the  city,  leaving  the  authorities  to  make 
the  best  terms  they  could  with  the  conquer- 
ors. The  city  officials  presented  themselves 
before  General  Scott  before  daybreak,  and 
proposed  terms  of  capitulation.  The  general 
replied  that  the  city  was  already  in  his  power, 
and  that  he  would  enter  it  on  his  own  terms. 
The    next    day,    September    14,     1847,    the. 


622  FROM    THE    RE\-OLUTION   TO  THE    CIVIL    WAR. 

American  armyenteredthecit)'ofiMexico,oc-  I  thousand  men  from  the  capital  to  the  vicinity 

cupied  the  grand  square,  and  hoisted  the  stars  |  of  Pucbla.  which  was  besieged  by  a  Mexican 

'  force.  The  city  contained 

eighteen  hundred  sick 
Americans,  and  was  held 
b}-  a  garrison  of  five  hun- 
dred men  under  Colonel 
Childs.  This  little  force 
held  out  bravely  until  the 
arrival  of  a  brigade  from 
Wra  Cruz,  under  Gen- 
Lial  Lane,  on  its  way  to 
reinforce  General  Scott. 
Lane  drove  off  Santa 
Anna's  army,  and  re- 
\cd  Puebla  on  the 
^hth  of  October.  Ten 
i\s  [ater  Santa  Anna 
!■>  reported  to  be  col- 
icctmg  another  force  at 
Ali\o  Lane  set  out  im- 
mediately for  that  place, 
reached  it  by  a  forced 
march,  and  dispersed  the 
Mexicans  beyond  all 
liope  of  reunion. 

Immediately  after  the 
capture  of  the  city  of 
Mexico  Santa  Anna  re- 
signed the  presidency  cf 
the  republic  in  favor  of 
Scnor  Peiia  y  Pefia,  pre- 
sident of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Justice,  but  re- 
tained his  position  as 
commander-in-chief  o  f 
the  army.  The  fall  of  the 
city  was  followed  by  >.he 
inauguration  of  a  new 
government,  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  which  was  to  , 
dismiss  Santa  Anna  from 
the  command  of  the  army.     He  at  once  left 


GENEK.XL   SCOTT    ENTERING    THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO, 


and  stripes  over  the  government  buildings. 
Santa    Anna     retreated    with    four    or    five 


the  countrj-,  and  fled  to  the  West  Indies. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES    K.    POLK. 


623 


The  Mexican  government  was  removed  to 
the  city  of  Queretaro,  and  a  new  congress 
was  elected,  which  began  its  sessions  in  that 
city.  Negotiations  for  peace  had  been  opened 
in  the  meantime,  and  the  meetings  of  the 
Mexican   commissioners  and  Mr.  Trist  were 
iicld  at   the    town  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo, 
where,  on  the  second  of  February,  1848,  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by  Nicholas  P. 
Trist,  on  the  part  of  the  United   States,  and 
Senors   Couto,  Atristain  and  Cuevas,  on  the 
part  of  Mexico.    Though  Mr.  Trist's  powers 
had  been  withdrawn  by  President  Polk  some 
time    before,    he   ventured 
to    continue    his   authority 
on    the    ground    that    the 
opportunity    for    bringing 
the  war  to  a  close  was  too 
favorable  to  be  lost.     The 
commissioners  appointed 
by  the  President  to  super- 
sede him  reached   M    ri:  > 
a  little  later,  but  foui    :  : 
treaty   signed   and    >■,;.<!,  , 

It  was  forwarded  to  Wash- 
ington, and  was  laid  by  the 
President  before  the  Senate, 
which  body  after  a  bri- i' 
discussion  ratified  it.  On 
the  Fourth  of  July,  1848, 
President  Polk  issued  a  proclamation  an- 
nouncing the  return  of  peace. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  Rio  Grande 
was  accepted  by  Mexico  as  the  western 
boundary  of  the  United  States  and  of  Te.xas, 
and  that  republic  ceded  to  the  United  States 
the  provinces  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper 
California.  For  this  immense  territory  the 
government  of  the  United  States  agreed  to 
pay  to  Mexico  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of 
dollars,  and  to  assume  the  debts  due  b)^ 
Mexico  to  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
amounting  to  the  sum  of  three  and  a  half 
millions  of  dollars. 


The  treaty  having  been  ratified,  the  Ameri- 
can forces  were  promptly  withdrawn  from 
Mexico. 

By  the  cession  of  California  and  New 
Mexico,  regions  as  yet  unknown,  a  territory 
four  times  as  large  as  France,  was  added  to 
the  dominions  of  the  United  States.  Califor- 
nia bordered  the  Pacific  coast  for  about  six 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  extended  inland 
for  about  the  same  distance.  It  embraced  an 
area  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
square  miles,  comprising  what  is  now  known 
as  California,   Nevada,  Arizona,  Utah,  and 


parts  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  it  contained  about  fifteen 
thousand  inhabitants. 

In  February,  1848,  occurred  an  event  des- 
tined to  change  the  whole  history  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  A  laborer  on  the  plantation  of 
Captain  Sutter,  situated  in  Coloma  county, 
California,  on  a  branch  of  the  Sacramento 
river,  while  working  on  a  mill-race,  discov- 
ered gold  in  the  sands  of  the  little  stream. 
The  precious  metal  was  soon  found  to  be  in 
abundance  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the 
news  spread  rapidly.  It  reached  the  United 
States  about  the  time  of  the  ratification  of 


624 

the  treaty,  and   produced  tlie  most  intense 

excitement. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  months  thousands 
of  emigrants  were  on  their  way  to  Cahfornia 
to  dig  gold.  Some  went  in  steamers  and 
saihng  vessels  around  Cape  Horn ;  some 
crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  worked 
their  way  up  the  Pacific  coast ;  and  others, 
and  by  far  the  greater  number,  undertook 
the  long  and  dangerous  journey  across  the 
plains  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  traveling 


■»^  , 


FROM    THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

The  influence  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California  was  not  limited  to  this  country. 
It  gave  an  impetus  to  the  commerce  and  in- 
dustry of  the  whole  world. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  February,  1848,  ex 
President  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
Congress,  was  stricken  with  paralysis  in  his 
seat  in  the  House.  He  was  carried  into  the 
speaker's  room,  where  he  died  two  days  later, 
at  the  age  of  eighty. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May, 

1848,  Wisconsin  was  admitted 

B^       into  the  L^nion  as  a  State,  mak- 

^^^   ing  the  thirtieth  member  of  the 

^^^  confederacy. 

^^^  Before  the  return  of  peace 
w  ith  Mexico  the  slavery  ques- 
tion had  been  revived  in  the 
United  States,  and  had  been 
the  cause  of  an  agitation  full 
■  if  trouble  to  both  sections, 
(jn  the  eighth  of  August, 
1 846.  President  Polk  sent  a 
_e  to  Congress  asking 
ropriation  of  three 

is  of  dollars  to  enable 

.lim  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of 
peace    with     Mexico,    based 
-  ~^  upon    the    policy    of    obtain- 
ing   a    cession    of    territory 
outside    the    existing    limits 
During  the  debate   upon  a  bill 
to     grant    this    appropriation,    Mr.    David 
Wilmot,    a    representative    from     Pennsyl- 
vania,   made    the     following     amendment, 
known  as  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso  :"  '"Provided, 
That  there  shall   be  neither  slavery  nor  in- 
voluntary servitude  in  any  territory  which 
shall  hereafter  be  acquired,  or  be  annexed  to 
the   United    States,  otherwise    than    in    the 
punishment   of  crimes,   whereof   the    party 
shall  have  been   duly    convicted;    Provided 
ahvavs.  That  any  person   escaping  into  the 


HVDR.A.ULIC    MINING. 

generally  in  caravans.  In  a  short  time  mul- 
titudes came  flocking  from  every  country  in 
Eu'-ope  to  join  the  throng  in  search  of  the 
precious  .Tietal.  San  Francisco  was  the  cen- 
tral point  of  this  vast  emigration,  and  that 
place  soon  grew  from  a  village  of  a  few 
miserable  huts  to  a  city  of  over  fifteen  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  Within  two  years  after  the 
discovery  of  gold  the  population  of  California 
had  increased  to  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  ; 
two  years  later,  in  1852,  it  numbered  two 
hundred  and  sixty-four  thousand. 


of  Texas 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   K.    FOLK. 


625 


same,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is  lawfully 
claimed  in  any  one  of  the  United  States, 
such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed  and 
•conveyed  out  of  said  territory  to  the  person 
claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  service." 

The  Country  Profoundly  Excited. 

This  amendment  took  no  notice  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  line,  and  was  opposed 
with  great  warmth  by  the  southern  members, 
who  declared  it  an  attempt  to  rob  the 
Southern  States  in  advance  of  their  fair 
share  of  the  territory  that  might  be  won  by 
the  joint  efforts  of  the  States.  The  bill 
failed  in  the  Senate  ;  but  the  announcement 
of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  re-opened  the  slavery 
question  in  all  its  bitterness,  and  plunged  the 
country  into  a  state  of  profound  excitement. 

The  agitation  was  renewed  in  January, 
1 847,  when  a  bill  for  the  organization  of  a  ter- 
ritorial government  for  Oregon  was  reported 
to  the  House  with  the  Wilmot  Proviso 
incorporated  in  it.  Mr.  Burt,  of  South 
Carolina,  moved  to  amend  the  bill  by 
inserting  before  the  restrictive  clause  the 
words :  "  Inasmuch  as  the  whole  of  said 
territory  lies  north  of  36°  30' north  latitude." 
This  was  an  effort  to  apply  to  the  Oregon 
bill   the    principles    of    the    Missouri    Com- 


promise; but  the  friends  of  the  restriction 
rejected  the  amendment.  The  bill  passed 
the  House,  but  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
During  the  next  session  the  measure  was 
revived,  and  a  territorial  government  was 
organized  for  Oregon  with  an  unqualified 
restriction  upon  slavery. 

In  the  fall  of  1848  the  Presidential  election 
occurred.  The  Democratic  party  supported 
Senator  Lewis  Cass,  of  ^Michigan,  for  the 
Presidency,  and  General  William  O.  Butler, 
of  Kentucky,  for  the  Vice- Presidency.  The 
Whig  party  nominated  General  Zachary 
Taylor,  of  Lo.uisiana,  for  the  Presidency, 
and  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  for  the 
Vice  Presidency.  The  Anti-slavery  or  Free 
Soil  party  put  in  nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency Martin  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  and 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  election 
which  followed  the  political  campaign,  the 
candidates  of  the  Whig  party  were  elected 
by  decisive  majorities.  The  Free  Soil  party 
failed  to  receive  a  single  electoral  vote,  but 
out  of  the  popular  vote  of  nearly  three  mil- 
lions, nearly  three  hundred  thousand  ballots 
were  cast  for  its  candidates,  showing  a 
remarkable  gain  in  strength  in  the  past  four 
years. 


40 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII 

The  Administrations  of  Zachary  Taylor  and 
Millard  Fillmore 


Character  of  General  Taylor— Department  of  the  Interior— Death  of  ex-President  Polk— The  Slavery  Agitation^ 
Views  of  Clay  and  Webster — California  Asks  Admission  Into  the  Union — Message  of  President  Taylor — The  Omnibus 
Bill— Efforts  of  Henry  Clay— A  Memorable  Debate— Webster's  "  Great  Union  Speech  "—Death  of  John  C.  CalhouD 

Death  of  President  Taylor — Millard  Fillmore  Becomes  President — Passage  of  the  Compromise  Measures  of  1S50 — 

Death  of  Henry  Clay — Dissatisfaction  With  the  Compromise— The   Fugitive  Slave  Law  Nullified  by  the  Northern 

States The  Nashville  Convention — Organization  of  Utah  Territory — The  Seventh  Census — The  Expedition  of  Lopez 

Against  Cuba — The  Search  for  Sir  John  Franklin — The  Grinnel  Expedition — Dr.  Kane's  Voyages — Inauguration  of 
Cheap  Postage— Laying  the  Comer-stone  of  the  New  Capitol— Death  of  Daniel  Webster — Arrival  of  Kossuth — The 
President  Rejects  the  Tripartite  Treaty — Franklin  Pierce  Elected  President — Death  of  William  R.  King. 


THE  fourth  of  March,  1849,  fell  on 
Stinday,  and  the  inauguration  of 
General  Taylor  as  President  of  the 
United  States  took  place  on  Mon- 
day, March  fifth. 

The  new  President  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  had  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Kentucky  at  an  early  age,  and  had  grown 
up  to  manhood  on  the  frontiers  of  that  State. 
In  1 808,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  was 
commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  by 
President  Jefferson,  and  had  spent  forty  years 
in  the  military  service  of  the  coimtry.  His 
exploits  in  the  Plorida  war  and  the  war  with 
Mexico  have  been  related.  His  briUant  vic- 
tories in  Mexico  had  made  him  the  most 
popular  man  in  the  United  States,  and  had 
won  him  the  high  office  of  the  presidency  at 
the  hands  of  his  gratefiil  fellow-citizens.  He 
was  without  political  experience,  but  he  was 
a  man  of  pure  and  stainless  integrity,  of 
great  firmness,  a  sincere  patriot,  and  pos- 
sessed of  strong  good  sense.  He  had  received 
a  majority  of  the  electoral  votes  of  both  the 
Northern  and  Southern  States,  and  was  free 
from  party  or  sectional  tics  of  any  kind. 

His  inaugural  address  was  brief,  and  was 
confined  to  a  statement  of  general  principles. 

626 


His  cabinet  was  composed  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Whig  party,  with  John  M.  Clayton,  of 
Delaware,  as  secretary  of  state.  The  last 
Congress  had  created  a  new  executive  de- 
partment— that  of  the  interior — to  relieve 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury  of  a  part  of  his 
duties,  and  President  Taylor  was  called  upon 
to  appoint  the  first  secretary  of  the  interior, 
which  he  did  in  the  person  of  Thomas  Ewing, 
of  Ohio.  The  new  department  was  charged 
with  the  management  of  the  public  lands, 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  the  issuing  of  patents 
to  inventors. 

A  few  months  after  the  opening  of  Pre- 
sident Taylor's  administration,  e,x-President 
Polk  died  at  his  home  in  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1849,  in  the  fifty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Since  the  announcement  of  the  Wilmot 
Proviso,  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  questior> 
had  been  incessant,  and  had  increased  instead 
of  diminishing  with  each  succeeding  year. 
It  was  one  of  the  chief  topics  of  discussion  in 
the  newspaper  press  of  the  country,  and 
entered  largely  into  every  political  contro- 
versy,  however  local  or  insignificant  in  its 
nature.  The  opponents  of  slaveiy  regarded 
the  annexation  of  Texas  and   the  Mexican 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   TAYLOR   AND    FILLMORE. 


627 


war  as  efforts  to  extend  that  institution,  and 
were  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  its  existence 
at  any  cost .  The  advocates  of  slavery  claimed 
that  the  Southern  States  had  an  equal  right 
to  the  common  property  of  the  States,  and 
were  entitled  to  protec- 
tion for  their  slaves  in 
any  of  the  Territories 
then  owned  by  the 
States  or  that  might  af- 
terwards be  acquired  by 
them. 

The  Missouri  Com 
promise  forbade  the  ex- 
istence of  slavery  nortli 
of  the  line  of  36°  30' 
north  latitude,  and  left 
the  inhabitants  south  of 
that  line  free  to  decide 
upon  their  own  institu- 
tions. The  Anti-slavery 
part}'  was  resolved  that 
slavery  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  territory 
acquired  from  Mexico, 
and  in  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso struck  their  first 
blow  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  purpose. 
We  have  seen  that  they 
succeded  in  prohibiting 
slavery,  by  a  special  act 
of  Congress,  in  Oregon, 
although  the  terms  of 
the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise would  have  ex- 
cluded the  institution 
from  that  Territory. 

Their  object  was  fully  understood  by  the 
southern  people,  and  was  bitterly  resented 
by  them.  The  agitation  of  the  subject  aroused 
a  storm  of  passion  throughout  the  country, 
and  produced  a  very  bitter  feeling  between 
the  Northern  and  Southern  States.     In  his 


last  message  to  Congress,  President  Polk  had 
recommended  that  the  line  of  36°  30'  nortli 
latitude  be  extended  to  the  Pacific,  and  thus 
leave  it  to  the  people  south  of  that  line-  to 
decide  whether  they  would  have  slavery  or 


ZACH.^RY    TAYLOR. 

not.  This  proposition  was  acceptable  to  the 
South ;  but  it  was  rejected  by  the  Anti-slaver)' 
party.  The  Missouri  Compromise  line  had 
been  limited  to  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
which  was  entirely  slaveholding,  and  had 
made    more   than    one-half  of  it    free-     To 


628 


FRO:\I   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


extend  the  line  to  the  Pacific  would  be  to 
give  the  South  a  chance  to  establish  slavery 
in  territor)'  which  was  free  at  the  time  of  its 
acquisition  by  the  United  States.  The  North 
Would  not  listen  to  such  a  proposition. 

During  the  last  session  of  Congress  in 
Mr.  Polk's  administration,  an  effort  had  been 
made  to  establish  territorial  governments  for 
Utah  and  New  Mexico,  but   had    failed    in 


the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  it  was  superior 
to  any  territorial  law  or  act  of  Congress  abol- 
ishing slavery;  and  that  the  constitution 
clearly  and  unequivocally  established  and 
protected  slavery  in  the  Territories. 

Mr.  Webster,  speaking  for  the  north,  de- 
clared that  the  constitution  was  designed  for 
the  government  of  the  States,  and  not  for  the 
Territories.    Congress,  he  said,  had  the  right 


it.    WHITE    liOUsE,    W.-VaHlNGiON,    D.  C. 


consequence  of  the  inability  of  Congress  to 
agree  upon  the  question  of  slavery  in  these 
Territories.  In  the  debate  in  the  Senate  upon 
these  measures,  Mr.  Callioun  and  Mr.  Webster 
took  an  active  part,  and  each  presented  in  a 
masterly  manner  the  views  of  the  section  he 
represented  upon  this  great  question.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn, speaking  for  the  south,  argued  that  the 
constitution  recognized  slavery;  that  as  it  was 


to  govern  the  Territories  independently  of 
the  constitution,  and  he  maintained  that  it 
often  exercised  this  right  contrary  to  the 
constitution,  as  it  did  things  in  the  Territories 
which  it  could  not  do  in  the  States.  He 
added :  "  When  new  territory  has  been  ac- 
quired it  has  always  been  subject  to  the  laws 
of  Congress — to  such  laws  as  Congress 
thought  proper  to   pass   for    its    immediate 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   TAYLOR   AND    FILLMORE. 


^vernment  and  preparatory  state  in  wliich 
it  was  to  remain  until  it  was  ready  to  come 
into  the  Union  as  one  of  the  family  of  States." 
He  quoted  in  support  of  his  position  the 
clause  of  the  constitution  which  declares 
that  the  "  constitution  and  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  which  shall  be  made  in  pur- 
suance thereof,  ....  shall  be  the  supreme 
law  of  the  land." 

Congress  having  failed  to  make  any  pro- 
vision for  territorial  governments  for  Utah 
and  New  Mexico,  those  Territories  were  left 
in  a  condition  of  anarchy.  One  of  the  first 
duties  devolving  upon  the  new  administration 
was  the  alleviation  of  this  evil  until  it  could 
be  definitely  settled  by  Congress.  President 
Taylor  instructed  the  federal  officers  in 
those  Territories  to  encourage  the  people  to 
organize  temporary  governments  for  them- 
selves. 

A  New  Accession  to  the  Union. 

California  in  the  meantime  had  grown  witli 
such  rapidity,  and  had  experienced  so  much 
trouble  from  its  sudden  increase  of  popula- 
tion and  the  lack  of  a  definite  government, 
that  its  leading  citizens  determined  to  seek 
admission  into  the  Union.  In  the  autumn 
of  1849  a  convention  of  the  people  was  held, 
a  constitution  formed,  and  a  State  govern- 
ment organized.  The  action  of  the  conven- 
tion was  promptly  ratified  by  the  people. 
Upon  the  assembling  of  the  Thirty-first  Con- 
gress in  the  winter  of  1849,  California  applied 
for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  with 
a  constitution  forbidding  slavery  within  her 
limits. 

The  organization  of  the  Thirty-first  Con- 
gress was  delayed  for  three  weeks.  Parties 
were  about  evenly  divided,  and  sixty  ballots 
were  taken  before  a  speaker  could  be  chosen. 
One  of  the  leaders  on  the  Democratic  side 
was  Robert  Toombs,  of  Georgia.  The  choice 
at  last  fell  upon  Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia, 


who   was   elected  by  a  plurality.     Partisan 
bitterness  ran  high  during  this  struggle. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  House,  Presi- 
dent Taylor  sent  in  his  first  and  only  mes- 
sage. He  recognized  the  danger  with  which 
the  sectional  controversy  threatened  the 
country,  expressed  his  views  of  the  situation 
in  moderate  terms,  and  intimated  that  he 
should  faithfully  discharge  his  duties  to  the 
whole  country.  He  recommended  th  _■  admis- 
sion of  California  with  the  constitution  she 
had  chosen  ;  and  advised  that  Utah  and  New 


ROBERT   TOOMBS. 

Mexico  should  be  organized  as  Territories, 
with  liberty  to  decide  the  question  of  slavery 
for  themselves  when  they  were  ready  to  enter 
the  Union  as  States.  A  dispute  having  arisen 
between  Texas  and  New  Mexico  concerning 
the  prop  r  boundary  between  them,  the  Pre- 
sident recommended  that  it  should  be  settled 
by  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

The  other  questions  which  demanded  im- 
mediate settlement  were  slavery  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  the  demand  of  the 
Southern  States  for  a  more  faithful  execution 


630 


FROM   THE  REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


of  the  provision  of  the  constitution  which 
required  the  arrest  and  return  of  fugitive 
slaves. 

The  South  opposed  the  admission  of  Cali- 
fornia with  a  free  constitution,  and  the  North 
demanded  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  Northern 
States  were  unwilling  to  allow  their  officers 
to  execute  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  within 
their  limits.  The  excitement  became  intense, 
and  threats  to  dissolve  the  Union  of  the 
States  were  fiecly  indulged  in  by  the  extrem- 
ists of  both  the  North  and  the  South. 

Opposing  Views  in  the  Senate. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  1 850, 
Henry  Clay  introduced  into  the  Senate  a 
series  of  resolutions  designed  to  settle  all  the 
points  in  dispute  by  a  general  compromise. 
The  resolutions  were  referred  to  a  commitee 
of  thirteen,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  made 
chairman.  In  due  time  the  committee  re- 
ported a  bill  known  as  the  "  Omnibus  Bill  " 
from  its  embracing  in  one  measure  all  Mr. 
Clay's  propositions.  It  provided  for  the  admis- 
sion of  California  as  a  free  State  ;  the  organi- 
ration  of  the  Territories  of  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  without  reference  to  slavery;  the 
adjustment  of  the  boundary  between  Texas 
and  New  Mexico  by  paying  to  the  former 
ten  millions  of  dollars  ;  the  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia ;  and 
the  enactment  by  Congress  of  a  more  string- 
ent and  effective  law  for  the  rendition  of 
fugitive  slaves. 

The  Omnibus  bill  was  warmly  opposed  in 
Congress  and  in  the  country  at  large.  The 
debate  in  the  Senate  brought  out  the  views 
of  the  leading  statesn>en  of  the  country. 
Senator  Jefferson  Davis  declared  the  bill  in 
no  sense  a  compromise,  because  it  was  un- 
equal in  its  provisions.  The  South,  he  de- 
clared, gained  nothing  by  the  measure,  as 
the  constitution  already  rccjuired  the  rendi- 


tion of  fugitive  slaves.  He  proposed,  there- 
fore, that  the  Missouri  Compromise  line 
should  be  extended  to  the  Pacific,  "  with  the 
specific  recognition  of  the  right  to  hold 
slaves  in  the  territory  below  that  line." 

Mr.  Clay  replied  to  this  that  "no  earthly 
power  could  induce  him  to  vote  for  a  specific  . 
measure  for  the  introduction  of  slavery  ' 
where  it  had  not  existed,  either  north  or 
south  of  that  line.  I  am  unwilling  that  the 
posterity  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  Cali- 
fornia and  of  New  Me.xico  should  reproach 
us  for  doing  just  what  we  reproach  Great 
Britain  for  doing  to  us.  If  the  citizens  of 
those  Territories  come  here  with  constitu- 
tions establishing  slavery,  I  am  for  admitting 
them  into  the  Union ;  but  then  it  will  be 
their  own  work  and  not  ours,  and  their  pos- 
terity will  have  to  reproach  them  and  not  us." 

Webster's  Union  Speech. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  too  ill  to  take  part  in 
the  debate  in  person,  but  he  prepared  a 
speech  of  great  ability,  which  was  read  for 
him  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Mason  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  declared  that  the  Union  could  be 
preserved  only  by  maintaining  an  equal  num- 
ber of  free  and  slave  States,  in  order  that  the 
representation  of  the  two  sections  of  the 
country  might  be  equal  in  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Webster  also  took  part  in  the  debate, 
and  on  this  occasion  delivered  what  is  known 
as  his  "  great  Union  speech  of  the  seventh  of 
March,"  which  occupied  three  days  in  its 
delivery.  He  expressed  substantially  the 
same  .'lews  as  those  advocated  by  Mr.  Clay. 
He  opposed  restriction  of  slavery  in  the  Ter- 
ritories, and  declared  he  would  vote  against 
the  Wilmot  Proviso.  His  speech  created  a 
profound  sensation  throughout  the  country, 
and  did  much  to  secure  the  final  acceptance 
of  the  compromise  measures. 

In  the  midst  of  this  discussion  John  C. 
Calhoun  died,  on   the   thirty-first  of  March. 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   TAYLOR   AND   FILLMORE. 


631 


1850.  He  had  entered  Congress  in  181 1, 
and  had  been  in  public  life  from  that  time 
until  the  day  of  his  death.  He  had  filled 
many  high  offices,  both  State  and  national, 
and  had  discharged  the  duties  of  each  and 
all  with  disinterested 
ndelity  and  admitted 
ability.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  statesmen  this 
country  has  ever  pro- 
duced, and  was  the  ac- 
knowledged leader  of  the 
South  in  the  sectional 
controversy  with  the 
North.  His  character 
was  above  reproach,  and 
he  was  a  sincere  and  dis- 
interested patriot.  His 
death  was  generally  la- 
mented throughout  the 
countr>',  and  his  political 
adversaries  joined  heart- 
ily in  the  tributes  of  the 
nation  to  his  many  vir-  , 
tues  and  great  abilities.    ' 

A  few  months  later 
President  Taylor  was 
suddenly  stricken  down 
with  a  fever,  which  in 
a  few  days  terminated 
fatally.  He  died  on  the 
ninth  of  July,  1850,  amid 
the  grief  of  the  whole 
country,  which  felt  that 
it  had  lost  a  faithful  and 
upright  chief  magistrate. 
Though  the  successful 
candidate  of  one  poli- 
tical party,  his  administration  had  received 
the  earnest  support  of  the  best  men  of  the 
country  without  regard  to  party,  and  his 
death  was  a  national  calamity.  He  had  held 
office  only  si.xteen  months,  but  had  shown 
himself  equal    to   his   difficult   and   delicate 


position.     He  was  sixty-six  years  old  at  the 
time  of  his  death. 

By  the  terms  of  the  constitution  the  office 
of  President  devolved  upon  Millard  Fillmore, 
Vice-President   of  the    United    States.     On 


MILLARD    FILLMORE. 

the  tenth  of  July  he  took  the  oath  of  office 
before  Chief  Justice  Cranch  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  new  position. 

Mr.  Fillmore  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  was  born  in  that  State  in  the  )-ear  1 800. 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


He  had  served  his  State  in  Congress,  and  as 
governor,  and  was  personally  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  the  Presidents.  The  cabinet  of 
General  Taylor  resigned  their  offices  imme- 


iUii..v.Uio   Oi    LEADING    MOKJION 

diately  after  his  death,  and  the  new  President 
filled  thjir  places  by  appointing  a  new  cabi- 
net with  Daniel  Webster  at  its  head  as  secre- 
tary of  state.    Mr.  Fillmore  was  in  active  sym- 


pathy with  Mr.  Clay  in  his  efforts  to  secure 
the  passage  of  the  compromise  measures,  as 
he  deemed  them  the  best  adjustment  of  the 
trouble  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

The  compromise  measures 
were  warmly  debated  in  Con- 
gress, the  sessions  of  which  ex- 
tended through  the  summer  into 
the  latter  part  of  September. 
The  bill  was  then  taken  up  and 
passed,  article  by  article,  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  it  hav- 
ing previously  passed  the  Senate. 
The  bill  at  once  received  the  ex- 
ecutive approval,  and  became  a 
law. 

•  The  clause  admitting  Califor- 
nia into  the  Union  as  a  State 
was  adopted  on  the  ninth  of 
September,  1S50. 

The  course  of  Mr.  Clay  in 
securing  the  passage  of  the  com- 
promise measures  of  1850  was 
justly  regarded  as  the  crowning 
glory  of  his  life.  It  won  for  him 
the  love  and  confidence  of  the 
whole  country'  without  regard  t» 
party,  and  the  man  who  "  had 
rather  be  right  than  be  Presi- 
dent" had  the  proud  satisfaction 
of  seeing  all  the  faults  and  mis- 
takes of  his  earlier  years  for- 
gotten in  the  confidence  and  gra- 
titude with  which  his  countr^'- 
men  regarded  him.  He  ceased 
now  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 
questions  of  the  day,  for  it  was 
fitting  that  his  life  should  close 
with  this  great  senice  to  iiis 
co^ntr}^  His  health  failed  ra- 
pidly, but  he  continued  to  hold  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  until  the  twent>'-ninth  of  June,  1852, 
when  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventj'-five  years. 
Honors  were  showered  upon  his  memory  ia 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OF   TAYLOR   AND    FILLMORE. 


633 


all  parts  of  the  Union,  and  he  was  i-iid  to  hi^  I  measures   failed    to    give   satisfaction      The 
rfbt  amid  a  nation  s  unaffected  mournm^         |  1   i^ituc  S  u      I  i\    u  is  bitterly    denounct<l 


LLLW    I  ILLlbL-^ILKs    ON    THE    MA.RC1I 

Tiierc    were    still    many    extremists    both  I  by  the  Anti-slavery  party  in  the  North.     As 
North  and  South,  to  whom  the  compromise  |  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  had 


634 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


decided  that  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  the 
respective  States  could  not  be  called  upon 
to  execute  the  law  for  the  rendition  of  fugi- 
tive slaves,  a  clause  was  inserted  in  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law  of  1850,  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  United  States  commission- 
ers, before  whom  such  cases  could  be  tried. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

The  Northern  States  successively  enacted 
laws  for  the  nullification  of  the  provisions  of 
this  law.  All  their  jails  and  other  State 
buildings  were  refused  to  the  federal  officers 
for  the  securing  of  fugitive  slaves,  and  all 
State,  county,  and  city  officers  were  forbid- 
den to  arrest  or  assist  in  arresting  or  detain- 
ing any  fugitive  slave.  In  many  of  the 
States  severe  punishments  were  denounced 
against  masters  coming  within  their  limits 
to  claim  their  slaves,  and  such  fugitives 
entering  these  States  were  declared  free. 
These  laws  were  denounced  by  the  slave- 
holding  States  as  violative  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  gave  rise  to 
great  bitterness  of  feeling  toward  the  North. 
It  was  maintained  that  these  laws  were  direct 
evidence  of  the  intention  of  the  northern 
people  to  rob  the  South  of  its  property  in 
negro  slaves. 

The  extremists  of  the  South  were  equally 
dissatisfied  with  the  compromise.  They 
declared  that  the  South  had  sacrificed 
everything  and  gained  nothing  by  it,  and 
boldly  avowed  their  intention  to  bring  about 
the  secession  of  the  Southern  States  from 
the  Union.  In  the  summer  of  1850  a  south- 
ern convention  was  held  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee. Its  real  end  was  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  and  for  that  purpose  it  urged  the 
Southern  States  to  appoint  delegates  to  a 
"  Southern  Congress."  The  legislatures  of 
South  Carolina  and  Mississippi  alone 
responded  to  this  invitation,  but  the  great 
mass  of  the  southern   people  turned  a  deaf 


ear  to  the  appeals  of  the  disunionists,  and 
the  convention  failed  to  accomplish  its 
object. 

In  the  inauguration  of  a  territorial  govern- 
ment for  Utah,  the  Mormons,  whose  settle- 
ment in  that  Territory  while  it  was  yet  a 
possession  of  Mexico  we  have  related, 
endeavored  to  frame  their  own  government, 
and  gave  to  the  Territory  the  name  of  Des- 
eret,  which  they  declared  was  a  word  of  their 
peculiar  language  meaning  "  The  Land  of 
the  Honey  Bee."  President  Fillmore  set 
aside  this  name  and  carried  out  the  act  of 
Congress  by  which  the  Territory  received 
its  present  name.  Brigham  Young,  the 
Mormon  leader  or  prophet,  was  appointed 
governor  of  the  Territory. 

In  1850  the  seventh  census  showed  the 
population  of  the  TJnited  States  to  be  23,- 
191,876  souls. 

Capture  of  General  Lopez. 

In  the  early  part  of  President  Taylor's 
administration,  General  Lopez,  a  Spaniard, 
began  to  enlist  men  in  the  United  States 
ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the 
people  of  the  island  of  Cuba  to  throw  ofif 
their  allegiance  to  Spain  and  establish  their 
independence,  but  really  for  the  purpose  of 
driving  out  the  Spaniards  and  .securing  the 
annexation  of  Cuba  to  the  United  States. 
He  succeeded  in  inducing  a  number  of 
adventurous  persons  to  join  him. 

President  Taylor,  upon  learning  of  the 
movement,  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding 
citizens  of  the  United  States  to  engage  in  it. 
In  spite  of  this  warning,  Lopez  collected  a 
force  of  six  hundred  men,  and  eluding  the 
vigilance  of  the  United  States  officers,  sailed 
for   Cuba.      He    landed    at   Cardenas,   but 


received   so   little 


encouragement 


that   the 


party  sailed  for  Key  West.  In  1851,  Lopez 
again  entered  Cuba,  this  time  at  the  head  of 
four  hunched  and  fifty  men.      His  party  was 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   TAYLOR    AND    FILLMORE. 


captured  almost  immediately,  and  he  and  a 
number  of  his  men  were  put  to  death  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  at  Havana. 

In  May,  1850,  an  expedition  of  a  different 
character  sailed  from  the  United  States  The 
fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  who  sailed  from 
England  in  1840,  in  search 
01"  the  northwest  passage, 
had  long  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathies of  humane  and  gen- 
erous souls.  It  was  thouglit 
that  the  daring  navigator 
might  be  confined  to  the 
Arctic  regions  by  the  loss 
of  his  ships,  and  that  a 
well-executed  search  might 
either  result  in  the  dis- 
covery and  relief  of  Frank- 
lin or  settle  the  question 
as  to  his  fate.  Mr.  Henry 
Grinnell,  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant of  New  York,  fitted 
out  an  expedition  at  his 
own  expense,  and  placing 
it  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  De  Haven,  of 
the  United  States  navy, 
despatched  it  to  the  Arctic 
regions  to  search  for  Frank- 
lin and  his  men,  in  May, 
1850.  De  Haven  was  ac- 
companied by  Dr.  E.  K. 
Kane,  in  the  capacity  of 
surgeon  and  naturalist. 
After  a  year's  absence  the 
vessels  returned,  the  search 
having  been  unsuccessful. 
The  general  government 
despatched  another  expedition  in  1 85 1 ,  on  the 
same  errand,  and  placed  it  under  command  of 
Dr.  Kane.  This  expedition  was  absent  four 
years,  and  the  government,  becoming  appre- 
hensive of  its  fate,  sent  two  vessels  to  search 
for  Kane  and  his  companions.      They  were 


found  at  the  isle  of  Disco,  in  Greenland, 
having  been  forced  to  abandon  their  vessel 
in  the  ice.  Nothing  was  learned  by  Dr. 
Kane  concerning  the  fate  of  Sir  John 
Franklin  ;  but  the  expedition  resulted  in  the 
discovery  of  the   open  Polar  sea.     Nothing 


SIK    JOHN    FR.ANKLIN. 

definite  was  learned  of  the  fate  of  Sir  John 
Franklin  until  1S59,  when  the  steamer 
"  Fox,"  despatched  by  Lady  Franklin,  made 
the  melancholy  discovery  that  Sir  John 
Franklin  died  on  the  ele\'enth  of  June,  1847, 
and   in    184S   the   "  I^rcbus  "  and  "  Terror  " 


6;!6 


FROM   Till'.   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


were  abandoned  in  the  ice.  The  sni'vi-  |  under  great  disadvantages.  His  health  had 
vors  of  these  disasters,  one  hundred  and  I  been  failing  for  some  time  past>  and  his 
five  in  number,  died  one  by  one  from  j  weakness  was  so  great  that  he  could  speak 
cold    and    exhaustion    on    King    William's     only  with  difficulty. 

Island.  }       This  oration  was  one  of  the  last  public  acts 

In  the  early  part  of  I S5  I  Congress  reduced     of  the  great  statesman.  On  the  twenty-fourth 

the  postage  on  prepaid  letters  to  three  cents     of  October,    1852,   he  died  at  his  home  at 


to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  prepayment 
being  made  by  means  of  stamps  provided  by 


Marshfield,    Massachusetts,    aged     seventy 
years,  and  in  himperished  the  first  statesman 


L^^-^ 


1 


-%.     - 


RKLICS    OF    FRANKLINS    POLAR    VOYAGE. 


the  government.  The  result  was  a  rapid  and 
immense  increase  of  the  postal  revenue  of 
the  country. 

On  tlie  fourth  of  July,  185  i,  the  corner- 
stone of  the  extension  of  the  capitol  at 
Washington  was  laid  by  President  Fillmore 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  orator  of 
the  day  was  Daniel  Webster.  His  address 
was  one  of  his  best  efforts,  but  was  delivered 


of  America.  He  was  large  and  stout  in 
frame,  of  swarthy  complexion,  and  slow  and 
heavy  in  movement — a  man  of  noble  and 
commanding  appearance.  His  intellect  was 
cast  in  the  same  gigantic  mould  as  his  body. 
His  language  was  simple  and  chaste,  and  his 
arguments  irresistible.  His  patriotism  knew 
no  sectional  limits.  "  I  am  as  ready,"  he 
once    said,    "to    fight   and    to    fall    for    the 


ADMINISTRATIONS    OF   TAYLOR   AND    FILLMORE. 


637 


•constitutional  rights  of  Virginia  as  I  am  for 
Siose  of  Massachusetts." 

Alexander  H.  Stephens  has  said  of  him  : 
■"  He  was  too  great  a  man  and  had  too  great 
an  intellect  not  to  see  the  truth  when  it  was 
presented,  and  he  was  too  honest  and  too 
patriotic  a  man  not  to  proclaim  the  truth 
Avhen  he  saw  it,  e\-en  to  an  unwilling  people. 


ordeal,  and  that  he  passed  it  with  unflinch- 
ing firmness  is  one  of  the  grandest  features 
in  the  general  grandeur  of  his  character. 
Even  his  detractors  have  been  constrained  to 
render  him  unwilling  homage  in  this  re- 
spect." *  His  memory  was  honored  byappro- 
priate  demonstrations  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,    and    it    is   said  that    the  popular 


In  this  quality  ol  moral  greatness  I  often  j  tributes  on  this  occasion  were  equalled  on!)- 
thought  Mr.  Webster  had  the  advantage  of  1  by  those  of  the  nation  at  the  death  ot 
his  great  contemporaries,  Messrs.  Clay  and  i  Washington. 


Calhoun.  Not  that  I  would  be  understood  as 
saying  that  they  were  not  men  of  great  moral 
courage,  for  both  of  them  showed  this  high 
quality  in  many  instances,  but  they  never 
gave  the  world  such  striking  exhibitions  of 
it   as    he    did.     Webster   often    passed  this 


In  December,  1S51,  Louis  Kossuth,  the 
chief  of  the  Hungarian  insurrection  of  184S, 
visited  the  United  States.  His  avowed 
object    was    to    promote  the  cause    of  his 

*  Tlu  War  Between  the  Siales,  vol.  i.,  pp.  405, 406. 


638 


FROM    THE    REVOLailON    TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


countrymen,  and  he  made  frequent  addresses  |  Mexico  and  the  mouth  of  the  MississippL 


in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  which  were 
hstened  to  by  vast  muUitudes  who  were 
charmed  with  his  eloquence.  He  visited 
Washington,  and  was  granted  a  public  recep- 
tion by  Congress.  The  Austrian  minister  at 
Washington,  the  Chevalier  Hulseman,  pro- 
tested against  this  reception,  and  his  protest 
being  unheeded,  he  withdrew  from  Washing- 
ton for  a  while. 

Protection  for  Cuba. 

The  attempt  of  Lopez  upon  Cuba  had 
greatly  alarmed  Spain  for  the  safety  of  that 
island.  England  and  France,  sympathizing 
with  her,  and  anxious  to  render  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Cuba  by  the  United  States  impossible, 
proposed  to  the  American  government  to 
join  them  in  a  "  tripartite  treaty,"  in  which 
each  should  disclaim  any  intention  to  seize 
that  island,  and  should  guarantee  Spain  in 
her  possession  of  it.  In  December,  1852, 
Edward  Everett,  who  had  succeeded  Mr. 
Webster  as  secretary  of  state,  by  direction  of 
the  President,  replied  to  the  proposition  of 
England  and  France,  declining  to  accept  it. 

"  The  President,"  he  said,  "  does  not  covet 
the  acquisition  of  Cuba  for  the  United  States," 
but  "  could  not  see  with  indifference  that 
island  fall  into  the  possession  of  any  Euro- 
pean government  than  Spain."  He  stated 
that  the  situation  of  the  island  rendered  it 
peculiarly  interesting  to  this  country  by 
reason  of  its  proximity  to  our  coast,  and  its 
commanding  the  approach  to   the    Gulf  of 


The  European  powers  were  thus  given  to- 
understand  that  the  United  States  would  not 
tolerate  their  interference  in  a  question  purely- 
American. 

The  year  1852  was  marked  by  intense  ex- 
citement consequent  on  the  political  cam- 
paign which  terminated  in  the  fall  in  the 
Presidential  election.  The  Democratic  party 
made  a  strong  and  successful  effort  to  recover 
its  lost  power,  and  nominated  Franklia 
Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  for  President,, 
and  William  R.  King,  of  Alabama,  for  Vice- 
President.  The  Whig  party  nominated  Gen- 
eral Winfield  Scott  for  President,  and  Wil- 
liam A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina,  for  Vice- 
President.  The  Anti-slavery  party  put  in 
nomination  John  P.  Hale,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana. 
The  election  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the 
candidates  of  the  Democratic  party  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  The  Anti-slavery 
party  on  this  occasion  polled  but  155,825 
votes,  or  a  little  more  than  half  of  the  strength 
it  had  shown  at  the  previous  election. 

Mr.  King,  the  Vice-President-elect,  did  not 
long  survive  his  triumph.  His  health  had 
been  delicate  for  many  years,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  pass  the  winter  succeeding  the 
election  in  Cuba.  Being  unable  to  return 
home,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  before  the 
American  consul,  at  Havana,  on  the  fourth 
of  March,  1853.  He  then  returned  to  the 
United  States,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Ala- 
bama on  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1853. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 
The  Administration   of  Franklin   Pierce. 

Dispute  with  Mexico — The  Gadsden  Fnichase — Sur\eys  for  a  Pacific  Railway — The  Japan  Expedition — Treaty  with 
/apan— The  Koszta  Affair— The  "  Black  Warrior  "  Seized  by  the  Cuban  Officials — The  "  Ostend  Conference  "—Dis- 
missal of  the  British  Minister— The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill— History  of  the  Bill— Its  Passage  by  Congress— History  of 
the  Struggle  in  Kansas — Conflict  Between  the  Pro-Slavery  and  Free-Soil  Settlers — Lawrence  Sacked — Civil  War — 
The  Presidential  Campaign  of  1S56 — James  Buchanan  Elected  President  of  the  United  States — Rapid  Increase  of 
the  Republican  Party. 


PRESIDENT  PIERCE  took  the 
oath  of  office  at  the  capitol  at 
Washington  on  the  fourth  of 
March,  1853,  '■''  the  presence  of 
an  immense  throng.  He  was  in  his  fort>'- 
ninth  year,  and  had  won  an  enviable  name 
by  his  previous  services  to  the  country.  He 
was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  and  had 
represented  that  State  for  four  years  in  the 
lower  House  of  Congress,  and  for  nearly 
a  full  term  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  He  had  also  served  with  distinction 
during  the  Mexican  war  as  brigadier-gen- 
eral. He  placed  William  L.  Marcy,  of  New 
York,  at  the  head  of  his  cabinet  as  secretary 
of  state. 

The  first  question  of  importance  the  new 
President  was  called  upon  to  settle  grew  out 
of  a  dispute  with  Mexico  concerning  the 
boundary  between  that  country  and  the 
Territory  of  New  Mexico.  At  the  time  of 
the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  the  maps 
were  so  imperfect  that  the  boundary  line 
had  not  been  drawn  with  sufficient  exact- 
ness. Both  countries  claimed  the  Mesilla 
valley,  which  was  said  to  be  very  fertile,  but 
which  was  more  important  to  the  United 
States  as  affording  what  was  generally 
regarded  as  the  most  practicable  route  to 
California. 

Santa  Anna  was  now  President  of  the 
Mexican  republic  again,  and  sent  a  force  of 


Mexican  troops  to  occupy  the  region  in  dis- 
pute. The  matter  was  settled  by  negotia- 
tion, however,  and  the  United  States 
obtained  the  Mesilla  valley  and  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Gulf  of  California  and  of 
the  Colorado  to  the  American  frontier.  For 
these  concessions  the  federal  government 
paid  Mexico  the  sum  of  ten  millions  of  dol- 
lars. The  district  thus  acquired  was  kpown 
as  the  "  Gadsden  Purchase,"  and  was  subse 
quently  erected  into  the  Territory  of  Ari- 
zona. 

The  necessity  of  more  rapid  and  certait 
communication  with  California  had  brougu, 
the  nation  to  regard  a  railway  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  as  a  necessity', 
and  as  such  an  undertaking  was  considered 
beyond  the  resources  of  a  private  corpora- 
tion, it  was  believed  that  it  should  be  built 
by  the  general  government,  or  at  least  that 
the  general  government  should  bear  a  part 
of  the  expense.  The  year  1853  witnessed 
the  first  steps  towards  the  construction  of 
this  great  work.  Two  expeditions  were  de- 
spatched under  the  orders  of  the  war  depart- 
ment to  explore  the  best  routes  for  a  Pacific 
railway. 

The  acquisition  of  California  brought  the 
United  States  into  new  relations  with  the 
nations  of  the  eastern  world,  as  it  secured  for 
them  a  base  upon  the  Pacific  from  which  a 
direct  trade  could  be  conducted  with  China 
639 


FRO^I   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


^40 

and  Japan.  The  empire  of  Japan,  however, 
was  closed  to  foreigners,  and  it  was  verj'  de- 
sirable to  open  commercial  relations  with  it. 
Towards  the  close  of  Mr.  Fillmore's  term  of 
office.  Commodore  Perry,  a  brother  of  the 
hero  of  Lake  Erie,  was  despatched  to  China 
with  a  fleet  of  seven  war  steamers  to  nego- 
tiate a  treaty  with  the  Japanese  government. 
He  arrived  in  the  bay  of  Jeddo  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1853.  The  natives  were  greatly 
astonished  at  the  appearance  of  his  steamers, 
the  first  that  had  ever  been  seen   in   those 


FK.\NKLIN    FIERCE. 

■waters,  and  at  his  boldness  in  venturing  into 
their  harbors.  The  Japanese  officials  ordered 
him  to  depart,  but  he  refused,  and  insisted 
■on  seeing  the  emperor,  and  making  known 
to  him  the  object  of  his  friendly  visit. 

They  at  length  decided  to  lay  the  matter 
before  the  emperor,  who  consented  to  grant 
an  interview  to  the  commodore,  and  named 
the  fourteenth  of  July  for  that  purpose.  On 
the  day  appointed  the  commodore  landed, 
accompanied  by  a  strong  body  of  marines. 
He  was  received  with  great  ceremony  by  the 
Japanese,  and  delivered  the  President's  let- 


ter, to  which  an  answer  was  promised.  The 
answer  of  the  emperor  was  submitted  to  him 
several  months  later,  and  was  favorable.  A 
treaty  was  concluded  between  the  United 
States  and  Japan,  by  which  the  former  were 
allowed  to  trade  in  two  specified  ports— 
Simodi  and  Hokadadi.  American  citizens 
were  permitted  to  reside  at  these  ports,  and 
consuls  were  accepted  for  them.  Thus  the 
United  States  had  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  to  open  the  rich  markets  of  the  island 
empire  to  the  commerce  of  the  civilized 
world.  Since  then  the  relations  between  the 
two  countries  have  steadily  grown  more  cor- 
dial, and  Japan  has  shown  a  remarkable 
rapidity  and  facility  for  adopting  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  west. 

In  July,  1853,  occurred  an  event  which  did 
much  to  increase  the  respect  for  our  navy 
among  the  powers  of  the  world.  Martin 
Koszta,  a  Hungarian,  who  had  taken  the 
preliminary  steps  to  be  naturalized  in  the 
United  States,  happening  to  be  in  Smyrna, 
in  Asia  Minor,  on  business,  was  seized  as  a 
rebel  and  a  refugee  by  order  of  the  Austrian 
consul-general,  and  taken  on  board  an  Aus- 
trian brig.  The  United  States  sloop-of-wai 
"  St.  Louis,"  Captain  Ingraham,  was  lying  in 
the  harbor  at  the  time,  and  Ingraham  was 
appealed  to  for  protection  for  Koszta. 

Ingraham  Threatens  to  Fire. 

He  at  once  demanded  his  release  as  ai\ 
American  citizen.  The  demand  was  refused 
by  the  authorities,  and  Ingraham  at  once 
called  his  crew  to  quarters  and  threatened 
to  fire  upon  the  Austrian  ship  if  Koszta  was 
not  immediately  released.  The  Austrians 
at  once  surrendered  their  prisoner,  and  h» 
was  placed  in  custody  of  the  French  consul 
to  await  the  action  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  The  matter  was  settled  by 
negotiation  between  this  country  and  Austria, 
and  Koszta  was  released.    Austria  addressed 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 


641 


to  the  government  at  Washington  a  remon- 
strance against  the  conductor  Captain  Ingra- 
ham,  but  his  course  was  warmly  applauded 
by  his  countrymen  and  by  disinterested  per- 
sons in  Europe. 

In  February,  1854,  the  American  merchant 
steamer  "  Black  Warrior  "  was  seized  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  at  Havana,  on  the  pre- 
text that  she  had  evaded  or  violated  some 
uncertain  revenue  law,  and  the  ship  and  her 
cargo  were  declared  confiscated.  This  action 
of  the  Havana  officials  was  regarded  in  the 
United  States  as  unjust,  and  aroused  a  great 
deal  of  feeling  against  the  Spaniards,  and 
gave  a  sudden  impetus  to  the  national  senti- 
ment in  favor  of  the  acquisition  of  Cuba. 
The  affair  of  the  "  Black  Warrior"  was  satis- 
factorily settled  by  the  Spanish  government. 

While  the  feeling  aroused  by  the  affair  was 
at  its  height  a  conference  of  some  of  the 
American  ministers  in  Europe,  including 
Mr.  Buchanan,  minister  to  England,  Mr. 
Mason,  minister  to  France,  and  Mr.  Soule, 
minister  to  Spain,  and  some  others,  was  held 
at  Ostend,  in  Belgium,  and  a  circular  was 
adopted  recommending  the  acquisition  of 
Cuba  by  the  United  States.  This  measure 
attracted  much  attention,  and  elicited  con- 
siderable European  criticism  of  the  alleged 
ambitious  designs  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Soule,  on  his  return  to  Madrid,  was  stopped 
at  Calais  by  order  of  the  emperor  of  the 
French,  who  had  personal  reasons  for  dis- 
liking him.  The  emperor,  however,  recon- 
sidered his  action,  and  allowed  Soule  to  pass 
through  France  to  the  Spanish  frontier. 

British  Minister  Dismissed. 

In  1855  Great  Britain,  France,  Sardinia 
and  Turkey,  being  engaged  in  a  war  with 
Russia,  the  agents  of  the  British  government 
undertook  to  enlist  recruits  for  their  army 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  in  de- 
fiance of  the  neutrality  laws  of  this  country. 

41 


The  matter  being  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  United  States  government,  it  was 
found  that  the  British  minister  at  Washing- 
tor,  and  the  British  consuls  in  some  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Union  had  encouraged, 
if  they  had  not  authorized,  these  enlistments. 
The  government  of  the  United  States  there- 
upon called  the  attention  of  Great  Britain  to- 
the  conduct  of  her  minister,  and  requested 
her  to  recall  him.  The  queen  declined  to 
comply  with  this  request,  and  the  minister 
and  the  consuls  were  promptly  dismissed  by 
the  President.  The  matter  caused  consider- 
able irritation  in  England  for  a  while,  but 
the  good  sense  of  the  English  people  at 
length  perceived  the  propriety  of  the  course 
of  the  American  government,  and  cordial 
relations  were  re-established  between  the  two 
countries. 

Territory  of  Nebraska, 

The  most  important  measure  of  Mr. 
Pierce's  administration  was  the  bill  to 
organize  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.  The  region  embraced  in  these 
Territories  formed  a  part  of  the  Louisiana 
purchase,  and  extended  from  the  borders  of 
Missouri,  Iowa  and  Minnesota  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  from  the 
parallel  of  36°  30^  north  latitude  to  the 
border  of  British  America.  The  whole 
region  by  the  terms  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise had  been  secured  to  free  labor  by 
the  exclusion  of  slavery. 

Until  the  year  1850  this  vast  area  was 
called  by  the  general  and  somewhat  indefi- 
nite name  of  the  "  Platte  Country,"  from  the 
Platte  river,  which  flows  through  it.  Little  ' 
was  known  concerning  it  save  that  it  was  a 
region  of  great  fertility.  It  was  mainly  , 
occupied  by  the  reservations  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  which  had  been  removed  from  the 
other  States  to  make  way  for  the  whites. 
Across  it  swept  the  grand  trails  of  the  over. 


642  FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

land  Tcxirte  to  Utah  and  the  Pacific.  The 
pcopleof  the  New  England  States  were  very 
anxious  that  the  Indian  reservations  which 
covered  the  eastern  part  should  be  bought 
up  by  the  general  government  and  the  coun- 
try thrown  open  to  emigration.  Petitions  to 
this  effect  were  presented  to  the  Thirty- 
second  Congress,  but  no  action  was  taken 
upon  them  until  December,  1852,  when  Mr. 
Hall,  of  Missouri,  introduced  a  bill  into  the 
House  to  organize  the  "  Territory  of  Platte." 


STEPHEN    A.    DOUGLAS. 

It  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Ter- 
ritories, which  in  February,  1853,  reported  a 
bill  organizing  the  "  Territory  of  Nebraska." 
The  bill  was  opposed  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives by  the  full  strength  of  the  South, 
and  in  the  Senate  the  only  southern  sena- 
tors who  voted  for  it  were  those  from  Mis- 
souri. The  Missouri  Compromise,  as  has 
been  stated,  secured  the  entire  Nebraska 
region  to  free  labor;  but  notwithstanding 
this  the  southern  members  of  Congress 
were  resolved  to  oppose  the  organization  of 


a  new  free  Territory,  and  to  endeavor  to 
obtain  a  footing  for  slavery,  in  at  least  a  part 
of  it. 

The  matter  was  revived  in  the  Senate  on 
the  sixteenth  of  January,  1854,  by  Senator 
Dixon,  of  Kentucky,  who  gave  notice  that 
whenever  the  Nebraska  bill  should  be  called 
up  he  would  move  the  following  amend- 
ment :  "  That  so  much  of  the  eighth  section 
of  an  act  approved  March  6,  1820,  entitled 
'  An  act  to  authorize  the  people  of  the  Mis- 
souri Territory  to  form  a  constitution  and 
State  government,  for  the  admission  of  such 
State  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with 
the  original  States,  and  to  prohibit  slavery  in 
certain  Territories,'  as  declares  '  That,  in  all 
the  territory  ceded  by  France  to  the  United 
States,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  which 
lies  north  of  36°  3o'  north  latitude,  slavery 
and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in 
the  punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party 
shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  be  for 
ever  prohibited,'  shall  not  be  so  construed  as 
to  apply  to  the  Territory  contemplated  by  this 
act,  or  to  any  other  Territory  of  the  United 
States  ;  but  that  the  citizens  of  the  several 
States  or  Territories  shall  be  at  liberty  to  take 
and  hold  their  slaves  within  any  of  the  Terri- 
tories or  States  to  be  formed  therefrom,  as 
if  the  said  act,  entitled  as  aforesaid,  had  never 
been  passed." 

More  Slavery  Agitation. 

The  announcement  of  this  amendment 
startled  the  country  as  much  as  the  Wilmot 
Proviso  had  done  years  before,  and  produced 
much  angry  excitement.  It  was  a  clear 
repudiation  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,, 
which  it  did  not  even  seek  to  repeal.  1 

Senator  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Territories,  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  January,  1854,  reported  a  bill 
which  provided  for  the  organization  of  the 
Platte   country  into  t'^vo   Territories.       The 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FRANKLIN   PIERCE, 


southern  portion,  which  lay  directly  west  of 
Missouri,  stretching  to  the  Rock  Mountains 
on  the  west,  and  extending  from  the  thirty- 
seventh  to  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  lati- 
tude, was  to  be  organized  into  a  distinct 
Territory,  to  be  called  Kansas.  The  remain- 
ider  was  to  be  called  Nebraska,  having  the 
line  of  43°  30'  for  its  northern  boundary- 
Senator  Douglas,  in  an  evil  hour  for  the 
country,  incorporated  in  the  bill  the  main 
features  of  Mr.  Dixon's  amendment.  The  bill 
contained  the  following  provisions  : 

"  Section  21.  And  be  it  further  enacted. 
That,  in  order  to  avoid  misconstruction,  it  is 
hereby  declared  to  be  the  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  this  act,  so  far  as  the  question  of 
slavery  is  concerned,  to  carry  into  practical 
operation  the  following  propositions  and 
principles,  established  by  the  compromise 
measures  of  1S50,  to  wit: 

"  First. — That  all  questions  pertaining  to 
slavery  in  the  Territories,  and  in  the  new 
States  to  be  formed  therefrom,  are  to  be  left 
to  the  decision  of  the  people  residing  therein, 
through  their  appropriate  representatives. 

"  Second. — That  all  cases  involving  title  to 
slaves,  and  questions  of  personal  freedom, 
are  referred  to  the  adjudication  of  the  local 
tribunals,  with  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

"  Third. — That  the  provisions  of  the  consti- 
tution and  laws  of  the  United  States,  in 
respect  to  fugitives  from  service,  are  to  be 
carried  into  faithful  execution  in  all  the 
'  organized  Territories,"  the  same  as  in  the 
States." 

A  Blow  at  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

The  section  of  the  bill  which  prescribed 
the  qualifications  and  mode  of  election  of  a 
delegate  from  each  of  the  Territories  was  as 
follows:  "The  constitution,  and  all  laws  of 
the  United  States  which  are  not  locally  inap- 
plicable, shall  have  thi    same  force  and  effect 


643 

within  the  said  Territory  as  clsewhcrf  1  the 
United  States,  except  the  section  of  the  act 
preparatory  to  the  admission  of  Missouri  into 
the  Union,  approved  March  6,  1820,  which 
was  supefseded  by  the  principles  of  the  leg- 
islation of  1 85-0,  commonly  called  the  com-^ 
promise  measures,  and  is  declared  inoper  ' 
ative." 

Mr.  Dixon  declared  that  the  bill,  as 
reported  by  Senator  Douglas,  met  with  his 
hearty  approval,  and  that  he  would  support 
it  with  all  his  ability.  The  debate  on  the 
bill  began  in  the  Senate  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  January,  and  continued  through  several 
weeks.  It  was  conducted  with  great  ability 
on  both  sides,  and  engaged  the  earnest  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  country.  The  Free  Soil 
senators  unanimously  opposed  the  bill, 
which  they  denounced  as  a  violation  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  by  which  the  faith  of 
the  nation  was  pledged  to  the  settlement  then 
effected.  The  southern  senators  supported 
it  with  equal  unanimity,  as  they  held  that 
the  Missouri  Compromise  had  been  super- 
seded by  the  compromise  of  1 850. 

Motion  to  Strike  Out. 

On  the  sixth  of  February  Mr.  Chase,  of 
Ohio,  moved  to  strike  out  so  much  of  the 
bill  as  declared  the  Missouri  Compromise 
•'superseded"  by  the  compromise  of  1850, 
but  the  motion  was  defeated.  Whereupon 
Mr.  Douglas,  on  the  fifteenth  of  February, 
moved  to  strike  out  the  clause  objected  to 
by  Mr.  Chase,  and  insert  the  following  : 

"  Which  being  inconsistent  with  the  prin- 
ciple of  non-intervention  by  Congress  with 
slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories,  as 
recognized  by  the  legislation  of  1850  (com- 
monly called  the  compromise  measures),  is 
hereby  declared  inoperative  and  void;  it 
being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act 
ncjt  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Tcrritor\-  or 
State,  nor  to  e.xclude   it   therefrom,  but  to 


C44 


l-ROM    THK    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form 
and   regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in 
their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  constitu- 
.    tlon  of  the  United  States." 

Mr.  Douglas'  amendment  was  at  once 
adopted,  and  seemed  fair  enough  on  its  face. 
Mr.  Chase  exposed  the  hoUowness  of  it  by 
proposing  to  add  to  it  the  following  clause, 
which  was  promptly  voted  down  :  "  Under 
which  the  people  of  the  Territories,  through 
their  appropriate  representatives,  may,  if  they 


SALMON     p.    CHA^E. 

sec  fit,  prohibit  the  existence  of  slavery 
therein." 

The  bill  was  adopted  by  the  Senate  by  a 
vote  of  thirty-seven  yeas  to  fourteen  nays, 
and  by  the  House  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  yeas  to  one  hundred  nays,  and 
on  the  thirty-first  of  May,  1854,  received  the 
approval  of  the  President  and  became  a  law. 

The  whole  country  engaged  warmly  in  the 
discussion  aroused  by  the  re-opening  of  the 
question  of  slavery  in  the  Territories.     The 


North  resented  th.-  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise  and  in  the  South  a  large  and 
respectable  party  sincerely  regretted  the  re- 
peal of  that  settlement.  By  the  passage  of 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  the  Thirty-third 
Congress  assumed  a  grave  responsibility,  and 
opened  the  door  to  a  bloody  and  bitter  con- 
flict in  the  Territories  between  slavery  and 
free  labor.  The  events  now  to  be  related  were 
the  logical  consequences  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise. 

A  few  months  before  the  final  vote 
upon  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  the  gen- 
eral government  succeeded  in  purchas- 
ing the  Indian  reservations  in  those  Ter- 
ritories, and  removed  the  Indian  tribes 
to  new  homes  farther  west.  This  action 
at  once  threw  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
open  to  white  settlers,  and  measures 
were  set  on  foot  in  the  New  England 
States  to  encourage  emigration  thither. 
Kansas  being  a  more  fertile  country  than 
Nebraska  naturally  attracted  the  greater 
number  of  settlers.  Before  anything 
could  be  done  by  the  Free  Soil  men,  the 
people  living  on  the  border  of  Missouri 
passed  over  into  Kansas,  and  selecting^ 
the  best  lands,  put  their  mark  upon 
them,  hoping  in  this  way  to  establish 
a  pre-emption  claim  to  them.  Their 
object  was  to  organize  and  hold  the 
Territory  in  the  interest  of  slavery,  but 
very  few  of  them  removed  to.  Kansas, 
or  had  any  wish  to  do  so. 

In  the  meantime  societies  had  been  formed 
in  the  New  England  States  for  the  promo 
tion  of  emigration  to  Kansas.  As  the  Pro- 
slavery  settlers  had  come  into  the  Territory 
so  slowly,  and  in  such  small  numbers,  it 
seemed  certain  that  the  northern  people  could 
secure  Kansas  to  free  labor  by  sending  out 
settlers  to  occupy  the  Territory  in  good  faith. 
The  Pro-slavery  party  in  Missouri  determined 
to  prevent  this.    In  July,  1854,  a  meeting  was 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    FRANKLIN    PIERCF 


645 


held  at  Westport  in  that  State,  at  which  it 
■was  resolved  that  the  persons  taking  part  in 
the  meeting  would,  "  whenever  called  upon 
by  any  of  the  citizens  of  Kansas  Territory, 
hold  '  themselves '  in  readiness  together  to 
resist  and  remove  any  and 
all  emigrants  who  go  there 
under  the  auspices  of  the 
Northern  Emigrant  Aid 
Societies."' 

The  first  party  sent  out 
by  the  New  England  A 
Societies  reached  a  point 
on  the  Kaw  river,  in  Kan- 
sas, about  the  middle  of 
July.  There  they  pitched 
their  tents  and  began  the 
building  of  a  town,  which 
they  named  Lawrence,  in 
honor  of  Amos  A.  Law- 
rence, of  Boston.  By  the 
last  of  the  month  they  were 
joined  by  seventy  more 
emigrants  and  tlie  work  "f 
founding  their  town  w>;- 
pushed  forward  with  en 
ergy.  There  was  not  ;i 
drone  in  the  little  commun- 
ity. They  were  all  honest, 
intelligent,  God-fearing  men 
and  women,  and  they  meant 
to  succeed  in  the  undertak- 
ing they  had  begun.  They 
were  in  legal  and  peaceable 
possession  of  their  settle- 
ment, and  thus  far  had  mo- 
lested or  wronged  no  one. 

They  were  not  to  live 
in  peace,  however.  Before 
they  had  finished  building  their  housc'^,  tin.) 
were  startled  by  the  announcement  that  two 
hundred  and  fifty  armed  Missourians  had 
encamped  within  a  short  distance  of  them  for 
the  purpose  of  driving  them  out  of  tlie  Terri- 


tory. The  next  morning  the  Missourians 
sent  them  a  formal  notice  that  "  the  Aboli- 
tionists must  leave  the  Territory,  never  more 
to  return  to  it."  They  declared  their  desire 
to  avoid  bloodshed  :  but  notified  the  settlers 


thit  they  nuibt  be  icady  to  kaxe  theTeiii- 
tory,  with  all  their  effects,  at  one  o'clock' 
that  day.  This  the  settlers  refused  to  do, 
and  prepared  to  defend  their  homes.  The 
messengers  of  the  Missourians  found  them 


646 


FROM   THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 

tant  from  the  border,  and  supposed  to  be  far 
enou<Th  away  to  be  free  from  intimidation  by 
the  Missourians ;  but  the  legislature,  immedi- 
ately upon  assembling,  adjourned  to  Shawnee 
Mission,  on  the  Missouri  border.  The  reso- 
lution for  this  purpose  was  vetoed  by  the 
governor,  but  was  passed  over  his  veto, 
and  was  at  once  carried  into  effect.  Upon 
reassembling  at  Shawnee  Mission,  the  Legis- 
lature proceeded  to  adopt  the  laws  of  Mis- 
souri as  the  laws  of  Kansas,  and  to  frame  a 
series  of  statutes  designedly  cruel  and  oppres- 
sive. These  laws  were  vetoed  by  Governor 
Reeder,  who  was  removed  by  the  President. 
Wilson  Shannon,  of  Ohio,  was  then  appoint- 
ed governor  of  Kansas. 


drilling  behind  their  tents  and  reported  this 
fact  to  their  leaders. 

The  firm  but  quiet  attitude  of  the  people 
of  Lawrence  had  a  happy  effect.  The  Mis- 
sourians made  no  effort  to  carry  out  their 
threat,  but  broke  up  their  camp  that  night, 
and  withdrew  across  the  border,  leaving  the 
settlers  in  peace.  Meanwhile  the  town  of 
Lawrence  grew  and  prospered,  and  the  New 
England  Societies  continuing  to  send  other 
emigrants  into  the  Territory,  other  towns 
were  founded.  Settlers  from  the  Southern 
States  came  into  the  Territory  very  slowly. 

The  general  government  threw  its  influ- 
ence as  far  as  possible  in  favor  of  the  Pro- 
slavery  party,  in  the  organization  of  the 
Territory,  by  appointing  a  majority  of  the 
territorial  officers  from  the  slaveholding 
States.  A.  H.  Reederwas  appointed  governor 
by  President  Pierce.  He  endeavored  to 
execute  the  laws  faithfully,  and  ordered  an 
election  for  members  of  a  territorial  legisla- 
ture, to  be  held  on  the  thirtieth  of  March, 
1855.  On  that  day  large  numbers  of  armed 
Missourians  crossed  the  border,  and,  taking 
possession  of  the  polling-places  in  Kansas, 
succeeded  in  returning  a  Pro-slavery  legisla- 
ture. 

Oppressive  Laws. 

Six  districts  at  once  forwarded  protests  to 
the  governor  against  the  elections,  showing 
beyond  all  reasonable  doubt  that  they  had 
been  controlled  by  citizens  of  Missouri.  The 
governor,  who  was  anxious  to  do  justice  to 
all  parties,  ordered  a  new  election  in  these 
districts,  each  of  which,  with  the  exception  of 
Lecompton,  returned  a  Free  Soil  delegate. 
The  new  delegates,  however,  were  refused 
their  seats  upon  the  assembling  of  the  legis- 
lature, and  the  successful  candidates  at  the 
original  election  were  admitted. 

The  governor  had  summoned  the  legisla- 
ture to  meet  at  Pawnee  City,  on  the  Kansas 
river,  a  town  nearly  one  hundred  miles  dis- 


Bold  Acts  of  Pro-Slavery  Men. 

In  the  meantime  the  Free  Soil  settlers  had 
increased  so  rapidly  that  they  at  length 
largely  outnumbered  the  Pro-slavery  settlers. 
They  now  felt  themselves  strong  enough  to 
resist  the  outrages  of  the  Missourians,  and 
accordingly,  on  the  fifth  of  September,  1855, 
held  a  convention,  in  which  they  distinctly 
repudiated  the  government  that  had  been 
forced  upon  them  by  men  who  were  not 
residents  of  the  Territory.  They  announced 
their  intention  not  to  take  part  in  the  election 
of  a  delegate  to  Congress,  which  the  territo- 
rial authorities  had  ordered  to  be  held  on  the 
first  of  October,  and  called  upon  the  actual 
residents  of  the  Territory  to  send  delegates 
to  a  convention  to  meet  at  Topeka  on  the 
nineteenth  of  September.  This  convention 
organized  an  executive  committee  for  the 
Territory,  and  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  ' 
for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  delegate  to 
Congress.  Governor  Reeder  was  nominated 
and  elected  to  Congress.  On  the  twenty- 
third  of  October  the  convention  adopted  a 
Free  State  constitution,  and  forwarded  it  to 
Congress  with  a  petition  for  the  admission  of 
Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 


647 


The  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the 
Territory  now  passed  out  of  the  area  of 
politics.  As  we  have  said,  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  opened  the  way  for, 
and  was  the  direct  cause  of,  the  conflict 
between  the  Free  and  Pro-slaver>'  settlers  of 
Kansas.  The  outrages  of  the  Pro-slavery 
men  had  forced  the  Free-Soilers  into  an  atti- 
tude of  direct  and  uncompromising  resist- 
ance ;  and  after  the  action  of  the  latter,  at 
Topeka,  the  struggle  which  had  hitherto 
been  comparatively  bloodless  changed  its 
character  and  became  an  open  and  sangui- 
nary war  between  the  two  parties. 

In  ihis  struggle  the  Pro-slavery  men  were 
the  aggressors.  Bands  of  young  men,  armed 
and  regularly  organized  into  companies  and 
regiments,  came  into  the  Territory  from 
South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  the  extreme 
Southern  States,  with  the  avowed  design  of 
making  Kansas  a  slaveholding  State  at  all 
hazards.  On  the  morning  of  May  21st, 
1856,  under  the  pretext  of  aiding  the  United 
States  marshal  to  serve  certain  processes 
upon  citizens  of  Lawrence,  they  captured 
that  town,  sacked  it,  burned  several  houses 
and  inflicted  a  loss  upon  it  amounting  to 
51 50,000.  From  this  time  the  war  went  on  t 
in  a  series  of  desultory  but  bloody  encoun- 
ters, some  of  which  assumed  the  propor- 
tions of  battles. 

During  this  month  an  event  occurred 
which  aroused  universal  indignation 
throughout  the  Northern  States.  Senator 
Charles  Sumner,  of  Massachusetts,  made 
an  eloquent  speech  in  the  Senate  at  Wash- 
ington on  the  Kansas  question,  some  parts 
of  which  excited  the  anger  of  Preston  S. 
Brooks,  a  southern  member  of  Congress. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  May  Brooks 
assaulted  Mr.  Sumner  while  he  was  sitting 
in  the  Senate  chamber,  and  beat  him  on  the 
head  with  a  cane  until  he  became  insensible. 
Mr.  Sumner  was  disabled  for  the  public  ser- 


vice for  several  years,  but  afterward  was 
re-elected  almost  unanimously  and  resumed 
his  seat.  This  cowardly  assault  was  uni- 
versally condemned. 

In  the  summer  of  1856  Governor  Shan- 
non, of  Kansas,  was  rem.oved,  and  John  W. 
Geary,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed  in 
his  place.  He  exerted  himself  honestly  to 
restore  peace  and  execute  the  laws,  and 
ordered  "  all  bodies  of  men  combined,  armed 
and  equipped  with  munitions  of  war,  with- 


CHAKLES    SUMNER. 

out  authority  of  the  government,  instantly 
to  disband  and  quit  the  Territory."  In 
obedience  to  this  order  the  Free  Soil  com- 
panies nearly  all  disbanded,  but  the  Pro- 
slavery  party  paid  scarcely  any  attention  to 
it.  They  concentrated  a  force  of  two  thou- 
sand men  and  advanced  upon  Lawrence  to 
attack  it.  Governor  Geary  at  once  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  United  States 
dragoons  stationed  in  the  Territory,  and  by 
a    rapid    march    threw    iiimseif   with    these 


648 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


troops  between  the  town  of  Lawrence  and 
the  hostile  force  and  prevented  another  con- 
flict. 

Matters  had  reached  this  stage  when  the 
Presidential  campaign  opened  in  1856.  The 
struggle  in  the  Territories  had  greatly  weak- 
ened the  Democratic  party,  and  had  given 
rise  to  a  new  party  which  called  itself 
Republican,  and  which  was  based  upon  an 
avowed  hostility  to  the  extension  of  slavery. 
A  third  party,  called  the  American,  or  Know 
Nothing,  also  took  part  in  the  campaign, 
and  was  based  upon  the  doctrine  that  the 
political  offices  of  the  country  should  be 
held  only  by  persons  of  American  birth. 
The  Democratic  party  nominated  James 
Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  Presi- 
dency, and  John  C.  Breckenridge,  of  Ken- 
tucky, for  the  Vice-Presidency.  The  Repub- 
lican nominee  for  the  Presidency  was  John 
C.  Fremont,  of  California;  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New 
Jersey.  The  American  party  supported 
Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  for  the 
Presidency,  and  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  of 
Tennessee,  for    the    Vice-Presidency.     The 


Whig  party  had  been  broken  to  pieces  by 
its  defeat  in  1852,  and  had  now  entirely  dis- 
appeared. 

The  canvass  was  unusually  excited. 
Slavery  was  the  principal  question  in  dis- 
pute. Party  ties  had  little  influence  upon 
men.  The  sentiment  of  the  nation  at  large 
had  been  outraged  by  the  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  and  thousands  of  Demo- 
crats, desiring  to  rebuke  their  party  for  its 
course  in  bringing  about  this  repeal,  united 
with  the  Republican  party,  which  declared 
as  its  leading  principle  that  it  was  "  both  the 
right  and  the  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit  in 
the  Territories  those  twin  relics  of  barbar- 
ism— polygamy  and  slavery." 

The  elections  resulted  in  the  triumph  of 
James  Buchanan,  the  candidate  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  Mr.  Buchanan  received  174 
electoral  votes  to  1 14  cast  for  Fremont. 
Though  a  majority  of  the  American  people 
sustained  the  action  of  the  Democratic  party, 
the  significant  fact  remained  that  1,341,264 
of  the  voters  of  the  country  had  recorded 
their  condemnation  of  it  b)-  casting  their 
votes  for  Fremont  and  Dayton. 


_^k_KJ^.^k.^?^-^°^-?34-^%J: 


M^ml 


CHAPTER   XL 

The  Administration  of  James   Buchanan. 

■^Tiaaguration  of  Mr.  Buchanan — The  Mormon  Rebellion — The  Financial  Crisis  of  1S57 — Laying  of  the  Atlantic  Tele 
graphic  Cable — Minnesota  Admitted  Into  the  Union — The  San  Juan  Affair — Admission  of  Oregon  Into  the  Union— 
The  Kansas  Question — The  Lecompton  Constitution — Its  Defeat — The  Wyandotte  Constitution — Admission  of  Kan 
sas  Into  the  Union — The  John  Brown  Raid — Prompt  Action  of  the  Government — Brown  and  His  Companions  Sur- 
rendered to  the  State  of  Virginia — Their  Trial  and  Execution — Presidential  Campaign  of  i860 — Rupture  of  the  Demc 
cratic  Party — ^Abraham  Lincoln  Elected  President  of  the  United  States — Secession  of  South  Carolina — Reasons  for 
this  Act — Secession  of  the  Other  Cotton  States — Major  Anderson  Occupies  Fort  Sumter — Trying  Position  of  the  Gen- 
eral Government — Course  of  Mr.  Buchanan — The  "  Star  of  the  West  "  Fired  Upon  by  the  South  Carolina  Batteries' 
Organization  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America — Jefferson  Davis  Elected  President  of  the  Southern  Republic — The 
Peace  Congress — Its  Failure. 


JAMES  BUCHANAN,  the  fifteenth 
Piesident  of  the  United  States,  was 
inaugurated  at  "Washington  on  the 
fourth  of  March,  1857.  He  was  in 
his  sixty-sixth  year,  and  was  a  statesman  of 
great  accomplishments  and  ripe  experience. 
He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1 791,  and 
was  by  profession  a  lawyer.  He  had  served 
his  State  in  Congress  as  a  representative  and 
a  senator,  had  been  minister  to  Russia  under 
President  Jackson,  and  had  been  a  member 
of  the  cabinet  of  President  Polk  as  secretary 
of  state.  During  the  four  years  previous  to 
his  election  to  the  Presidency  he  had  resided 
abroad  as  the  minister  of  the  United  States 
to  Great  Britain,  and  in  that  capacity  had 
greatly  added  to  his  reputation  as  a  states- 
man. 

He  avowed  the  object  of  his  administra- 
tion to  be  "  to  destroy  any  sectional  party, 
whether  North  or  South,  and  to  restore,  if 
possible,  that  national  fraternal  feeling 
between  the  difierent  States  that  had  existed 
during  the  early  days  of  the  republic."  The 
intense  sectional  feeling  which  the  discussion 
of  the  slavery  question  had  aroused  had 
alarmed  patriotic  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  it  was  earnestly  hoped  that  Mr. 
Buchanan's  administration  would  be  able  to 


effect  a  peaceful  settlement  of  the  quarrel. 
Mr.  Buchanan  selected  his  cabinet  from  the 
leading  men  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
placed  at  its  head  as  secretary  of  state  Lewis 
Cass,  of  Michigan. 

We  have  in  a  previous  portion  of  this  work 
noticed  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  Mormon 
sect,  and  their  settlement  in  the  region  of  the 
Great  Salt  lake,  then  a  part  of  the  Mexican 
republic.  They  were  not  at  all  pleased  with 
their  transfer  to  the  United  States  by  the 
cession  of  the  territory  occupied  by  them  by 
the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo.  Their 
object  in  emigrating  to  Utah  had  been  to 
place  themselves  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  where  they  could  enjoy  with- 
out molestation  their  religious  practices,  and 
maintain  among  themselves  the  institution 
of  polygamy,  to  which  they  were  attached 
as  the  foundation  of  their  faith.  They  were 
not  disturbed  by  the  Mexican  government, 
which  was  indeed  scarcely  aware  of  their 
existence,  and  thus  unnoticed  devoted  their 
energies  to  building  up  the  country  they  had 
occupied. 
i  Their  missionaries  were  sent  into  the  va- 
!  rious  countries  of  Europe,  and  converts  were 
made  with  extraordinary  success  and  rapid- 
,  ity.  They  built  up  a  thri\ing  town  on  the 
649 


650 


FROM    THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


borders  of  the  great  lake,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  founded 
other  towns  in  various  parts  of  the  Territor)-. 
By  the  year  1850  the  population  of  the  Ter- 
ritorj'  had  increased  to    11,380.     Being  on 


ceeded  Joe  Smith  as  the  prophet  or  leader 
of  the  Mormons,  was  appointed  by  President 
Fillmore  governor  of  the  Territory.  His 
appointment  was  renewed  by  President 
Pierce,  and  the  Mormons  were  left  during 


the  highway  to  California,  the  greater  part  I  these  two  administrations   to   manage  their 

affairs  very  much  in 
their  own  way.  Rely- 
ing upon  the  immense 
distance  which  sepa- 
rated them  from  the 
States,  they  paid  but 
little  regard  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  United 
States,  and  finally  ven- 
tured openly  to  resist 
the  officers  of  the  gen- 
eral government,  and 
expelled  the  federal 
judge  from  the  Ter- 
ritory. 

President  Buchanan 
thereupon  removed 
Brigham  Young  from 
his  office  of  governor, 
and  appointed  a  Mr. 
Cumming  his  succes- 
sor. The  Mormons 
having  declared  that 
the  new  governor 
should  not  enter  the 
Territory,  General 
Harney  was  ordered 
to  accompany  him 
with  a  large  body  of 
troops  and  compel  the 
submission  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Utah  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  federal  government. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Brigham  Young 
the  Mormons  took  up  arms  and  prepared  to 
dispute  the  entrance  of  the  troops  into  the 
Territory.  They  declared  that  their  settle- 
ment and  civilization  of  Utah  had  sfiven  them 


JAMES    BUCHANAN. 

of  the  overland  traffic  and  travel  to  the 
Pacific  passed  through  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
was  a  source  of  considerable  profit  to  the 
Mormons. 

In  1850  the  Territory  of  Utah  was  organ- 
ized, and    Brigham   Young,   who    had   sue- 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   BUCHANAN. 


651 


the  sole  right  to  the  Territory,  and  that  tlicy 
owed  no  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 
Their  resistance  was  so  formidable  that  the 
force  under  General  Harney  was  largely 
increased,  and  the  command  was  conferred 
upon  Brigadier- 
General  Albert  Sid 
ney  Johnston,  who 
was  considered  the 
most  efficient  offi 
cer  in  the  ser\ict 
General  Johnbtoii 
joined  his  troop 
at  Fort  Bridget 
about  one  hundted 
miles  from  Salt  : 
Lake  City,  in  Sep 
tember,  1857.  The 
Mormons  in  heavy 
force  occupied  the 
passes  leading  to 
the  valley  of  the 
Great  Salt  lake 
The  season  was  so 
far  advanced  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival 
that  General  Johns- 
ton concluded  to 
pass  the  winter  at 
Fort  Bridger.  The 
Mormons  were 
very  active  during 
the  winter  in  cut- 
ting off  the  trains  of 
the  federal  troops 

It  was  General 
Johnston's  inten- 
tion to  move  upon 
Salt  Lake  City  im- 


inducing  the  Mormons  to  lay  down  their  arms 
and  submit.  Governor  Gumming  and  the  fed- 
eral officers  then  entered  Salt  Lake  City  and 
assumed  the  offices  to  which  they  had  been 
appointed,  and  a  force  of  federal  troops  was 


THE    MORMON    TEMPLE,    SALT    LAKE    CTTV 


mediately  upon  the  opening  of  the  spring,  but 
before  that  season  arrived  the  matter  was 
settled  through  the  efforts  of  a  Mr.  Kane,  of 
Philadelphia.  He  was  sent  out  to  Salt  Lake 
City  by  the   government,  and   succeeded  in 


encamped  near  the  city  to  render  them  such 
assistance  as  should  be  found  necessary. 
Piesident  Buchanan  then  issued  a  proclama- 
tion granting  a  free  pardon  "to  all,  for  the 
seditions  and  tre.-isons  by  thcni  committed. "^ 


ti52 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Subsequently  it  transpired  that  a  horrible 
atrocity  of  the  most  cruel  and  bloody  descrip- 
tion had  been  committed.  On  the  eighteenth 
of  September,  1S57,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  emigrants,  who  were  said  to  have  offended 
the  Mormons,  were  massacred  in  cold  blood 
at  Mountain  Meadow,  Utah.  Many  years 
later  Bishop  Lee,  of  the  Mormon  Church,  was 
accused  of  having  ordered  this  wholesale 
murder,  l^rijham  Young  was  exonerated 
in   1  '  A  as   convicted,  sen- 


New  York  on  the  thirteenth  of  October,  and 
by  those  of  Boston  on  the  fourteenth.  The 
failures  in  the  United  States  for  the  year  ending 
December  6,  1857,  are  said  to  have  reached 
the  enormous  aggregate  of  ^291,750,000. 

The  Western  States  suffered  in  a  marked  , 
degree  from  the  effects  of  this  "  crisis  ;"  but 
the  South  was  comparatively  unharmed  by  it. 
Various causeswereassigned  forthe  panic,  the 
principal  ofwhich  were  the  large  speculations 
in  western  lands  and  a  heavy  fall  in  the  value 


MOU.XTAIN    MKAUUW    .MAbiACKE. 


tenced  to  death,  and  shot  March  23,  1877, 
nearly  twenty  years  after  the  dastardly  crime 
was  committed. 

In  the  fall  of  1857  the  general  business  of 
the  country  was  thrown  into  confusion  by 
a  sudden  financial  panic,  which  seriously 
embarrassed  all  commercial  and  industrial 
enterprises  and  caused  general  distress.  On 
the  twenty-sixth  of  September  the  banks  of 
Philadelphia  suspended  specie  payments  ;  and 
their  example  was  followed  by  the  banks  of 


of  railway  stocks.  The  New  York  banks  re- 
sumed specie  payments  on  the  twehth  of 
December,  1857;  the  Boston  banks  on  the 
fourteenth  of  December  of  that  year;  and 
those  of  Philadelphia  in  April,  1858.  Specie 
payments  were  gradually  resumed  in  other 
parts  of  the  country,  but  the  depression  of 
business  continued  until  during  the  course 
of  the  year  1859. 

In    1858    occurred    an  event  second  only 
in    importance     to    the     invention    of     the 


AD.MINISTRATION   OF 

electric  telegraph.  For  some  years  it  had 
been  behe\'ed  possible  to  connect  the 
shores  of  Europe  with  those  of  America 
by  means  of  a  submarine  telegraphic  cable 
across  the  Atlantic.  In  1857  an  unsuc- 
cessful effort  was  made  by  a  company  of 
American  and  English  capitalists  to  accom- 
plish this  object.  The  attempt  was  renewed 
in  185S.  Two  war  steamers  were  furnished 
for  the  work  of  laying  the  cable — the 
"  Niagara  "  by  the  United  States,  and  the 
"  Agamemnon  "  by  Great  Britain.  The  two 
vessels  metin  mid  ocean,  and  sailed  each  to  its 
own  country,  paying  out  the  cable  as  they  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way.  On  the  fifth  of  August, 
1S58,  the  "  Niagara"  entered  Trinity  bay,  in 
Newfoundland,  and  made  fast  her  end  of  the 
cable  to  the  shore,  and  on  the  same  day  the 
"Agamemnon"  reached  Valentia  bay,  in 
Ireland,  having  successfully  accomplished 
her  part  of  the  work. 

The  First    Ocean  Cable. 

The  great  work  was  thus  ended,  and  on  the 
sixteenth  of  August  a  message  was  received 
through  the  wires  from  the  Queen  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  addressed  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  who  at  once 
returned  a  suitable  reply.  Other  messages 
were  exchanged  between  the  two  continents, 
and  the  practicability  of  the  scheme  was  fully 
demonstrated.  On  the  first  of  September  the 
laying  of  the  cable  was  celebrated  with  impos- 
ing ceremonies  in  New  York,  and  rejoicings 
were  held  in  other  cities. 

The  hopes  aroused  by  the  successful 
accomplishment  of  the  great  enterprise  were 
soon  disappointed,  for  after  a  short  time 
the  wires  ceased  to  work,  and  no  effort 
could  re-establish  the  communication  be- 
tween the  two  ends  of  the  line.  The  feasi- 
bility of  the  undertaking  had  been  practi- 
cally demonstrated,  however,  and  the  deter- 
mined  men  who   had  carried  it  through  to 


JAMES   BUCHANAN.  653 

success  were  convinced  that  a  new  effort  would 
be  attended  with  more  satisfactory  results. 

On  the  eleventh  of  May,  1 8 5  8,  the  Territory 
of  Minnesota  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as 
a  State. 

In  the  autumn  of  1859  a  dispute  arose 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
as  to  the  ownership  of  the  large  island  of  San 
Juan,  lying  in  the  strait  which  separates 
Vancouver's  island  from  the  territory  of  the 
United  States.  General  Harney,  commanding 
the  American  troops  in  the  northwest,  took 
possession  of  the  island.  Governor  Douglas, 
of  British  Columbia,  protested  against  this 
occupation,  and  for  a  while  there  was  danger 
that  the  two  parties  would  come  to  blows. 
The  general  government  despatched  General 
Scott  to  the  scene  of  the  controversy,  and  he 
succeeded  in  bringing  about  an  adjustment  of 
the  quarrel. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  February,  1S59, 
Oregon  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
State,  the  Territory  of  Washington  being 
separated  from  it. 

A  New  Governor  for  Kansas. 

During  the  whole  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  ad- 
ministration the  question  of  slaver)'-  in  the 
Territories  continued  to  engross  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people.  The  struggle  in  Kansas 
went  on  with  increased  bitterness.  In  the 
summer  of  1857  an  election  was  ordered  by 
the  legislature  of  Kansas  for  delegates  to  a 
convention  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  con- 
stitution, and  care  was  taken  to  arrange  the 
matter  so  that  a  majority  of  Pro-slavery  dele- 
gates should  be  chosen.  For  this  reason, 
and  others  of  equal  force,  the  Free  Soil  men 
refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  election,  which 
consequently  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  Pro- 
slavery  convention.  The  Free  Soil  party 
thereupon  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of 
tiie  United  States,  relating  the  wrongs  they 
hatl  suffered  and  were  still  enduring. 


654 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Governor  Geary  now  resigned  his  position 
and  President  Buchanan  appointed,  as  gov- 
ernor of  Kansas,  Robert  J.  Walker,  a  man  of 
great  eminence  and  ability,  who  was  in  sen- 
timent opposed  to  slavery.  Mr.  Walker  sin- 
cerely desired  to  effect  a  settlement  of  the 
quarrel,  and  succeeded  in  inducing  the  Free 
Soil  party  to  vote  at  the  coming  election  for 
members  of  the  territorial  legislature  and  a 
delegate  to  Congress.  They  did  so,  and  a 
fair  election  was  held,  which  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  the  Free  Soil  candidates  by  over- 
whelming majorities. 

Intense  Feeling  in  Congress. 

In  the  autumn  of  1857  the  convention 
elected,  as  we  have  seen,  assembled  at  Le- 
compton,  and  framed  a  State  constitution. 
This  instrument  contained  a  clause  adopting 
slavery,  and  the  convention  submitted  this 
clause  only  to  the  people  of  the  Territory  for 
rati.'ication  or  rejection  at  the  polls.  The 
remainder  of  the  constitution  was  withheld 
from  the  popular  vote.  The  convention  also 
ordered  that  all  whose  votes  were  challenged 
at  the  polls  should  be  required  "  to  take  an 
oath  to  support  the  constitution  if  adopted," 
before  being  allowed  to  deposit  their  ballot. 
The  Free  State  men  refused  to  take  part  in 
the  vote  on  the  ratification  of  this  constitu- 
tion, and  consequently  all  the  votes  cast  were 
in  favor  of  it.  It  was  declared  adopted,  and 
was  sent  to  Congress  for  the  approval  of  that 
body. 

The  discussion  of  the  Lecompton  consti- 
tution in  Congress  was  marked  by  great  bit- 
terness. It  was  supported  by  the  Democratic 
party  and  the  administration, and  was  opposed 
with  determination  by  the  Republicans.  The 
latter  took  the  strong  ground  that  the  Le- 
compton constitution  was  not  the  work  of 
the  people  of  Kansas,  but  of  a  mere  faction, 
and  was  distasteful  to  the  majority  of  the 
citizens  of  that  Territory,  who  were  opposed 
to  slavery. 


Finally,  on  the  thirtieth  of  April,  1858,  a 
bill  was  passed  to  submit  the  Lecompton 
constitution  to  the  people  of  Kansas.  This 
bill  declared  that  if  they  ratified  the  consti- 
tution, they  should  be  given  certain  public 
lands  for  State  purposes;  but  that  if  they 
failed  to  ratify  it,  Kansas  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  Union  until  it  had  a 
population  of  ninety-three  thousand.  With 
these  strange  conditions,  the  constitution 
was  submitted  to  the  people  of  Kansas  on 
the  second  of  August,  1858,  and  was  rejected 
by  them  by  a  vote  of  eleven  thousand  three 
hundred  against  it,  to  seventeen  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  votes  in  its  favor. 

In  January,  1859,  the  civil  strife  having 
subsided  in  the  Territory,  and  the  Free  Soil 
men  having  a  majority  in  the  legislature,  a 
convention  was  summoned  at  Wyandotte. 
It  met  in  July,  and  adopted  a  free  State  con- 
stitution, which  was  submitted  to  the  people 
and  ratified  by  a  large  majority.  The 
"Wyandotte  Constitution"  was  then  laid 
before  Congress,  and  a  bill  admitting 
Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  State  was  passed 
by  the  lower  House  early  in  i860. 

Kansas  Admitted  Into  the  Union. 

The  Senate,  however,  failed  to  act  upon  the 
bill.  At  the  next  session  the  measure  was 
revived,  and  on  the  thirtieth  of  January, 
1 861,  the  opposition  of  the  South  having 
ceased  by  reason  of  the  withdrawal  of  a 
large  number  of  the  southern  representatives 
and  senators  from  Congress,  Kansas  was 
admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  free  State. 

Two  notable  events  of  this  year  should  not 
escape  special  mention.  They  are,  however, 
of  a  very  different  character.  One  was  the 
death  of  the  great  American  writer  and 
author,  Washington  Irving,  who  may  be 
considered  as  the  father  of  American  liter- 
ature. He  was  bred  a  lawyer,  but  his  tastes 
and  aptitudes  led  him  into  other  fields  for  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


655 


acquisition  of  both  fame  and  wealth.     He 
commenced    writing    for   the   press   at   the 
early   age    of  nineteen.     His    first  sketches 
were  under  the  nom  dc  phane  of  Jonathan 
Oldstyle  ;  then   came   his  "  Knickerbocker's 
History    of    New    York ;"    but    it  was   the 
{"  Sketch  Book  "  which  "  laid  the  foundation  ^ 
;Of  the  fortune,  and   the  permanent  fame  of  I 
Irving  ;  the  legends  of '  Sleepy  Hollow  '  and  { 
'  Rip  Van  Winkle  '   at  once  took  rank  as  \ 
modern  classics,  while  the  pictures  of  Eng- 
lish life  and  customs  were  so  genial,  artistic, 
and  withal  so  faithful,  that  they  fairly  took 
the  reading  world  by  storm."     This  work 
was  brought  out  in  England  in  good  style 
by  the  publisher,  Murray,  in  1820,  upon  the 
recommendation  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

A  writer  in  "  Johnson's  Cyclopaedia " 
says,  that  after  this  publication,  "  a  new  phe- 
nomenon had  appeared  in  the  world  of  let- 
ters— the  first  American  author  had  gained 
an  honorable  name  in  Albemarle  street  and 
Paternoster  Row.  Henceforth  the  path  of 
Irving  was  smooth,  and  his  subsequent  writ- 
ings appeared  with  rapidity."  This  great 
author  was  born  in  New  York  City,  on  the 
third  of  April,  1783,  and  died  at  his  resi- 
dence, Sunnyside,  Tarrytown,  on  the  Hud- 
son, on  the  twenty-eighth  of  November, 
1859,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his 
age.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  is  a 
quaint  old  edifice.  It  has  become  one  of 
the  shrines  of  American  pilgrimage. 

The  other  notable  event  of  this  year  which 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  popular 
mind,  North  and  South,  and  which  was 
attended  with  political  results  of  the  great- 
est importance,  was  the  raid  of  John  Brown 
upon  Harper's  Ferry. 

On  the  night  of  the  sixteenth  of  October, 
1859,  John  Brown,  who  had  acquired  a  con- 
siderable notoriety  as  the  leader  of  a  Free 
Soil  company  during  the  war  in  Kansas, 
entered  the   State   of  Virginia,  at    Har[)er's 


Ferry,  with  a  party  of  twenty-one  compan- 
ions, and  seized  the  United  States  arsenal 
at  that  place.  He  then  sent  out  parties  to 
arrest  the  leading  citizens  of  the  vicinity,  as 
hostages,  and  to  induce  the  negro  slaves  to 
join  him,  his  avowed  object  being  to  put  an 
end  to  slavery  in  Virginia  by  exciting  an 
insurrection  of  the  slaves.  Several  citizens 
were  kidnapped  by  these  parties,  but  the 
slaves  refused  to  join  Brown,  or  to  take  any 
part  in  the  insurrection.     At  daylight  on  the 


WA^HINT.TON   IRVIN'G. 

seventeenth  of  October  the  alarm  was  given, 
and  during  the  morning  the  militia  of  the 
surrounding  country  was  ordered  under 
arms  to  put  down  the  outbreak.  Brown's 
force  was  unknown,  and  was  greatly  exag- 
gerated. 

The  news  of  the  seizure  of  the  arsenal  was 
telegraphed  to  Washington,  and  the  govern- 
ment decided  to  recover  it  at  once  and  con- 
fine the  trouble  to  the  spot  on  which  it  had 
originated.  General  Scott  was  absent  from 
the  capital  at  the  time,  and  the  President  and 


656 


FROM   THE 


REVOLUTION   TO  THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


secretaiy  of  war  summoned  Colonel  Robert 
E.  Lee,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  army, 
to  consult  with  them  as  to  the  best  course 
to  pursue.  The  interview  resulted  in  the 
despatching  of  a  battalion  of  marines  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Lee.  Orders  were  telegraphed  to 
that  poiut  to  suspend  all  operations  there 
until  Colonel  Lee's  arrival.  He  reached 
Harper's  Ferry  on  the  night  of  the  seven- 
teenth. 

In  the  meantime,  upon  the  appearance  of 
the  militia.  Brown  and  his  companions  re- 
treaied  to  the  fire-engine  house  in  the  arsenal 
yard.  This  was  a  strong  stone  building,  and 
they  barricaded  the  doors,  and  during  the 
day  maintained  a  desultory  fire  upon  the 
town.  They  had  taken  Colonel  Washington, 
Mr.  Dangerfield,  and  the  other  citizens  kid- 
napped by  them,  into  the  engine-house  with 
them,  where  they  held  them,  in  the  hope  that 
the  presence  of  these  gentlemen  would  pre- 
vent the  troops  from  firing  upon  them. 

Capture  of  the  Insurrectionists. 

As  soon  as  Colonel  Lee  arrived  at  Har- 
per's Ferry,  he  proceeded  to  surround  the 
engine-house  with  the  marines  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  Brown  and  his  men,  and  deferred 
his  attack  upon  them  until  the  next  morning, 
lest  in  a  night  assault  some  of  the  captive 
citizens  might  be  injured.  At  dayhght  on 
the  eighteenth,  wishing,  if  possible,  to  accom- 
plish the  object  in  view  without  bloodshed, 
Colonel  Lee  sent  his  aid,  Lieutenant  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  insur- 
gents, promising  to  protect  them  from  vio- 
lence at  the  hands  of  the  citizens,  and  to  hold 
them  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  President. 

Brown  refused  the  terms  offered,  and 
demanded  to  be  permitted  to  march  out  with 
his  men  and  prisoners,  with  the  arms  of  the 
former,  to  be  allowed  to  proceed,  without 
being  followed,  to  a  point  at  a  certain  distance 


from  Harper's  Ferry,  where  he  would  free 
his  prisoners.  He  was  then  willing  that  the 
troops  should  pursue  him,  and  to  fight  if  he 
could  not  escape.  This  proposition  was 
inadmissible,  but  as  a  last  resort.  Colonel  Lee 
directed  Lieutenant  Stuart  to  remonstrate 
with  the  insurgents  upon  the  folly  of  their 
course.  This  duty  Stuart  performed,  re- 
maining before  the  engine-house  until  his 
personal  danger  compelled  him  to  withdraw. 
Finding  that  nothing  but  force  would  avail. 
Colonel  Lee  gave  the  order  for  the  assault,, 
and  the  marines  made  a  dash  at  the  engine- 
house,  broke  in  the  doors,  and  captured  its 
inmates.  Several  of  the  insurgents  were 
killed  and  wounded,  Brown  himself  being 
desoerately  hurt.  The  marines  lost  one  man 
killed  and  one  wounded.  Fortunately  none 
of  the  citizens  captured  by  Brown  were 
injured. 

Execution  of  John  Brown. 

Colonel  Lee  took  care  to  protect  his 
prisoners,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  but 
for  his  precautions  in  their  behalf  they  would 
have  been  shot  down  by  the  excited  civil- 
ians. He  telegraphed  to  Washington  for  in- 
structions, and  was  directed  to  deliver  the 
prisoners  to  Mr.  Ould,  the  attorney  for  the 
District  of  Columbia,  who  was  ordered  by 
the  government  to  take  charge  of  them  and 
bring  them  to  trial.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Ould 
arrived  Colonel  Lee  turned  over  the  prisoners 
to  him,  and  being  satisfied  that  the  danger 
was  over,  went  back  to  Washington. 

As  Brown  and  his  companions  had  com- 
mitted their  chief  crime  against  the  United 
States,  by  seizing  the  federal  arsenal  and  re- 
sisting the  troops  sent  to  reduce  them  to 
submission,  it  seemed  proper  that  they  should 
be  tried  for  their  offences  by  the  general  gov- 
ernment. The  attempt  to  incite  an  insurrec- 
tion of  the  slaves,  however,  was  a  crime- 
against  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  and. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES   BUCHANAN. 


657 


the  governor  of  that  State  demanded  of  the 
federal  authorities  the  surrender  of  Brown 
and  his  fellow  prisoners  for  trial  by  the  State 
courts. 

The  demand  was  complied  with,  and  the 
prisoners  were  arraigned  in  the  court  of  the 
county  of  Jefferson,  the  county  in  which 
their  offence  was  committed.  They  were 
given  a  fair  trial,  and  were  defended  by  able 
counsel  from  the  free  States,  who  came  to 
Charlestown  for  that  purpose.  Brown  frankly 
confessed  that  his  object  was  to  produce  an 
insurrection  among  the  slaves,  and  then  carry 
them  off  to  the  free  States.  The  prisoners 
were  found  guilty  of  treason,  murder,  and  an 
attempt  to  incite  insurrection,  and  were  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged.  Brown  was  executed 
at  Charlestown  on  the  second  of  December, 
I S59,  and  six  of  his  companions  met  the  same 
fate  a  few  weeks  later. 

Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy. 

During  his  trial  Brown  steadily  denied 
that  he  had  been  aided  or  encouraged  by  any 
persons  in  the  North.  His  denial  was  gen- 
erally doubted  at  the  time,  and  it  is  now 
known  that  he  was  assisted  with  money  and 
advice  by  some  of  the  most  respectable 
leaders  of  the  extreme  Anti-slavery  party, 
and  that  several  persons  high  in  position 
knew  of  the  designs  of  Brown,  but  failed  to 
warn  either  the  general  government  or  the 
State  of  Virginia  of  the  intended  attack.* 

The  execution  of  Brown  and  his  compan- 
ions drew  upon  the  South  a  storm  of  furious 
denunciation  from  the  Anti-slavery  men. 
Brown  was  regarded  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause 
of  freedom,  and  the  day  of  his  execution  was 
observed  in  many  of  the  towns  of  the 
Northern    States    by    the   tolling    of  bells. 


prayer  in  the  churches,  the  firing  of  minute- 
guns,  and  other  public  demonstrations  of  sor- 
row and  respect.  The  conservative  class  in 
the  North,  however,  and  in  this  number  were 
included  some  of  the  firmest  opponents  of 
slavery,  sincerely  deplored  Brown's  course, 
and  acknowledged  his  punishment  as  merited. 

"  The  Irrepressible   Conflict." 

Brown  was  a  man  of  many  good  qualities, 
but  the  undertaking  in  which  he  met  his  fate 
was  criminal  in  the  extreme.  Not  even  the 
intention  of  rescuing  the  slaves  of  Virginia 
from  their  bondage  can  excuse  him  for  seek- 
ing to  excite  a  servile  war,  in  which  murder 
and  violence  would  have  been  inevitable,  and 
in  which  the  aged  and  the  helpless,  the 
defenceless  women  and  children,  would  have 
been  the  chief  sufferers. 

The  effect  of  Brown's  attempt  upon  the 
southern  people  was  most  unfortunate. 
They  regarded  it  as  unanswerable  evidence 
of  the  intention  of  the  people  of  the  North  to 
make  war  upon  them  under  the  cover  of  the 
Union.  Regarding  this  view  of  the  case  as 
true,  they  came  to  listen  with  more  favor  to 
the  arguments  of  the  extreme  class  which 
openly  favored  a  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
and  which  asserted  that  the  only  safety  of 
the  South  lay  in  pursuing  such  a  course. 

The  John  Brown  raid  was  the  most  power- 
ful argument  that  had  ever  been  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  disunionists,  and  in  the 
alarm  and  excitement  produced  by  that 
event  the  southern  people  lost  sight  of  the 
fact  that  the  great  mass  of  the  northern 
people  sincerely  deplored  and  condemned 
the  action  of  Brown  and  his  supporters. 
The  voice  of  reason  was  drowned  in  the 
storm  of  passionate  excitement  which  swept 


*  Mr.  F.   B.   Sanborn,  one  of  Brown's  confederates,  in  a  series  of  papers  published  in    Tin  Atlanlic  Afon/A!y 
(vol.  XXXV.)  gives  the  details  of  this  conspiracy,  together  with  many  interesting  incidents  connected  with  it,  which  sus- 
tain the  view  of  the  case  presented  above. 
42 


6s8 


FROM 


over  the  land,  and  the  extremists  on  both 
sides  were  able  to  prosecute  their  unpatriotic 
work  to  great  advantage. 

While  the  excitement  was  at  its  height  the 
Presidential  campaign  opened  in  the  Spring 
of  i860.  The  slavery  question  was  the  chief 
issue  in  this  struggle.  The  convention  of 
the  Democratic  party  met  at  Charleston,  in 
April,  but  being  unable  to  effect  an  organi- 


EDWARD    EVERETT. 

zation  adjourned  to  Baltimore,  and  reassem- 
bled in  that  city  in  June.  The  extreme  south- 
ern delegates  were  resolved  that  the  conven- 
tion should  be  committed  to  the  protection 
of  slavery  in  the  Territories  by  Congress,  and 
failing  to  control  it  withdrew  from  it  in  a 
body,  and  organized  a  separate  convention, 
w  hich  they  declared  represented  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  which,  in  reality,  as  the  vote 
subsequently     proved,    represented     but    a 


THE    REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

minority  of  that  party.  The  new  conven- 
tion was  joined  by  a  number  of  delegates 
from  the  Northern  and  Western  States. 

The  convention,  after  the    withdrawal  of 
these    delegates,  nominated    for  the   Presi- 
dency Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  Herschell  V.  John- 
son, of  Georgia.     It  then  proceeded  to  adopt 
the  platform  put  forward  by  the  entire  party 
four  years  before  at  Cincinnati,  upon 
the  nomination  of  Mr.   Buchanan, 
with    this    additional    declaration : 
"  That   as    differences    of    opinion 
exist  in  the  Democratic  party  as  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers 
of  a  territorial  legislature,  and  as  to 
the  powers  and  duties  of  Congress 
under  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  over  the  institution  of  slavery 
within  the  Territories    ...    the 
party  will  abide  by  the  decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  on  the  questions  ot  constitu- 
tional law." 

The  "Seceders'  Convention,"  as  it 
was  commonly  called,  also  adopted 
the  Cincinnati  platform,  and  pledged 
themselves  to  non-interference  by 
Congress  with  slavery  in  the  Terri- 
tories or  the  District  of  Columbia. 
This  party  held  to  the  doctrine  that 
the  constitution  recognized  slavery 
as  existing  in  the  Territories,  and 
sanctioned  and  protected  it  there, 
and    that    neither    Congress    nor    the    peo- 
ple of  the  Territories  could  frame  any  law 
against  slavery  until  the  admission  of  such 
Territories  into  the  Union   as  States.     The 
regular  convention  held  that  Congress  had 
no  right  to  interfere  with  slav^ery  in  the  Ter- 
ritories, to  legislate  either  for  or  against  it; 
that  the  regulation  of  that  question  belonged 
entirely  to  the  people  of  the  respective  Ter- 
ritories  acting  through    their    Legislatures. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


659 


This  doctrine  was  popularly  known  as  "Squat- 
ter Sovereignty,"  and  was  credited  to  Mr. 
Douglas.  The  "  Seceders'  Convention  "  put 
forward  as  its  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
John  C.  Rreckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  for 
the  Vice-Presidency  Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon. 

Republican  Nominations. 

The  Republican  party  took  issue  with  both 
wings  of  the  Democratic  party.  Its  conven- 
tion was  held  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  its  can- 
didates were,  for  President  Abraham  Lincoln, 
of  Illinois,  and  for  Vice-President  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  of  Maine.  The  platform  of  principles 
adopted  by  the  Chicago  Convention  declared 
that  "  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  pro- 
mulgated in  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  embodied  in  the  Federal  Constitution  is 
essential  to  the  preservation  of  our  republican 
institutions.  .  .  .  That  all  men  are  created 
equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Crea- 
tor with  certain  inalienable  rights.  .  .  .  That 
the  Federal  Constitution,  the  rights  of  the 
States  and  the  union  of  the  States  must  and 
shall  be  preserved." 

The  platform  also  declared  that  the  rights 
of  the  States  should  be  maintained  inviolate, 
"especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order 
and  control  its  own  domestic  institutions 
according  to  its  own  judgment  exclusively." 
It  asserted  "that  the  normal  condition  of  all 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  is  that  of 
freedom,"  and  denied  the  right  or  "  authority 
of  Congress,  of  a  Territorial  Legislature,  or 
of  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to 
slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the  United 
States." 

A  fourth  party,  known  as  the  "  Constitu- 
tional Union  Party,"  proclaimed  as  its  plat- 
form the  following  vague  sentence :  "The  con- 
stitution of  the  country,  the  union  of  the 
."t  tales  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws."  The 
convention  of  this  party  met  at  Baltimore,  and 
nominated  for  the  Presidency  John  Bell,  of 


Tennessee,  and  for  the  Vice-Presidency 
Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  contest  between  these  parties  was  bit- 
ter beyond  all  precedent.  When  the  elec- 
tion took  place  in  November,  the  result  wasi 
as  follows  : 

Popular  vote  for   Lincoln.  1,866,452 

"  "         Douglas,        !, 375, 157 

"  Breckenridgc,  847,953 

Bell,  590,631 

The  electoral  vote  stood  as  follows'.  Fcr 
Lincoln,  iSo;  for  Breckenridge,  72;  ii^-' 
Bell,  39;  lor  Douglas,  12. 

Election  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  thus  elected  by  a  pluralit) 
of  the  popular  vote,  which  secured  for  him 
the  electoral  votes  of  eighteen  States.  These 
States  were  entirely  north  of  the  sectional 
line,  and  he  received  not  a  single  electoral 
vote  from  a  Southern  State.  The  States, 
which  cast  their  electoral  votes  for  Brecken- 
ridge, Bell  and  Douglas,  were  entirely  slave- 
holding.  The  division  thus  made  was  alarm- 
ing. It  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
Republic  that  a  President  had  been  elected 
by  the  votes  of  a  single  section  of  the 
Union. 

The  state  in  which  the  Presidential  election 
left  the  country,  was  alarming.  The  excite- 
ment was  higher  than  it  had  been  before  the 
struggle  at  the  polls.  The  Gulf  States  had 
declared  at  an  early  period  of  the  political 
campaign  that  they  would  withdraw  from  the 
Union  in  the  event  of  the  election  of  a  Re- 
publican President.  The  people  of  the  South 
generally  regarded  the  result  of  the  election 
as  an  evidence  of  the  determination  of  the 
Northern  States  to  use  the  power  of  the  fed- 
eral government  to  destroy  the  institution  of 
slavery.  The  disunion  leaders  exerted  them- 
selves to  deepen  this  conviction,  and  to 
arouse  the  fears  of  the  South. 


66o 


FROM    Till-:    REVOLUTION   TO   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


On  the  otlier  hand,  the  Republican  leaders 
took  little  pains  to  allay  the  excitement  by 
declaring  their  intentions  to  execute  faith- 
fully the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  Union. 
Their  declarations  of  fidelity  to  the  Union 
were  abundant,  and  were  generally  accom- 
panied by  equally  plain   assertions  of  their 


country's  history  as  he  had  never  been 
needed  before  ;  but,  alas !  statesmanship  of 
any  kind  was  painfully  wanting. 

As  soon  as  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  definitely  ascertained,  the  legislature  of 
South  Carolina  summoned  a  sovereign  con- 
vention  of  the  people   of   that  State,  which 


I3KID0E    CROSSING    IHL    faUsOLLU  \NN  V    M\LK    \1     U\KKISbLKG. 


determination  to  oppose  by  force  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Southern  States— declarations 
•which  were  ill-suited  to  calm  the  fears  of  the 
South,  or  to  encourage  the  party  in  that  sec- 
tion, which  desired  a  perpetuation  of  the 
Union.  A  statesman  of  the  Henry  Clay 
school  was    needed    at    this     crisis    of   our 


met  on  the  seventeenth  of  December,  iS6c 
This  convention  adopted  an  ordinance  of 
secession  on  the  twentieth  of  December, 
and  declared  the  State  no  longer  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Union.  The  reasons  assigned  for 
this  action  were  thus  stated  by  the  conven- 
tion : 


ADMIXISTRATIOX   OF   JAMES   BUCHANAN. 


"  An  increasing  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
non-slaveholding  States  to  the  institution  of 
slavery  has  led  to  a  disregard  of  their  obli- 
gations, and  the  laws  of  the  general  govern- 
ment have  ceased  to  effect  the  objects  of  the 
constitution.  The  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, Rhode  Island,  New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Wis- 
consin, and  Iowa,  have  enacted  laws  which 
either  nullify  the  acts  of  Congress  or  render 
useless  any  attempt  to  execute  them. 

Strong  Affirmations. 

"  In  many  of  these  States  the  fugitive  is 
discharged  from  the  service  or  labor  claimed, 
and  in  none  of  them  has  the  State  govern- 
ment complied  with  the  stipulations  made 
in  the  constitution.  .  .  .  Thus  the  consti- 
tutional compact  has  been  deliberately  broken 
and  disregarded  by  these  non-slaveholding 
States,  and  the  consequence  follows  that 
South  Carolina  is  released  from  her  obli- 
gation. 

"  \\'e  affirm  that  these  ends  for  which  this 
government  was  instituted  have  been  defeated, 
and  the  government  itself  has  been  made 
destructive  of  them  by  the  action  of  non- 
slaveholding  States.  Those  States  have 
assumed  the  right  of  deciding  upon  the  pro- 
priety of  our  domestic  institutions;  and  have 
denied  the  rights  of  property  established  in 
fifteen  of  the  States  and  recognized  b}-  the 
constitution  ;  they  have  denounced  as  sinful 
the  institution  of  slavery ;  they  have  per- 
mitted the  open  establishment  among  them 
of  societies  whose  avowed  object  is  to  disturb 
the  peace  and  to  eloigne  the  property  of 
citizens  of  other  States.  They  have  encour- 
aged and  assisted  thousands  of  our  slaves  to 
leave  their  homes  ;  and  those  who  remain 
have  been  incited  by  emissaries,  books,  and 
pictures  to  servile  insurrection. 


66 1 

"  For  twenty-five  years  this  agitation  has 
been  steadily  increasing,  until  it  has  now 
secured  to  its  aid  the  power  of  the  common 
government.  Observing  the  forms  of  the 
constitution,  a  sectional  party  has  found 
within  that  article  establishing  the  executive 
department  the  means  of  subverting  the  con- 
stitution itself.  A  geographical  line  has 
been  drawn  across  the  Union,  and  all  the 
States  north  of  that  line  have  united  in  the 
election  of  a  man  to  the  high  office  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  whose  opinions 
and  purposes  are  hostile  to  slavery. 

Charges  Against  Certain    States. 

"  He  is  to  be  intrusted  with  the  admin- 
istration of  the  common  government  because 
he  has  declared  that  that '  government  cannot 
endure  permanently  half  slave,  half  free,'  and 
that  the  public  mind  must  rest  in  the  belief 
that  slavery  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction. 

"  This  sectional  combination  for  the  sub- 
version of  the  constitution  has  been  aided 
in  some  of  the  States  by  elevating  to  citizen- 
ship persons  who,  by  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  are  incapable  of  becoming  citizens  ;  and 
their  votes  have  been  used  to  inaugurate  a 
new  policy,  hostile  to  the  South,  and  destruc- 
tive of  its  peace  and  safety. 

"  On  the  fourth  of  March  next  this  party 
will  take  possession  of  the  government.  It  has 
announced  that  the  South  shall  be  excluded 
from  the  common  territory  ;  that  the  judicial 
tribunals  shall  be  made  sectional,  and  that 
a  war  must  be  waged  against  slavery 
until  it  shall  cease  throughout  the  United 
States. 

"  The  guarantees  of  the  constitution  will 
then  no  longer  exist;  the  equal  rights  of  the 
States  will  be  lost.  The  slaveholding  States 
will  no  longer  have  the  power  of  self-govern- 
ment or  self-protection,  and  the  federal 
government  will  become  their  enemy." 


FROM   THE   REVOLUTION   TO   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


662 

These  reasons  were  substantially  the  same 
as  those  avowed  by  the  other  Southern  States 
in  support  of  their  action,  and  therefore  we 
have  quoted  them  at  length. 

The  example  of  South  Carolina  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  other  States  of  the  far  South, 
which  summoned  conventions  and  adopted 
ordinances  of  secession.  Mississippi  with- 
drew from  the  Union  on  the  ninth  of  January. 
1861  ;  Florida  on  the  tenth  of  JanuarjS 
Alabama  on  the  eleventh  of  January  ;  Geor- 
gia on  the  nineteenth  of  January;  Louisiana 
on  the  twenty-sixth  of  January',  and  Texas 
on  the  first  of  February.  The  forts,  arsenals 
and  other  public  property  of  the  United  States 
within  the  limits  of  these  States  were  seized 
by  the  authorities  of  the  States  in  which  they 
were  situated,  and  were  held  by  their  troops, 
with  the  exception  of  Forts  Moultrie  and 
Sumter,  in  Charleston  harbor,  and  Fort  Pick- 
ens, at  Pensacola. 

Critical  State  of  Affairs. 

F"ort  Moultrie  was  occupied  by  Major 
Robert  Anderson,  of  the  United  States  army, 
with  a  garrison  of  eighty  men.  Becoming 
alarmed  at  the  rapid  concentration  of  troops 
in  Charleston,  Major  Anderson  evacuated 
the  fort  on  the  night  of  December  25,  i860, 
and  threw  himself  with  his  command  into 
Fort  Sumter,  which  was  built  in  the  bay  at 
some  distance  from  either  shore.  The  State 
troops  at  once  occupied  Fort  Moultrie,  and 
began  to  erect  batteries  of  heavy  guns  at 
different  points  along  the  harbor  for  the 
reduction  of  Fort  Sumter. 

Fort  Pickens  was  held  bj-  a  garrison  under 
Lieutenant  Slemmer.  The  State  of  Florida 
occupied  the  navy  \'ard  at  Pensacola  and 
the  other  forts  in  that  harbor  with  her 
troops. 

The  property  of  the  general  government 
seized  by  the  seceded  States  amounted  to 
over  twenty  millions  of  dollars  in  value. 


The  position  of  the  general  government 
was  one  of  great  difficult}'.  The  President 
was  called  upon  either  to  recognize  the  law- 
fulness of  the  acts  of  the  seceded  States,  and 
thus  to  join  in  the  work  of  dissolving  the 
Union,  or  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the 
federal  government,  and  compel  the  submis- 
sion of  the  Southern  States  to  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  land.  The  go\ern- 
ment  was  almost  powerless  to  enforce  its 
authority.  The  army,  but  sixteen  thou- 
sand strong,  was  stationed  upon  the  re- 
mote frontier,  and  the  available  vessels  of 
the  navy  were  nearly  all  absent  on  foreign 
service.  Many  of  the  most  prominent  federal 
officials,  including  several  of  the  cabinet 
ministers,  were  in  open  sympathy  with  the 
seceded  States.  The  President's  position  was 
unquestionably  embarrassing,  but  he  made 
no  use  of  the  means  at  his  command.  General 
Scott,  the  veteran  commander  of  the  army, 
believed  that  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the 
general  government  would  confine  the  evil  t  > 
the  six  cotton  States,  and  urged  the  Presi- 
dent to  act  with  vigor. 

Mr.  Buchanan  was  sorely  perplexed,  and 
seemed  chiefly  an.xious  to  postpone  all  defi- 
nite action  until  the  inauguration  of  his  suc- 
cessor. He  was  in  favor  of  conceding  every- 
thing but  separate  independence  to  the 
South,  failing  to  percei.'e  that  the  leaders  of 
the  secession  movement  would  accept  nothing 
but  separation  ;  and  by  his  timidity  lost  the 
advantages  which  the  government  would 
have  gained  by  a  bold,  firm  course. 

Attempt  to  Aid  Major  Anderson. 

As  Major  Anderson  was  short  of  supplies 
and  needed  reinforcements,  the  steamship 
"Star  of  the  West  "  was  despatched  by  the 
government  to  Charleston  with  provisions 
and  a  detachment  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men  to  his  assistance.  She  reached  Charles- 
ton on    the    ninth    of  January,     1861,    and 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


6C3 


attempted  to  enter  the  harbor,  but  was  fired 
upon  by  the  South  CaroUna  batteries,  and 
turned  back. 

The  President  was  urged  by  the  friends  of 
the  South  to  order  Major  Anderson  to  evac- 
uate Fort  Sumter  and  return  to  Foit  Moul- 
trie, but  refused  to  do  so.  South  Caroh'na 
then  offered  to  purchase  Fort  Sumter  from 
the  general  government,  for  its  full  value,  but 
the  President  refused  to  make  the  sale. 

Immediately  upon  their  withdrawal  from 
the  Union  the  six  seceded  States  began  to 
concert  measures  for  their  common  protec- 
tion. Delegates  were  elected  to  a  convention 
which  met  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  on  the 
fourth  of  February,  1 861,  to  devise  a  plan  for 
this  purpose.  The  convention  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  a  new  republic,  for  which 
they  adopted  the  name  of  The  Confederate 
States  of  America.  On  the  eighth  of  Febru- 
ary, a  provisional  constitution  having  been 
adopted,  the  convention  elected  Jefferson 
Davis,  of  Mississippi,  President,  and  Alexan- 
der H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  Vice-president 
of  the  Confederate  States.  The  action  of  the 
convention  was  sustained  by  all  the  States 
comprising  the  new  confederacy,  and  the 
provisional  government  at  once  entered  upon 
its  duties.  Mr.  Davis  was  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent of  the  Confederate  States  at  Montgom- 
ery, Alabama,  February  18,  1861. 

Sketch  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

Jefferson  Davis  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  was  born  on  the  third  of  June,  1808. 
His  father  had  removed  to  Mississippi  during 
his  early  childhood,  and  he  had  grown  up  to 
manhood  in  that  State.  He  was  educated  at 
the  West  Point  Military  Academy,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1828,  and  passed 
the  next  seven  years  of  his  life  in  the  army. 
He  served  with  distinction  during  the  Black 
Hawk  war  and  against  the  Indian  tribes  on 
the  frontier.     Entering  into  politics  after  his 


withdrawal  from  the  army,  he  was  soon  sent 
to  represent  his  State  in  Congress,  in  which 
body  he  served  until  the  commencement  of 
the  Mexican  war.  During  that  struggle  he 
commanded  the  Mississippi  Rifles,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  greatly  in  the  battles  of 
General  Taylor's  army,  and  especially  at 
Buena  Vista. 

Upon  his  return  home  he  was  chosen  to 
represent  Mississippi  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.     Upon   the   inauguration    of 


JEFFERSON    DAVIS. 

President  Pierce,  he  accepted  a  seat  in  the 
cabinet  as  secretary  of  war.  Returning  to 
the  Senate  after  the  close  of  Mr.  Pierce's 
administration,  he  remained  in  that  body 
until  the  secession  of  Mississippi,  when  he 
resigned  his  seat  and  returned  home.  He 
was  now  in  his  fifty-third  year,  and  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  public 
men  in  America.  His  election  was  generally 
looked  upon  in  the  South  as  a  concession  to 
the  more  conservative  portion  of  the  sou;Ii- 
ern  people,  for  he  had  not  been  considered 


1NALGLRVTK)\  OF  JEFFERbON   D-VMS 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES    BUCHANAN. 


665 


as  one  of  the  original  or  most  ultra  secession 
leaders. 

The  conservative  elements  of  both  sections 
made  great  efforts  to  bring  about  a  recon- 
ciliation. The  State  of  Virginia  called  upon 
all  the  States  to  send  delegates  to  an  informal 
peace  congress  to  meet  in  W'ashington.  This 
■  body  assembled  in  February.  Twenty  States 
were  represented  in  it — thirteen  northern 
and  seven  southern — and  the  venerable  ex- 
President  Tyler  was  chosen  to  preside  over 
its  deliberations.  Various  plans  of  settle- 
ment were  proposed,  and  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  one  member  from  each  State,  was 
appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  upon  which  the 
congress  could  unite.  In  due  time  it  made 
its  report  to  the  congress,  and  after  a  careful 
and  elaborate  discussion  the  resolutions  were 


adopted,  and  were  ordered  to  be  laid  before 
the  rival  governments. 

The  congress  then  adjourned.  The  plan 
proposed  by  this  body  pleased  neither  side. 
The  Southern  States  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  guarantees  it  offered  for  the  protection  of 
their  rights  in  the  matter  of  slavery;  and  the 
Northern  States  were  unwilling  to  sanction 
a  more  rigid  enforcement  of  the  constitu- 
tional provision  for  the  rendition  of  fugitive 
slaves.  The  effort  to  close  the  breach  be- 
tween the  States  only  served  to  widen  it. 

Matters  were  in  this  unhappy  and  excited 
condition  when  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Buchanan  came  to  a  close.  After  the  inau- 
guration of  his  successor,  he  retired  to  his 
home  at  Wheatland,  near  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  died  in  June,  1868. 


BOOK     VI 

The  Civil  War 


CHAPTER    XLI 

The  Administration  of  Abraham   Lincoln 

Inauguration  of  President  Lincoln — His  History — The  Confederate  Commissioners  at  Washington — Attack  upon  Fort 
Sumter  by  the  Confederates — The  President  Calls  for  Troops — Response  of  the  North  and  West — Secession  of  the 
Border  Slates — Opening  Events  of  the  War  in  Virginia — Withdrawal  of  West  Virginia — Admitted  into  the  Union  as 
a  Separate  Slate — Meeting  of  Congress — The  West  Virginia  Campaign — Battle  of  Bull  Run — The  War  in  Missouri — 
Kentucky  Occupied — The  Blockade — Capture  of  Port  Royal— The  "Trent"  Affair — Insurrection  in  East  Tennessee — 
State  of  Affairs  at  the  Opening  of  the  Vear  1S62 — Edwin  M.  Stanton  made  Secretary  of  War— Capture  of  Forts  Henry 
and  Donelson — The  Confederates  Fall  Back  from  Kentucky — Battle  of  Shiloh — Capture  of  Island  No.  10 — Evacuation 
of  Corinth — Capture  of  Memphis — Bragg's  Kentucky  Campaign — His  Retreat  into  Tennessee — Battles  of  luka  and 
Corinth — Battle  of  Murfreesboro',  or  Stone  River — Grant's  Campaign  against  Vicksburg — Its  Failure — The  War  Beyond 
the  Mississippi — Battle  of  Pea  Ridge — Capture  of  Roanoke  Island — Capture  of  New  Orleans  -  Surrender  of  Fort 
Pulaski — The  War  in  Virginia — Johnston's  Retreat  from  Centreville — Battle  between  the  "  Monitor"  and  "Virginia'' 
— The  Move  to  the  Peninsula — Johnston  Retreats  to  the  Chickahominy — Battle  of  Seven  Pines — Jackson's  Successes 
in  the  Valley  of  Virginia — The  Seven  Days'  Battles  Before  Richmond — Battle  of  Cedar  Mountain — Defeat  of  General 
Pope's  Army — Lee  Invades  Maryland  -Capture  of  Harper's  Ferry — Battles  of  South  Mountain  and  Antie 
Retreat  of  Lee  into  Virginia — McClellan  Removed — Battle  of  Fredericksburg. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  six- 
teenth President  of  the  United 
States,  was  inaugurated  at  Wash- 
ington on  the  fourth  of  March,  1861. 
As  it  was  feared  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  prevent  the  inauguration,  the  city- 
was  held  by  a  strong  body  of  regular  troops 
under  General  Scott,  and  the  President-elect 
was  escorted  from  his  hotel  to  the  Capitol  by 
a  military  force.  No  effort  was  made  to  inter- 
fere with  the  ceremonies,  and  the  inaugura- 
tion passed  off  quietly. 

The  new  President  was  in  his  fifty-third 
year,  and  was  a  native  of  Kentucky.  When 
he  was  but  eight  years  old  his  father  removed 
to  Indiana,  and  the  boyhood  of  the  future 
President  was  spent  in  hard  labor  upon  the 
farm.  Until  he  reached  manhood  he  con- 
tinued to  lead  this  life,  and  during  this  entire 
period  attended  school  for  only  a  year.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  removed  to  Illinois 
666 


ABRAHAM    Ll.NCOLN. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


667 


where  he  began  life  as  a  storekeeper.  Being 
anxious  to  rise  above  his  humble  position,  he 
determined  to  study  law.  He  was  too  poor 
to  buy  the-necessary  books,  and  so  borrowed 
them  from  a  neighboring  lawyer,  read  them 
at  night  and  returned  them  in  the  morning. 
His  genial  character,  great  good  nature  and 
love  of  humor  won  him  the  friendship  of  the 
people  among  whom  he  resided,  and  they 
elected  him  to  the  lower  house  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Illinois. 

He  now  abandoned  his  mercantile  pursuits, 
and  began  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  was 
subsequently  elected  a  representative  to  Con- 
gress from  the  Springfield  District.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  his 
State,  and  in  1858  was  the  candidate  of  the 
Republican  Party  for  United  States  Senator. 
In  this  capacity  he  engaged  in  a  series  of  de- 
bates in  various  parts  of  the  State  with  Sena- 
tor Douglas,  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
re-election  to  the  same  position.  This  de- 
bate was  remarkable  for  its  brilliancy  and  in- 
tellectual vigor,  and  brought  him  promi- 
nently before  the  whole  countr}',  and  opened 
the  way  to  his  nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency. 

The  Inaugural  Address. 

In  person  he  was  tall  and  ungainly,  and  in 
manner  he  was  rough  and  awkward,  little 
versed  in  the  refinements  of  society.  He 
was  a  man,  however,  of  great  natural  vigor 
of  intellect,  and  was  possessed  of  a  fund  of 
strong  common  sense,  which  enabled  him  to 
see  at  a  glance  through  the  shams  by  which 
he  was  surrounded,  and  to  pursue  his  own 
aims  with  singleness  of  heart  and  directness 
of  purpose.  He  had  sprung  from  the  ranks 
of  the  people,  and  he  was  never  false  to  them. 
He  was  a  simple,  unaffected,  kind-hearted 
man ;  anxious  to  do  his  duty  to  the  whole 
country;  domestic  in  his  tastes  and  habits ; 
and   incorruptible  in  every   relation  of  life. 


He  was  fond  of  humor,  and  overflowed  with 
it ;  finding  in  his  "  little  stories  "  the  only 
rela.xation  he  ever  sought  from  the  heavy 
cares  of  the  trying  position  upon  which  he 
was  now  entering.  He  selected  his  cabinet 
from  the  leading  men  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  placed  William  H.  Seward,  of 
New  York,  at  its  head  as  Secretary  of 
State. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  sincerely  an.xious  to 
avoid  everj'thing  which  might  precipitate  the 
civil  strife ;  but  at  the  same  time  was  deter- 


mined to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  gen- 
eral government  over  the  seceded  States.  In 
his  inaugural  address  he  declared  his  pur- 
pose to  collect  the  public  revenues  at  the 
ports  of  the  seceded  States,  and  to  "  hold, 
occupy  and  possess  "  the  forts,  arsenals  and 
other  public  property  seized  by  those  States. 
At  the  time  of  his  entrance  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office  P'ort  Sumter  and  Fort  Pickens 
were  still  held  by  the  Federal  forces. 


668 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


The  Confederate  government  was  con- 
vinced that  war  was  inevitable ;  and  since  its 
inauguration,  had  been  preparing  for  the 
coming  struggle.  Nearly  all  the  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  who 
were  natives  of  the  seceded  States,  resigned 
their  commissions  in  the  old  service,  and 
were  given  similar  positions  in  the  army  of  the 


Confederate  States.  The  forces  collected  at 
Charleston  and  Pcnsacola  were  reinforced  by 
troops  from  other  States,  and  the  command 
at  the  former  place  was  conferred  upon  Gen- 
eral Pierre  G.  T.  Beauregard,  and  at  the  latter 
upon  General  Braxton  Bragg,  both  of  whom 
had  been  distinguished  officers  of  the  old  army. 


Just  before  the  close  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
term  of  office,  the  Confederate  government 
despatched  John  Forsyth,  of  Alabama,  Mar- 
tin J.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  and  A.  B.  Roman, 
of  Louisiana,  to  Washington  as  commission- 
ers to  endeavor  to  effect  a  peaceable  adjust- 
ment of  the  matters  at  issue  between  the  two 
governments,  and  to  treat  for  an  equitable 
division  of  the  public  property  of 
the  United  States.  Mr.  Buchanan 
refused  to  receive  the  commis- 
sioners in  their  official  capacity, 
and  after  the  inauguration  of 
the  new  administration  they  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  Mr.  Seward, 
the  new  Secretary  of  State,  set- 
«^  ting   forth   the  objects   of  their 

J/^^^'>^     mission,  and  soliciting  an  official 
^    -^     interview  with  the  President. 

Mr.  Seward  declined  to  receive 
them  in  their  official  capacity,  but 
answered  them  verbally  through 
^  Mr.  Justice  John  A.  Campbell,  of 
i^^^^^^l  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
"""  ■■  States,  that  he  was  in  favor  of  a 
peaceful  settlement  of  the  diffi- 
culty, and  that  the  troops  would 
I'L-  withdrawn  from  Fort  Sumter 
in  less  than  ten  days.  Mr.  Sew- 
ard's object  appears  to  have  been 
to  deceive  the  commissioners, 
and  lull  their  suspicions,  in  order 
to  gain  time  for  the  preparations 
which  had  been  determined  upon 
for  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter. 

In  the  meantime,  the  govern- 
ment having  resolved  to  rein- 
provision  Fort  Sumter  at  all 
hazards,  every  nerve  was  strained  to  carry 
out  this  design  before  it  should  become 
known  to  the  Confederates.  An  expedition 
consisting  of  seven  ships,  carrying  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  guns  and  twenty-four 
hundred   men,  was  prepared  at  New  York 


and 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


669 


r 


and  Norfolk.  The  southern  commissioners, 
whose  suspicions  had  been  allayed  by  Mr. 
Seward's  message,  were  alarmed  by  the  ru- 
mors of  these  preparations,  which  they  sus- 
pected were  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter. 
They  waited  upon  Judge  Campbell  to  ask  an 
explanation,  and  that  gentleman,  on  the  sev- 
enth of  April,  addressed  a  note  to  Mr.  Sew- 
ard asking  if  the  assurances  he  had  given 
were  well  or  ill  founded.  Mr.  Seward  replied 
as  follows  :  "  Faith  as  to  Sumter  fully  kept ; 
wait  and  see." 

In  the  meantime  the  expedition  had  sai'  ' 
from   New  York  ^_^^  __  . 

and  Norfolk,  and 
was  on  its  way  to 
Charleston  harbor. 
On  the  eighth  of 
April,  1S61,  Gov- 
ernor Pickens,  of 
South  Carolina, 
was  notified  by  the 
general  govern- 
ment of  its  inten- 
tion to  relieve  Fort 
Sumter  at  all  haz- 
ards, and  of  the 
sailing  of  the  fleet 
for  that  purpose. 
Governor  Pickens 
at    once    informed 

General  Beauregard  of  this  notification,  and 
the  news  was  telegraphed  by  him  to  the 
Confederate  government  at  Montgomery. 

The  Confederate  Secretary  of  War  there- 
upon ordered  General  Beauregard  to  demand 
the  immediate  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter  ; 
"and  if  this  should  be  refused  to  proceed 
to  reduce  it."  On  the  eleventh  of  April 
General  Beauregard  demanded  of  Major 
Anderson  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  The 
demand  was  refused  in  writing ;  but  Major 
Anderson  added  verbally  to  the  mes- 
senger,  "  I  will  await   the   first  shot,  and   if 


}-ou   do  not  batter  us  to  pieces,   we  will  be 
starved  out  in  a  {cw  days." 

Beauregard  telegraphed  this  remark  with 
Anderson's  reply  to  his  government,  and  was 
answered,  "  Do  not  desire  needlessly  to  bom- 
bard Fort  Sumter.  If  Major  Anderson  will 
state  the  time  at  which,  as  indicated  by  him- 
self, he  will  evacuate,  and  agree  that,  in  the 
meantime,  he  will  not  use  his  guns  against 
us  unless  ours  should  be  employed  against 
Fort  Sumter,  you  are  authorized  thus  to 
a\  oid  the  effusion  of  biood.  If  this  or  its 
'     ■'   'it    br   refused,    reduce    the  fort,   as 


-       3^ 


'^%^^^^^ 


your  judgment  decides  most  practicable." 
The  Federal  fleet  was  on  its  way  to  Charles- 
ton, and  if  the  attack  of  the  Confederates 
was  to  be  made  at  all,  no  time  was  to  be  lost. 
General  Beauregard,  therefore,  gave  Major 
Anderson  warning  that  he  should  open  fire 
upon  Fort  Sumter  at  half-past  four  o'clock 
the  next  morning. 

At  the  designated  hour  on  the  morning  of 
April  1 2th,  the  Confederate  batteries  opened 
fire  upon  Fort  Sumter,  which  replied  to  them 
with  spirit.  The  bombardment  lasted  over 
thirty-two    hours,  and   the  fort  was  greatly 


670 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


damaged,  and  many  of  the  guns  were  dis- 
mounted. The  fleet  arrived  off  the  harbor 
during  the  bombardment,  but  remained  in 
the  offing,  and  took  no  part  in  the  engage- 
ment. Not  a  single  life  was  lost  in  this 
memorable  battle.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  thirteenth,  Major  Anderson  agreed 
to  capitulate,  and    the  firing  ceased.      The 


MAJOR    ANDERSON. 

victors  granted  liberal  terms  to  Anderson 
and  liis  men,  whose  heroism  had  aroused 
their  warmest  admiration  ;  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  Sunday,  April  14th,  the  fort  was  sur- 
rendered to  the  Confederate  forces,  and 
Major  Anderson  and  the  garrison  embarked 
in  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  fleet,  which  at 
once  sailed  for  New  York. 

The  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter  put  an  end 


to  the  last  hope  of  peace,  and  aroused  the 
most  intense  excitement  in  both  sections  of 
the  country.  On  the  fifteenth  of  April,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  calling 
upon  the  States  to  furnish  seventy-five 
thousand  troops  for  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion,  and  convening  Congress  in  extra 
session  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  The  Northern 
and  Western  States  re- 
sponded with  enthu- 
siasm to  the  President's 
call  for  troops,  and  at 
once  began  to  forward 
their  quotas  to  the  points 
designated  by  the  war 
department. 

The  enthusiasm  in  the 
South  was  fully  equal  to 
that  of  the  North.  The 
Confederate  government 
issued  a  call  for  volun- 
teers to  repel  the  threat- 
ened invasion  of  the  fed- 
eral forces,  and  it  was 
responded  to  with  ala- 
crity. 

Until  now  the  States 
of  Maryland,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Tennes- 
see, Kentucky,  Arkansas 
and  Missouri,  generally 
known  as  the  Border 
States,  had  remained  in 
the  Union,  hoping  to  be 
able  to  effect  a  peaceable 
settlement  of  the  quarrel.  Their  sympathies 
were  with  the  Southern  States,  and  it  was  gen- 
erally believed  that  in  the  event  of  war  they 
would  cast  their  lots  with  those  States.  Each 
of  these  States  was  included  in  the  call  of 
President  Lincoln  for  troops.  The  governors 
of  most  of  them  replied  by  refusing  to  furnish 
the  quotas  required  of  them,  and  by 
denouncing  the  President's  demand  as  illegal. 


AD:\riXISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOI.X. 


671 


pieces  of  cannon,  and  an  immense  quantity 
of  stores  and  munitions  of  all  kinds.  The 
governors  of  the  seceded  Border  States  issued 
calls  for  \-olunteers  immediately  upon  the 
withdrawal  of  their  States.  Men  came  for- 
ward in  such  large  numbers  that  arms  could 
not  be  provided  for  all  of  them.  The 
prominent  points  of  danger  in  Virginia 
were  occupied  and  fortified  by  the  State 
troops  ;  but  the  control  of  the  military  af- 
fairs in  all  the  Border  States  soon  passed 


Conventions  of  the  people  were  held,  and 
all  but  Maryland,  Kentucky  and  Missouri 
withdrew  from  the  Union,  The  secession  of 
Virginia  took  place  on  the  seventeenth  of 
April ;  that  of  Arkansas  on  the  sixth  of  May ; 
that  of  North  Carolina  on  the  twentieth  of 
May  ;  and  that  of  Tennessee  on  the  eighth 
of  June.  These  States  subsequently  ratified 
the  constitution  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  became  members  of  the  new  republic. 
Kentucky  and  Missouri  remained  neutral. 

The  passage  of  the 
act  of  secession  by  the 
Virginia  convention 
was  kept  secret  for  a 
■day  or  two  in  order  to 
give  the  authorities  of 
"that  State  an  oppor- 
tunity to  seize  the 
United  States  arsenal 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
the  na\y  yard  at  Ports- 
mouth. The  officer 
in  command  of  the 
arsenal,  upon  hearinL; 
of  the  approach  of  a 
force  of  Virginia 
troops,  destroyed  a 
number  of  the  mus- 
kets stored  there,  set 
fire  to  the  buildings, 
and  retreated  into 
Pennsylvania.     The  Virginians  extinguished  I  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederate  govern- 


FORT   SUMTER 


the  flames  and  secured  a  large  quantity  of  1  mcnt. 


arms  and  equipments  and  the  valuable  ma- 
chinery for  the  manufacture  of  arms.  The 
commandant  of  the  navy  yard  at  Portsmouth, 
upon  the  approach  of  the  Virginians,  made 
no  attempt  to  defend  his  post,  but  spiked  the 
cannon,  burned  or  sunk  the  war  vessels  lying 
in  the  harbor,  set  fire  to  the  buildings,  and 
retreated  with  two  war  steamers. 

The  navy  yard  was  at  once  occupied  by  the 
Virginians,  who  secured  nearly  two  thousand 


As  it  was  certain  that  the  first  operations 
of  the  war  would  take  place  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  Virginia,  the  city  of  Richmond  was 
made  the  capital  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  on  the  twenty-first  of  May  the  Confed- 
erate government  was  removed  to  that  city. 

The  western  part  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
refused  to  join  the  remainder  of  the  State  in 
its  withdrawal  from  the  Union.  On  the 
eleventh  of  June,    1861,  the    people    of  the 


672 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


western  counties  met  in  con\ention  at  Wheel- 
ing, declared  their  independence  of  the  old 
State,  organized  a  State  government,  and 
proclaimed  their  intention  to  remain  faithful 
to  the  Union.  The  action  of  this  convention 
was  sustained  by  the  Federal  government,  and 
on  the  twenty-sixth  of  November,  1861, 
another   convention  met  at  Wheelincf,  and 


FOKlij    sLMfLR   AND    MOULTRIE. 

adopted  a  constitution  for  the  new  State  of 
West  Virginia.  This  constitution  was  rati- 
fied by  the  people  at  the  polls  on  the  third 
of  May,  1862,  and  application  was  made  for 
the  admission  of  West  Virginia  into  the 
Union  as  a  State,  which  was  accomplished 
by  act  of  Congress  on  the  twentieth  of  June 
1863. 


In  the  meantime  the  Federal  government 
set  to  work  with  energy  to  prepare  for  the 
struggle  before  it.  The  call  of  President 
Lincoln  for  troops  had  been  answered  by 
three  hundred  thousand  volunteers.  On  the 
seventeenth  of  April,  two  days  after  the  Pres- 
ident's proclamation,  the  Sixth  Mnssachu- 
setts  regiment  left  Boston  for  Washington. 
In  passing  through 
Baltimore  it  was  at- 
tacked by  a  crowd  of 
citizens  who  sympa- 
thized with  the  South, 
and  three  soldiers 
were  killed  and  eight 
wounded.  Several 
citizens  were  killed 
and  wounded.  The  reg- 
iment reached  Wash- 
ington the  same  day. 

In  a  short  time  the 
force  at  the  capital 
was  sufficient  to  put 
an  end  to  all  fears  for 
its  safety.  Alexandria 
and  the  Virginia  shore 
opposite  Washington 
v-ere  seized  and  for- 
tified. Baltimore  wis 
occupied  by  a  force 
under  General  Butler, 
and  the  communica- 
tions of  Washington 
with  the  North  and 
West  were  made  sure. 
On  the  nineteenth  of 


April  the  President  issued  a  proclamation 
declaring  all  the  southern  ports  in  a  state  oi 
blockade ;  and  on  the  third  of  May  he  put 
forth  another  proclamation  ordering  the  regu- 
lar army  of  the  United  States  to  be  increased 
to  sixty-four  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-eight  men,  and  the  navy  to  eighteen 
thousand  seamen.     On  the  tenth  of  May  he 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


673 


issued  a  fourth  proclamation,  suspending  the 
writ  oi  habeas  corpus  in  certain  localities,  and 
authority  to  suspend  this  privilege  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  commanders  of  military  de- 
partments soon  afterward. 

Under  the  instructions  of  the  government 
these  commanders  now  proceeded  to  arrest 
great  numbers  of  persons  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  who  were  suspected  of  sympa- 


government  paid  no  attention  to  this  deci- 
sion, and  held  the  prisoner  in  confinement. 
A  little  later  the  Legislature  of  Maryland, 
which  was  strongly  Southern  in  its  s\-mpa- 
thies,  was  prevented  from  meeting  by  the 
sudden  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  a  large 
number  of  its  members  by  order  of  the 
secretary  of  war. 

On   the  fourth  of   July,    1861,    Congresi 


FORT  MOULTRIE,  CHARLESTON  H.\RBOR. 


ihizing  with  the  South.  They  wore  impris- 
oned at  the  military  posts,  and  were  denied 
trial  by  the  civil  courts.  John  Merryman,  a 
citizen  of  Maryland,  was  one  of  the  persons 
so  arrested.  His  friends  applied  for  redress 
to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  who 
held  the  suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus  act 
by  the  President  to  be  unconstitutional,  and 
•ordered  the  discharge  of  the  prisoner.  The 
43 


convened  in  e.xtra  session  at  Washington,  in 
accordance  with  the  President's  proclama 
tion.  This  body  proceeded  to  give  to  the 
government  a  prompt  and  effectual  support. 
Resolutions  were  introduced  to  legalize  the 
extraordinary  acts  of  the  President  in  setting 
aside  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  in  ordering 
the  arbitrary  arrest  and  confinement  of  citi- 
zens, and  in  assuming   certain  other  powers 


674 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


which  belonged  to  Congress.  Congress 
refused  to  throw  over  these  acts,  however 
necessar)',  the  sanction  of  the  law;  but  in 
view  of  the  necessity  of  prompt  and  vigorous 
action  on  the  part  of  the  President,  excused  his 
acts  on  the  distinct  ground  of  the  "  necessities 
of  war."  IMeasures  were  adopted  without 
delay  for  putting  in  the  field  an  army  of  five 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  men,  and 
for  equipping  a  powerful  navy  ;  and  the  sum 
of  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  was  appro- 
priated for  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

During  this  session  Congress  also  adopted 
a  solemn  resolution  declaring  "  that  this  war 
is  not  prosecuted  on  our  part  in  any  spirit  of 


oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest 
or  subjugation,  nor  for  the  purpose  of  over- 
throwing or  interfering  with  the,  rights  or 
established  institutions  of  those  [the  seceded] 
States ;  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  constitution  and  all  laws 
made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  to  preserve 
the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality  and 
rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired  ;  that 
as  soon  as  these  objects  are  accomplished  the 
war  ought  to  cease." 

In  the  meantime  the  Confederates  had 
collected  troops  at  important  points  to  resist 
the  advance  of  the  Federal  troops  intoVirginia. 
A    force    under    Brigadier-General   Garnett 


was  stationed  in  West  Virginia  to  cover  the 
approaches  from  that  direction ;  Harper's 
Ferry,  which  commanded  the  entrance  into 
the  valley  of  Virginia,  was  held  by  an  army 
of  seven  thousand  or  eight  thousand  men, 
under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston ;  a  much 
larger  force,  under  General  Beauregard,  took 
position  near  Manassas  Junction,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Washington,  and  a  column  of 
several  thousand  men,  under  General  John 
B.  Magruder,  was  stationed  at  Yorktown,  on 
the  peninsula  between  the  York  and  James 
rivers,  to  cover  Richmond  from  the  direction 
of  Fortress  Monroe  at  the  mouth  of  Hamp- 
ton Roads,  which  was  still  held  by  the  Federal 
troops.  Norfolk  was  also  held  by  a  strong 
force.  With  the  exception  of  that  occupied 
by  General  Garnett's  command,  all  these 
positions  were  carefully  fortified. 

Bethel  Church  and  Rich  Mountain. 

The  Union  army  at  Fortress  Monroe  num- 
bered about  twelve  thousand  men,  and  was 
commanded  by  General  B.  F.  Butler.  Early 
in  June,  Magruder  moved  a  force  of  eighteen 
hundred  men  and  several  pieces  of  artillery 
from  Yorktown,  and  took  position  at  Bethel - 
Church,  about  half  way  between  Yorktown 
and  Hampton.  On  the  tenth  of  June  he  was 
attacked  by  a  force  of  four  thousand  troops 
under  General  Pierce,  of  Massachusetts,  but 
succeeded  in  repulsing  the  attack  and  main- 
taining his  position. 

In  the  opposite  quarter  of  the  State,  the 
Union  forces  were  more  successful.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  Confederates  from  overrun"-, 
ning  West  Virginia,  a  strong  body  of  Ohio 
and  Indiana  troops,  under  General  George 
B.  McClellan,  was  sent  into  that  region, 
McClellan  set  to  work  at  once  to  drive  the 
Confederates  out  of  West  Virginia,  and  on  , 
the  third  of  June  a  portion  of  his  command,  ' 
under  General  Kelly,  defeated  General 
Garnett  at  Philippi.    McClellan  now  advanced 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


6-5 


against  the  main  body  of  Garnett's  forces. 
On  the  eleventh  of  July,  he  attacked  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Pegram  at  Rich  Mountain, 
and  defeated  it.  This  defeat  compelled  Gen- 
eral Garnett  to  fall  back  towards  the  valley 
of  Virginia.  He  was  pursued  by  McClellan 
and  overtaken  at  Carrir.k's  ford,  on  the  Cheat 
river.    In  the  battle  which  ensued  here,  Gar- 


mander,  Colonel  Ellsworth,  was  killed  by  a 
citizen.  Strong  defences  were  erected  on 
the  Virginia  shore  between  Washington  and 
Alexandria,  and  the  army  was  encamped 
within  these  lines.  Two  months  were  passed 
in  organizing  and  disciplining  this  force,  and 
in  the  meantime  the  people  of  the  Northern 
and  Western  States  became  impatient  of  the 


nett  was  killed,  and  the  remnant  of  his  com- 
mand was  driven  beyond  the  mountains. 

The  United  States  had  assembled  a  con- 
siderable army  of  volunteers  and  regulars  at 
Washington  under  Major-General  Irwin  Mc- 
Dowell. On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  Alex- 
andria, on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac, 
nine  miles  below  Washington,  was  seized  by 
a   detachment    from    this   army.      Its    com- 


TH ROUGH    B.\LTIMORE. 


delay,  and  demanded  an  immediate  advance 

upon  the  southern  army  and  Richmond. 

Preparatory  to  his  own  advance,  General 

I  McDowell  sent  General  Patterson  with  twenty 

thousand  men  to  cross  the  Potomac  at  W'il- 

j  liamsport,  and  prevent  General  Johnston  from 

1  Icavmg  the  valley  and  joining  Beauregard  at 

j  Manassas.      Upon   the  arrival  of  Patterson 

I  on    the  upper    Potomac,    General    Jolinston 


676 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


evacuated  Harper's  Ferry  and  took  position  at 
Winchester.  Patterson  made  a  considerable 
show  of  force  in  the  valley,  but  refrained 
from  attacking  Johnston,  although  the  latter 
sought  to  induce  him  to  do  so.  He  took 
position  about  nine  miles  from  Winchester, 
and  remained  inactive  there. 

In  the  meantime  the  preparations  for  the 


advance  of  McDowell's  army  were  completed, 
and  on  the  seventeenth  of  July  he  began  his 
march  from  the  Potomac  towards  Bull  Run, 
on  the  banks  of  which  the  Confederates  were 
posted.  His  army  numbered  over  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  and  forty-nine  pieces  of  artillery. 
As  soon  as  the  advance  of  this  army  was 
known  to  him.  General  Beauregard  informed 
General  Johnston  of  it,  and  begged  him  to 


come  to  his  assistance.  Johnston  skilfully- 
eluded  Patterson's  army,  and  hastened  to 
Bull  Run,  arriving  there  with  a  part  of  his 
command  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  battle. 
The  Confederate  army  had  taken  position 
behind  Bull  Run,  and  in  advance  of  Manassas 
Junction.  Including  the  force  brought  by 
Geneval  Johnston,  who  assumed  the  chief 
command  b>  virtue 
of  his  rank,  it  con- 
sisted of  thirty-one 
thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one 
men  and  fifty-fiv-e 
guns. 

On  the  eighteenth 
of  July  General  Mc- 
Dowell attempted 
to  force  a  passage 
of  Bull  Run  at 
Blackburn's  ford, 
but  was  repulsed. 
On  the  morning  ol 
the  twenty-first,  the 
Union  army  advanced  in  force,  and 
endeav  ored  to  turn  the  left  of  the 
Southern  hne  An  obstinately- 
contested  battle  ensued,  which  lasted 
from  sunrise  until  nearly  sunset.  It 
lesulted  in  the  total  defeat  of  the  Federal 
army,  which  was  driven  back  in  utter 
rout  upon  Ale.xandria  and  Washington, 
with  a  loss  of  between  four  and  five  thou- 
sand men  in  killed,  wounded  and  prison- 
ers, and  twenty-eight  pieces  of  artillery. 
For  a  while  the  effects  of  this  disaster 
upon  the  Federal  army  were  so  great  that 
Washington  was  almost  defenceless;  but  the 
Confederates  made  no  effort  to  follow  up  their 
victory.  They  were  almost  as  badly  de- 
moralized by  tlieir  success  as  the  Union 
army  by  its  defeat. 

Recovering    from  the  dismay   of  its  first 
great  reverse,  the  government  went  to  work 


i'ORTKAITS   OF    PROMINENT   FEDERAL   GENERALS 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


with  vigor  to  repair  the  disaster.     The  lev\- 
of  fi\e  hundred  thousand  men  oidered  bj 


MAP    SHOWINC 


Congress  was  raised  promptly  and 
difficulty,  so   eager   was    tiic   dcsir 


SIIENANDO.AH    V.ALLEY 

thout 


people  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  Bull  Run. 

At  his  own  request  General  Scott,  whose 
bodily  infirmities  were 
so  great  as  to  render 
him  unable  to  dis- 
cliarge  the  duties  of 
his  position,  was  re- 
lieved of  the  com- 
mand of  the  army. 
Major-Generai  Geo. 
B.  Mc  CI  el  Ian  was 
given  the  chief  com- 
mand of  the  armies 
of  the  Union,  and  or- 
dered to  take  charge 
of  the  force  assem- 
bling before  Wash- 
ington, which  was 
named  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  He 
devoted  himself  with 
success  to  the  task  of 
organizing  and  dis- 
ciplining the  recruits, 
which  came  pouring 
in  during  the  fall  and 
winter. 

The  remainder  of 
the  year  1861  passed 
away  quietly  on  the 
Potomac,  with  the 
single  exception  of 
the  battle  of  Lees- 
burg.  Colonel  Baker, 
with  a  force  of  two 
thousand  men,  was 
sent  by  General  Stone 
to  cross  the  Potomac 
at  Edward's  ferry,  and 
drive  back  the  Con- 
federate force  under 
General  Evans  from 
Leesburcf.      He    made  his 


of  the 


its  position  neat- 
attack  on  the  twenty-first  of  October,  but  was 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


679 


repulsed  with  the  loss  of  eight  hundred  killed 
and  wounded,  being  himself  among  the  slain. 
The  Confederate  army  held  its  position  at 
Cjntreville  through  the  fall  and  winter,  and 
at  one  time  its  outposts  were  pushed  forward 
within  view  of  the  city  of  Washington. 
•  In  the  fall  of  1S61  an  army  of  ten  thou- 
sand men  was  sent  by  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment into  the  valley  of  Virginia  to  pre- 
vent its  occupation  by  the  federal  forces.  The 
command  of  these  troops  was  conferred  upon 
General  T.  J.  Jackson,  whose  conspicuous 
gallantry  at  Bull  Run  had  won  him  the  so- 
briquet of"  Stonewall  Jackson,"  by  which  he 
-was  afterwards  known  by  both  armies.  He 
established  his  headquarters  at  A\'inchester. 

Prompt  Action  in  Missouri. 

In  the  meantime  the  war  had  been  going 
on  in  Western  Virginia.  After  the  transfer  of 
General  McClellan  to  Washington,  the  com- 
mand of  the  Union  forces  passed  to  Briga- 
dier-General Rosecranz,  an  able  officer.  He 
had  several  indecisive  encounters  with  the 
'•commands  of  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise,  in 
the  region  of  the  Gauley  and  New  rivers. 
General  Robert  E.  Lee  was  sent  by  the  Con- 
federate government  to  assume  the  chief 
command  in  the  west.  He  attacked  the 
brigade  of  General  Reynolds  at  Cheat  moun- 
tain on  the  fourteenth  of  September,  but  was 
repulsed  and  obliged  to  retreat.  On  the 
fourth  of  October,  General  Reynolds  attacked 
a  Confederate  force  under  General  Henry  R. 
Jackson  on  the  Greenbrier  river,  but  was  re- 
pulsed. 

The  State  of  Missouri  took  no  part  in  the 
secession  movements  of  the  spring  of  1861. 
Her  people  were  divided;  a  large  party 
sympathized  with  the  South  ;  but  still  a  larger 
party  was  determined  that  the  State  should 
remain  in  the  Union.  These  parties  soon 
came  in  conflict.  The  governor  and  leading 
officials  of  the  State  were  in   favor  of  seces- 


sion, and  used  all  their  influence  tu  ^ring 
about  the  withdrawal  of  Missouri  from  the 
Union.  A  camp  of  the  State  militia  was 
formed  near  St.  Louis,  and  was  called  Camp 
Jackson  in  honor  of  the  governor.  It  was 
known  that  the  force  assembled  at  this  camp 
was  intended  to  serve  as  a  nucleus  around 
which  an  army  hostile  to  the  federal  govern- 
ment might  assemble.  By  extraordinary 
exertions  Colonel  Frances  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  a 
member  of  Congress  from  St.  Louis,  and 
Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon,  commanding  the 
troops  at  the  Jefterson  barracks,  near  St. 
Louis,  succeeded  in  collecting  a  force  of  five 
regiments  of  Union  volunteers. 

On  the  tenth  of  May,  1S61,  Lyon  with 
these  five  regiments  suddenly  surrounded 
Camp  Jackson,  and  compelled  General  Frost, 
the  commanding  officer,  to  surrender  his 
whole  force,  camp  and  equipments.  By  this 
prompt  action  the  State  forces  were  prevented 
from  carrying  out  their  plan  for  seizing  the 
United  States  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  which 
contained  sixty  thousand  stand  of  arms  of 
the  latest  patterns,  and  a  number  of  cannon, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition.  For  this 
decisive  action  Captain  L}-on  was  commis- 
sioned a  brigadier-general  b_\-  the  President. 

Movements  of  General  Lyon's  Army. 

Satisfied  that  the  desire  of  the  southern 
party  in  Missouri  to  remain  neutral  was  but 
a  pretext  to  gain  time  to  arm  the  State  for  a 
union  with  the  Confederates,  President  Lin- 
coln determined  to  compel  all  the  State  forces 
not  in  the  federal  service  to  disband.  An  in- 
ter\iew  was  held  at  St.  Louis  on  the  eleventh 
of  June  between  Governor  Jackson  and  Gen- 
eral Lyon,  now  commanding  the  federal 
troops  in  Missouri.  Governor  Jackson  de- 
manded that  no  United  States  forces  should 
be  quartered  in  or  marched  througli  Mis- 
souri. General  L>-on  refused  to  comply  with 
this  demand,  and  insisted  that  the  State  forces 


6So 


a 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


68 1 


should  be  disbanded,  pledging  himself  to 
respect  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  State. 

At  the  close  of  the  interview  the  Governor 
returned  to  Jefferson  City,  the  capital  of  the 
State,  and  the  next  day,  the  twelfth,  issued 
his  proclamation  calling  50,000  of  the  State 
militia  into  active  service  for  the  purpose  of 
driving  the  Federal  troops  from  the  State,  and 
protecting  the  "  lives,  liberty  and  property  of 
the  citizens."  General  Lyon  at  once  marched 
upon  Jefferson  City,  and  occupied  it  on  the 
fifteenth,  the  Governor  and  his  supporters 
having  retired  to  the  interior  of  the  State. 
On  the  se\-enteenth  Lyon  proceeded  to 
Booneville  and  defeated  the  State  troops 
stationed  there  under  General  Price. 

The  southwestern  part  of  IMissouri  is  rich 
in  deposits  of  lead,  and  valuable  mines  of 
this  mineral  are  worked  there.  The  State 
authorities  were  an.xiousto  hold  this  region, 
as  it  was  of  the  highest  importance  to  them 
to  obtain  the  use  of  these  mines  to  supply 
their  army  with  lead.  A  column  of  Federal 
troops  under  General  Sigel  was  sent  by  Gen- 
eral Lyon  to  intercept  the  retreat  of  the  State 
troops.  On  the  fifth  of  July,  Sigel  attacked 
the  State  troops  under  Governor  Jackson  at 
Carthage,  but  was  repulsed. 

Battle  of  Wilson's  Creek. 

The  next  day,  July  6th,  Governor  Jackson 
was  joined  at  Carthage  by  General  Sterling 
Price,  of  the  ^Missouri  State  Guard,  and  Gen- 
eral Ben  McCulloch,  of  the  Confederate  army, 
with  several  thousand  men.  The  command 
of  the  whole  force  was  conferred  upon  Gen- 
eral McCulloch,  who  had  been  ordered  by 
his  government  to  advance  into  Missouri. 
The  Southern  army,  according  to  General 
AlcCulloch's  statement,  numbered  5,300 
infantry, 6,000  mounted  men  and  fifteen  pieces 
of  artillery.  It  advanced  rapidly  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  State,  and  on  the  ninth  of  August 
reached  Wilson's  Creek,  near  Springfield. 


General  L\on  had  taken  position  there 
with  a  force  somewhat  smaller  than  that  of 
the  Confederates.  On  the  morning  of  the 
tenth  he  attacked  the  Southern  army.  The 
battle  lasted  six  hours,  and  was  hotly  con- 
tested. General  L\-on  was  killed  at  the  head 
of  his  troops  while  endeavoring  to  turn  the 
left  flank  of  the  Confederates,  and  his  army  was 
forced  back.  His  body  was  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  Confederates,  who  treated  it  with 
becoming  respect. 

Springfield  was  occupied  by  the  Confeder- 
ates the  day  after  the  battle;  but  McCulloch 
and  Price  being  unable  to  agree  upon  the 
plan  of  the  campaign,  they  soon  withdrew 


?  £<  #-i- 


-''1 


Ji^.-'-:^     -1^ 


to  the  Arkansas  border.  The  Union  army 
after  the  battle  withdrew  to  RoUa,  near  the 
centre  of  the  State. 

A  few  weeks  later  General  Price  with  a 
force  of  over  five  thousand  Confederates  laid 
siege  to  Lexington,  on  the  Missouri  river, 
which  was  held  by  about  three  thousand 
men  under  Colonel  Mulligan.  iVftera  gallant 
defence  Mulligan  was  forced  to  surrender  on 
the  twentieth  of  September. 

Major-General  John  C.  Fremont  v.as  now 
appointed  by  President  Lincoln  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  western  arnu-.  He  forced 
Price's  command  back  into  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  Stato.     Arriving  near  Springfield, 


■682 


PORTRAIT.-,  OP   Iki.munEnT  J-EDtKAL  GEXERALS. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


6S3 


Fremont  prepared  to  bring  the  Confederates 
to  a  decisive  engagement,  but  on  the  second 
of  November  was  removed  from  his  com- 
mand. He  was  succeeded  by  General  Hunter, 
who  abandoned  the  pursuit,  and  fell  back  to 
St.  Louis.  On  the  eighteenth  of  November 
Hunter  was  superseded  by  Major-General 
Halleck,  who  by  a  rapid  advance  drove  Price 
once  more  towards  the  Arkansas  border. 
This  movement  closed  the  campaign  of  1S61 
in  Missouri.  The  Union  army  had  not  only 
saved  the  State  to  the  Union,  but  had  con- 
fined the  Confederates  to  the  Arkansas 
border. 

Southern    Party  in  Kentucky. 

In  the  meantime  Governor  Jackson  had 
summoned  the  legislature  of  Missouri  to 
meet  at  Neosho.  It  assembled  at  that  place 
in  October,  passed  an  ordinance  of  secession, 
and  elected  delegates  and  senators  to  the  Con- 
federate Congress.  Though  this  action  was 
merely  formal,  and  received  the  support  of 
but  a  small  part  of  the  people  of  Missouri,  it 
was  recognized  as  valid  by  the  Confederate 
government,  and  ^Missouri  was  proclaimed 
one  of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  governor  and  State  authorities  of 
Kentucky  attempted  at  the  outset  of  the 
war  to  hold  the  position  of  armed  neutrality 
between  the  parties  to  the  contest ;  but  as  in 
the  case  of  IMissouri,  this  effort  failed.  Neither 
the  Federal  government  nor  that  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  could,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  respect  this  neutralit}-. 

The  Federal  troops  were  poured  into  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  Confederates  seized  Columbus, 
on  the  Mississippi,  Bowling  Green,  in  the 
centre  of  the  State,  and  other  positions  in 
the  western  part.  The  Southern  party  in 
Kentucky,  within  the  protection  of  the  Con- 
federate lines,  organized  a  provisional  govern- 
ment for  the  State,  sent  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives  to   the   Congress   at    Richmond, 


which  formally  recognized  Kentucky  as  one 
of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  force  at  Columbus  was  commanded 
by  General  Polk  of  the  Confederate  army. 
At  Belmont,  on  the  Missouri  shore  of  the 
river,  immediately  opposite  Columbus,  a 
body  of  Confederate  troops  v/as  stationed.' 
On  the  seventh  of  November,  General  U.  S. 
Grant  having  descended  the  Mississippi  from 
Cairo,  attacked  the  force  at  Belmont  with  his 
command  of  three  thousand  men.  After  a 
sharp  struggle  he  was  repulsed,  and  forced 
to  retreat  to  Cairo. 

On  October  iith,  the  privateer  "Nash- 
ville," which  had  been  fitted  out  by  the  Con- 
federates to  capture  Federal  vessels,  escaped 
from  Charleston  harbor  and  began  to  com- 
mit depredations  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
North.  The  bold  operations  of  the  "  Nash- 
ville" and  other  privateers  produced  a  reign 
of  terror  on  the  high  seas. 

Naval  and  Military  Expedition. 

At  the  outset  of  the  war  the  Confederates 
occupied  the  principal  ports  of  the  South, 
and  a  number  of  prominent  points  on  the 
Atlantic  coast.  These  were  fortified  by  them 
as  well  as  the  means  at  hand  would  permit. 
The  general  government  resolved  to  capture 
these  as  rapidly  as  possible,  as  their  reduction 
was  necessary  in  order  to  render  the  blockade 
of  the  southern  coast  effectual.  The  first  expe- 
dition was  despatched  from  Fortress  Monroe 
in  August,  1S61,  under  Commodore  String- 
ham  aud  General  Butler,  and  was  directed 
against  the  Confederate  works  at  Hatteras 
Inlet,  which  commanded  the  entrance  to 
Albemarle  and  Pamlico  sounds.  These 
works  were  captured  on  the  twent_\--ninth  of 
August. 

The  great  extent  of  the  coast  to  be  block- 
aded by  the  na\y  made  it  necessary  that  a 
good  harbor  at  some  central  point  should  be 
sccur.'d,  where  supplies  could  be  stored  for 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


685 


the  fleet,  and  where  vessels  could  refill  with- 
out returninij  to  the  northern  ports.  Port 
Royal  harbor,  in  South  Carolina,  was  selected 
as  the  best  place  for  this  purpose.  It  was 
defended  by  Fort  Walker  on  Hilton  Head 
and  Fort  Beauregard  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  harbor.  A  powerful  naval  and  militar\- 
expedition  under  Commodore  Dupont  and 
General  Thomas  W.  Sherman  attacked  these 
Yorks  on  the  seventh  of  November,  and 
reduced  them  after  terrible  bombardment  by 
the  fleet.  Port  Royal  was  at  once  occupied 
by  the  expedition,  and  during  the  war  was 
the  principal  depot  on  the  southern  coast 
for  the  fleets  and  armies  of  the  L^nion. 

It  was  not  possible,  however,  to  render  the 
blockade  effective.  Great  efforts  were  made 
to  increase  the  number  of  vessels  employed 
in  this  duty,  but  the  Confederates  succeeded 
in  eluding  the  Union  cruisers  almost  at  plea- 
sure, and  a  steady  communication  was  main- 
tained between  the  southern  ports  and  Eng- 
land by  way  of  the  West  Indies.  A  number 
of  armed  vessels  in  the  service  of  the  Con- 
federacy succeeded  in  getting  to  sea.  By  the 
close  of  the  year  they  had  inflicted  severe 
damage  upon  the  commerce  of  the  Northern 
States,  and  had  almost  driven  the  foreign 
trade  of  the  Lfnited  States  from  the  ocean. 

Affair  of  the  "  Trent." 

During  the  early  part  of  the  war  the  South- 
ern government  was  encouraged  to  hope 
that  the  governments  of  England  and 
France  would  recognize  the  independence  of 
the  Confederate  States,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1 86 1,  James  M.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  and 
John  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  were  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Europe,  as  commissioners  from 
the  Confederate  States,  to  secure  this  recog- 
nition. They  sailed  from  Charleston  on  the 
twelfth  of  October,  and  reached  Cuba  in 
safety.  There  they  took  passage  for  Plnglaad 
•on  board  the  British  mail-steamer  "  Trent." 


Hearing  of  this,  Captain  Wilkes,  of  the 
United  States  war-steamer  "  San  Jacinto," 
o\-erhauIed  the  "  Trent  "  upon  the  high  seas 
boarded  her,  and  seized  the  two  commission- 
ers and  their  secretaries  and  sailed  with  them 
to  Boston  harbor,  where  they  were  im- 
prisoned in  one  of  the  forts. 

The  "Trent"  in  the  meantime  proceeded 
on  her  voyage,  and  upon  reaching  England 
her  commander  informed  the  British  govern- 
ment of  the  outrage  that  had  been  commit- 
ted upon  its  flag.  The  English  government 
at  once  demanded  of  President  Lincoln  the 
immediate  and  uncr-nilitinnal  release  of  the 


LIEUTEN.XNT-CENEKAL  Vi  iLK. 

Confederate  commissioners  and  satisfac- 
tion for  the  insult  to  its  flag.  It  was  under- 
stood that  France  v/as  prepared  to  sustain 
England  in  her  demands.  The  Federal  gov- 
ernment disavowed  the  action  of  Captain 
Wilkes  in  seizing  the  commissioners,  and 
those  gentlemen  were  released  and  allowed 
to  continue  their  voyage.  They  reached 
England  in  due  time.  Mr.  Mason  proceeded 
to  London  and  Mr.  Slidell  to  France. 
Neither  the  English  nor  the  French  govern- 
ments would  receive  the  commissioners  offic- 
ially. It  was  understood  that  the  United 
States  would  regard  the  interference  of  either 
in  the  American  quarrel  as  a  cause  of  war,  and 
neither  power  cared  to  join  in  the  struggle. 

Tennessee  seceded  from  the  Union,  as  we 
have  related,  in  the  spring  of  1861.     The 


6S6 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


western  and  central  portions  of  the  State 
were  unanimously  in  favor  of  joining  the 
Southern  States  and  ga\e  a  hearty  support 
to  the  Confederacy  during  the  war,  but  East 
Tennessee,  inhabited  by  a  race  of  hardy 
mountaineers,  was  devoted  to  the  Union,  and 
was  unwilling  to  leave  it.  In  the  autumn  of 
l86i,  the  East  Tennesseans  took  up  arms 
against  the  Confederate  Government,  and 
began  to  destroy  the  railway  bridges  in  that 
part  of  the  State. 

This  movement  was  full  of  danger  to  the 
Confederacy,  as  the  principal  line  of  commu- 
nication between  Virginia  and  the  Mississippi 
passed  through  East  Tennessee.  A  consid- 
erable force  of  Confederate  troops  was  sent 


JAMES  M.   MASON. 

into  East  Tennessee  to  hold  the  people  in 
subjection  and  protect  the  railroads,  but 
throughout  the  war,  the  hostility  of  the  peo- 
ple of  this  region  was  a  constant  source  of 
danger  and  weakness  to  the  Confederates. 

When  the  year  1862  opened,  the  war  had 
assumed  colossal  proportions.  The  military 
operations  extended  almost  across  the  conti- 
nent, and  engaged  a  number  of  powerful 
armies,  and  a  formidable  navy.  The  call  of 
President  Lincoln  for  troops  had  been  cheer- 
fully responded  to,  and  the  opening  of  the 
year  found  the  United  States  provided  with  a 
force  of  over  half  a  million  of  men,  splendidly 
armed  and  equipped,  and  supplied  with  every- 
thing necessary  for  the  successful  prosecution 


of  the  war.  The  North  had  profited  by  its 
first  reverses,  and  was  resolved  that  its  next 
effort,  which  was  to  be  made  at  the  opening 
of  the  season  for  active  operations,  should 
find  it  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  task  it  had 
undertaken. 

A  cordial  support  was  given  to  the  meas- 
ures of  the  government  by  the  people.  Its 
wants  were  supplied  by  means  of  a  heavy 
loan  which  was  readily  negotiated  with  the 
capitalists  of  the  Eastern  States.  From  the 
moment  that  the  despondency  caused  by  the 
reverse  at  Bull  Run  had  subsided  sufficiently 
to  enable  the  people  of  the  loyal  States  to 
face  the  situation  calmly,  e\-er}-one  saw  that 
the  work  of  preparation  must  all  be  done  over 


JOHN    sLIDELL. 

from  the  beginning,  and  it  was  done  bravely 
and  thoroughly.  During  the  fall  and  winter 
the  army  was  rapidly  increased  ;  vessels  were 
purchased  and  built  for  the  navy. 

The  Southern  armies,  on  the  other  hand, 
had  grown  steadily  weaker.  The  first  suc- 
cesses of  the  Confederate  troops  had  greatly 
demoralized  the  Southern  people.  Volun- 
teering soon  ceased  almost  entirely.  Even 
the  heaviest  bounties  failed  to  bring  recruits. 
There  was  a  widespread  delusion  throughout 
the  South  that  the  war  w-as  practically  ended. 
The  measures  of  the  Confederate  Congress 
steadily  thinned,  instead  of  filling  up  the 
ranks  of  the  Southern  armies,  and  when  the 
new  year  dawned  there  was  grave  reason  to 


UlL   UvKLaioJ.   \U3U\   ^NXJbUDLLLO.V 


IHE   CIVIL  WAI 


fear  that  the  sprint^  campaign  would  find  the 
South  without  an  adequate  army  unless  more 
vigorous  measures  were  resorted  to.  It  was 
exceedingly  doubtful  whether  the  troops 
already  in  the  service  would  renew  their  en- 
listments, which  expired  in  the  spring  of  1862. 
During  the  winter  the  Southern  Congress 
adopted  a  law  granting  a  furlough  and  a  heavy 
bounty  to  every  soldier  who  would  re-enlist 
for  the  war.  The  furlough  was  to  be  granted 
during  the  winter ;  the  bounty  to  be  paid  at 
a  later  period.  Many  of  those  who  went 
home  on  these  furloughs  did  so  with  the 
■f'tcntion  of  remaining  there ;  and  the  practi- 


GR.\NT.S  HEAU-OU.\KTERS  NEAR  FORT 

cal  effect  of  the  measure  was  to  diminish  the 
strength  of  the  Confederate  armies.  At  length 
the  Confederate  Congress  was  driven  by  the 
necessities  of  the  situation  to  adopt  a  most 
stringent  and  sweeping  measure.  On  the 
sixteenth  of  April,  1862,  a  conscription  act  i 
was  passed,  giving  to  the  President  of  the 
Confederacy  the  power  to  call  into  the  mili- 
tary service  the  entire  male  population  of  the 
various  States  between  the  ages  of  eighteen 
and  thirty-five  years.  In  September,  1862, 
a  second  act  was  passed  extending  the  con- 
:.cript  age  to  forty-five  years. 

The  measure   was  acquiesced  in  by  the 
Southern  people,  but  was  never  popular  with 


them.  It  served  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
intended,  however,  and  enabled  the  Confed- 
erate Government  to  collect  a  force  of  several 
hundred  thousand  men  in  the  spring  of  1862, 
and  thus  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  its  armies  in 
the  field,  and  to  retain  the  regiments  already 
in  the  service. 

When  the  spring  opened,  General  Halleck, 
whose  headquarters  were  at  St.  Louis,  held 
Missouri  against  the  Confederates  with  a 
powerful  army.  General  Buell,  with  a  con- 
siderable force,  was  stationed  in  Central  Ken- 
tucky. In  his  front  an  inferior  force  of  Con- 
federates, under  General  Albert  Sidney  John- 
ston, held  Bowling  Green 
and  covered  Nashville 
and  the  Tennessee  and 
the  Cumberland  Rivers. 
They  also  held  Colum- 
bus and  other  prominent 
points  on  the  Mississippi. 
The  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, under  General  Mc- 
Clellan,  lay  along  the 
Potomac,  confronting 
the  Confederate  army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  which 
held  Centreville.  A  con- 
DONELSO.v.  siderable  force  was  col- 

lected at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  an  army  of 
about  10,000  Confederates,  under  Magruder, 
held  a  strongly  fortified  line,  extending  from 
Yorktown  across  the  Peninsula  to  the  James 
River. 

In  addition  to  these  forces,  the  Federal 
Government  had  collected  a  powerful  flotilla 
of  steamers  and  gunboats  at  Cairo,  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  to 
assist  in  the  operations  of  the  Western 
armies.  The  capture  of  New  Orleans  had 
been  resolved  upon,  and  a  combined  naval 
and  military  e.xpedition  under  Commodore 
Farragut  and  General  Butler  was  assembled 
for  that   purpose;    and  another  expedition 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


68. 


was  organized  in  the  Chesapeake  for  the  ! 
reduction  of  Roanoke  Island  and  the  forts  on  1 
the  North  Carolina  coast.  I 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  new  year, 
.Mr.  Cameron,  whose  administration  of  the 
war  department  had  failed  to  give  satisfac- 
tion to  the  country,  was  removed  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  and  sent  to  Russia  as  minister 
from  the  United  States.  The  President  on 
the  thirteenth  of  January  appointed  Edwin 
M.  Stanton,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  War.  Tlie 
new  secretary  was  ^ 

confessedly  one  of  ^  ^%i^ 

the  ablest   men  in  •==r^==a=^  "^^='-     — "^' 

America,    and    his  .^^^^^r 

accession  to  the  —  —  —  - 
control  of  the  war 
department  infused 
newlifeintothe  mil- 
itary' preparations 
of  the  government. 
During  the  remain- 
der of  the  war  he 
occupied  this  posi- 
tion,and  itisnottoo 
much  to  say  that  his 
vigorous  adminis- 
tration of  his  de- 
partment was  one 
of  the  chief  causes 
of  the  final  success 
of  the  Union  arms. 

Active  operations  were  resumed  earlier  in 
the  west  than  in  the  east.  On  tlie  nineteenth 
of  January,  General  George  H.  Thomas 
drove  the  Confederates  under  General  Zol- 
licoffer  from  Mill  Spring  in  Kentucky.  The 
defeated  force  had  held  the  right  of  the  Con- 
federate line  in  Kentucky,  the  centre  of 
which  was  at  Bowling  Green,  and  the  left 
at  Columbus,  and  its  reverse  was  a  serious 
disaster  to  the  Confederates. 

The  department  of  General  Hallcck  em- 
braced Kentucky  in   addition  to  the  ccnintry 


west  of  the  Mississippi.  In  order  to  hold 
the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  ri\-ers,  which 
aftorded  water  communication  far  back  into 
the  country  in  the  rear  of  their  line,  tlie  Con- 
federates had  built  a  \vork,  known  as  Fort 
Henry,  on  the  Tennessee,  a  little  south  of 
the  Kentucky  border,  and  another  and  a 
stronger  work,  known  as  Fort  Donelson,  on 
the  Cumberland  and  a  little  below  Nashville. 
At  the  solicitation  of  Brigadier-General 
U.  S.  Grant,  commanding  at  Cairo,  General 


'■fei^g^:?^ 


A  VIEW  OF  THE  COLWTKV,  SHOWING  FORT  DONELSON'  IN  THK  DIST.\NCE. 


Halleck  determined  to  capture  tliese  forts, 
and  so  break  the  Confederate  line,  and  com- 
pel their  army  to  fall  back  from  Kentucky. 
Fort  Henry  was  to  be  first  attacked.  The 
fleet  of  gunboats  under  Commodore  Foote 
and  Grant's  troops  from  Cairo  were  sent 
against  Fort  Henry,  which  was  captured  on 
the  sixth  of  February  after  a  severe  bombard- 
ment by  the  gunboats  which  had  ascended 
the  Tennessee.  The  garrison  escaped  to 
Fort  Donelson,  twelve  miles  distant  across 
the  country. 


6go 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


The  loss  of  Fort   Henry  compelled  the 
Confederates  to  evacuate  all  their  positions 


General  Sidney  Johnston  slowly  retired  from 
Bowling  Green  upon  Nashville,  followed  by 
General  Buell.  After 
the  capture  of  Fort 
Henry  the  gunboats 
returned  to  Cairo, and, 
taking  on  board  sup- 
plies and  reinforce- 
ments for  the  army, 
ascended  the  Ohio  and 
entered  the  Cumber- 
land, up  which  they 
passed  to  Fort  Donel- 
son.  Grant,  in  the 
meantime,  marched 
across  the  country 
from  Fort  Henry  to 
Fort  Donelson.and  in- 
vested the  latter  work. 
The  roads  were  so  dif- 
ficult that  although 
the  distance  between 
the  two  forts  was  but 
twelve  miles,  Grant 
spent  six  days  in 
marching  it.  This 
delay  gave  General 
Johnston  an  oppor- 
tunity to  reinforce 
Fort  Donelson.  He 
halted  at  Nashville 
with  his  main  army 
to  await  the  result  of 
Grant's  attack  on  the 
fort.  The  gunboats  did 
not  join  Grant  until  the 
fourteenth  of  Febru-= 
ary,  and  the  invest- 
ment was  not  begun 
until  their  arrival. 

The     f  o  1 1  o  w  i  n  g 
graphic  description  of 


MAP  SHOWING  PITTSBURG  LANDING  AND  CORINTH. 

in  Kentucky.     General  Beauregard  fell  back  1  the  capture  of  Fort  Henry  is  from  the  pen  oi 
from  Columbus  to  Corinth,  Mississippi,  and  |  the  historian,  John  Laird  Wilson : 


692 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


"Immediately  on  receiving  permission  from 
Halicck  to  proceed  with  his  propoied  plan, 
Grant  made  arrangements  for  the  attack  on 
Fort  Hcnrj'.  He  had  at  his  disposal  some 
seventeen  thousand  men.  It  was  arranged 
that  Commodore  Foote,  with  a  flotilla  of 
seven  gunboats,  should  move  along  the 
Ohio,  steer  up  the  Tennessee,  and  open  the 
attack,  while  Grant,  on  the  land  side,  should 


to  move  slowly  and  shell  the  woods,  in  order 
to  discover  whether  there  were  any  concealed 
batteries. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  it  was  under- 
stood that  everything  was  in  readiness  for  the 
attack,  which  was  to  be  made  simultaneously 
on  land  and  water.  A  heavy  thunder-storm 
had  raged  the  previous  night ;  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, the   roads   were    heavy   and   the 


-CLAD    GUNBOAT. 


render  what  assistance  was  necessary  and  cut 
off  all  retreat.  On  .Monda\-,  the  second  of 
February,  Foote  left  Cairo,  and  on  the 
morning  of  Tuesday  he  was  a  few  miles 
below  Fort  Henry.  Grant,  in  the  meantime, 
with  the  divisions  of  .McClernand  and  C.  F. 
Smith,  had  embarked  in  transports  which 
were  convoyed  by  the  flotilla.  These  landed 
a  few  miles  below  the  fort ;  and  Foote  pro- 
ceeded up  the  river,  having  orders  from  Grant 


streams  so  swollen  that  bridges  had  to  be 
built  for  the  passage  of  artillery.  The  land 
forces,  thus  encountering  unlooked-for  obsta- 
cles, were  considerably  delayed.  Shortly 
after  twelve  o'clock  Foote  opened  fire  upon 
the  fort.  Beginning  at  a  thousand  yards 
distance,  he  gradually  ran  his  vessels  to 
within  si.K  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy.  The 
firing  for  a  time  was  vigorously  returned; 
but   Foote    pressed    forth    with    irresistible 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    ABRAHAM    LINXOLX. 


693 


bravery,  and  Iiis  men  worked  with  a  will  and 
as  if  they  meant  to  win.  It  was  evident  to 
Tilghman  from  tlie  first  that  it  was  next  to 
impossible  for  him  to  hold  the  fort.  He 
nevertheless  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost, 
encouraging  his  men  alike  by  word  and 
example,  going  so  far  as  to  work  one  of 
die  guns  himself 

Serious  Accidents. . 

"A  series  of  accidents  meanwhile  occurred 
inside  the  fort.  A  rifled  twenty-four  pounder 
burst,  killing  and  wounding  a  number  of  the 
men.  A  forty-two  pounder  burst  prematurely 
and  killed  three  of  the  gunners.  In  a  short 
time  the  well-directed  fire  from  the  gunboats 
had  dismounted  seven  of  the  guns  and  made 
them  useless ;  the  flagstaff  also  was  shot  away. 
The  garrison  became  completely  demoralized. 
It  was  in  vain  that  Tilghman  attempted  to  re- 
place the  exhausted  gunners.  The  troops  in 
the  camp  outside  the  fort  made  good  their 
escape,  some  by  the  Dover  road,  leading  to 
Fort  Donelson,  others  on  board  a  steamer 
which  was  l\-ing  a  little  above  Fort  Henry. 

"Foote  had  promised  to  reduce  the  fort 
within  an  hour.  When  he  made  that  promise 
he  counted  on  assistance  from  the  forces  on 
the  land  side.  Without  any  such  aid — for 
the  land  forces  had  not  yet  arrived  on  the 
scene — he  made  good  his  word;  for  the  hour 
had  scarcely  expired  when  the  white  flag 
was  raised.  There  was  no  unnecessary 
delay.  The  main  body  of  his  troops  having 
made  good  their  escape,  Tilghman,  with  his 
staff  and  some  si.xty  artillerists,  surrendered 
to  the  victorious  Foote.  In  killed  and 
wounded  the  Confederate  loss  was  twent>'- 
one  men.  The  only  serious  damage  sus- 
tained by  the  fleet  in  the  river  was  on  board 
the  ironclad  Essex.  A  shot  from  the  enemy 
had  penetrated  her  boiler;  and  some  twenty- 
nine  officers  and  men,  including  Commander 
Porter,  were  seriously  scalded." 


The  capture  of  Fort  Henry  was  felt  b>'  the 
South  to  be  a  damaging  blow ;  and  it  led  to 
bitter  murmuring  and  even  loud  complaints 
against  the  authorities  at  Richmond.  It  was 
justly  regarded  by  the  North  as  a  victory  of 
great  importance.  It  was  full  of  instruction,, 
inasmuch  as  it  proved  the  value  of  gunboats 
on  the  narrow  rivers  of  the  West,  especially' 
when  acting  in  conjunction  with  land  forces. 
It  inspired  hope,  inasmuch  as  it  reclaimed 
lo.st  territor}',  and  restored  the  old  flag. 
"  Fort  Henry  is  ours  1"  said  Halleck  in  his- 
despatch  to  McClellan.  "  The  flag  of  the 
Union  is  re-established  on  the  soil  of  Ten- 
nessee. It  will  never  be  remo\-ed."  Foote 
was  formally  thanked  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  "  The  country,"  he  was  told,  "  appre- 
ciates your  gallant  deeds,  and  this  Depart- 
ment desires  to  convey  to  you  and  )-our 
brave  associates  its  profound  thanks  for  the 
service  you  have  rendered." 

Important  Union  Success. 

Fort  Donelson  was  a  stronger  work  than 
Fort  Henry,  and  was  held  by  a  force  of  about 
thirteen  thousand  men,  commanded  by  Gen- 
eral John  B.  Floyd.  On  the  fourteenth  of 
February  the  gunboats  opened  fire  upon  the 
fort,  and  at  the  same  time  the  army  of  Gen- 
eral Grant,  reinforced  to  about  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  began  to  occupy  the  positions  as- 
signed it  in  the  investment.  The  operations 
of  the  fourteenth  ended  with  the  repulse  of 
the  fleet,  Commodore  Foote  being  severely 
wounded  in  the  engagement.  Satisfied  of 
his  inability  to  hold  the  fort  against  the  over- 
whelming force  of  the  Federal  army, General 
Floyd  resolved  to  cut  his  way  through,  and 
retreat  upon  Nashville. 

On  the  fifteenth  he  made  a  gallant  attempt 
to  break  Grant's  lines,  but  was  driven  back, 
and  a  portion  of  the  Southern  intrenchments' 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Union  army. 
On  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  a   council  of 


694 

war  was  held  b\-  the  Confederate  comman- 
ders. It  was  evident  that  escape  was  impos- 
sible and  a  surrender  inevitable.  General 
Floyd  refused  to  surrender,  and  retreated 
from  the  fort  with  a  considerable  force  of 
infantry  and  cavalry,  with  which  he  suc- 
.'ceeded  in  reaching  Nashville.  General  Pil- 
low, who  was  left  by  Floyd  in  command, 
turned  over  the  command  to  General  Buck- 
ner,  the  next  in  rank,  and  joined  Floyd  in 
his  flight.  Being  unable  to  offer  further  re- 
sistance. General  Buckner,  on  the  morning 
of  the  si.xtccnth,  surrendered  the  fort  and 
his  troops  unconditionally  to  the  Federal 
army. 


IT 


1SL.A.ND  NO.    lO. 

1'he  capture  at  Fort  Donelson  was  by  far 
the  most  important  success  that  had  yet  been 
won  by  the  Union  armies,  and  was  hailed 
with  rejoicings  throughout  the  north  and 
west.  By  this  capture  over  five  thousand 
prisoners,  besides  the  Confederate  wounded, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  forces.  The 
Federals  also  lost  heavily  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

General  Johnston,  upon  learning  of  the  fall 
of  Fort  Donelson,  foil  back  from  Nashviile  to 
Murfreesboro',  from  which  place  he  subse- 
quently continued  his  retreat  across  the 
State,  and  eventually  joined  General  Beaure- 
gard, who  had  taken  position  at  Corinth,  at 
the  junction  of  two   important  railway  lines 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

on  the  northern  border  of  Mississippi*.  Beau- 
regard, in  falling  back  from  Columbus,  had 
left  a  force  at  Island  No.  lO,  which  had  been 
strongly  fortified,  to  hold  the  ^Mississippi 
against  the  efforts  of  the  Federal  fleet  and 
army  to  obtain  the  control  of  the  river. 

Nashville  was  occupied  by  the  army  of 
General  Buell,  and  Grant's  army  was  moved 
up  the  Tennessee  as  far  as  Pittsburgh  Land- 
ing. General  Buell  was  ordered  to  march 
across  the  country  from  Nashville  to  the 
Tennessee,  to  unite  his  forces  with  Grant's 
and  attack  the  Confederates  at  Corinth. 

General   Johnston,  the   Confederate  com- 
mander, had  feared  this  concentration,  which 
would     make    the 
__  Federal    power   in 

this  quarter  irresis- 
~  =^  tible,  and   had   de- 

'/  termined  to  attack 

Grant's    army  and 
—     crush     it    before 
Buell  could  arrive, 
_      after     which      he 
would    be   free  to 
—  "  engage  Buell.    His 

plan  was  ably  con- 
ceived but  his 
march  was  delayed  by  the  fearful  state  of  the 
roads,  and  he  did  not  arrive  opposite  the 
Federal  position  until  two  da}'s  after  the  time 
fixed  for  his  attack.  Grant  was  encamped  at 
Shiloh  Church,  near  Pittsburgh  Landing, 
with  the  Tennessee  river  in  his  rear.  On  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  April  si.xth,  his  army 
was  suddenly  attacked  by  Johnston,  and  was 
driven  steadily  from  its  original  position  to 
the  banks  of  the  Tennessee,  where  it  was 
sheltered  by  the  fire  of  the  gunboats.  The 
battle  was  stubbornly  contested,  and  the 
losses  on  both  sides  were  very  heavy. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  General  Johnston 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  soon  after- 
wards.    The  command   passed   to    General 


^i*^'^>,^ 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


695 


tJeauregard,  ^vho  failed  to  follow  up  his 
advantage.  During  the  night  the  army  of 
General  Buell  arrived,  and  reinforced  Grant. 
Ontheniorning  of  the  seventh  Grant  attacked 
the  Confederates,  and  after  a  sharp  fight 
drove  them  back.  They  retreated  slowly 
and  returned  to  Corinth. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress, 
the  gunboats  under  Commodore  Foote  and 
a  strong  force  of  Western  troops  under 
Pope  laid  siege  to  Island  No.  10,  on  the  j\lis- 
sissippi.  After  a  bombardment  of  twent\-- 
three  days,  the  Confederate  works  were  cap- 
tured, together  with  five  thousand  prisoners, 
on  the  seventh  of  April,  the  day  on  which 
Beauregard  was  driven  back  from  Shiloh 

The  Confederates  still  held  Fort  Pillow 
a  strong  work  a  short  distance  above  Mem 
phis.  If  this  could  be  captured,  the  Feder  i\  \ 
forces  would  obtain  the  control  of  the  ri\Li 
as  far  south  as  Vicksburg.  General  Po; 
Avas  anxious  to  move  against  it  at  once,  b  it 
his  army  was  ordered  to  join  General  Hdl 
Jeck.  Commodore  Foot  being  disabled  b\ 
his  wound  received  at  Fort  Donelson,  wis 
succeeded  by  Captain  Davis,  who  descended  > 
the  river  and  took  position  above  Fort  Pil 
low. 

General  Halleck  now  repaired  to  the  Ten- 
nessee, and  took  command  of  the  Union 
armies  there,  amounting  to  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  men.  He  moved  forward 
leisurely  towards  Corinth,  and  laid  siege  to 
that  place.  Beauregard,  seeing  that  it  was 
impossible  to  hold  Corinth  against  this 
greatly  superior  force,  evacuated  it  on  the 
night  of  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  and 
retreated  to  Tupelo,  Mississippi.  The  next 
day  General  Halleck  occupied  Corinth.  Tlie 
loss  of  Corinth  compelled  the  evacuation  of 
Fort  Pillow,  which  was  abandoned  by  the 
Confederates  on  the  fourth  ot  June.  On  the 
sixth  the  Union  gunboats  descended  the  river 
to  Memphis,  and    dcL-atcd  the  Confederate 


flotilla  abo\-e  that  cit_\-.  Memphis  at  once 
surrendered,  and  was  occupied  by  the  Union 
forces.  All  West  Kentucky  and  West  Ten- 
nessee were  now  under  the  control  of  the 
Union  armies,  which  now  occupied  a  line 
e.xtending  from  Memphis,  through  Corinth, 
almost  to  Chattanooga. 

Early  in  Jul\-  news  came  to  the  East  of 
another  massacre  in  the  IMormon  territory. 
A  fanatic  by  the  name  of  Morris,  who 
claimed  to  be  the  true  successor  of  Joseph 
Smith,  and  had  gathered  several  hundred 
followers,  was  accused  of  having  committed 
various  depredations,  and  a  small  force  was 
sent  by  order  of  the  chief  Mr>nii"ns  to  arrest 


him.  The  force  was  under  command  of  one 
Burton,  sheriff  of  Salt  Lake  county.  Morris 
refused  to  surrender,  a  conflict  ensued,  the 
camp  of  the  Morrisites  was  riddled  with 
cannon  balls,  and  Morris  was  shot  by  Burton, 
Two  Brighamites  and  ten  Morrisites  wer<< 
killed,  and  a  large  number  were  wounded. 
Tiie  attacking  party  appears  to  have  prac 
tlced  unnecessary'  cruelty. 

Returning  to  the  story  of  the  war,  the 
Confederates  still  held  East  Tennessee  in 
heavy  force.  Shortly  after  the  evacuation  ol 
Corinth  General  Beauregard  was  removed 
from  his  command,  and  was  succeeded  by 
General  Braxton  Bragg     Bragg  was  strongly 


696 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


reinforced,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  a 
bold  effort  to  drive  back  the  Federal  advance 
and  regain  West  Tennessee  and,  if  possible, 
Kentucky.  Bragg's  army  was  concentrated 
at  Chattanooga,  and  Geneneral  Kirby  Smith 
at  Knoxville  was  strongly  reinforced.  Smith 
was  to  move  from  Knoxville,  while  Bragg 
was  to  advance  from  Chattanooga,  and  the 
two  armies  were  to  unite  in  the  centre  of  the 
State  ol  Kentucky.  Their  combined  forces 
amounted  to  over  fifty  thousand  men,  and  it 


Smith  then  occupied  Lexington  and  Frank- 
fort, and  advanced  towards  Cincinnati ;  but 
ascertaining  that  a  strong  force  was  assem- 
bling at  that  cit\',  under  General  Lewis  Wal- 
lace,he  fell  back  to  Frankfort,  where  he  joined 
General  Bragg  on  the  fourth  of  October. 

Bragg  had  begun  his  march  as  soon  as 
Kirby  Smith  had  gotten  fairly  started.  His 
objective  point  was  Louisville,  and  he  hoped 
to  be  able  to  elude  the  army  of  General  Buell, 
which  wa^  a'  \':\-hville,  and  bv  a  rapid  ad- 


*^'^^ 


was  hoped  that  this  piovement  would  compel 
the  Federal  army  to  abandon  its  advance, 
and  fall  back  into  Kentucky  to  protect  that 
State  and  Ohio  from  ihe  Confederates.  Then, 
by  a  decisive  victory,  Bragg  expected  to  be 
able  to  overrun  and  hold  Kentucky  and 
even  to  invade  Ohio. 

The  division  of  General  Smith  moved  for- 
ward about  the  middle  of  August,  and  on  the 
thirtieth  of  August  defeated  a  Union  force 
under  General  INIanson  at  Richm.ond,  Ken- 
tucky', inflicting  upon  it  a  loss  of  6,000  men. 


I  vance  seize  Louis\-ille  before  BucU's  arriva!. 
By  the  seventeenth  of  September  he  was  at 
Munfordsville,  Kentucky,  which  he  captured 
after  several  slight  encounters,  taking  forty- 
five  hundred  prisoners.  BueU  in  the  mean- 
time had  divined  Bragg's  purpose,  and  had 
set  out  from  Nashville  for  the  Ohio  by  forced 
marches.  He  reached  Louisville  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Confederates,  and  being  heavily 
reinforced  advanced  to  attack  Bragg,  who 
had  turned  aside  and  occupied  Frankfort  on 
the  fourth  of  October. 


N  Mu^^^^^^r^A' 


^^^\ 


''/ 


PORTRAITS   OF   PROMINEXT   COXFEDERrTE^  ^NERALS. 


697 


698 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Bragg  fell  back  slowly,  ravaging  the  coun- 
try along  his  route, and  was  followed  by  Buell 
with  equal  deliberation.  On  the  eighth  of 
October  an  indecisive  battle  was  fought  be- 
tween the  two  armies  at  Perryville.  After 
this  conflict,  in  which  both  sides  lost  heavily, 
Buell  refrained  from  attacking  Bragg  again, 
and  the  latter  continued  his  retreat  leisurely 
into  Tennessee,  taking  with  him  a  wagon  train 
forty  miles  in  length,  loaded  with  plunder 
-captured  in  Kentucky. 

Grant  Strikes  Decisive  Blows. 

During  this  campaign  the  Federal  army 
under  General  Grant  had  held  its  line  in  West 
Tennessee,  extending  from  Corinth  to  Mem- 
phis. A  Confederate  army  under  Generals 
Price  and  Van  Dorn  was  assembled  in  Mis- 
sissippi in  front  of  the  Union  position.  Grant, 
who  was  now  in  command  of  the  Federal 
forces  in  West  Tennessee  (Halleck  having 
been  summond  to  Washington  as  Com- 
manding General),  ordered  General  Rosecrans 
to  his  assistance.  Upon  the  arrival  of  this 
commander  with  his  troops.  Grant  advanced 
upon  Price  at  luka,  and  defeated  him  on  the 
nineteenth  of  September.  He  then  repaired  to 
Jackson,  Tennessee,  leaving  Rosecrans  with 
nineteen  thousand  men  to  hold  Corinth 
against  the  Confederates. 

After  his  defeat  at  luka  Price  was  joined 
by  Van  Dorn,  whose  troops  brought  the 
strength  of  the  Confederate  army  to  eighteen 
thousand  men.  They  at  once  advanced  upon 
Corinth,  and  on  the  fourth  of  October  attacked 
that  place.  The  battle  which  ensued  was 
noted  for  the  obstinacy  with  which  it  was 
contested  by  both  sides.  The  Confederates 
were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  about  three  thou- 
sand killed  and  wounded,  and  were  pursued 
for  about  thirty  miles  southward.  The  Union 
.  loss  was  about  five  hundred  and  eighteen 
killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

The  Federal  Government  was  greatly  dis- 


satisfied with  Bucll's  failure  to  intercept 
Bragg,  and  upon  his  arrival  at  Nashville  he 
was  removed  from  the  command  of  his  army, 
which  was  conferred  upon  General  Rose- 
crans, as  a  reward  for  his  victory  at  Corinth. 
Bragg  had  taken  position  near  Murfreesboro', 
about  thirty  miles  distant  from  Nashville,  and 
Rosecrans,  towards  the  last  of  December, 
moved  upon  that  place  to  attack  him.  Bragg 
had  at  the  same  time  completed  his  prepara- 
tions to  resume  the  offensive,  and  had  begun 
his  advance  upon  Nashville,  and  the  two 
armies  encountered  each  other  at  Stone 
River,  near  Murfreesboro',  on  the  thirty-first 
of  December.  They  were  about  equal  in 
strength,  each  numbering  about  forty  thou- 
sand men. 

Bragg  Repulsed  by  Rosecrans. 

The  battle  was  fiercely  disputed,  but  at 
nightfall  Rosecrans  was  driven  back  with 
heavy  loss,  and  Bragg  telegraphed  to  Rich- 
mond news  of  a  great  victory.  Rosecrans, 
however,  had  merely  fallen  back  to  a  new 
and  stronger  position.  On  the  second  ol 
January,  1863,  Bragg  renewed  his  attack, 
but  w-as  repulsed  with  terrible  slaughter.  On 
the  third  a  heavy  rain  fell  and  prevented  all 
military  operations,  and  that  night  Bragg 
retreated  from  the  field.  He  retired  in  good 
order  to  Tullahoma,  about  thirty  miles  from 
Murfreesboro'.  The  losses  on  both  sides  in 
this  battle  were  heavy,  ranging  from  ten 
thousand  to  twelve  thousand  men  in  each 
army. 

The  Confederates,  having  lost  the  upper 
and  lower  Mississippi,  had  fortified  Vicksburg 
and  Port  Hudson,  in  order  to  maintain  their 
hold  upon  that  stream,  and  to  keep  open  their 
communications  with  the  country  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  Vicksburg  had  been  made  a 
post  of  extraordinary  .strength,  and  was  gar. 
risoned  by  a  considerable  force  of  Confed-. 
erate  troops.     Towards  the  last  of  the  yeai 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


699 


General  Grant  determined  to  undertake  an 
expedition  against  it.  He  sent  General  Sher- 
man with  forty  thousand  men,  and  a  fleet  of 
gunboats,  under  Commodore  Porter,  to  de- 
scend the  Mississippi  and  attack  the  southern 
works  above  the  city  ; 
and  advanced  south- 
ward from  Corinth 
with  the  main  army 
by  land.  Grant  had 
accomplished  full\- 
half  the  distance  when 
a  strong  body  of  Con- 
federate cavalry,  under 
General  Van  Dorn, 
made  a  dash  into  his 
rear,  and  on  the  twen- 
tieth of  December  cap- 
tured Holly  Springs, 
Grant's  principal  de- 
pot of  supplies. 

This  movement 
compelled  Grant  to 
abandon  his  advance 
upon  \'icksburg,  and 
to  fall  back  and  re- 
establish his  com- 
munications with  his 
base.  Sherman,  ignor- 
ant of  this  disaster, 
left  Memphis  on  the 
twentieth  of  Decem- 
ber, and  a  few  days 
later  landed  his  troops 
on  the  banks  of  the 
Yazoo,  from  which  he 
advanced  upon  the 
Confederate  works  at 

■Chickasaw  bayou,  on  the  north  of  Vicksburg. 
On  the  twenty-ninth  of  December  he  made 
a  spirited  attack  upon  them,  but  was  repulsed. 
He  withdrew  his  troops  to  the  boats,  and 
retired  to  Young's  Point,  on  the  Louisiana 
.shore,  a  short  distance  above  Vicksburg. 


The  Confederates  were  driven  out  of  Mis- 
souri at  the  close  of  1S61,  and  retired  into 
Arkansas.  General  Van  Dorn  was  now  sent 
by  the  Confederate  government  to  take 
command  of  the  forces  of  Price  and  McCul- 


GENERAL    SHER.M.\N    AT    THE    OUTBKE.-\K.    OF    THE    W.\ 


loch,  which  numbered  about  sixteen  thousand 
men.  He  reached  the  head-quarters  of  this 
force  on  the  third  of  March,  1862.  The 
Federal  army,  under  General  Curtis,  with 
General  Sigel  as  his  second  in  command, 
had   taken  position   on    the   heights   of  Pea 


^rrrr'-rr: — r 


L  = 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Ridge,  around  Sugar  creek,  in  the  north-  | 
western  part  of  Arkansas.  It  numbered 
about  eleven  thousand  men.  On  the  seventh 
of  March  Van  Dorn  attacked  the  Union 
army  in  this  position,  and  after  a  bloody 
fight,  which  lasted  for  about  seven  or  eight 
hours,  dro\-e  it  back.  Curtis  took  up  a  new 
position  during  the  night,  and  the  next 
morning  the  Confederates  renewed  the  attack, 
and  were  repulsed. 

After  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  the  troops  of 
Price  and  Van  Dorn  were  withdrawn  across 
the  Mississippi  to  reinforce  General  Beau- 
regard at  Corinth.  We  have  seen  them 
bearing  the  brunt  of  the  campaign  in  northern 
Mississippi  against  Grant's  army.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  summer,  it  being  necessar}- 
to  make  a  vigorous  effort  to  hold  the  trans- 
Mississippi  region  against  the  efforts  of  the 
Union  forces,  the  Confederate  government 
sent  Lieutenant-General  Holmes  to  take 
command  of  it.  The  operations  in  this 
region  during  the  remainder  of  the  \-ear  were 
of  an  unimportant  character. 

General    Burnside's   Expedition. 

The  plan  of  the  Federal  government  for 
seizing  the  prominent  points  on  the  coast 
was  carried  forward  with  great  energy  during 
the  year  1862.  Between  Albemarle  and 
Pamlico  Sounds,  on  the  coast  of  North  Caro- 
lina, lies  Roanoke  Island,  famous  as  the 
scene  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  unfortunate 
attempts  to  colonize  America,  and  com- 
manding the  entrance  to  Albemarle  Sound. 
The  possession  of  this  island  by  the  Federal 
forces  would  give  them  the  command  of  the 
rivers  entering  into  the  sounds,  pla:e  the 
rear  defences  of  Norfolk  at  their  mercy,  and 
afford  them  a  safe  base  from  which  to  attack 
the  towns  on  the  North  Carolina  coast.  The 
Federal  government  having  determineil  to 
obtain  possession  of  Roanoke  Island,  a  j 
powerful  expedition  against  it  was  fitted  out  | 


earl\-  in  the  year,  under  the  command  of 
Major-General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Hampton 
Roads  on  the  eleventh  of  January,  1862,  and 
after  narrowly  escaping  being  scattered  by  a 
severe  storm,  passed  through  Hatteras  inlet, 
and  anchored  in  Pamlico  Sound  on  the 
twenty-eighth.  On  tlie  si.xth  of  February 
the  fleet  took  position  off  Roanoke  Island, 
and  on  the  seventh  opened  fire  upon  the 
Confederate  works.  Under  the  cover  of  this 
fire  a  force  of  over  ten  thousand  troops  was 
landed  upon  the  island.  On  tlie  eighth.  Gen- 
eral Burnside  attacked  the  Confederate  in- 
trenchments  and  carried  them  after  a  sharp 
contest.  The  entire  Confederate  force,  num- 
bering about  twentj'-five  hundred  men,  fell 
into  his  hands  as  prisoners  of  war.  On  the 
tenth,  the  Confederate  squadron  in  Albemarle 
Sound  was  attacked  and  destro}-ed,  or  cap- 
tured. 

Having  established  himself  firmly  on  Ro' 
anoke  Island,  General  Burnside  prepared  to 
reduce  the  towns  along  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina.  On  the  fourteenth  of  March,  New- 
berne  surrendered  to  him,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  April,  Fort  Macon,  at  the  entrance  of 
Beaufort  Harbor,  one  of  the  strongest  works 
on  the  coast,  capitulated. 

Successes  on  the  Florida  Coast. 

Some  important  successes  were  won  on 
the  Coast  of  Florida  during  the  spring  of  this 
)ear.  An  expedition  from  Port  Royal  cap- 
tured Fernandina  and  Fort  Clinch,  on  the 
twenty-eightb.  of  February,  and  a  little  later 
Jacksonville,  on  the  St.  John's  River,  and  St. 
Augustine  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Fed- 
eral troops.  Brunswick  and  Darien,  import- 
ant places  on  the  coast  of  Georgia,  were  cap- 
tured about  the  same  time. 

The  most  important  naval  e.vpcdition  of 
the  >-car  was  that  which  resulted  in  the 
capture    of    New    Orleans.       The    Federal 


702         PORTRAITS  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  NAVAL  COMMANDERS  DURING  THE  WAR. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


703 


Government  had  recognized  from  the  firs'. 
the  importance  of  regaining  possession  of  the 
Mississippi,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  a  large  fleet 
of  gunboats  had  been  prepared  on  the  upper 
waters  of  that  stream  to  co-operate  with  the 
army  in  its  eftbrts  to  capture  the  fortified 
posts  along  the  river.  All  these  efforts,  how- 
ever, were  useless  as  long  as  the  Confederates 
retained  possession  of  the  lower  river  or  of 
the  important  city  of  New  Orleans,  the  com- 
mercial metropolis  of  the  South.  It  was 
resolved  at  an  early  period  of  the  struggle  to 
wrest  New  Orleans  from  the  Confederates, 
and  a  fleet  of  forty-five  vessels  of  war  and 
mortar-boats  was  assembled  for  this  purpose, 
and  placed  under  command  of  Commodore 
Farragut,  an  able  and  experienced  officer. 
To  the  fleet  was  added  a  force  of  fifteen 
thousand  troops,  under  General  B.  F.  Butler. 
The  expedition  rendezvoused  at  Ship  Island, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the 
tarly  part  of  March. 

Tactics  of  Admiral  Farragut. 

About  twenty  miles  above  the  head  of  the 
passes  of  the  Mississippi,  and  about  seventy 
miles  below  New  Orleans,  the  entrance  to 
the  river  is  defended  by  two  strong  works — 
Fort  Jackson  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  Fort  St.  Philip  on  the  left — both 
built  before  the  war.  The  Confederates 
had  further  strengthened  their  position  by 
stretching  six  heavy  chains,  supported  on  a 
series  of  dismasted  schooners,  across  the 
river,  from  shore  to  shore,  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  ships.  Early  in  April  the  fleet 
sailed  from  Ship  Island,  leaving  the  troops 
there  to  await  the  result  of  its  operations, 
and  entering  the  Mississippi  took  position 
below  the  forts. 

On  the  eighteenth  the  bombardment  of 
the  forts  was  begun  by  the  ships  and  the 
mortar-boats,  and  was  continued  with  great 
rigor  until  the  twenty-fourth.     The  results  of 


this  bombardment  was  most  discouraging, 
and  Farragut  became  convinced  that  the 
forts  could  not  be  reduced  by  the  fire  of  the 
fleet.  He  therefore  determined  to  pass  them 
with  his  vessels  and  so  neutralize  them. 

The  chain  and  raft  barricade  across  the 
river  had  been  broken  by  a  severe  storm,  and 
Farragut  sent  a  party  to  enlarge  the  gap 
made  in  it,  so  as  to  admit  the  passage  of  the 
fleet.  This  task  was  accomplished  with  great 
gallantry.  At  three  o'clock,  on  the  morning 
of  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  the  fleet  got 
under  headway  and  began  to  ascend  the 
river,  the  commodore  in  his  flag-ship,  the 
"  Hartford,"  leading  the  way.  The  fleet 
consisted  of  seventeen  vessels,  carrying  two 
hundred  and  ninety-four  guns. 

Desperate  Naval  Battle. 

As  the  vessels  came  abreast  of  the  forts 
the  Confederates  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon 
them,  to  which  they  responded  with  vigor. 
The  forts  were  passed  in  safety  at  length 
and  a  short  distance  above  them  Farragut 
encountered  the  Confederate  fleet,  consisting 
of  sixteen  vessels,  but  eight  of  which  were 
arnied.  Two  of  these  were  iron-clads,  how- 
ever. A  desperate  battle  ensued,  which 
resulted  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  south- 
ern fleet.  When  the  sun  rose  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  twenty-fourth  the  forts  had  been 
passed,  and  the  resistance  of  the  Confederate 
vessels  had  been  overcome. 

There  was  nothing  now  between  the 
Federal  fleet  and  New  Orleans,  and  Farragut, 
ascending  the  river  slowly  and  cautiously, 
anchored  in  the  stream,  in  front  of  the  city, 
on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth.  He  at 
once  demanded  the  capitulation  of  New 
Orleans,  which  had  been  evacuated  by  the 
Confederate  troops  on  the  previous  day.  and 
the  city  was  surrendered  to  him  by  the 
municipal  authorities.  On  the  twenty-eighth 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  surrendered  to- 


704 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


705 


.Captain  Porter,  the  commander  of  the  mor- 
tar fleet.  New  Orleans  being  taken,  word 
was  sent  to  General  Butler,  at  Ship  Island,  to 
hasten  forward  with  his  troops  to  occupy  it. 
He  arrived  on  the  first  of  May,  and  at  once 
took  possession  of  the  citj'.  Baton  Rouge, 
the  capital  of  Louisiana,  was  occupied  by  the 
Federal  forces,  and  Farragut  pushed  on  up 
the  river,  and,  passing  the  Confederate  bat- 
teries at  Grand  Gulf  and  Vicksburg,  joined 
the  fleet  of  Commodore  Davis  at  Memphis. 
The  capture  of  New  Orleans  was  a  terrible 
blow  to  the  South.  It  deprived  the  Con- 
federacy of  the  largest  and  wealthiest  city 
within  its  limits,  and  wrested  from  it  the 
whole  of  the  lower  Mississippi. 

Fort  Pulaski  Surrenders. 

Another  success  was  gained  by  the  Union 
arms  on  the  Southern  coast.  An  expedition 
from  Port  Royal,  under  General  Hunter,  laid 
siege  to  Fort  Pulaski,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Savannah  River.  This  fort  was  constructed 
ty  the  Federal  government  previous  to  the 
war,  and  constituted  one  of  the  principal 
defences  of  the  city  of  Savannah.  On  the 
eleventh  of  April,  after  a  bombardment  of 
fifteen  days,  it  surrendered  to  General  Hunter. 
Its  capture  closed  the  Savannah  River  to  the 
entrance  of  the  class  of  vessels  known  as 
blockade  runners,  and  deprived  the  South  of 
the  use  of  one  of  its  principal  ports. 

The  events  of  this  year  in  Virginia  were 
of  the  highest  importance.  The  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  nearly  two  hundred  thousand 
strong,  was  ready  for  active  operations  with 
the  early  spring.  General  McClellan  was 
anxious  to  avail  himself  of  the  superior  naval 
strength  of  the  United  States  to  transport 
his  army  to  a  point  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
from  which  it  could  easily  interpose  between 
the  Confederate  army,  under  General  John- 
ston, and  Richmond. 

Suspecting  such  a  design  on  the  part  of 
45 


McClellan,  Johnston  abandoned  his  position 
at  Centreville,  on  the  eighth  of  March,  and 
fell  back  to  the  Rappahannock,  and  a  little 
later  moved  back  still  farther  to  the  line  of 
the  Rapidan.  McClellan  advanced  to  Cer.- 
treville  as  soon  as  informed  of  Johnston's 
withdrawal,  but  was  too  late  to  interfere  with 
the  movements  of  the  Confederate  army. 

Exploits  of  the  "  Merrimac." 

Simultaneous  with  Johnston's  withdrawal 
from  Centreville  occurred  an  incident  whuh 
forms  one  of  the  most  striking  episodes  of 
the  war,  and  led  to  results  of  world-wide 
importance.  Upon  the  evacuation  of  the 
Norfolk  navy  yard  by  the  Federal  forces,  at 
the  outset  of  the  war,  the  splendid  steam 
frigate  "  Merrimac  "  was  scuttled  and  sunk 
This  vessel  was  subsequently  raised  by  the 
Confederates,  and  rebuilt  by  them.  Her 
upper  deck  was  removed,  and  she  was  covered 
with  a  slanting  roof.  Both  the  roof  and  her 
sides  were  heavily  plated  with  iron,  and  a 
long,  stout  bow  was  fitted  to  her  to  enable 
her  to  act  as  a  ram.  She  was  then  armed 
with  ten  heavy  guns,  and  named  the  "  \^ir- 
ginia."  Thus  prepared,  she  was  the  most 
powerful  vessel  afloat. 

As  soon  as  the  "  Virginia  "  was  ready  fov 
service  the  Confederate  authorities  deter- 
mined  to  test  her  efficiency  by  attempting  tc- 
destroy  the  Federal  fleet  to  Hampton  Roads. 
On  the  eighth  of  March  the  "  Virginia,"  ac 
companied  by  two  small  vessels,  left  Norfoil-' 
and  steamed  down  the  Elizabeth  River  into 
Hampton  Roads.  Her  appearance  took  thj 
Federal  fl.ct  by  surprise,  and  a  heavy  fire 
was  concentrated  upon  her  from  the  fleet  and 
the  batteries  on  shore  at  Newport  News,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  James  River.  Shot  and 
shell  flew  harmlessly  from  her  iron  sides,  and, 
firing  slowly  as  she  ad\anced,  she  aimed 
straight  for  the  sloop  of  war  "  Cumberland  "' 
—the  most  formidable  v<;ssel  of  her  class  in 


7o6  THE   CIVIL   WAR. 

the  nav•^' — and  sunk  her  with  a  blow  of  her 


iron  prow. 

The  frigate  "Congress,"  lying  near  by, 
was  chased  into  shoal  water  and  compelled 
to  surrender,  after  which  she  was  set  on  fire. 


GENERAL    GEORGE    B.    M  CLELL.^N 

The  ram  then  endeavored  to  inflict  a  similar 
fate  upon  the  frigate  "  Minnesota,"  but  that 
vessel  escaped  into  water  too  shallow  for  the 
iron-clad  to  venture  into.  At  sunset  the 
"Virginia"  drew  oft,  and  returned  to  the 
Elizabeth  River.     She  had  destroyed  two  of 


the  finest  vessels  in  the  Federal  navy,  and 
inflicted  upon  her  adversaries  a  loss  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  officers  and  men.  She  was 
herself  uninjured,  and  had  but  two  men 
killed  and  eight  wounded. 

The  success  of  the 
"Virginia"  struck 
terror  to  the  fleet  in 
Hampton  Roads,  and 
it  was  by  no  means 
certain  that  the  vic- 
torious vessel  would 
not  the  next  day  either 
attack  Fort  Monroe, 
or  pass  by  it  and  as- 
cend the  Chesapeake, 
in  which  case  both 
Washington  and  Bal- 
timore would  be  at  her 
mercy.  During  the 
night,  however,  a  most 
unlooked-for  assist- 
ance arrived.  The 
"  Monitor,"  an  iron- 
clad vessel  of  a  new 
plan,  invented  by  Cap- 
tain John  Ericsson, 
entered  Hampton 
Roads  on  her  trial 
trip  from  New  York. 
Upon  learning  the 
state  of  affairs  her 
commander.  Lieuten- 
ant Worden,  deter- 
mined to  engage  the 
"  Virginia  "  the  next 
day.  On  the  morning 
of  the  ninth  the  "  Vir- 
ginia "  again  steamed  out  of  the  Elizabeth 
River  into  Hampton  Roads.  The  "Monitor," 
though  her  inferior  in  size,  and  carrying  but  a 
single  gun,  at  once  moved  forward  to  meet  her. 
An  engagement  of  several  hours'  duration 
ensued,  in  which  both   vessels  were  fought 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


707 


with  great  gallantry  ;  and  at  the  end  of  this 
time  the  "  Virginia  "  drew  off,  and  returned 
to  Norfolk  severely  injured.  The  arrival  of 
the  "  Monitor"  was  most  fortunate.  It  saved 
the  Federal  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads  from 
total  destruction,  and  prevented  the  "  Vir- 
ginia "  from  extending  her  ravages  to  the 
ports  of  the  Union.  The  battle  between  the 
"  Monitor  "  and  the  "  Virginia  "  will  ever  be 
famous  as  the  first  engagement  between  iron- 
clad vessels.  It  inaugurated  a  new  era  in 
naval  warfare.  In  spite  of  the  result  of  the 
battle,  ho\ve\-er,  the  presence  of  the  "  Vir- 
ginia" at  Norfolk  deterred  the  Federal 
forces  from  risking  an  attack  on  that 
place,  and  prevented  them  from  mak- 
ing any  effort  to  ascend  the  James 
River  with  their  fleet. 

In  the  meantime  the  army  of  Gen- 
eral McClellan  had  returned  to  its 
p.jsition  near  Alexandria,  after  the 
retreat  of  the  Confederates  to  the 
Rapidan.  General  IMcClellan  now 
proposed  to  move  the  bulk  of  his 
army  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  to 
advance  from  that  point  upon  Rich- 
mond by  way  of  the  peninsula  between 
the  York  and  James  Rivers.  About 
seventy-five  thousand  men  were  left 
on  the  Potomac  to  cover  Washington, 
and  the  remainder,  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  in  number,  were  trans- 
ported by  water  to  Fortress  Monroe.  This 
movement  was  accomplished  by  the  second 
of  April. 

Johnston's  Successful  Retreat. 

On  the  fourth  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
began  its  march  towards  the  lines  of  York- 
town,  which  were  held  by  about  eleven 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  under  General 
Magruder.  The  Confederate  commander 
had  passed  the  first  year  of  the  war  in  forti- 
fying his  position,  and   had    constructed   a 


series  of  powerful  works  which  enabled  him, 
with  his  small  force,  to  hold  McClellan's 
whole  army  in  check.  On  ,he  fifth  and  sixth 
of  April  McClellan  made  repeated  attempts 
to  force  the  southern  lines,  and  failing  in 
these  decided  to  lay  siege  to  them.  The 
time  thus  gained  by  Magruder  enabled 
General  Johnston  to  move  his  army  from  the 
Rapidan  to  the  peninsula.  It  was  in  position 
on  the  lines  of  Yorktown  by  the  seventeenth 
of  April,  making  the  force  opposed  to 
McClellan  about  fifty-eight  thousand  strong. 
The  Confederates  did  not  expect  to  hold 


VIEW  OF  THE 


RAHOMINV  NE.AR  MECHANICSVILLE. 


their  position  on  the  peninsula,  but  from  the 
first  intended  to  move  back  nearer  to 
Richmond,  and  occupy  the  line  oftheChick- 
ahominy.  When  their  preparations  were 
completed  they  fell  back  from  the  lines  of 
Yorktown,  on  the  night  of  the  third  of  May, 
just  as  McClellan  was  about  to  begin  his 
bombardment  of  their  position. 

The  Federal  army  discovered  the  retreat 
on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  of  May,  and 
moved  forward  promptly  in  the  hope  of  inter- 
cepting the  Southern  army.  On  the  morning 
of  the  fifth  the  advanced  forces  attacked  the 


7o8 

rear-guard  of  Johnston's  army  at  Williams- 
burg.  The  Confederate  commander  held  his 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


MAP   OF    NORTHERN    VIRGINIA. 

ground   until    his  trains   had    gotten  off  in  |  hominy,  and  lod-ed  it 


reached  the  Chickahominy  about  the  tenth 
of  May  without  further  molestation  from  the 
Union  forces.  General 
McClellan,  following 
leisurely,  took  posi- 
tion on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy, 
with  the  river  between 
the  two  armies. 

In  accordance  with 
General  McClellan's 
urgent  request.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  decided 
to  order  the  force  left 
to  cover  Washington 
to  join  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  before 
Richmond,  by  the 
way  of  Fredericks- 
burg. With  his  force 
thus  augmented  the 
Union  commander 
had  no  doubt  of  his 
ability  to  capture 
Richmond.  Alive  to 
this  danger  General 
Johnston  directed 
General  Jackson,  who 
had  been  left  to  hold 
the  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia,to  manoeuvre  his 
army  so  as  to  threaten 
\\\-ishington,and  com- 
pel the  Federal  gov- 
ernment to  retain  the 
force  intended  for  j\Ic- 
Clellan  for  the  defence 
of  Washington.  While 
awaiting  the  arrival  of 
this  force  McClellan 
threw  his  left  wing 
across  the  Chicka- 
osition  nearer  to 


safety,  and   then   resumed    his    retreat,  and  |   Richmond.    The  Federal  lines  now  extended 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


709 


from  Bottom's  Bridge,  on  the  Chickahominy, 
to  Mechanicsville,  north  of  that  stream. 

TIio  evacuation  of  the  peninsula  compelled 
the  Confederates  to  abandon  Norfolk  also. 
They  withdrew  their  troops  from  that  city 
on  the  ninth  of  May, 
and  sent  them  to  rein- 
f^.rce  General  Johns- 
ton. On  the  tenth  Nor- 
folk and  Portsmouth 
were  occupied  by  the 
Federal  forces  under 
General  Wool.  Before 
leaving  the  Confeder- 
ates had  set  fire  to  the 
jiavy  yard,  which  was 
destro)-ed.  The  iron- 
clad steamer  "  Vir- 
ginia"' was  taken  into 
the  James  River,  and 
on  the  eleventh  was 
abandoned  and  blown 
up.  The  loss  of  this 
steamer,  which  could 
have  held  the  James 
against  the  whole 
Union  fleet,  left  the 
river  open  to  within 
eight  miles  of  Rich- 
mond. 

The  gunboats,  in- 
cluding the  "  Moni- 
tor," were  sent  up  to 
try  to  force  their  way 
to  Richmond,  but  on 
the  fifteenth  of  May 
were  driven  back  by  a 
battery  of  heavy  guns 
located  on  the  heights  at  Drewry's  bluff, 
eight  miles  below  Richmond.  They  were 
badly  injured  by  the  plunging  fire  of  the 
Confederates.  The  river  was  securely 
obstructed  at  this  point  to  prevent  a  pas- 
.'iage  of  the  batteries  by  the  Federal  fleet. 


Ha\ing  been  heavily  reinforced,  General 
Johnston  determined  to  attack  McClellan's 
exposed  left  wing,  and  on  the  thirty-first  of 
May  fell  upon  it  at  Seven  Pines,  and  drove 
it  back  with  heavy  loss.     General  Johnston 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  T.  J.  JACKSON. 


was  severely  wounded  towards  the  close 
of  the  day,  and  was  unable  to  carrj-  out 
the  plan  upon  which  he  had  begun  the 
battle.  The  next  day  there  was  hca\y  skir- 
mishing until  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, but  nothing  of  a  more  •^prions  nature  was 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


attempted  by  either  side.  General  McClel- 
lan,  warned  by  the  narrow  escape  of  his  left 
wing,  now  proceeded  to  fortify  his  position 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Chickahominy. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress  on 
the  Chickahominy,  General  Jackson  carried 
out  with  brilliant  success  the  movements 
assigned  him  in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  His 
task  required  the  exercise  of  the  greatest 
skill  and  determination.  He  was  to  neu- 
tralize the  forces  of  Fremont,  Banks  and 
McDowell,  and  prevent  them  from  render- 
ing any  assistance  to  McClellan.  Jackson's 
army  fell  back  from  Winchester  on  the  elev- 
enth of  March,  and  retired  as  far  as  Mount 
Jackson.  Then  rapidly  retracing  its  steps  it 
attacked  Banks'  forces  at  Kernstown,  near 
Winchester.  Though  repulsed  in  this 
engagement,  it  succeeded  in  alarming  the 
Federal  government  for  the  safety  of  Wash- 
ington. Banks'  command  was  therefore 
retained  in  the  valley  to  watch  Jackson, 
and  the  force  under  McDowell  was  not 
allowed  to  go  to  McClellan's  assistance  on 
the  peninsula,  lest  by  so  doing  it  should 
uncover  Washington.  After  the  battle  of 
Kernstown  Jackson  retired  up  the  valley, 
and  a  season  of  comparative  quietude 
ensued.  The  Federal  government  even 
believed  that  his  troops  had  been  sent  to 
Richmond. 

Jackson's  Brilliant  Achievements. 

Fremont's  army  was  ordered  to  move  from 
western  Virginia  into  the  valley;  Banks  was 
directed  to  march  to  Manassas  and  cover 
Washington  ;  while  McDowell,  with  forty 
thousand  men,  was  ordered  to  move  from 
Fredericksburg,  fiom  which  he  was  to  march 
across  the  country  and  unite  with  McClel- 
lan's left  wing,  which  was  thrown  out  far  to 
the  north  of  Richmond  to  meet  him.  These 
orders  were  in  process  of  execution  when 
Jackson,  who  had  been  reinforced  by  a  divis- 


ion under  General  Ewell,  destroyed  the 
whole  Federal  plan  of  campaign. 

Knowing  that  he  could  not  possibly  resist 
the  combined  forces  of  Fremont  and  Banks, 
Jackson  determined  to  beat  them  in  detail. 
Marching  rapidly  westward,  he  crossed  the 
mountains,  fell  upon  the  advance  guard  of 
Fremont's  army  at  McDowell,  on  the  eighth 
of  May,  defeated  it,  and  drove  it  back  into 
western  Virginia.  Tiien  retracing  his  steps 
with  remarkable  speed,  he  returned  to  the 
valley,  and  on  the  twenty-third  of  May 
attacked  Banks'  outlying  force  at  Front 
Royal,  and  drove  it  in  upon  the  main  body 
at  Strasburg. 

Banks  at  once  broke  up  his  camp  and  fell 
back  down  the  valley,  pursued  by  Jackson, 
who  dealt  him  a  terrible  blow  at  Winchester 
on  the  twenty-fifth.  By  extraordinary  exer- 
tions Banks  succeeded  in  escaping  across 
the  Potomac,  but  left  about  three  thousand 
prisoners,  several  pieces  of  artillery,  nine 
thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  the  greater  part 
of  his  stores  in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

Richmond  Saved  from  Capture. 

This  bold  advance  greatly  alarmed  the 
government  at  Washington,  and  the  Presi- 
dent ordered  Fremont  to  move  with  speed 
into  the  valley,  and  directed  General  Mc- 
Dowell to  suspend  his  movement  to  the 
assistance  of  McClellan,  and  send  a  force  of 
twenty  thousand  men  to  gain  Jackson's  rear 
and  prevent  his  return  up  the  valley.  Mc- 
Dowell sent  the  required  force  under  General 
Shields,  and  Fremont  hurried  on  to  gain  the 
upper  valley  in  advance  of  Jackson.  These 
movements  entirely  prevented  McClellan 
from  receiving  the  assistance  of  McDowell's 
corps,  and  saved  Richmond  from  capture. 

Jackson  was  too  good  a  general  to  be 
caught  in  a  trap  so  skillfully  laid  for  him. 
He  retired  up  the  valley  with  the  greatest 
speed,    and    having    interposed    his    army 


PORTRAITS  or  PROMINKN  I   (  OM  1  DrRA'It;  GKNERALS.  71 1 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


between  Fremont  and  Shields,  turned  upon 
the  former,  and  with  a  part  of  his  force 
attacked  him  at  Cross  Ke\-s  on  the  eighth  of 
June,  and  checked  his  advance.  Then  re- 
uniting his  forces  he  fell  upon  Shields  at 
Port  Republic  on  the  ninth  of  June,  and 
drove  him  back  with  heavy  loss  after  one  of 
the  hardest  fought  battles  of  the  war.  Hav- 
ing thus  put  an  end  to  the  pursuit  of  his 
antagonists,  Jackson  withdrew  to  a  safe  posi- 
tion, from  which  he  could  hold  them  in 
check  or  go  to  the  aid  of  the  army  defend- 
ing Richmond. 

The  latter  move  being  decided  upon,  he 
eluded  the  Federal  forces  in  the  valley,  and 
marched  rapidly  to  the  Chickahominy.  Be- 
fore his  absence  from  the  valley  was  sus- 
pected, he  had  joined  General  Lee.  His 
campaign  in  the  valley  is  justly  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war.  With 
less  than  twenty  thousand  men  he  had  neu- 
tralized a  force  of  sixty  thousand  Union 
troops,  and  prevented  the  e.xccution  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  carefully  laid  plans  for  the  capture 
of  Richmond. 

General  Lee  Takes  Command. 

Upon  the  fall  of  General  Johnston  the 
command  of  the  Confederate  army  before 
Richmond  was  conferred  upon  General 
Robert  E.  Lee,  whom  subsequent  events 
proved  to  be  the  ablest  of  the  Southern 
leaders.  Troops  were  drawn  from  every  pos- 
sible point  to  reinforce  General  Lee's  army, 
and  by  the  middle  of  June  his  forces,  includ- 
ing Jackson's  army,  amounted  to  ninety 
thousand  men.  The  Federal  army  was  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  strong.  Both 
armies  were  in  fine  condition.  General  Mc- 
Clellan,  finding  it  impossible  to  obtain  the 
assistance  of  McDowell's  corps,  and  fearing 
for  the  safety  of  his  communications  with  his 
base  of  supplies,  which  was  at  West  Point, 
at  the  head  of  the  York   River,  pieparcd  to 


move  his  army  to  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy,  and  establish  a  new  and  more 
secure  base  upon  the  James  River. 

Before  he  could  put  this  design  in  opera- 
tion he  was  attacked  by  General  Lee,  who, 
on  the  twent\--fifth  of  June,  fell  upon  the 
right  of  the  Union  line  at  Mechanicsville, 
and  forced  it  back  upon  the  centre  at  Cold 
Harbor.  On  the  twenty-sixth  the  position 
at  Cold  Harbor  was  attacked  and  carried  by 
the  Confederates  after  a  desperate  struggle. 
With  great  difficulty  McClellan  secured  his 
retreat  to  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahom- 
iny, and  destroyed  the  bridges  in  his  rear. 

Having  decided  to  retreat  to  the  James 
River  rather  than  attempt  to  retain  his  com- 
munication with  West  Point,  McClellan 
destroyed  his  stores,  and  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  began  his  retreat  from  the  Chicka- 
hominy by  way  of  White  Oak  Swamp.  As 
soon  as  his  movement  was  discovered  pur- 
suit was  made  by  the  Confederates,  who 
attacked  his  rear  guard  under  General  Sum- 
ner at  Savage  Station  late  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  twenty-ninth.  Sumner  held  his  ground 
until  the  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  action, 
and  during  the  night  of  the  twenty-ninth 
withdrew  across  White  Oak  Swamp,  destroy- 
ing all  the  bridges  after  him. 

End  of  the  "Seven  Days'   Battles." 

On  the  thirtieth  General  Lee  made  a  last 
effort  to  prevent  McClellan  from  reaching 
the  James,  and  towards  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  the  bloody  battle  of  Frazier's  Farm 
was  fought.  It  was  continued  until  nine 
o'clock.  The  Federal  force  at  Frazier's  Farm 
held  its  ground  until  the  remainder  of 
McClellan's  army  had  .«afely  traversed  White 
Oak  Swamp.  The  object  of  the  battle  hav- 
ing been  accomplished,  McClellan  resumed 
his  retreat  to  the  James  River,  and  took  posi- 
tion upon  Malvern  Hill,  within  a  short  dis- 
tance of  that  stn-am.     Here  he  massed  his 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


7M 


artillerj',    and    the    gunboats    in    the   James  I 
River  moved  up  to  a  point  from  which  they 
could  throw  their  shells  into  the  Confederate 
lines. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  first  of  July  the 
Confederates  made  a  gallant  attempt  to  carry 
Malvern  Hill,  but  were  repulsed  with  severe 
loss.  The  next  morning  the  Federal  ami)- 
withdrew  to  Harrison's  Landing  on  the 
James  River.  Thus  ended  the  "  Seven  Da>-s' 
Battles,"  during  which  the  Federal  army 
lost  about  twenty  thousand  men  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners,  fifty-two  pieces  of 
artillery,  thirty-five  thousand  stand  of  arms, 
and  an  enormous  quantity  of  stores  of  all 
kinds.  The  Confederate  loss  was  nineteen 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirtj^-three  killed, 
wounded  and  missing. 

The  retreat  of  McClellan's  army  threw  the 
North  into  the  deepest  despondency.  On 
the  second  of  July  President  Lincoln  issued  a 
eall  for  three  hundred  thousand  fresh  troops. 
The  necessities  of  the  struggle,  however, 
made  this  force  insufficient,  and  on  the  fourth 
of  August  the  President  ordered  that  a  draft 
of  three  hundred  thousand  militia  should  be 
made  and  placed  in  the  ser\'ice  of  the  United 
States  for  a  period  of  nine  months  unless 
sooner  discharged.  The  States  complied 
with  the  requisitions  upon  them,  and  in  the 
brief  period  of  three  months  the  enormoLis 
mass  of  si.x  hundred  thousand  fresh  troops 
was  raised,  armed  and  placed  in  the  field. 

Battle  of   Cedar  Mountain. 

For  the  protection  of  Washington  the 
Federal  government  now  collected  the  com- 
mands of  Banks,  Fremont  and  McDowell  in 
one  army,  and  placed  it  under  command  of 
Major-General  John  Pope,  whose  capture  of 
Lland  No.  lo  and  other  points  in  the  west 
had  given  him  a  fair  reputation.  He  assumed 
his  new  command  with  a  jjrofiision  of  boasts, 
and  promised  to  succeed  where  McCleilan 


had  failed.  According  to  General  Pope  th.j 
capture  of  Richmond  was  the  easiest  under- 
taking in  the  world.  His  army  towards  the 
latter  part  of  July  advanced  to  the  Rapidan. 
To  watch  this  force  General  Lee.  late  in 
July,  sent  General  Jackson's  corps  to  the 
Rapidan.  On  the  ninth  of  August  Jackson 
attacked  the  ad\anced  corps  of  Pope's  army 
at  Cedar  Mountain,  and  defeated  it.  This 
defeat  suspended  General  Pope's  forward 
movement.  General  McCleilan  now  received 
orders  from  Washington  to  evacuate  Harri- 
son's Landing  and  to  reinforce  General  Pope 
with  his  army.  He  at  once  put  this  order  in 
execution.  The  withdrawal  of  his  troops 
was  detected  by  General  Lee,  who  rapidly 
reinforced  Jackson,  and  finally  moved  with 
his  whole  army  to  the  Rapidan. 

Daring  Flank    Movement. 

About  the  same  time  Burnside's  corps, 
which  had  been  withdrawn  from  the  southern 
coast,  and  was  awaiting  orders  in  Hampton 
Roads,  was  directed  to  move  into  the 
Potomac  and  reinforce  Pope.  General  Pope 
had  now  under  his  command  a  force  of  over 
one  hundred  thousand  men.  The  Confed- 
erate army,  which  was  concentrated  upon  the 
Rapidan  by  the  eighteenth  of  August,  num- 
bered about  seventy  thousand  men.  Its 
strength  was  greatly  overestimated  by  Gen- 
eral Pope,  who  deemed  it  most  prudent  to 
retire  behind  the  Rappahannock,  which  he 
did  on  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  of 
August.  His  new  position  was  well  chosen. 
His  right  was  at  Rappahannock  Station,  and 
his  left  at  Kelley's  ford,  some  distance  lower 
down  the  river. 

General  Lee  now  resolved  to  attack  Pope 
before  he  could  be  joined  by  McClellan's 
troops.  He  divided  his  army  into  two 
columns,  and  sent  Jackson's  corps  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  by  way  of  Thoroughfare  Gap, 
to  gain  the  rear  of  the  Federal  armv      This 


7H 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


daring    flank    march  was   accomplished  by  I  trains  loaded  with  supplies.     Upon  learning 
Jackson,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  August  |  of  this  movement  Pope   at   once   fell  back 


PORTRAITS  OF    PKOMIVLM 

.  he  captured  Manassas  Junction,  Pope's  main 
depotof  supplies,  with  an  enormous  quantity 
of  stores  of  all  kinds,  and  several  railroad 


i\  \I    CIM  K\Lb 

fiuMi  the  Rappahannock,  intending  to  cru.sh 
the  isolated  corps  of  Jackson,  and  at  the 
same  time  Lee  set  off"  rapidly  by  way  of 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINXOLN. 


Thoroughfare  Gap  to  join  his  endangered 
lieutenant. 

Pope's  armjr  had  been  reinforced  by  the 
corps  of  Porter  and  Heintzelman,  and  Rey- 
nolds' division  of  McCIellan's  army,  and  was 
at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
strong.  He  moved  back  rapidly  to  attack 
Jackson,  and  encountered  Ewell's  division 
near  Manassas  Junction  on  the  twenty- 
seventh.  Ewell  held  his  ground,  and  at 
night  rejoined  Jackson,  who  moved  swiftly 
from  Manassas  to  a  new  position  near  the 
old  Bull  Run  battle-field.  This  brought  him 
nearer  to  Lee,  and  secured  his  retreat  in  case 
of  a  defeat.  Ewell's  resistance  decei\-ed 
General  Pope,  who  had  posted  McDowell's 
and  Porter's  corps  to  hold  the  road  from 
Thoroughfare  Gap,  by  which  Lee  must 
advance  to  Jackson's  assistance. 

Supposing  that  Jackson  meant  to  make  a 
stand  at  Manassas,  Pope  ordered  these  troops 
to  move  from  the  positions  they  had  taken 
and  to  advance  upon  Manassas  Junction. 
Manassas  was  reached  at  noon  on  the  twenty- 
eighth,  and  then  General  Pope  saw  for  the 
first  time  how  he  had  been  deceived  by 
Jackson,  and  how  he  had  blundered  in  leaving 
the  road  from  Thoroughfare  Gap  open  to 
Lee. 

His  command  was  in  a  critical  position, 
and  he  was  so  situated  that  he  could  not 
make  the  best  use  of  the  forces  which  were 
at  his  disposal. 

Repulse  of  the  Union  Forces. 

He  endeavored  to  repair  his  error  by  at- 
tacking Jackson  at  once.  He  did  attack 
that  general  in  his  new  position  late  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  twenty-eighth,  but  was  re- 
pulsed with  severe  loss.  On  the  same  after- 
noon General  Lee  with  Longstrcet's  corps 
forced  the  passage  of  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and 
bivouacked  that  night  in  the  open  country 
beyond  it.     On   the  morning  of  the  twenty- 


ninth  he  pushed  forward  with  speed,  and  by 
noon  his  advanced  division  reached  Jack- 
son's position.  By  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon the  Confederate  army  was  reunited 
under  the  command  of  General  Lee.  About 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  General  Pope 
determined  to  attack  upon  Lee's  position, 
but  was  repulsed. 

On  the  thirtieth,  having  reunited  all  the 
corps  of  his  army.  General  Pope  determined 
to  risk  the  fate  of  the  campaign  upon  a  de- 
cisive engagement.  The  Confederates  held 
a  large  part  of  the  old  battlefield  of  Bull 
Run,  and  the  conflict  which  ensued  is  usually 


]  rs 


MAJOR-GENER.AL  PHILIP  KEARNEY. 

known  as  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  It 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  General  Pope,  who 
was  driven  back  to  the  heights  of  Centre- 
ville  with  heavy  loss.  On  the  thirt\--first 
Jackson  attacked  the  Federal  rear-guard  at 
Chantilly.  A  spirited  encounter  took  place, 
and  the  Federal  troops  were  slowly  forced 
back,  losing  General  Phil  Kearney,  one  cf 
the  most  accomplished  officers  in  the  service. 
General  Pope  now  withdrew  his  army  with.u 
the  lines  of  Washington. 

He  had  lost  since  the  opening  of  the 
campaign  over  thirty  thousand  men,  includ- 
ing eight  generals  killed,  thirty  pieces  oi 
artillery,    over    twenty    thousand    stand  ot 


7i6  THE   CIV 

arms,  and  an  enormous  quantity  of  stores. 
The  Confederate  loss  was  nine  thousand  one 
hundred  and  twelve,  including  five  generals. 
The  defeat  of  the  Union  army  and  the 
presence  of  the  Confederates  on  the  Poto- 
mac placed  the  city  of  Washington  in  great 
danger.  The  government  acted  with  vigor 
and  decision  in  this  emergency.  The  losses 
of  Pope's  army  were  made  up  by  reinforce- 
ments. General  Pope  was  relieved  of  com- 
mand, and  General  McClellan  was  restored 
to  the  command  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac. 
He  set  to  work  with  energy  to  reorganize 
the  broken  masses  of  Pope's  army  into  an 
effective  force. 

McClellan  at  South  Mountain. 

General  Lee  now  crossed  the  Potomac  and 
invaded  Maryland,  hoping  to  be  able  not 
only  to  remove  the  war  from  the  soil  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  also  to  obtain  large  reinforcements 
from  the  southern  sympathizers  in  Maryland. 
In  this  he  was  disappointed,  as  scarcely  any 
one  joined  him.  On  the  fifth  of  September 
he  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  on  the  sixth 
occupied  Frederick  City.  Ilarper's  Ferry 
was  held  by  a  force  of  eleven  thousand  men 
under  Colonel  Miles,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
reduce  this  post  in  order  to  preserve  the  com- 
munications of  the  Confederate  army  with 
its  own  country.  General  Jackson  was 
despatched  with  his  corps  to  capture  Harp- 
er's Ferry.  He  promptly  carried  the  heights 
overlooking  the  town,  and  on  the  fifteenth  of 
September  the  town  and  garrison  surren- 
dered to  him  after  a  feeble  resistance. 

General  Lee  in  the  meantime  had  taken 
position  at  South  Mountain  to  await  the 
issue  of  Jackson's  attack  upon  Harper's 
Ferry.  McClellan,  advancing  slowly  from 
Washington,  reached  Frederick  on  the 
twelfth  of  September.  There  he  found  a 
copy  of  General  Lee's  confidential  order  to 
his  corps  commanders,  which  had  been  lost 


IL   WAR. 

b\'  some  one.  This  documerit  gave  the  Con- 
federate plan  of  operations,  and  enabled 
McClellan  to  act  with  certainty  in  directing 
his  own  movements.  Hastening  forward  he 
attacked  General  Lee  at  South  Mountain  on 
the  fourteenth  of  September,  and  after  a 
stubborn  fight  Lee  fell  back  behind  Antietam 
Creek,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  seven- 
teenth was  joined  there  by  the  troops  of 
Jackson,  who  had  made  a  forced  march  from 
Harper's  Ferry. 

The  Confederate  army  numbered  about 
forty  thousand  men,  having  been  terribly 
reduced  by  the  straggling  of  the  men  on  the 
march  through  Virginia.  The  Federal  army 
numbered  over  eighty  thousand  men,  and 
was  eager  for  a  contest.  The  prolonged 
resistance  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  losses 
of  his  army  by  straggling,  had  defeated  Lee's 
plan  of  campaign.  He  was  now  compelled 
to  retire  across  the  Potomac,  and  he  halted 
on  the  Antietam  only  to  secure  the  reunion 
of  Jackson's  corps  witli  his  army  and  a  safe 
passage  of  the  Potomac. 

Battle  of  Antietam. 

On  the  morningof  the  seventeenth  of  Sep- 
tember General  McClellan  attacked  the  Con- 
federate army  in  force,  but  it  held  its  ground 
during  the  day,  both  armies  at  nightfall  occu- 
pying about  the  same  positions  they  had  held 
in  the  morning.  The  Federal  loss  was  twelve 
thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  includ- 
ing thirteen  generals  wounded,  one  mortally ; 
that  of  the  Confederates  eight  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety,  includingthree  generals 
killed,  five  wounded.  The  eighteenth  passed 
quietly  away,  and  that  night  Lee  silently 
withdrew  from  his  position  and  retreated 
across  the  Potomac.  He  retired  up  the 
valley  to  Winchester.  The  Federal  army 
moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
did  not  cross  the  Potomac  until  the  second 
of  November. 


7i8 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Upon  entering  Virginia  General  McClellan 
moved  towards  the  Rappahannock,  with  the 
■design  of  interposing  his  army  between  Lee 
and  Richmond.  General  Lee  at  once  left 
the  valley  where  he  had  been  detained  by  the 
necessity  of  watching  McClellan,  and  by  a 
rapid  march  to  Warrenton,  placed  his  army 
between  Richmond  and  McClellan.  The 
Federal  army  continuing  to  advance,  he  fell 
back  to  Culpepper  Court-house,  and  McClel- 
lan moved  forward  to  the  vicinity  of  VVarren- 


1  1  \M   BATTLE  GKOl 


ton.  On  the  seventh  of  November,  when 
about  to  resume  his  advance,  McClellan, 
whose  conduct  of  the  campaign  had  not 
pleased  either  President  Lincoln  or  the  people 
•of  the  North,  was  removed  from  the  com- 
mand of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  which 
was  conferred  upon  General  Ambrose  E. 
Burnside. 

Burnside  at  once  advanced  to  the  banks  of 
the  Rappahannock  opposite  Fredericksburg, 
intending  to  pass  the  river  at  that  place  and 
•.move  upon  Richmond.     Upon  his  arrival  at 


Falmouth,  opposite  Fredericksburg,  he  found 
the  Confederate  army  strongly  posted  on  the 
heights  in  the  rear  of  the  latter  place,  pre- 
pared to  dispute  his  advance. 

He  crossed  the  Rappahannock  on  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  of  December,  and  on 
the  thirteenth  attacked  the  Confederate  posi- 
tion, which  had  been  strongly  entrenched. 
He  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  eleven  thou- 
sand men,  and  compelled  to  retreat  across 
the  Rappahannock.  This  terrible  reverse 
_  greatly     disheart- 

ened the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  and 
destroyed  its  faith 
in  its  commander; 
and  so  the  year 
closed  gloomily  for 
the  Union  cause  in 
the  east. 

In  the  fall  of 
1862  President 
Lincoln  took  the 
bold  step  of  issu- 
ing a  proclamation 
announcing  that  if 
the  seceded  States 
did  not  return  to 
their  allegiance  to 
the  Union,  he 
would  declare  all 
the  negro  slaves 
within  their  limits  free  from  the  first  of 
January  next.  Tliis  proclamation  was  issued 
on  the  twenty-second  of  September,  imme- 
diately after  the  battle  of  Antietam.  The 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  were 
to  enforce  the  terms  of  this  proclamation, 
and  from  the  new  year  there  was  to  be  no 
more  slavery  within  the  limits  of  the  Union. 
The  proclamation  was  avowedly  a  war  meas- 
ure, buc  it  was  sustained  by  Congress  by 
appropriate  legislation  during  the  ensuing 
winter. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

The  Administration   of  Abraham  Lincoln — The  Civil 
War — Concluded. 


The  Emancipation  Proclamation — Battle  of  Chancellorsville — Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson — Invasion  of  the  North  by 
Lee's  Army — Battle  of  Gettysburg — Retreat  of  Lee  into  Virginia — Grant's  Army  Crosses  the  Mississippi — Battle  of 
Champion  Hills — Investment  of  Vicksburg — Surrender  of  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson — Battle  of  Chickamauga — 
Rosecrans  Shut  Up  in  Chattanooga — Grant  in  Command  of  the  Western  Armies — Battles  of  Lookout  Mountain  and 
Missionary  Ridge — Defeat  of  Bragg's  Army — The  Campaign  in  East  Tennessee — Retreat  of  Longstreet — Capture  of 
Galveston — Attack  on  Charleston — Capture  of  Fort  Wagner — Charleston  Bombarded — State  of  Affairs  in  the  Sjiring 
of  1864 — The  Red  River  Expedition — Grant  Made  LieutenantGeneral — Advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — • 
Battle  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  and  Cold  Harbor— Sheridan's  Raid— Death  of  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart— Battle 
of  New  Market— Early  Sent  into  the  Valley  of  ^'irginia — Butler's  Army  at  Bermuda  Hundreds — Grant  Crosses  the 
James  River — The  Siege  of  Petersburg  Begun — Early's  Raid  upon  Washington — Sheridan  Defeats  Early  at  Winchester 
and  Fishei'sUill — Battle  of  Cedar  Creek — The  Final  Defeat  of  Early's  Army — Sherman's  Advance  to  Atlanta — Johns- 
ton Removed — Defeat  of  Hood  Before  Atlanta — Evacuadon  of  Atlanta — Hood's  Invasion  of  Tennessee— Battle  of 
Franklin — Siege  of  Nashville — Hood  Defeated  at  Nashville — His  Retreat—  Sherman's  "  March  to  Sea  " — Capture  of 
Savannah — Battle  of  Mobile  Bay — Attack  on  Fort  Fisher — The  Confederate  Cruisers — Sinking  of  the  "  Alabama" 
by  the"  Kearsarge  " — Re-election  of  President  Lincoln — Admission  of  Nevada  into  the  Union — The  Hampton  Roads 
Peace  Conference — Capture  of  Fort  Fisher — Occupation  of  Wilmington — Sherman  Advances  through  South  Carolina 
— Evacuation  of  Charleston — Battles  of  Averasboro' and  Bentonville — Sherman  at  Goldsboro' — Critical  Situation  of 
Lee's  Army — Attack  on  Fort  Steadman — Sheridan  Joins  Grant — Advance  of  Grant's  Army — Battle  of  Five  Forks- 
Attack  on  Petersburg — Evacuation  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg — Retreat  of  Lee's  Army — Richmond  Occu|iied — 
Surrender  of  General  Lee's  Army — Rejoicings  in  the  North — Assassination  of  President  Lincoln — Death  of  Booth- 
Execution  of  the  Conspirators — Johnston  Surrenders — Surrender  of  the  Other  Confederate  Forces — Capture  of  Jeffer- 
son Davis — Close  of  the  War. 


IN  accordance  with  his  proclamation  of 
September  22,  1862,  President  Lincoln, 
on  the  first  of  January,  1863,  issued  his 
proclamation  of  emancipation,  in  which 
he  declared  all  the  slaves  within  the  limits 
of  the  Confederate  States  free  from  that  day. 
The  plan  of  campaign  adopted  by  the 
Federal  government  for  1863  was  very  much 
like  that  of  the  previous  year.  In  the  east 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  to  push  for- 
ward towards  Richmond;  and  in  the  west 
the  army  of  General  Grant  was  to  capture 
Vicksburg,  and  thus  open  the  Mississippi, 
after  which  it  was  to  march  eastward,  unite 
with  the  forces  of  General  Rosecrans  and 
occupy  East  Tennessee,  thus  cutting  the 
communication  between  the  Border  and  the 


Gulf  States.  In  addition  to  these  operations 
an  expedition  against  Charleston,  South  Ca- 
rolina, was  to  be  attempted. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  greatly 
disheartened  by  its  defeat  at  Fredericksburg, 
and  had  lost  confidence  in  General  Burnside. 
That  commander,  at  his  own  request,  was 
removed  from  the  command,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  General  Joseph  Hooker  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  January.  Hooker  at  once 
began  the  reorganization  of  his  army,  and 
soon  brought  it  to  a  splendid  state  of  eflFi- 
ciency.  By  the  opening  of  the  spring  it 
numbered  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men  and  four  hundred  pieces  of  artillery. 
General  Lee  had  remained  in  his  position 
back  of  Fredericksburg  al'  winter,  and  his 
719 


T^O       PORTRAITS  OF  SOME  OF  THE  GENliKALS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


721 


army  had  been  weakened  by  the  withdrawal 
of  General  Longstreet's  corps,  twenty-four 
thousand  strong,  by  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, leaving  him  about  fifty  thousand  men. 

General  Hooker,  upon  learning  of  Lee's 
weakened  condition,  determined  to  attack 
him.  He  divided  his  army  into  two  columns. 
One  of  these,  consisting  of  the  Second,  Fifth, 
Eleventh,  and  Twelfth  army  corps,  under 
his  own  command,  was  to  cross  the  Rap- 
pahannock above  Fredericksburg  and 
turn  the  Confederate  position.  The  other 
column,  consisting  of  the  First,  Third, 
and  Sixth  corps,  under  General  Sedg- 
wick, was  to  cross  the  river  at  Fred- 
ericksburg and  attack  the  heights.  Be- 
tween these  forces  it  was  believed  that 
Lee's  army  would  be  crushed. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  April  Hooker 
moved  off  with  the  first  column,  crossed 
the  river  on  the  twenty-eighth  and  twenty- 
ninth  at  Kelley's  Ford,  and  on  the  thir- 
tieth took  position  at  Chancellorsville, 
on  the  left  and  in  the  rear  of  Lee's  forti- 
fied line.  On  the  twenty-ninth  General 
Sedgwick  crossed  his  column  about  three 
miles  below  Fredericksburg,  and  during 
that  da}-  and  the  thirtieth  made  demon- 
strations as  though  he  intended  to  assault 
the  southern  position  in  the  rear  of  the 
town. 

General  Lee's  situation  was  now  cri- 
tical, and  demanded  the  most  extra- 
ordinary exertions  of  him.  Leaving  a 
small  force  to  hold  the  heights  in  the 
rear  of  Fredericksburg,  he  moved  with  his 
main  body  towards  Chancellorsville,  where 
Hooker  had  intrenched  himself  with  about 
eighty  thousand  men.  His  onl\-  hope  of 
safety  lay  in  defeating  this  force  before 
Sedgwick's  column  could  arrive  to  its  assist- 
ance. On  the  second  of  May  he  sent  Jack- 
son's corps  to  turn  the  Federal  right,  and 
with  the  remainder  of  his  force,  deceived 
46 


Hooker  into  the  belief  that  he  meant  to 
storm  the  intrenched  position  of  the  Federal 
army.  Jackson  performed  his  flank  march 
with  success,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  of  May  made  a  fierce  attack  upon 
the  Federal  right,  and  drove  it  in  upon  its 
centre.  In  this  attack  he  received  a  mortal 
wound,  of  which  he  died  on  the  tenth  of 
May. 


The  next  day,  the  third,  having  reunited 
Jackson's  corps  with  his  main  force,  Lte 
attacked  Hooker  at  Chancellorsville,  and 
drove  him  back  to  the  junction  of  the  Rap- 
pahannock and  Rapidan  rivers.  He  was 
preparing  to  storm  this  new  position  when 
he  learned  that  Sedgwick  had  defeated  the 
force  left  to  hold  the  heights  of  Fredericks- 
burg on  the  third  of  May,  and  was  marching 
against  him.     I  lis  danger  was   now  greater 


722 

than  ever.  Leaving  a  part  of  his  army  to 
hold  Hooker  in  check,  he  marched  rapidly 
to  meet  Sedg^vick.  He  encountered  him  at 
Salem  Heights  on  the  fourth  of  May,  and 
compelled  him  to  recross  the  Rappahannock 


GENERAL    GEORGE    G.    MlCADl- 

at  Banks'  Ford.  Then  moving  back  towards 
Hooker's  position  Lee  prepared  to  storm  it. 
General  Hooker,  ho\vc\er,  disheartened  by 
Sedgwick's  defeat,  withdrew  his  army  across 
the  Rappahannock  on  tlie  night  of  the  fifth, 
and  returned  to  his  old  position  on  the  north 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 

side  of  that  stream,  having  lost  t-.velve  thou- 
sand  men  and  fourteen  pieces  of  artillery  in 
the  battle  of  Chancellorsville. 

The  Confederate  losswas  also  heavy.  Out  of 
an  army  of  about  fifty  thousand  men,  ten  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and 
eighty-one  were  killed, 
wounded  and  captured. 
The  victory  was  dearly 
boug'pt  by  the  Confed- 
erates uy  the  death  of 
Stonewall  Jackson,  who 
was  worth  fully  fifty 
thousand  men  to  their 
cause.  At  the  moment 
of  his  success  againf 
the  Federal  right,  he  wa 
shot  down  by  his  own 
men,  who  mistook  his 
escort  for  a  party  of 
Federal  cavalry. 

The    success    of   the 
Confederates  in  Virginia 
was  more  than  counter- 
balanced   by    their    re- 
verses in  the  West  and 
Southwest.    The  South- 
ern government,  anxious 
to    change    the    course 
of  the  war  by   a  bold 
stroke,    decided    to    fol- 
low   up    the   victor}'    at 
Chancellorsville    by    an 
invasion  of  the  North  by 
Lee's  army.     This  army 
was    reinforced    heavily 
and  by  the  last  of  May 
numbered  seventy  thou 
sand    infantry  and  artillery,   and  ten   thou- 
sand cavalry.     General  Hooker's  army,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  been  reduced  by  deser- 
tions and  expirations  of  enlistments,  to  about 
eighty  thousand  men,  making  the  two  forces 
about  equal. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


723 


On  the  third  of  June,  1863,  Lee  began  his 
forward  movement,  and  marching  through 
the  valley  of  Virginia,  captured  Winchester, 
which  was  held  by  General  Milroy's  com- 
mand, on  the  fourteenth,  taking  four  thou- 
sand prisoners  and  twenty-nine  pieces  of 
cannon.  On  the  twenty-second  of  June  the 
Potomac  was  crossed  at  Williamsport,  and 
the  Confederate  army  moved  towards  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland.  General  Hooker  had  fol- 
lowed Lee  from  the  Rappahannock,  and  had 
manoeu\Ted  his  army  so  as  to  interpose  it 
between  the  Confederates   and  Washington. 

Invasion  of  the  North. 

On  the  twenty-third  the  advanced  corps 
of  Lee's  army,  under  General  Ewell,  occupied 
Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  on  the 
twenty-fifth  and  twenty-sixth.  General  Hooker 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Edward's  Ferry, 
and  marched  to  Frederick,  Maryland.  He 
was  anxious  to  withdraw  the  garrison  of 
Harper's  Ferry,  which  had  retired  from  that 
place  to  the  Mar\-land  heights,  opposite  the 
town,  but  the  war  department  refused  to  allow 
him  to  do  so.  Hooker  thereupon  relin- 
quished the  command  of  the  arm\-,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Major-General  George  G. 
]\Ieade,  the  senior  corps  commander,  and  a 
soldier  of  genuine  ability.  General  Lee  now 
moved  his  army  east  of  the  mountains,  and 
directed  his  advance  towards  Gettysburg. 
In  ignorance  of  his  adversary's  design,  Gen- 
eral Meade  hastened  forward  to  occupy  the 
same  point. 

The  invasion  of  Penns\'lvania  by  the  Con- 
federate army  aroused  the  most  intense  ex- 
citement in  the  North.  President  Lincoln 
called  out  one  hundred  thousand  militia  to 
serve  for  si.x  months,  unless  sooner  dis- 
charged, and  as  far  north  as  New  York, 
preparations  were  made  to  receive  the  Con- 
federate army  with  a  stubborn  resistance 
should    it   succeed    in    penetrating    so    far. 


Every  effort  was  made  to  raise  troops  and 
forward  them  to  General  Meade  in  time  to 
be  of  service  to  him. 

On  the  morning  of  the  first  of  Jul}-,  the 
left  wing  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  under 
General  Reynolds,  and  the  advanced  corps  of 
Lee's  army,  under  Generals  A.  P.  Hill  and 
Ewell,  encountered  each  other  at  Gettysburg. 
General  Reynolds  was  forced  back  and  killed. 
General  Hancock  was  at  once  sent  by  Gen- 
eral Meade  to  assume  the  command  of  the 
left  wing,  and  upon  his  arrival  he  at  once 
recognized  the  importance  of  the  position 
at  Gettysburg,  and  occupied  it.  He  was 
promptly  reinforced  by  General  Meade,  and 
by  the  afternoon  of  the  second  of  July,  the 
army  of  the  Potomac  was  securely  posted  on 
the  heights  known  as  Cemeterj^  Ridge. 
The  Confederate  army  took  position  on  the 
opposite  hills  known  as  Seminary  Ridge. 
Between  the  two  armies  lay  the  battle-field 
on  which  the  engagement  of  the  first  of  July 
was  fought.  Heavy  skirmishing  prevailed 
throughout  the  day  on  the  second,  the  advan- 
tage being  with  the  Confederates. 

Great  Battle  at  Gettysburg. 

On  the  third  of  July  General  Lee  made  a 
general  attack  upon  the  Federal  position  on 
Cemetery  Ridge,  which,  very  strong  by 
nature,  had  been  rendered  impregnable  by 
entrenchments.  His  attack  was  made  with 
determination,  and  was  a  splendid  exhi- 
bition of  American  courage,  which  won  for 
his  troops  the  generous  admiration  of  their 
adversaries  ;  but  it  was  unsuccessful.  The 
grand  charge  of  the  Confederates  was  made 
in  the  afternoon,  and  was  repulsed  with  ter- 
rible slaughter.  Still  Lee's  position  was  so 
strong,  and  the  morale  of  his  army  so  unim- 
paired, that  General  Meade  deemed  it  best 
to  remain  satisfied  with  his  victory,  and  not 
to  risk  its  fruits  by  an  attack  upon  the  Con- 
federate lines. 


724 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


The  stirring  events  on  the  third  and  last  i  attack  by  discharging  his  pistol.  The  battle 
day  of  the  battle  are  \  ividly  described  by  at  once  became  general.  A  fearful  struggle 
John  Laird  Wilson,  the  eminent  war  corres-  j  ensued.  A  hea\y  artillery  fire  was  opened 
pondent  and  historian.  Mr.  Wilson's  account  ,  at  once  on  the  enemy's  position.  But,  as 
is  as  follows  :  the  ground  was  rugged  and  broken  and  also 

"  As  early  as  three  o'clock  on  the  morn-     covered  with  trees,  and  as  every  advantage 
m'^  of  the  third,  there  were  .signs  of  activity      was  taken  of  places  of  shelter  and  conceal-. 


-n 


^^ 


life    ^J'    ^^^     ^  ■- 


B\nLL    OF    GErnsBUKG 


in  the  enemy's  front.  It  was  evident  that  an 
attack  was  intended ;  and  Geary,  having  been 
informed  by  General  Kane,  who  commanded 
his  first  brigade,  of  what  was  going  on, 
resolved  to  seize  whatever  advantage  might 
be  gained  by  opening  the  battle  himself  His 
men  were  aroused;  and  at  twenty  minutes 
before  four  o'clock,  he  gave  the  signal  for 


ment,  the  fight  partook  very  much  of  the 
character  of  sharpshooting  on  a  grand  scale. 
"  As  the  battle  progressed  the  contestants 
got  intermingled,  and  it  became  more  and 
more  difficult  to  use  the  artillery.  The  Con- 
federates not  only  held  their  position,  but 
charged  again  and  again,  in  heavy  masses, 
on  the  National  lines,  only,  however,  to  be 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


72s 


repulsed  with  tremendous  loss.  The  slaugh- 
ter was  terrible.  The  sun  arose ;  the  day 
advanced  ;  the  air  became  clouded  with  dust 
and  smoke  ;  the  heat  became  almost  intoler- 
able ;  but  still  the  battle  raged.  At  last 
there  is  a  lull  in  the  long-continued  tempest. 
Then,  suddenly,  there  is  a  fierce  yell  fi-om  ' 
thousands  of  throats  ;  and  Ewell'smen,  hav-  ! 
ing  gathered  up  their  strength  for  a  final 
effort,  are  seen  rushing  forward  with  tremen- 
dous fury.  They  are  allowed  to  come  within 
easy  musket  range,  when  the  men  in  blue, 
springing  to  their  feet,  pour  in  upon  them  a 
deliberate  volley.  It  was  the  last  charge  on 
this  part  of  the  line.  Discomfited  and  dis- 
couraged, torn  and  bleeding,  their  dead  and 
wounded  companions  piled  in  heaps  on  the 
ground  where  they  fell,  the  survivors  drew 
back  through  the  woods  towards  Rock 
Creek,  fighting  as  they  retired,  with  a  courage 
which  commanded  the  admiration  of  their 
foes. 

The  Victors  Exultant. 

"  Shouts  of  victory  now  filled  the  air. 
'  Men,'  says  one  who  was  present  and  shared 
in  the  triumph,  '  cheered  themselves  hoarse, 
laughed,  rolled  themselves  on  the  ground, 
and  threw  their  caps  high  in  the  air,  while 
others  shook  hands  with  comrades,  and 
thanked  God  that  the  Star  Corps  had  again 
triumphed.'  Geary,  not  disposed  to  allow 
the  Confederates  to  re-form,  as  soon  as  this 
charge  was  repelled,  made  a  vigorous  coun- 
ter-charge ;  and  the  enemy,  yielding  easily, 
the  breastworks  were  reoccupied,  and  the 
right  flank  secured.  Thus  ended  the  fighting 
on  the  right. 

"  Ewell  had  been  completely  baffled  in  his 
plan.  He  had  flung  away  his  opportunity 
the  night  before;  and  to  reclaim  it  he  had 
now  done  his  best,  and  failed.  He  could  not 
find  fault  with  his  men  ,  for  never,  even  under 
Jackson,  had  they  fought  more  bravely.     '  It 


cannot  be  denied,'  says  General  Kane,  who, 
with  his  glorious  first  brigade,  of  Geary's 
division,  bore  the  burden  of  that  morning's 
fight,  '  that  they  fought  most  courageously.' 
But  they  were  pitted  against  men  of  equal 
braver)',  of  equal  determination  with  them- 
selves— men  who  were  now  on  their  own  soil, 
and  fighting  for  the  sanctity  of  their  own 
homes. 

"  Never,  perhaps,  before,  since  the  war  com- 
menced, had  the  fighting  been  more  deter- 
mined and  severe  than  it  was  during  those 
long,  dreary  morning  hours.  The  ground, 
after  the  battle,  red  with  gore,  and  thickly 
covered  w-ith  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  gave 
evidence  of  the  terrible  character  of  the 
struggle.  The  grey  and  the  blue  uniforms 
were  sometimes  found  in  one  common  heap. 
Some  poor  fellows,  after  hours  of  suffering, 
and  having  almost  bled  to  death,  were  found 
writhing  in  mortal  agony.  The  wood  in 
which  the  battle  raged  was  'torn  and  rent 
with  shells  and  solid  shot,  and  pierced  with 
innumerable  minie  balls.'  In  the  following 
summer,  the  trees  were  leafless,  as  if  the 
mute  but  stalwart  giants  of  the  forest  had 
yielded  up  their  lives  with  those  who  fell 
beneath  their  shade. 

An  Ominous  Silence. 
"  It  was  now  shortly  after  ten  o'clock.  The 
last  sounds  of  battle  had  died  away.  There 
was  silence  over  the  whole  battle  field.  It  was 
evident,  however,  that  preparations  were 
being  made  inside  the  Confederate  lines  for 
another  gigantic  and  possibly  crowning 
efibrt.  The  morning  sky  had  been  obscured 
by  broken  clouds.  As  the  forenoon  advan- 
ced, the  clouds  dispersed ;  and  a  hot  July 
sun  poured  down  his  rays  with  a  tropical 
intensity.  Pickett's  division,  of  Longstrcet's 
corps,  which  had  not  come  up  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  had  now  arrived  on  the  field. 
Stuart,  also,  after  his  long  detour,  had  joined 


726 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


Lee  with  his  cavalrj*.  It  soon  began  to  be 
manifest  that  the  point  of  attack  was  to  be 
the  National  left  centre — the  depressed  part 
of  the  ridge  immediately  north  of  Little 
Round  Top.  By  noon,  the  guns  were  got 
into  position  on  the  ridge  occupied  by  Long- 
street  and  Hill.  Meade  had  an  abundant 
supply  of  the  same  instruments  of  war  ;  but 
owing  to  the  peculiarity  of  the  ground,  he 
could  only,  out  of  the  three  hundred  guns, 
make  use  of  eighty,  against  those  of  the 
enemy. 

Loud  Thunder  of  Guns. 

"  About  one  o'clock,  the  report  of  a  Whit- 
worth  gun  was  heard.  It  was  the  signal  for 
attack.  Seminary  Hill  seemed  as  if  swept 
with  a  tongue  of  flame.  Then  came  the 
loud,  thundering  roar  of  artillery ;  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  fiveguns,  from  their  angry 
mouths,  poured  death  and  destruction  on  the 
National  lines.  The  National  commanders 
ordered  their  men  to  lie  flat  on  the  earth,  and 
to  take  every  advantage  of  objects  of  pro- 
tection. All  this  was  done;  but,  notwith- 
standing every  precaution,  the  destruction  of 
life  and  property  was  terrible.  Solid  shot, 
chain-shot,  shrapnel,  shells,  fell  with  deadly 
effect  inside  the  National  lines.  Men  and 
horses  were  dreadfully  cut  up;  caissons  filled 
with  ammunition  were  exploded;  and  gun- 
carriages  and  other  pieces  of  war  material 
were  shattered  to  pieces.  The  shot  and  shell 
and  canister  fell  thick  and  fast  in  and  around 
General  Meade's  headquarters,  killing  men 
and  horses,  ripping  up  the  roof  and  knocking 
away  the  pillars  of  the  cottage. 

"  General  Hunt,  Meade's  chief  of  artillery, 
v/as  in  no  haste  to  reply.  Waiting  until  the 
first  hostile  outbreak  spent  itself,  he  then 
ordered  the  batteries  to  open  fire.  Instantly, 
the  whole  ridge,  from  Cemetery  Hill  to  the 
Round  Tops,  seemed  ablaze.  The  din  was 
terrific,  the  thunder  of  artillery  rivalling,  in 


fierce  grandeur,  the  most  magnificent  displays 
of  nature.  For  two  hours  this  artiller\-  duel 
lasted;  and.  during  that  time,  war  was  ex- 
hibited in  its  sublimer  and  more  imposing 
aspects. 

"  At  the  expiration  of  two  hours,  there 
Vvas  a  lull  in  the  cannonade.  Hunt,  dreading 
the  possible  exhaustion  of  his  ammunitions 
and  not  willing  to  bring  up  loads  of  it  from 
the  rear,  lest  it  should  be  exploded,  had 
ordered  a  gradual  slackening  of  the  fire.  The 
Confederates  were  deceived.  It  was  Lee's 
belief  that  he  had  silenced  all  the  enemy's 
guns,  except  a  few  which  still  kept  firing 
frorr.  a  clump  of  woods.  Now  came  the 
more  serious  business  of  war.  The  fire  of 
the  Confederate  guns  also  slackened ;  and 
the  columns  of  attack  were  seen  forming  on 
the  edge  of  the  woods  which  crown  the 
summit  of  Seminary  Ridge.  It  was  just 
three  o'clock.  When  formed,  the  front  was 
about  a  mile  in  extent ;  and,  as  it  emerged 
from  the  woods,  and  began  to  move  steadily 
and  firmly  down  the  slope  of  Seminary- 
Ridge,  a  thrill  of  admiration  passed  through 
the  National  ranks.  It  was  a  splendid  sight, 
and  well  fitted  to  call  forth  admiration,  even 
in  the  breast  of  an  enemy.  The  fresh  division 
of  Pickett,  composed  mostly  of  veteran  Vir- 
ginians, was  singled  out  and  appointed  to 
lead  the  van.  Pickett's  men  were  formed 
and  arranged  in  double  line  of  battle.  The 
attacking  force  numbered  about  eighteen 
thousand  men. 

Ammunition  Exhausted. 
"The  distance  between  the  two  lines  of 
battle  was  about  a  mile.  For  the  attacking 
party  there  was  a  hill  to  descend  and  a  hill 
to  climb,  and  a  valley  between.  It  was  matter 
of  observation  that,  as  the  columns  advanced, 
the  Confederate  guns  were  silent.  'Why?' 
was  the  question  put  by  the  men  who  were 
rushing  into  the  jaws    of  death.     '  Wh)- ?' 


t/'  ^xi     I      I      //i 


ife   );  ='    I   ^-  ■■■'  --^ 

I     vjl  "'2  ^ 


1 


POSITIONS  DURING  IHE  tlK^ 


^J  ARMSTEAD  Lf?  ^  '8/  \f/       '^^^-'^  W\. 

/        ^'  Zf  ^ ,-'  U  Ja  s       ^^ii    -" 

BRIG  GENS  W    '  U /ilf^^"  ^   V    A    *?£g"'^  B       X 


1^  m" 


POSITIONS  DURING  THE  SKCOND  AND  THIRD  DAYS  AT  GETTi^SBURG.      727 


72S 

said  the  men  on  the  heights  behind.  '  Why  ?' 
said  the  Nationals  on  the  heights  in  front. 
The  reason  was  not  known  till  afterwards. 
It  was  not  then  known  to  Lee  himself  His 
ammunition  was  already  exhausted.  The 
silence  of  the  guns  in  their  rear  did  not  affect 
the  firm  and  steady  step  of  the  advancing 
I  columns.  It  did  not  encourage  the  Nationals 
to  slacken  their  artillery  fire.  On  came 
Longstreet's  men,  in  face  of  the  withering 
tempest  of  bullet  and  canister  and  shell 
■which,  at  each  successive  step,  decimated 
their  front.  On,  on  they  came;  and  it  was 
already  a  question  in  the  National  ranks 
whether  their  own  thin  line  of  defense  could 
resist  the  fierce  onset  of  those  firm  and  com- 
pact battalions  who  seemed  to  fear  no  fire,  to 
dread  no  foe. 

The  Green  Mountain  Troops. 

"The  Nationals,  however,  were  not  ill  pre- 
pared for  the  attack.  Doubleday  was  on  the 
left,  with  Stannard's  brigade  of  Vermont 
troops  well  advanced  in  a  little  grove  on  his 
own  right,  and  at  an  angle  with  the  main  line. 
Hancock  was  more  to  the  right  with  his  two 
divisions  of  Gibbon  and  Hays  in  front.  From 
the  direction  in  which  the  assaulting  columns 
were  moving,  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  the 
fir.st  heavy  blow  would  fall  upon  Doubleday. 
Such,  however,  was  the  severity  of  the  artil- 
lery fire  from  Little  Round  Top  that  they 
were  forced  to  bend  more  to  their  own  left. 
Still  they  moved  on,  their  line  of  march  now 
bringing  them  more  directly  in  front  of  Han- 
cock's position. 

"  Now  came  the  opportunity  for  Stannard's 
brave  Vermonters.  They  were  in  no  haste 
to  waste  their  ammunition.  The  Confederate 
columns  were  allowed  to  come  so  well  for- 
ward that  their  right  flank  was  fully  exposed. 
Then,  at  the  signal  given,  the  Vermont  men 
pour  forth  a  well-directed  and  most  destruc- 
tive  fire.     Volley    succeeds   voUcj-  in  rapid 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


succession ;  and  the  now  trembling  lines, 
already  torn  and  tattered,  are  under  the 
oblique  fire  of  eight  batteries  in  charge  of 
Major  McGilvray.  Not  a  few  of  Pickett's 
men,  unable  to  endure  this  terrific  fire,  were 
compelled  to  surrender.  The  main  body,  how- 
ever, presses  on,  and,  inclining  still  more  to  his 
own  left,  Pickett  is  moving  straight  on  the 
divisions  of  Gibbon  and  Hays.  '  Hold  your 
fire,  boys !  they  are  not  near  enough  yet,' 
was  Gibbon's  injunction  as  he  moved  calmly 
and  composedly  along  the  ranks.  The  rifled 
guns  of  the  National  artillery,  having  fired 
away  all  their  canister,  were  now  withdrawn 
to  await  the  issue  of  the  struggle  between 
the  opposing  infantry.  The  hostile  lines  are 
now  within  two  and  three  hundred  yards  of 
the  National  front.  Gibbon  and  Hays  simul- 
taneously open  upon  the  advancing  columns 
a  most  destructive  fire.  The  response  is 
swift  and  well  directed,  the  Confederates 
using  their  muskets  for  the  first  time  since 
they  began  to  face  this  terrific  storm  of  artil- 
lery and  musketry.  All  at  once  the  battle 
becomes  general. 

Terror  and  Confusion. 

"  The  swing  made  by  the  advancing  col- 
umns to  their  own  left,  after  the  terrific  blow 
received  by  them  from  Stannard,  had  the 
effect  of  flinging  Pettigrew,  who  commanded 
Heth's  division,  of  Hill's  corps,  well  towards 
Hays'  right.  Pettigrew's  men  were,  for  the 
most  part.  North  Carolina  troops,  and  were 
comparatively  raw  and  unused  to  battle. 
Tliey  had  been  deceived  into  the  belief  that 
they  would  meet  only  the  Pennsylvania  mili- 
tia. They  were  quickly  undeceived.  Hays' 
men  were  admirably  posted.  His  right  was 
well  advanced  ;  and  the  nature  of  the  ground 
was  such  as  to  enable  him  to  open  a  simul- 
taneous fire  on  Pettigrew's  troops,  not  only 
with  his  right  and  front,  but  also  with  sev- 
eral lines  in  his    rear.     Woodruff's  battery 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


729 


was  also  in  position;  and  the  destructive 
effects  of  a  very  tempest  of  bullets  were  to 
be  aggra\-atcd  by  showers  of  grape  and 
canister. 

"All  at  once,  this  tremendous  f.re  fell  upon 
the  already  torn  and  decimated  lines  on 
Pickett's  left;  and  they  knew  they  were  in 
the  presence  of  the  Arm\'  of  the  Potomac. 
There  was  no  more  fight  in  them.  Terror- 
stricken,  Pettigrew's  men  broke  in  utter  con- 
fusion, large  numbers  of  them  flinging  down 
their  arms,  and  accepting  mercy  at  the  hands 
•of  their  antagonists.  General  Pettigrevv  him- 
self was  wounded  ;  but,  being  able  to  retain 
command,  he  \-ainly  strove  to  rally  his  men. 
Fifteen  colors,  and  two  thousand  prisoners 
rewarded  the  skill  and  activity  with  which 
Hays  met  the  threatened  attack. 

"  While  disaster  was  thus  befalling  the 
Confederate  columns  on  the  right  and  left 
Pickett's  brave  Virginians  were  pressing 
forward  vigorously  towards  Gibbon's  front, 
and  were  about  to  fall  with  all  their  weight 
on  Owen's  brigade,  now  temporarily  com- 
•manded  by  General  Webb. 

The  Final  Struggle. 

"  In  spite  of  the  dreadful  fire  of  artillery  and 
musketry  which  was  mowing  down  their 
ranks,  Pickett's  men  rush  bravely  on.  They 
are  now  close  to  the  stone  wall.  The  two 
National  regiments  in  front,  yield  and  fall 
hack  to  the  regiment  in  the  rear.  Webb  and 
his  officers  are  at  hand  ;  the  retreating  regi- 
ments are  quickly  rallied  and  re-formed;  and 
the  second  line  is  held.  But  the  Confederates 
have  pushed  themselves  over  the  breast- 
works, and  planted  their  battle  flags  on  the 
wall.  The  struggle  now  becomes  fierce  and 
terrific  in  the  extreme.  It  is  a  hand-to-hand 
conflict,  man  facing  man,  and  fighting  with 
the  energy  of  despair.  The  clothes  of  the 
men  are  actually  being  burned  by  the  powder 
of  the  exploding  cartridges;  and  the  National 


cannoneers,  refusing  to  retire,  ?.  clubbed 
and  bayoneted  at  their  guns. 

"  Pickett,  however,  is  now  left  entirely  alone. 
The  forces  which  were  intended  to  cover  his 
left  have  been  defeated,  captured  or  driven 
from  the  field.  Wilcox,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  come  up  and  cover  his  right,  has  failed  to 
advance.  The  right  of  his  own  division  has 
been  badh^  cut  up  and  destroyed.  Hancock, 
who  this  day  revealed  all  the  qualities  of  a 
great  commander  in  actual  conflict,  now 
massed  his  men  on  the  point  which  was  in 
danger.  Hall  and  Harrow,  who  had  now  no 
longer  an  enemy  in  their  front,  were  brought 
over  with  their  brigades  to  reinforce  the 
centre.  The  Nineteenth  Massachusetts,  Col- 
onel Devereux,  and  Mallou's  Forty-Second 
New  York,  both  of  Gate's  brigade,  of  Double- 
day's  division,  of  the  First  corps,  were  moved 
in  the  same  direction. 

"  Stannard,  at  the  same  time,  moved  for- 
ward two  of  his  Vermont  regiments  to  strike 
iihe  enemy  on  the  right  flank.  The  situation, 
Hancock  tells  us,  'had  now  become  very  pecu- 
liar. The  men  of  all  the  brigades  had,  in 
some  measure,  lost  their  regimental  organiza- 
tion, but  Individually,  they  were  firm.  The 
ambition  of  inaividual  commanders  to  cover 
the  point  penetrated  by  the  enemy,  the  smoke 
of  the  battle  and  the  intensity  of  the  engage- 
ment caused  this  confusion.  The  point,  how- 
ever, was  covered.  In  regular  formation,  our 
line  would  have  stood  four  ranks  deep.' 
Pickett's  men  were  now  pressed  on  all  sides. 

"  The  colors  of  the  different  National  regi- 
ments were  well  advanced.  Cheered  by  the 
words,  and  fired  by  the  example  of  their 
officers,  the  men  pressed  bravely  fo-ward. 
It  is  the  climax  of  the  fight;  but  tiie  end  is 
at  hand.  Pickett's  men  had  done  their  best 
and  their  utmost — they  had  fought  like  true 
heroes ;  but  now,  utterly  overpowered,  and 
reduced  to  the  last  stage  of  desperation,  thej' 
give  up  the  fight.     Flinging  their  arms  from 


73° 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


them,  many   of  them  raise  their  hands  in 
token  of  surrender;    others   fall    upon   the 


MAP  SHOWING  VICKSBUKG  AND  ITS  APPROACHEb 

{ground  to   escape  the  destructive  fire ;  the 
remainder  seek  safety  in  precipitate  flight. 


"  In  this  last  struggle.  Gibbon's  division 
took  twelve  colors  and  two  thousand  five 
hundred  prisoners.  So  far, 
Hancock  hadcaptured  twenty- 
seven  battle  flags  and  foul 
thousand  five  hundred  pris- 
oners. It  was  a  magnificent 
trophy.  The  losses  on  both 
sides  were  very  heavy.  The 
face  of  the  hill  and  the  low 
ground  was  literally  covered 
with  the  dead  and  wounded. 
In  no  previous  battle  had  the 
oflicers  suffered  so  severely. 
On  the  National  side  large 
numbers  had  been  struck 
down,  Generals  Gibbon  and 
Hancock  being  among  the 
wounded.  The  Confederates 
left  on  the  field  fourteen  of 
their  field-ofiicers,  only  one 
of  that  rank  escaping  unhurt; 
and,  of  the  three  brigade  com- 
manders, of  Pickett's  division, 
Garnett  was  killed,  Armitage 
fell  within  the  National  lines, 
fatally  wounded,  and  Kemper 
was  carried  off  the  field,  dan- 
gerously hurt." 

The  victory  was  decisive. 
It  put  an  end  to  the  Confed- 
erate invasion.  On  the  night 
of  the  fourth  of  July  General 
Lee  withdrew  from  Seminary 
Ridge  and  retreated  to  the 
Potomac,  which  he  crossed 
on  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth without  serious  opposi- 
tion from  the  Federal  army. 
On  the  fifteenth  Lee  moved 
back  to  Winchester.  The  Fed- 
eral loss  at  Gettysburg  was 
twenty-three  thousand,  and  that  of  the  Con- 
federates about  the  same. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


On  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  of  July 
General  Meade  crossed  the  Potomac  below 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  moving  east  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  endeavored  to  place  his  army  between 
Lee  and  Richmond.  The  Confederate  com- 
mander by  rapid  marches  reached  Culpepper 
Court-house  in  advance  of  him,  however,  and 
about  the  first  of  August  occupied  the  line 
of  the  Rappahannock.  The  remainder  of 
the  year  witnessed  but  one  important  oper- 


the  Federal  arms.  At  the  opening  of  the 
year  the  army  of  General  Grant  lay  on  the 
Mississippi  above  Vicksburg,  assisted  by  the 
fleet  of  gunboats  under  Admiral  Porter.  The 
first  three  months  of  the  year  were  passed  by 
the  Federal  army  in  a  series  of  movements 
along  the  Yazoo  River,  the  result  of  which 
was  to  convince  General  Grant  that  Vicks- 
burg could  not  be  taken  from  that  quarter. 
He  therefore  determined  upon  a  new  and 


->   ?;-' 


VICKSBURG,    MISSISSIPPI. 


ation  by  the  armies  in  Virginia.  In  October 
General  Lee  made  a  sudden  forward  move- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  throwing  his  army 
between  Meade  and  Washington,  but  the 
latter  eluded  him  and  reached  Centreville  in 
safety.  Lee  then  withdrew  to  the  Rapidan, 
and  the  army  of  the  Potomac  took  position 
on  the  north  side  of  that  stream.  Both 
armies  passed  the  winter  there. 

In  the  west  and  southwest  success  crowned 


more  daring  plan  of  operations.  He  "ecided 
to  march  his  army  across  the  Louisiana  shore 
from  MiUiken's  bend,  above  Vicksburg,  to 
New  Carthage,  below  that  cit\',  and  to  run 
his  gunboats  and  transports  by  the  bat- 
teries. 

Should  the  boats  succeed  in  passing,  he 
meant  to  cross  his  command  to  the  Missis- 
sippi shore,  and  attack  Vicksburg  from  the 
rear.     By  investing  the  city  from  the  land 


732 


ADMINISTRATION    O:'    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


33 


side  his  flanks  would  rest  upon  and  be  cov- 
ered by  the  Mississippi,  and  he  could  rc-cstah- 
lish  communication  between  his  right  wing 
and  his  base  of  supplies  at  Milliken's  Bend. 
The  plan  was  daring  in  the  highest  degree, 
and  required  the  greatest  skill  and  resolution 
in  its  execution. 

In  order  to  retain  their  hold  upon  the  Mis- 
sissippi the  Confederates  had  fortified  Vicks- 
burg  with  great  care.  Port  Hudson,  about 
two  hundred  and  forty  miles  lower  down  the 
river,  had  also  been  fortified,  but  not  so 
strongly  as  Vicksburg.  As  long  as  the  Con- 
federates held  these  points  they  were  able  to 
keep  a  considerable  extent  of  the  river  open 
to  themselves  and  closed  to  the  Union  gun- 
boats. 

Preparing  for  the   Struggle. 

Thus  they  were  enabled  to  cross  in  safety 
the  enormous  herds  of  beef  cattle  which  they 
drew  froin  the  rich  pastures  of  Texas  for  their 
armies  east  of  the  Mississippi.  A  strong 
force  held  the  works  at  Port  Hudson.  Vicks- 
burg was  occupied  by  a  large  garrison,  and 
was  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral  John  C.  Pemberton,  who,  with  an  armv 
of  about  thirty  thousand  men,  independent  of 
the  garrison  of  Vicksburg,  held  the  country 
in  the  rear  of  that  city.  Appreciating  the 
importance  of  defeating  the  Federal  a:  :ny  in 
this  quarter,  the  Confederate  Govcrnmc;.t,  in 
the  spring  of  1863,  sent  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  to  take  command  of  all  the  forces 
in  Mississippi.  It  failed  to  supply  him  with 
a  proper  force  of  troops,  and  General  Pem- 
berton treated  his  orders  with  open  defiance. 

Grant  having  completed  his  preparations 
moved  his  army  from  Milliken's  Bend  to  a 
point  on  the  Louisiana  shore  opposite  Grand 
Gulf.  On  the  night  of  the  sixteenth  of  April  a 
division  of  gunboats  and  transports  ran  by  the 
Vicksburg  batteries,  suffering  severely  from 
the  heavy  fire  to  \\hich  they  were  exposed 


for  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  On  the  night  of 
the  twenty-second  a  second  division  passed 
the  batteries  with  similar  loss.  Once  below 
Vicksburg,  however,  the  boats  were  safe. 
They  then  proceeded  to  Grant's  position  on 
the  river  below.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of 
April  the  gunboats  attacked  the  batteries  at 
Grand  Gulf,  but  were  repulsed.  The  troops 
were  then  marched  to  a  point  opposite  Bruins- 
burg,  Mississippi,  and  the  gunboats  and 
transports  were  run  b}-  tiie  Grand  Gulf  bat- 
teries. 

On  the  first  of  May  the  Federal  army  was 
ferried  across  to  the  Mississippi  shore,  and  at 


A 


GENERAL  JOHN  C.   PI:MI;EKT0N. 

once  began  its  march  into  the  interior.  Near 
Port  Gibson  a  part  of  Penibcrton's  army  was 
encountered  and  defeated  on  the  san;e  day. 
This  success  compelled  the  evacuation  of 
Grand  Gulf  by  the  Confederates.  Grant  now 
boldly  threw  his  army  between  Johnston's 
forces  at  Jackson  and  Pemberton's  army, 
intending  to  hold  the  former  in  check,  and 
drive  the  latter  within  the  defences  of  \'icks- 
burg.  On  the  fourteenth  of  May  he  attacked 
Johnston  at  Jackson,  the  capital  of  Missis- 
sippi, and  forced  him  to  retreat  northward 
towards  Canton.  Then  turning  upon  Pem- 
berton he  attacked  him  at  Champion  Hills, 
or    Baker's    Creek,   on    the    >i.Ktcenth,    and 


734 


THK    CIVIL    WAR. 


inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  him.  Pem- 
berton  withdrew  towards  the  Big  Black 
River,  and  the  next  day  met  a  second 
defeat  there.  He  now  retreated  within  the 
defences  of  Vicksburg,  which  place  was 
promptly  invested  by  Grant's  arm}-. 
I  On  the  nineteenth  of  May  Grant  attempted 
to  carry  the  Confederate  position  by  assault, 
but  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  The 
assault  was  repeated  with  a  like  result  on 
the  twenty-second.  There  remained  then 
nothing    but    a    regular    siege.     This    was 


pressed  with  vigor,  and  the  city  was  sub- 
jected to  a  terrible  bombardment,  which 
caused  great  suffering  to  the  people.  "While 
the  siege  was  carried  on  Johnston's  army 
was  held  back,  and  prevented  from  under- 
taking any  movement  for  the  relief  of  Vicks- 
burg.  At  length,  reduced  to  despair  by  the 
steady  approach  of  the  Union  trenches,  Pem- 
berton  surrendered  the  city  and  his  army  to 
General  Grant  on  the  fourth  of  July.  By 
this  surrender  thirty  thousand  prisoners,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  cannon,  and  si.xty  thousand 


stand  of  arms,  together  with  a  large  quan- 
tity of  military  stores,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Union  forces.  It  was  justly  esteemed 
the  greatest  victory  of  the  war. 

While  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  was  in  pro- 
gress. General  Banks  ascended  the  Mis- 
sissippi from  New  Orleans  and  laid  siege  to 
Port  Hudson.  Upon  hearing  of  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg,  the  Confederate  commander  sur- 
rendered the  post  and  his  army  of  si.xt\--two 
hundred  and  thirty-three  men  to  General 
Banks,  on  the  eighth  of  July. 

These  victories  wrested 
hum    the    Confederates 
thtir  last  hold  upon  the 
Mississippi.      They  cre- 
ated   the   most    intense 
!  cjoicing  in  the  Northern 
uid  Western  States,  and 
I  corresponding  depres- 
lon  m  the  South.  Being 
imultaneous    with    the 
Lfeat  of  the   Southern 
u  my  at  Gettysburg,  they 
u<.re   regarded  as   deci- 
i\eofthewar:  as  indeed 
they   were.     From   this 
time  we  shall  trace  the 
Icclming  fortunes  of  the 
southern    Confederacy 
and   the    gradual    but 
steady    re-establishment 
of  the    authority   of    the    Union    over   the 
Southern   States. 

After  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro',  or  Stone 
River,  the  army  of  General  Rosecrans 
remained  quietly  in  winter  quarters  at  Nash- 
ville and  Murfreesboro'.  Bragg's  army 
passed  the  winter  at  Chattanooga.  Towards 
the  last  of  June  Rosecrans  moved  forward 
from  Nashville,  and  advancing  slowly  threat- 
ened Bragg's  communications  with  Rich- 
mond. The  Confederate  commander  had  no 
wish  to  emulate  the  example  of  Pemberton 


ADMINISTRATIOX   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


w  ing,  under  the  command  of  General  George 
H.  Thomas,  remained  firm.     Had  that  mven 


at  Vicksburg,  and  at  once  evacuated  Chatta- 
nooga, on  the  eighth  of  September,  and 
retired  towards  Dal- 
ton,  Georgia.  This 
movement,  which  was 
interpreted  by  Rose- 
;rans  as  a  retreat,  was 
designed  to  secure  the 
union  with  Bragg's 
army  of  Longstreet's 
corps,  which  had  been 
detached  from  Lee's 
army  and  sent  to  join 
Bragg.  This  junc- 
lion  was  effected  on 
the  eighteenth,  and 
other  reinforcements 
arrived  from  Missis- 
sippi. Thus  strength- 
ened Bragg  suddenly 
wheeled  upon  Rose- 
crans,  and  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  September 
attacked  him  at  Chick- 
amauga.  The  battle 
was  severe,  but  inde- 
cisive, and  was  re- 
newed the  next  day. 
Towards  noon,  on 
the  twentieth,  Rose- 
crans  having  greatly 
weakened  the  other 
parts  of  his  line  to 
help  the  left,  which 
was  hard  pressed, 
Longstreet  made  a  fu- 
rious dash  at  the  weak- 
ened part,  and  in  an  ir- 
resistible attack  swept 
the  Federal  right  and 
centre  from  the  field. 
Rosecrans  endeavored 

to  stop  the  retreat,  but  was  borne  along  in  I  way  the  rout  would  have  been  complete; 
the  dense  crowd  of  fugitives.     Only  the  left  |  but  all  through  the  long  afternoon,  Thomas 


MAP  OF  THE  CIIICKAM.'^UGA  AND  CHATT.\NOOGA  CA.MPAIGNS. 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


he  withdrew  his  corps 
in  good  order  and  re- 
tired upon  Chatta- 
nooga. The  Union 
loss  at  Chickamauga 
was  sixteen  thousand 
men    and    fifty-one 


guns 


Brass's  about 


POSITIONS  OF  THE  ARMIES  AT  THIC  BATTLE  OK  MISSIONARY  RIDGE. 

held  on  to  his  position  with  a  grim  resolution  I  three  thousand  men 
which  nothing  could  shake.     After  nightfall  |  his   assistance,    and 


eighteen    thousand 
men. 

Bragg  advanced  at 
once  upon  the  defeated 
army  of  Rosecrans, 
w-hich  had  taken  re- 
fuge in  Chattanooga, 
occupied  the  heights 
commanding  the  city, 
and  seized  the  com- 
munications of  the 
Federal  army  with 
Nashville.  Thus  close- 
ly besieged,  the  Union 
forces  suffered  consid- 
erably from  a  scarcity 
of  provision-;. 

General  Rosecrans 
was  now  removed 
from  the  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland, and  General 
Grant  was  appointed 
to  the  chief  command 
of  all  the  western  ar- 
mies. He  at  once  set 
to  work  to  extricate 
the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland, to  the  com- 
mand of  which  Gen- 
eral Thomas  had  suc- 
ceeded, from  its  peril- 
ous situation.  Hooker 
was  sent  with  tvventy- 
from  Meade's  army  to 
Sherman    was    ordered 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    A15RAIIAM    LINCOLN. 


737 


to  march  with  the  force  which  had  taken 
Vicksburg  along  the  line  of  the  railway 
from  Memphis  to  Chattanooga.  The  arrival 
■of  these  reinforcements  soon  changed  the 
.aspect  of  affairs. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  No\-ember  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  made  a  vigorous 
sortie  and  drove  the  Confederates  from  the 
important  position  of  Orchard  Knob.  On 
the  twenty-fourth,  Hooker  stormed  Lookout 
Mountain,  the  left  of  the  Confederate  line, 
-and  carried  it  after  a  hard  fight.  The  invest- 
ment was  now  thoroughly  broken,  and  the 
Confederates  were  confined  to  Missionary 
Ridge,  which  had  formerly  constituted  the 
Tight  of  their  line.  On 
Ihetwenty-fifth.thisposi-  ' 
tion  was  assaulted  by  the 
vhole  strength  of  the 
Federal  army,  and  was 
■carried  after  a  stubborn 
fight.  Bragg,  beaten  at 
all  points,  with  heaw 
loss,  retreated  into  Geor 
'gia,  where  he  was  soon 
after  removed  from  his  r-jSS; 
command  and  immedi 
ately  succeeded  by  Gen-  grant's 

•eral  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 

During  the  progress  of  this  campaign 
General  Burnside  had  moved  from  Kentucky 
with  a  force  of  about  twenty-five  thousand 
jnen,  about  the  time  that  Rosecrans  began 
liis  advance  from  Nashville  in  June.  The 
:Strong  position  of  Cumberland  Gap  was  sur- 
rendered to  him  with  scarcely  an  effort  for 
its  defence  by  the  Confederates,  and  he 
moved  into  East  Tennessee.  Driving  back 
the  Confederate  forces,  which  sought  to  stop 
his  march,  he  occupied  Knoxville.  The 
object  of  his  expedition  was  to  afford  a  ral- 
lying point  for  the  Union  men  of  East  Ten- 
nessee. After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga, 
and  the  investment  of  Chattanooga,  President 
47 


Jefferson  Davis  visited  Bragg's  army,  and 
being  convinced  that  the  capture  of  Rose- 
crans' force  was  inevitable,  decided  to  with- 
draw General  Longstreet's  corps  from  Bragg, 
and  to  send  it  to  drive  Burnside  out  of  East 
Tennessee. 

Longstreet's  men  were  in  no  condition  to 
undertake  such  a  campaign,  but  under  their 
energetic  commander,  succeeded  in  confining 
Burnside's  army  to  the  defences  of  Knoxville. 
The  siege  of  that  place  was  formed,  ar.d 
several  assaults  were  made  upon  the  L^nion 
works,  but  were  each  repulsed  with  heavy 
loss.  Burnside's  men  were  reduced  almost 
to  starvation,  but  held    out    with  unshaken 


E.ADQUAKTEKs    NEAR    CHAiiA> 


resolution.  After  the  defeat  of  Bragg  at  Mis 
sionary  Ridge,  Grant  ordered  Sherman  t.) 
march  with  his  corps  to  the  relief  of  Knox- 
ville. Upon  the  approach  of  this  force  Long- 
street,  on  the  fourth  of  December,  raised  the 
siege  and  retreated  into  Virginia. 

Beyond  the  Mississippi  the  war  was  car- 
ried on  with  varying  success  throughout  the 
year   1863,  but  to  the  general  advantagi-  ot 
the   Federal  forces.     On   the  third   of  Ju 
the    Confederates,    under    General    Ilr;lme- 
attacked    Helena,   Arkansas,  but    were    re 
pulsed.     By  the  close  of  the  year  the  Cot- 
federate  forces  had  been  pressed  back  as  f. 
as  the  Red  River. 


738 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


On  the  first  of  January,  1863,  Galveston, 
Texas,  which  had  surrendered  to  the  Federal 
forces  in  the  fall  of  1862,  was  recaptured  by 
the  Confederates,  under  General  Magruder. 
By  the  capture  of  this  place,  the  Confederates 
obtained  one  more  port  from  which  they 
could  maintain  communications  with  and 
receive  supplies  from  Europe. 


of  land  troops,  under  General  Gilmore,  effected 
a  lodgment  on  the  south  end  of  Morris' 
Island,  and  secured  their  position  by  intrench- 
ments. 

The  Union  parallels  were  pushed  forward 
steadily  towards  Fort  Wagner,  at  the  north 
end  of  the  island,  and  a  final  assault  of  that 
work  was  ordered.     Before  the  order  could 


>'^^,r. 


n  the  sprmg  of  1S63,  a  powerful  naval  I  be  executed,  Fort  Wagner  was  evacuated  on 
e.xped.tion,  under  Admiral  Dupont,was  des-  the  night  of  the  sixth  of  September.  The 
patched  agamst  Charleston.    On  the  seventh     Federal    batteries    on    Morris'  Island    now 


of  April.  Dupont  attempted  to  force  his  way 
mto  the  harbor,  but  was  driven  back  by  the 
forts  and  batteries,  and  nine  of  his  iron-clads 
were  severely  injured.    Early  in  July,  a  force 


maintained  a  heavy  and  constant  fire  upon 
Fort  Sumter,  and  reduced  it  to  a  shapeless 
mass  of  rubbish  on  the  land  side.  Yet,  in 
this  condition  it  was  stronger  than  at  first. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


739 


the  mass  of  rubbish  offering  a  more  effectual 
resistance  to  shot  and  shell  than  the  walls. 
The  long-range  guns  on  Morris'  Island  threw 
shells  into  the  city  of  Charleston,  which  was 
regularly  bombarded  from  this  time  until  its 
fall,  in  1S65.  The  capture  of  Fort  Wagner 
enabled  the  Federal  forces  to  close  the  har- 
bor of  Charleston  effectually  against  blockade 
runners. 

In  spite  of  the  victories  of  Chancellorsville 
and  Chickamauga,  and  the  invasion  of  the 
North,  the  close  of  the  year  found  the  South 
fairly  on  the  downward  road  to  final  failure. 
Missouri  was  freed  from  the  presence  of  the 
Confederate  army,  and  the  greater  part  of 
Arkansas  was  held 
by    the    Federal  ""^ 

troops.  The  Mis 
sissippi  was  lost  to  ' 
the  South,  and  tin 
immense  supplic 
from  the  trans-^Ii^ 
sissippi  region  well 
no  longer  availabl( 
to  the  Confederati 
forces  east  of  th< 
great  ri\-er.  Tennes 
see  was  occupied  h] 
the  Federal  forces,  and  the  mva^iuii  uf  the 
North  had  ended  in  disaster. 

The  resources  of  the  South  were  gradually 
becoming  exhausted,  and  the  supply  of  men 
was  falling  off.  The  North,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  increasing  in  determination.  The 
war  had  opened  new  channels  of  industry, 
and  these  had  more  than  repaid  the  losses  of 
the  first  period  of  the  struggle.  The  North 
was  growing  richer  in  spite  of  the  war,  while 
the  South  was  growing  poorer  because  of  it. 
At  the  end  of  1S63  the  Federal  debt  had 
reached  the  enormous  total  of  gi, 300,000,000, 
with  the  certainty  of  a  heavy  increase  during 
the  coming  year.  Still  the  people  of  the 
loyal  States  responded  with  heartiness  to  the 


heavy  demands  of  the  Federal  government 
for  men  and  money.  Specie  had  long  since 
disappeared  from  circulation,  but  a  system  of 
Treasury  notes,  which  were  made  a  legal 
tender,  had  replaced  coin  as  a  circulating 
medium.  The  new  paper  money  was  abun- 
dant, and  the  North  gave  few  outward  signs 
of  distress.  Everything  spoke  of  prosperity. 
The  contrast  between  the  condition  of  the 
Union  and  the  Confederacy  was  striking  and 
most  suggestive. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1864  an  expedition 
was  sent  into  that  part  of  Louisiana  known 
as  the  Red  River  country.  It  consisted  of  a 
f-irce  of  ten  thousand  troops,  under  Generai 


Ml33lO\\R\ 


Sniith,  fium  \  n,k.^buri^,  a.ia  a  fleet  of  gun- 
boats, under  Admiral  Porter.  On  the  four- 
teenth of  March  Fort  de  Russy  was  captured 
by  the  troops,  and  on  the  twenty-first  Natch- 
itoches was  occupied  General  Banks  now 
arrived  with  a  strong  reinforcement  of  troops 
from  New  Orleans,  and  took  command  of  the 
expedition.  About  the  first  of  April  he  set 
out  for  Shreveport,  at  the  head  of  navigalion 
on  the  Red  River,  his  army  marching  along 
the  shore,  and  the  gunboats  ascending  the 
stream.  The  Confederates  gathered  in  heavy 
force,  under  the  command  of  General  Kirby 
Smith,  to  oppose  his  advance. 

On  the  eighth  of  April  the  Confederate 
army  attacked  Banks  at  Sabine  Cross-Roads, 


740 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


near  Mansfield,  and  inflicted  a  .stinj^ing  defeat 
upon  him.  The  Union  forces  were  rallied  at 
Pleasant  Hill,  where  they  were  attacked  by 
the  Confederates  on  the  ninth.  The  Confed- 
erates were  repulsed,  but  Banks  continued 
his  retreat,  and  reached  Alexandria  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  April.  The  expedition  then 
returned    to  the  Mississippi.      Banks   was 


The  Red  River  expedition  was  thus  a  total 
failure,  and  was  a  source  of  great  mortifica- 
tion, as  well  as  serious  loss,  to  the  Federal 
government. 

Early  in  March  General  Grant  was  raised 
to  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  that 
rank  having  been  revived  by  act  of  Congress 
to  reward  him  for  his  great  services  during 


>:%^ 


THE   ATTACK    ON    FORT   SUMTER    BY   THE    MONITOR    FLEET. 


relieved  of  the  command   at   New  Orleans, 
and  was  succeeded  by  General  Canby. 

General  Steele,  commanding  the  Union 
forces  in  Arkanses,  had  moved  from  Little 
Rock,  on  the  twenty-third  of  March,  towards 
Shreveport,  to  co-operate  with  General 
Banks.  He  was  attacked  by  the  Confed- 
erates and  driven  back  to  Little  Rock,  which 
he  reached  on  the  second  of  May. 


the  war.  It  had  been  held  only  by  Wash- 
ington, General  Scott  having  been  given 
only  the  brevet  rank.  He  was  also  appointed 
commander  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United 
States.  He  decided  to  assume  the  immedi- 
ate direction  of  the  campaign  in  Virginia, 
and  established  his  headquarters  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  At  the  same  time 
General   W.  T.   Sherman  was   appointed  to 


742 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


tke  command  of  the  military  division  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  which  were  included  the 
Armies  of  the  Cumberland,  of  the  Ohio,  and 
of  the  Tennessee. 

The  supreme  control  of  the  military  oper- 
ations both  east  and  west  was  vested  in  Gen- 
eral Grant — a  great  gain,  inasmuch  as  theoper- 
ations  in  the  two  quarters  of  the  Union  could 
now  be  made  to  assist  each  other.  The  plan 
of  the  campaign  embraced  a  simultaneous 
advance  of  both  armies  ;  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  was  charged  with  the  task  of  defeat- 
ing Lee  and  capturing  Richmond  ;  the  west- 
ern army,  under  Sherman,  was  to  force  John- 
ston back  into  GcLuijia. 


FORT   DE  RUSSY. 

I  he  Army  of  the  Potomac  numbered  one 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  men  on  the  first 
of  May,  1864;  the  Confederate  army,  under 
General  Lee,  about  fifty  thousand.  General 
Meade  retained  the  immediate  command  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  General  Grant 
accompanied  it,  and  directed  its  movements. 
On  the  morning  of  May  4th — ^just  three  days 
before  Sherman  moved  from  Chattanooga — 
the  Federal  army  crossed  the  Rapidan,  and, 
turning  the  right  of  Lee's  position,  entered 
the  region  known  as  the  Wilderness.  Gen- 
eral Lee  determined  to  attack  tiiis  force  and 
prevent  it  from  reaching  the  open  country 
beyond  the  Wilderness.    On  the  fifth  of  May 


he  encountered  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
the  Wilderness,  near  the  old  battle-field  of 
Chancellorsviile. 

The   attack    was    made    by    the    Federal 
forces,  which  endeavored  to   drive  off  Lee's 
army,  which    blocked  the    route   by  which 
they  were  advancing.     Lee  held  his  ground 
during  the  day,  and  that  night  both  armies 
bivouacked  upon  the  field.     The  battle  was 
renewed   on   the   sixth,  but   Grant  failed  to 
force  the  Confederate  position.    The  fighting 
during  these  two  days  was  carried   on  in  a 
thickly-wooded  region,  in  which  the  artillery 
of  the  two  armies  could  not  be  used  to  advan- 
tage.    On  the  sixth  the  Confederates  suf- 
fered a  serious  loss  in  the  person  of  General 
Longstreet,   who   was    severely  wounded, 
and  was  incapacitated  from  continuing  in 
command.  The  losses  in  killed  and  wounded 
w  ere  very  heavy  on  both  sides,  as  the  fight- 
nig  was  of  a  desperate  character. 

Six  Days'  Fighting  in  'Virginia. 

On  the  seventh  General  Grant  moved 
his  army  around  Lee's  right,  and  marched 
rapidly  to  seize  the  strong  position  of 
Spottsylvania  Court-house,  which  would 
have  placed  him  between  the  Confederates 
and  Richmond.  Lee  at  once  divined  his 
purpose,  and  fell  back  rapidly  to  the  heights 
around  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  which 
he  occupied  on  the  eighth.  Upon  arriving 
before  this  position  Grant  found  his  enemy 
strongly  entrenched  in  it,  and  at  once  re- 
solved to  drive  him  from  it.  On  the  tenth 
of  May  he  made  a  determined  attack  upon 
the  Confederate  line,  but  failed  to  carry  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eleventh.  General 
Grant  sent  a  characteristic  dispatch  to  the 
Secretary  of  War.  "  We  have  now,"  he 
wrote,  "  eniied  the  sixth  day  of  very  hard 
fighting.  The  result  to  this  time  is  much 
in  our  favor.  Our  losses  have  been  heavy, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  enemy.     I  think  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


743 


loss  of  the  enemy  must  be  greater.  We 
have  taken  over  five  thousand  prisoners  in 
battle,  while  he  has  taken  from  us  but  few, 
except  stragglers.  I  propose  to  fight  it  out 
on  this  line,  if  it  takes  all  summer." 

The  eleventh  was  Wednesday.  The 
morning  rose  bright  and  clear.  The  two 
opposing  armies  lay  in  close  proximity  to 
each  other.  As  the  day  advanced  there  was 
some  skirmishing  ;  but  on  neither  side  was 
any  attempt  made  to  provoke  a  general 
engagement.  Both  commanders,  it  was  evi- 
dent, were  preparing  for  battle;  nor  could 
doubt  remain  in  any  mind  that,  whatever 
might  be  the  result,  another  and  even  more 
fearful  encounter  at  _  ^_,   .-..:    <        __ 

Spottsylvania  was  ^^"^^^^ 
imminent. 

Grant   was    still  r 
bent    on    carrying   =       :::• 
out    his    policy    of  ~  '-    ' 
continuous    ham-    - 
mering.     His   sue-    - 
cess,    however,    c 
the  Tuesday,  in  his  ■^^^-^-^^: 
repeated  attacks  on 
the   enemy's   left 
and  left  centre,  had 

not  been  encouraging.  There  was  no  rea- 
son to  hope  that  another  attack,  made  in 
the  same  direction,  would  be  attended  with 
any  better  results.  It  was  resolved,  there- 
fore, to  strike  a  bold  and  effective  blow  on 
the  enemy's  right  centre.  At  that  point,  and 
near  the  Landrum  House,  Lee's  lines  formed 
a  salient.  It  was  Grant's  conviction  that  the 
point  was  vulnerable.  Arrangements  for  the 
attack  were  made  forthwith.  Hancock,  who 
was  chosen  to  strike  the  blow,  was  ordered 
to  leave  his  entrenchments  in  front  of 
A.  P.  Hill,  and,  by  moving  to  the  left,  to 
take  position  between  the  Sixth  and  Ninth 
corps.  The  movement  was  to  have  the  sup- 
port of  the    entire   army.     Wright    was   to 


extend  his  left,  and  to  concentrate  on  that 
wing.  Warren  was  to  make  a  diversionary 
movement  on  the  Confederate  left,  in  his  own 
front,  the  object  being  to  give  the  enemy 
sufficient  employment  in  that  direction,  and 
so  prevent  the  withdrawal  of  his  troops  for 
the  relief  of  the  menaced  point. 

Burnside,  for  a  similar  reason,  was  to  make 
a  vigorous  assault  on  the  extreme  left.  Rain 
fell  heavily  in  the  afternoon.  When  night 
came  the  rain-storm  had  not  abated ;  and,  as 
the  moon  was  in  its  first  quarter,  the  night 
was  dark  and  dismal.  Soon  after  midnight, 
under  cover  of  the  darkness  and  the  storm, 
Hancock  moved  out  from  his  uitrenchments, 


B\1LL\  s    RtU    KIVEK    I>^\1 

and,  guided  by  the  compass,  passed  in  rear 
of  Warren  and  Wright,  and  took  position 
within  1,200  yards  of  the  enemy's  front,  at 
the  point  to  be  attacked.  Barlow's  division, 
in  two  lines  of  masses,  was  placed  on  the 
lelt ;  Birney's  division,  in  two  deployed  lines, 
was  placed  on  the  right ;  Motfs  division, 
Hancock's  Fourth,  supported  Birney,  and 
Gibbon's  division  was  held  in  reser\-e.  Of 
the  actual  strength  of  the  position  about  to 
be  attacked,  the  Nationalists  knew  nothing. 
It  might  be  weak  and  defenceless.  It  mighl 
be  well  fortified  and  proof  against  any  attack. 
It  mattered  not.  Hancock  was  ready,  wait- 
ing for  the  first  streak  of  early  dawn  to  launch 
forth  hisbravebattalions  to  victorv  ortc-la^.h. 


744 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


It  is  now  half-past  four  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  Thursday,  May  twelfth.  A  heavy 
fog  is  resting  on  the  entire  surrounding 
country,  and  the  feeble  light  of  the  rising 
sun  struggles  hard  to  penetrate  the  gloom. 
Hancock's  divisions  are  already  in  motion. 
Steadily  and  silently  they  move  towards  the 
salient — Barlow  over  open  ground,  which 
extends  up  to  the  Confederate  lines,  Birney 
through  the  thickly  wooded  ground  more  to 
the  right.  Not  a  shot  has  yet  been  fired — 
not  a  word  uttered.  More  than  half  of  the 
intervening  distance  has  already  been  crossed. 


Suddenly  there  is  a  loud-resounding  cheer, 
which  rings  along  the  whole  line.  Spontan- 
eously the  men  take  the  double-quick.  On 
they  roll  like  a  resistless  wave.  Nothing 
can  now  restrain  their  fierce  impetuosit>'. 
They  have  reached  the  abatis,  torn  it  up  and 
tossed  it  aside. 

With  wild  cries,  they  rush  bounding  over 
the  entrenchments,  Barlow  and  Birney's  men 
entering  almost  simultaneously.  Inside  the 
intrenchmects  there  is  a  terrible  hand-to- 
hand  struggle,  the  bayonet  and  the  clubbed- 
musket  being   freely   used.     Nothing,  how- 


ever, can  save  the  doomed  Confederates. 
Some  four  thousand  men,  including  General 
Johnson,  of  Ewell's  corps,  and  General 
George  H.  Stewart  are  surrounded  and  cap- 
tured ;  and  with  them  thirty  pieces  of  artil- 
lery and  as  many  colors.  Meanwhile,  the 
remainder  of  the  Confederate  force,  stricken 
with  terror  and  thrown  into  the  wildest  con- 
fusion, have  fallen  back,  seeking  safety  in  the 
rear. 

This  attack  of  Hancock's  was  justly 
regarded  as  the  most  brilliant  feat  of  arms 
yet  accomplished  in  the  campaign.  Never 
was  surprise  more  com- 
plete or  more  successfuL 
The  officers  were  taken 
at  their  breakfast.  The 
captured  generals  were 
greatly  mortified.  An 
hour  only  had  elapsed 
since  the  column  of  at- 
tack was  formed.  Along 
with  the  prisoners,  which 
he  sent  to  Grant,  Han- 
cock sent  a  note  hastily 
written  in  pencil,  saying: 
"I  have  finished  up  John- 
son, and  am  now  going 
into  Early."  This  second 
task,  as  we  shall  soon  see^ 
he  found  to  be  less  easy 
of  accomplishment  than  the  former. 

Early,  like  Johnson,  commanded  a  divis- 
ion of  Ewell's  corps.  At  the  point  pene- 
trated, Lee's  army,  as  we  have  seen,  formed 
a  salient.  Hancock  had,  therefore,  by  his 
first  success,  thrust  a  wedge  between  the 
Confederate  right  and  centre.  It  was  his 
hope  that  he  would  be  able  to  cut  Lee's 
army  in  two ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  if  sufficient  provision  had  been  made, 
promptly  and  in  force,  to  follow  up  the 
advantage  Hancock  had  won  by  his  first 
brilliant  assault,  the  desired  end  would  have 


Sl.NG  THE  R.-\.PIU.A.N 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


745 


been  accomplished.  As  it  was,  Hancock's 
troop^,  flushed  with  success,  and  incapable 
of  being  restrained  after  the  capture  of  the 
intrenchments,  pressed  on  through  the  forest 
in  the  direction  of  Spottsylvania  driving  the 
flying  enemy  before 
them. 

At  the  distance  of 
half  a  mile,  they  were 
suddenly  brought  to 
a  halt  in  theirtriumph- 
ant  career.  They  had 
reached  a  fresh  line  of 
breast-works.  Behind 
these  works,  Ewell 
had  taken  shelter ; 
and  reinforcements 
had  reached  him  from 
the  corps  of  Anderson 
and  Hill.  The  Na- 
tional advance  was 
now  effectually  check- 
ed. It  \vas  not  only 
impossible  to  make 
headway — it  was  im- 
possible to  remain  in 
the  position  in  which 
they  found  them- 
selves. The  tide  of 
battle  was  now  turned. 
Gathering  themselves 
up  for  a  supreme  ef- 
fort, the  Confederates, 
in  overwhelming 
numbers  and  in  mag- 
nificent array,  rushed 
from  the  breast-works, 
and, fallingwith  crush- 
ing weight  on  Hancock's  men,  now  slightly 
disordered  by  their  fearless  rush  through  the 
woods,  drove  them  back  to  the  line  which 
they  had  captured  in  the  early  morning. 

Here,  however,  Hancock  managed  to  rally 
his  troops  ;  and,  getting   them   into  line  on 


the  right  and  left  of  the  angle  of  the  works, 
he  stoutly  resisted  the  fierce  and  repeated 
onsets  of  the  enemy,  and  firmly  held  his 
position.  His  situation,  howe\'er,  was  becom- 
ing every  moment   more   critical.     Lee  was 


lRAL   JAMES    LOXGSTREET. 

resolved,  if  possible,  to  recover  the  lost  line 
of  works  ;  and,  with  this  end  in  view,  he  was 
putting  forth  the  most  Herculean  efforts,  and 
bringing  his  entire  strength  to  bear  on  the 
one  point.  It  was  now  six  o'clock — one  hour 
and  a  half  since  the  first  onset.     Hancock 


746 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


was  still  holding  his  position  ;  but  relief  was     with  the  defense  of  this  position.  Five  times, 
sorely  needed. 

At  this  opportune  moment,  when  most 
needed,  relief  came.  Wright,  who  had  been 
hurried  forward  with  his  Sixth  corps,  arrived 
on  the  ground,  and  took  position  on  the 
right  of  the  salient.  Hancock,  thus  relieved, 
concentrated  his  troops  on  the  left  of  the 
angle.  A  little  later,  about  eight  o'clock, 
and  with  a  view  to  relieve  the  pressure  on 
Hancock  and  Wright,  Burnside  and  Warren 


after  severe  hand-to-hand  fighting,  in  which 
the  slaughter  on  both  sides  was  dreadful, 
were  the  attacking  columns  repulsed.  It 
was  not  until  after  midnight  that  Lee  with- 
drew his  shattered  and  bleeding  lines  and 
re-formed  them  in  his  interior  position. 
Hancock  held  the  works  he  had  captured 
in  the  morning.  The  battle  had  lasted 
twenty  hours.  The  losses  on  either  side 
were  about  I0,000  men. 


•were  ordered   to    attack  along  their  whole         Such  was  the  great  battle  of  Spottsylvania 
r_-_^-      T-u_  U...1- J   r....- — 1_.  _^     Court  House.     Although  not  a  decisive  vic- 
tory it  was  a  positive   gain  to   the  National 


fronts.  The  battle  now  raged  furiously  at 
every  point.  No  evidence  was  given  that 
Lee  had  changed  his  purpose.     The  last  line  '  cause.     Its  moral  effect  was  great.     It  was 

one  of  the  bloodiest 
•^^  '"  «s-~»         "^  battles  of  the  war. 

Thesight  presented 
at  the  angle  where 
the    tide  of    battle 
surged  and  roared 
from  earliest  dawn 
till    past    midnight 
of     that     summer 
day,    as    described 
b)^      e\'e-witnesses, 
w-as     something 
shocking    to    wit- 
ness.    The  bodies  of  the  dead  and  wounded 
were  piled   in   heaps  and   mingled  together 
in    wild    confusion.       It    was,   as    one    has 
said,    "an    angle    of    death — one    hideous 
Golgotha."     The  severity  of  the  musketry 
fire  was  evidenced  by  the   condition  of  the 
forest  after  the  battle.     The  trees  were  not 
only  pierced  by  the  bullets,  but  literally  cut 
down.     At   Washington,  as   a  relic    of  this 
fight,  there  is  preserved  the  trunk  of  an  oak 
tree  which  was  cut  through  and  through  by 
bullets.     The  trunk  is  about  twenty  inches 
in  diameter. 

It  was  evident  that  the  Confederates  could 
not  be  dislodged  from  their  position  without 
a  still  heavier  loss  to  the  Union  army,  and 


THE  PLACE  WHERE  -SEUGWICK  W.-VS  KILLED 

at  the  salient  was  still  the  object  of  his  ambi- 
tion. On  Hancock  and  Wright  he  dealt  his 
heaviest  and  most  terrific  blows.  Again  and 
again,  and  in  rapid  succession,  he  rolled 
against  them  his  heavy  masses.  He  seemed 
resolved  to  dislodge  them. 

Seeing  this,  and  becoming  convinced  that 
Burnside  and  Warren  were  producing  no 
impression  on  their  respective  fronts.  Grant 
detached  two  divisions  from  the  Fifth  corps — 
those  of  Cutler  and  Grififin — and  sent  them 
to  the  aid  of  the  Second  and  Sixth  corps  at 
the  angle  which  was  still  regarded  as  the 
prize  of  battle,  and  where  was  the  focus  of 
the  fight.  Five  times  did  Lee  hurl  his  heavy 
■columns  against  the  National  hnes  entrusted 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


747 


'General  Grant  determined  to  draw  them 
from  the  heights  of  Spottsylvania  by  another 
march  to  the  right. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  May  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  moved  from  Spottsylvania  to 
the  banks  of  the  North  Anna  River,  and 
reached  that  stream  on  the  twenty-third. 
Lee  had  marched  rapidly  by  a  shorter  route, 
and  his  army  was  in  position  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  when  Grant  reached  the 
northern  shore.  Lee  had  chosen  a  posi- 
tion of  very  great  strength  in  front  of 
Hanover  Junction,  and  had  covered  it 
■with  earthworks. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  Grant  crossed  a 
large  part  of  his  force  to  the  south  side 
of  the  North  Anna,  and  endeavored  to 
force  the  Confederate  line,  but  disco\er- 
ing  its  remarkable  strength,  withdrew  his 
troops  to  the  north  shore,  and  on  the 
twenty-sixth  moved  around  Lee's  right 
in  the  direction  of  the  Chickahomin\ 
Lee  followed  him  promptly  and  tod 
position  at  Cold  Harbor,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  within 
nine  miles  of  Richmond,  occupying  very 
much  the  same  position  held  by  McClel- 
lan's  army  in  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  1862. 
He  covered  his  entire  line  with  strong 
earthworks. 

On  the  first  of  June  a  sharp  encounter 
occurred  between  the  Federal  right  anc 
the  Confederate  left  wings,  and  on  the 
Tnorning  of  the  third  of  June,  Grant  made  a  1 
general  assault  upon  the  Confederate  works.  ! 
The  attack  was  made  with  great  gallantry,  but  I 
-was  repulsed  with  a  loss  to  the  Federal  army  j 
of  thirteen  thousand  men.  The  losses  of 
^the  Army  of  the  Potomac  since  the  passage  ' 
'of  the  Rapidan  had  reached  the  enormous  i 
total  of  over  sixty  thousand  men.  The  Con-  | 
federate  loss  during  the  same  period  was  j 
about  twenty  thousand.     Failing  to  force  the  I 


Confederate  line  at  Cold  Harbor,  General 
Grant  drew  off  leisurely  towards  the  James 
River  at  Wilcox's  Landing,  intending  to  cross 
that  river  and  attack  Richmond  from  the 
south  side  of  the  James. 

In  the  meantime,  upon  reaching  Spottsyl- 
vania Court-house,  General  Grant  had  sent 
General  Sheridan,  with  ten  thousand  cavalry, 
to    destroy  the    railroads   connecting  Rich- 


GE.NEKAL  FIIaHUGH   LEE. 

mond  with  Lee's  army  and  the  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia. Sheridan  executed  his  orders  with 
complete  success,  and  went  within  seven 
miles  of  Richmond.  On  the  tenth  of  May, 
he  reached  Ashland.  He  was  attacked  there 
by  the  Confederate  cavarly  under  General 
Stuart,  and  moved  off  towards  Richmond. 
Stuart,  marching  by  a  shorter  route,  threw 
his  cavalry  between  Sheridan  and  Richmond, 
and  again  encountered  him  at   the  Yellow 


748 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


Tavern,  on  the  Brook   turnpike,  seven  miles 
from  the  city. 

Stuart  was  mortally  wounded,  and  Sheri- 
dan secured  his  retreat  across  the  Chicka- 
hominy  and  down  the  peninsula.  In  General 
Stuart  the  Confederates  lost  their  only  great 
cavalry  leader.  Had  Sheridan,  instead  of 
halting  at  Ashland,  pushed  straight  on  to 
Richmond,  the  Confederate  capital  must 
have  fallen  into  his  hands.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  June  he  rejoined  General  Grant. 


a  force  of  about  eighteen  thousand  men, 
under  General  Beauregard,  and  posted  them 
in  a  fortified  line,  extending  from  the  James  to 
the  Appomattox,  in  front  of  the  Richmond 
and  Petersburg  railroad.  On  the  sixteenth 
of  May,  Butler's  army,  having  advanced 
within  a  short  distance  of  this  line,  was 
attacked  by  the  Confederates  and  driven  back 
to  Bermuda  Hundreds.  The  Confederates 
then  formed  their  lines  across  the  narrow 
peninsula,  and   kept   Butler's  force  enclosed 


At  the  opening  of  the  campaign.  General 
Butler,  with  a  force  of  about  thirty  thousand 
men,  known  as  the  Army  of  the  James,  was 
sent  up  the  James  River  to  attack  the  defen- 
ces of  Richmond,  on  the  south  side  of  that 
river.  He  occupied  City  Point  and  Bermuda 
Hundreds  on  the  fifth  of  May,  and  a  few  days 
later,  advanced  up  the  neck  of  land  lying 
between  the  James  and  the  Appomattox 
Rivers. 

To  oppose  him,  the  Confederates  collected 


between  their  works  and  the  two  rivers  until 
the  crossing  of  the  James  River  by  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

The  Federal  plan  of  campaign  also  included 
the  seizure  of  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  of 
the  railway  connecting  Virginia  with  East 
Tennessee  and  Georgia.  On  the  first  of  May, 
General  Sigel,  with  an  army  of  ten  thousand 
men,  advanced  up  the  valley  towards  Staun- 
ton. On  the  fifteenth,  he  was  defeated  with 
considerable  loss  by  the  Confederates,  under 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


749 


General  Breckenridge,  at  Xew  Market,  ami 
was  dri\en  back  down  the  valle\'.  General 
Hunter  was  appointed  in  Sigel's  place,  and 
succeeded  in  forcing  his  way  to  the  vicinity 
of  Lynchburg.  Lee,  becoming  alarmed  for 
the  safety  of  that  place,  sent  General  Earl\-, 
with  twelve  thousand   men.  to  its  assistance. 


advanced  upon  Petersburg.  At  the  same  time 
General  Butler  moved  forward  with  the  Army 
of  the  Jame.s  against  the  southern  works 
between  the  James  and  Appomattox.  On  the 
sixteenth,  seventeenth  and  eighteenth,  Grant 
made  repeated  attempts  to  storm  the  Con- 
federate works  bcf'-.rc  Petersburg  and  south 


Early,  at  once  attacked  Hunter,  and  forced 
him  to  retreat  by  a  circuitous  route  into 
West  Virginia. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Grant  had 
reached  the  James  River,  where  his  army  was 
reinforced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men.  On  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  June 
Jie  crossed  his   troops  near  City  Point,  and 


of  the  James,  but  was  repulsed  with  a  total 
loss  of  nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  men. 

Being  unable  to  carry  the  southern  works 
by  storm,  he  began  the  siege  of  Petersburg. 
His  right  rested  on  the  James  above  Ber- 
muda Hundreds,  and  from  this  point  his  line 
extended  across  the   Appomattox,  with  his 


750 

left  thrown  out  towards  the  Weldoii  railroad. 
During  the  summer  and  fall  he  continued  to 
extend  his  left  until  he  had  seized  the  VVeldon 
road.  From  this  point  he  sought  to  extend 
his  left  still  further,  and  to  seize  the  South 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


Side  railroad,  Lee's  only  remaining  line  of 
communication  with  the  South  and  South- 
west. 

Frequent  encounters  occurred  between  the 
two  armies  during  the  summer  and  fall,  a 
number  of  which  attained  the  proportions  of 


battles,  but  we  have  not  space  to  relate  them 
all.  On  the  thirtieth  of  July  a  mine  was 
sprung  under  one  of  the  principal  works  of 
Lee's  line,  and  the  explosion  was  followed 
by  an  assault  by  Burnside's  corps.  The  attack 
was  repulsed  with  a 
loss  of  over  five  thou- 
sand men  to  the  Union 
troops.  During  the 
early  autumn  General 
Grant  extended  his 
lines  across  the  James 
river,  and  established 
a  force  on  the  north 
side  of  that  river  to 
lay  siege  to  the  de- 
fences of  Richmond. 
The  right  of  this  force 
was  extended  as  far  as 
the  Williamsburg 
road.  This  was  the 
situation  of  the  two 
armies  at  the  close  of 
the  year. 

In  the  meantime 
Early  had  advanced 
into  the  valley  of  Vir- 
ginia after  the  defeat  of 
Hunter.  The  retreat 
of  that  commander  in- 
to West  Virginia  had 
left  the  Potomac  un- 
guarded, and  Wash- 
ington City  exposed 
to  attack.  General 
Lee  at  once  reinforced 
Early  to  fifteen  tliou- 
sand  men,  and  ordered 
him  to  cross  the  Potomac  and  to  threaten 
"Washington,  hoping  by  this  bold  movement 
to  compel  Grant  to  weaken  his  army  for  the 
protection  of  the  capital,  if  not  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Petersburg.  Early  moved  rapidly, 
crossed  the  Potomac  near  Martinsburg  on 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


the  fifth  of  July,  and  on  the  seventh  occupied 
Frederick  City  in  ^Maryland.  On  the  nintii 
he  defeated  a  small  force  under  General 
Lewis  Wallace  at  Manocacy  Bridge,  and 
advanced  upon  Washington.  The  Nine- 
teenth army  corps  of  the  Federal  army  was 
at  Fortress  Monroe,  where  it  had  just  arrived 
from  New  Orleans,  en 
route  to  join  Grant's 
army.  It  was  at  once  or- 
dered to  Washington, 
which,  until  its  arrival, 
was  held  by  a  small  gar- 
rison, and  Grant  at  the 
same  time  embarked  the 
Sixth  corps,  and  sent  it 
with  all  speed  around  to 
the  Potomac. 

These  troops  reached 
Washington  before  the 
arrival  of  Early,  who 
appeared  before  the  de- 
fences of  that  city  on 
the  eleventh  of  July.  He 
found  the  works  too 
strongly  manned  to  be 
attacked  by  his  force. 
After  skirmishing  for 
several  days  before  them, 
he  withdrew  across  the 
Potomac  on  the  four- 
teenth, and  retreated  to 
the  neighborhood  of 
Winchester. 

Early's  movement  so 
alarmed  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment for  the  safety  of 
Washington  that  a  force  of  forty  thousand 
men,  ten  thousand  of  which  were  the  splen- 
did cavalry  of  Sheridan,  was  stationed  in  the 
valley,  and  Major-General  Sheridan  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  this  army.     Had 
Grant  been  able  to  retain  these  troops  with 
his  own  army,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Lee  would 


have  been  forced  to  abandon  his  position  at 
Petersburg  in  the  autumn  of  1864.  Their 
absence  in  the  valley  enabled  the  Con- 
federate leader  to  prolong  his  defence  through 
the  winter. 

As  soon  as  he  had  gotten  his  forces  well 
in  hand,  Sheridan  ad\'anced  upon  Early,  and 


GENEK.\L  WIM  11  LD  ■'.  HANCOCK. 

on  the  nineteenth  defeated  him  at  Win- 
chester, and  drove  him  back  to  Fisher's 
Hill,  where  on  the  twenty-second,  he  again 
defeated  him  and  drove  him  out  of  the 
valley,  pursuing  him  as  far  as  Staunton.  By 
the  orders  of  General  Grant,  General  Sheri- 
dan now  laid  waste  the  entire  valley  of  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHA^I    LINCOLN. 


753 


Shenandoah,  destroying  all  the  crops,  mills, 
barns,  and  farming  implements,  and  driving 
off  the  cattle  with  his  arm\'  as  he  moved 
back. 

Early  was  reinforced  after  his  retreat  to 
the  upper  valley,  and  about  the  middle  of 
October  advanced  down  the  valley  towards 
the  Federal  position  with  a  force  of  nine 
thousand  men  and  forty  pieces  of  cannon. 
The  Union  army  lay  at  Cedar  Creek,  and 
was  under  the  temporary  command  of  Gen- 
eral Wright  during  the  absence  of  General 
Sheridan.  On  the 
nineteenth  of  Oc- 
tober Early  attack- 
ed this  force,  and 
drove  it  back  for 
several  miles.  In- 
stead of  continuing 
the  pursuit,  his 
troops  stopped  to 
plunder  the  Federal 
camp.whichhad  fal- 
len into  their  hands. 

General  Wright 
rallied  his  men  and 
reformed  them  in  a 
new  position,  and 
at  this  moment 
General  Sheridan 
arrived  on  the  field. 
He  had  heard  the  firing  at  Winchester,  | 
"twenty  miles  away,"  and  had  ridden  at  full 
speed  from  that  place  to  rejoin  his  army.  He 
at  once  ordered  it  to  advance  upon  Early, 
whose  men,  laden  with  the  plunder  of  the 
captured  camp,  were  driven  back  with  terrible 
force  and  pursued  up  the  valley  for  thirty 
miles.  This  success  cleared  the  valley  of  the 
Confederate  forces,  for  Early  was  not  able 
after  this  to  collect  more  than  a  handful  of 
men,  and  Lee  had  no  troops  to  spare  him. 
Sheridan's  brilliant  victories  cost  him  a  total 
loss  of  seventeen  thousand  men. 


A  more  extended  account  of  C  rieral 
Sheridan's  operations,  by  the  historian.  John 
Laird  Wilson,  will  be  of  interest  ^o  the 
reader : 

"As  Sheridan  returned  down  the  valley 
towards  Cedar  Creek,  he  was  closely  followed 
by  the  Confederate  cavalry  under  Rosser, 
supported  by  the  main  body  of  Early's  arm\-. 
On  October  ninth,  the  head  of  Sheridan's 
infantry  column  having  entered  Strasburgby 
the  east  road,  while  the  rear  was  still  some 
miles  further  south,  the  enemy  following  the 


"^^I^'^;:^ 


cavalry  on  the  west  road,  had  advanced  so 
far  as  to  get  on  the  left  flank  of  the  infantry 
column.  Custer  and  Merritt  then  turned  and 
attacked  with  their  cavalry,  when  a  report 
having  spread  among  Rosser's  men  that  the 
National  infantry  were  at  the  same  time 
flanking  them,  they  immediately  gave  way 
and  broke  into  a  stampede.  The  pursuit  was 
continued  seven  miles.  The  loss  of  the 
enemy  was  not  great,  being  only  about  three 
hundred  men,  including  prisoners ;  but  he 
abandoned  eleven  guns,  four  caissons,  and  an 
ammunition  train. 


754 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


"Things  remained  quiet  for  several  days 
after  this  affair ;  but  on  the  twelfth,  the  Con- 
federates again  appeared  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Strasburg  and  opened  an  artillery  fire  on 
Emory's  and  Crook's  cor[)s.  These  troops 
were  then  partially  withdrawn  and  Crook 
pushed  out  a  recdiiii    i     ,:i  '      '    'm  >ught 


>>, 


-.  \ 


\ 


(.tNERAL  PHinP  H     SHERIDVN 

Ion  a  smart  engagement  of  three  hours'  dura- 
tion. Night,  however,  closed  upon  the  scene 
without  any  advantage  and  with  little  loss  to 
either  side. 

"  On  the  fifteenth,  Sheridan  went  to  Wash- 
ington on  important  busip  .ss,  leaving  the 
army  under  the  command  c    General  Wri'-^ht 


whose  corps  was,  in  the  meantime  intrusted 
to  General  Ricketts.  Fisher's  Hill  had  been 
abandoned  as  not  affording  any  good  defens- 
ible line  on  its  southern  slope,  on  which  side 
Early  would  be  likely  to  approach,  and  the 
army  had  now  lain  for  several  days  in  front 
of  Strasburg,  behind  breast-works  thrown 
up  on  rising  and  rolling 
ground,  mostly  along  the 
east  side  of  Cedar  Creek — 
Crook,  with  the  Eighth 
corps  on  the  left,  the  Nine- 
teenth corps  in  the  centre, 
the  Sixth  on  the  right.  On 
li  right  of  the  Sixth,  a 
itle  m  the  rear  and  in 
trve,  were  the  two  ca- 
iliy  divisions  of  Custer 
md  Merritt.  The  line  was 
four  or  five  miles  long,  and 
followmg  the  course  of  the 
creek  nearly  north  and 
south 

Crook's  corps  rested  its 
left  flank  on  the  North 
Fork  of  Shenandoah  and 
Its  right  on  the  Winchester 
ind  Strasburg  turnpike,  the 
prmcipal  highway  in  that 
region  Behind  Crook's 
left  and  at  right  angles  to 
it  \vith  a  view  to  guard 
agiuist  any  turning  move- 
ment on  that  flank,  lay  a 
force  about  equivalent  to 
a  biigade,  known  as  Kitch- 
inj;  s  provisional  division. 
North  of  the  turnpike  came  the  Nineteenth 
corps,  Grover's  division  holding  its  left  and 
resting  on  the  turnpike,  where  it  joined 
Thorburn's  division  of  Crook's  command. 
The  Sixth  corps  on  the  right,  and  the 
second  cavalry  division,  were  not  strongly 
protected  with  works,  as  was  all  the  rest  of 


w 


\  ^\\,  ^     ^ 


.1/11:. Ml-   Mi     lEbKl^AI,  CAVALRY  COMMANDERS.  755 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


the  line,  but  were  well  posted  on  high  ridges, 
and  held  firmly  the  Middle  road,  or  that 
which  runs  next  north  of  the  turnpike.  A 
small  stream  called  Meadow  Run,  flows  into 
the  creek  between  the  two  roads  mentioned. 


was  picketed  by  Powell's  cavalrj'  division 
from  Cedar  Creek  all  the  way  to  Front 
Royal.  Weir's  battery  commanded  the  fords, 
supported  by  cavalry  which  were  so  posted 
as  to  prevent  surprise  from  the  direction  cf 


Sheridan's  cavalry  charge  .-^t  cedar  creek. 


"  In  front  the  National  position  was  consid- 
ered impregnable,  except  by  surprise,  and  to 
turn  it  would  be,  it  was  believed,  an  under- 
taking of  extreme  temerity.  To  guard 
against  surprise  on  the  left,  the  North  Fork 


the  Luray  Vallej-.  Artillery  was  posted  in 
front  of  the  positions  of  Crook  and  Emory, 
so  as  to  command  the  ford  and  the  bridge 
over  Cedar  Creek,  as  well  as  the  rising  ground 
on  the  west  side.      The  wagon  trains  and 


AD^IIXISTRATIOX    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


757 


reserve  artillery  lay  in  the  rear  on  the  turn-  I  began  to  move  against  Sheridan's  lines.  His 
pike.  On  the  seventeenth,  the  ci\  ilr\  on  the  |  cimIin  and  li^ht  aitillery  were  directed  to 
right,  under  Custer, 
was  attacked  by  Con- 
federate cavalry  and 
infantr}',  and  a  severe 
skirmish  ensued,  re- 
sulting in  the  repulse 
of  the  enemy.  Next 
day  a  careful  recon- 
noissance  was  made 
from  the  left  towards 
Strasburg  and  Fish- 
er's Hill;  but  no  sign 
of  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  enem\- 
v.as  discovered.  Dis- 
patches, however.were 
captured;  and  it  was 
thus  ascertained  that 
reinforcements  had 
been  sent  to  Early, 
for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  him  to  attack 
and  defeat  Sheridan. 

"Early,  in  fact,  had 
just  received  a  rein- 
forcement of  some 
twelve  thousand  men. 
His  actual  strength 
was  thus  increased  to 
twenty-seven  thou- 
sand. His  army  was 
still  smaller  than  that 
of  Sheridan.  Encour- 
aged, however,  by  so 
large  an  accession  of 
strength,  Early  pre- 
pared to  put  in  execu- 
tion one  of  the  mo.'-.t 
audacious  movements 
of  the  war.  country  between  CHATX.iVNOOG.^  and  Atlanta. 

"  Before  break  of  day  on  the  nineteenth,  I  advance  against  the  National  right,  so  as  to 
he  arranged  his  troops  at  Fisher's  Hill  and  |  occupy  the   attention   of   Torbert  and   the 


7S8 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


Sixth  corps.  His  infantry  marched  in  five 
columns,  of  which  Gordon's,  Kamseur's,  and 
Pegram's  were  ordered  to  place  themselves 
by  daybreak  on  the  left  rear  of  the  whole 
National  position,  while  Kershaw's  and 
Wharton's  were  to  endeavor  to  get,  about 
the  same  time,  close  under  the  entrenched 
rising  ground  on  which  lay  Crook's  com- 
mand.    To  turn  the   National   left,  it  was 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON. 

necessary  that  Early's  columns  should 
descend  into  the  gorge  at  the  base  of  the 
Massanuttcn  Mountain,  ford  the  North  Fork 
of  the  Shenandoah,  and  skirt  Crook's  en- 
campment for  some  distance,  in  some  places 
within  four  hundred  yards  of  his  pickets. 

"  It  was  a  hazardous  as  well  as  audacious 
experiment;  but  it  was  executed  with  won- 
derful skill,  and,  as  the  result  proved,  with 
complete  success.     The  movement  was  con- 


ducted quietly,  and  with  great  caution.  The 
result  was  that  before  daybreak  the  Con- 
federate infantry,  formed  and  ready  for  battle, 
lay  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  National 
camps.  Gordon's  column  was  diagonally  in 
the  rear  of  the  Nineteenth  corps;  on  the  left 
of  Crook,  facing  Kitching's  provisional 
division,  was  Ramseur  supported  by  Pegram  ; 
in  front  of  Crook  was  Kershaw  supported  by 
Wharton.  Under  cover  of  the  morning  mist, 
Kershaw's  column  moved  rapidly  through 
Crook's  picket  line,  and  with  tremendous 
fury  rushed  upon  the  entrenchments.  The 
onslaught  was  fearful.  The  surprise  was 
complete. 

"In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Crook's  gallant 
army  of  Western  Virginia  became  a  dis- 
organized mass  of  fugitives  in  rapid  rout 
towards  the  position  of  the  Nineteenth 
corps.  Crook  lost  several  batteries,  some 
seven  hundred  men  made  prisoners,  and 
about  one  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded. 
The  Si.xth  corps  was  at  the  same  time 
menaced;  and  its  attention  occupied  by 
the  enemy's  cavalry  and  light  artillery.  It 
fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Nineteenth  corps  to 
resist  unaided  the  shock  of  Gordon's  col- 
umn, now  advancing  solidly  massed  up 
the  slope  of  a  broad,  bare  hill  which  com- 
manded Emory's  camp.  The  Confederate 
force,  including  the  divisions  of  Ramseur 
and  Pegram,  was  as  strong  as  Emory's,  and 
was  supported  by  another  column  coming 
up  through  the  woods  on  the  left,  and 
along  the  turnpike  in  front. 

"  The  Nineteenth  corps  was  thus  not  only 
taken  in  the  rear,  but  outnumbered.  Still  it 
held  out  for  about  an  hour  ;  and  then  its  left 
gave  way,  leaving  a  part  of  the  artillery  in 
the  enemy's  hands.  The  left  and  centre  of 
the  National  army  had  now  fallen  into  com- 
plete confusion  ;  and  all  the  trains  that  could 
be  got  away  were  sent  off  in  haste  along  the 
turnpike  towards  Winchester.     The  sun  was 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


759 


now  high  in  the  heavens,  and  the  extent  of 
the  disaster  was  rendered  visible.  The  Con- 
federates had  succeeded  in  rolling  up  the  left 
of  the  line,  and  in  severing  Powell's  cavalry- 
division  on  the  extreme  left  from  the  rest  of 
the  army;  and  they  were  now  forcing  bai:i< 
the  entire  centre,  and  occupying  the  entrench- 
ments of  the  Nineteenth  corps  as  they  had 
those  of  Crook's  command.  They  had  also 
•captured  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery,  thus  not 
only  lessening  the  National  power  for 
defense,  but  increasing  their  own  power  for 
attack.  The  captured  cannon  were  turned 
with  terrible  effect  on  their  late  possessors. 
The  Sixth  corps  was  now  ordered  over  from 
the  right ;  and  these  troops,  executing  quickly 
a  change  of  front  which  brought  them  at 
Tight  angles  to  their  former  line,  were  soon 
engaged  in  desperate  battle. 

A  Desperate  Struggle. 

"  The  resistance  made  by  the  Sixth  corps 
in  covering  the  retreat  afforded  opportunity 
for  re-enforcing  the  fugitives  to  some  extent ; 
but  the  Confederates  increased  their  artillery 
and  musketry  fire  to  the  utmost,  and  still 
pressed  the  National  left  flank,  with  the 
view,  apparently,  of  getting  full  possession  of 
the  turnpike,  that  they  might  seize  the  trains 
and  get  between  the  National  army  and 
Winchester.  The  enemy  pressed  the  left 
much  more  vigorously  than  the  right. 
Merritt's  and  Custer's  cavalry  were  trans- 
ferred from  the  right  to  the  left;  and  a  severe 
contest  took  place  in  the  thickly-wooded 
country  near  Middletown,  in  which  the  left 
had  been  placed  by  its  rapid  retreat. 

"  About  nine  o'clock  Sheridan's  army  had 
got  into  line  of  battle  again,  and  made  des- 
perate efforts  to  check  the  enemy.  Both 
sides  used  artillery;  but  the  Confederates 
had  greatly  the  advantage  in  this  arm,  having 
not  only  their  own  batteries,  but  the  cap- 
tured guns  of  their  antagonists  besides.    The 


Sixth  corps  held  its  ground  well ;  but 
Crook's  corps  on  the  left  was  forced  back, 
and  the  whole  line  gradually  gave  way,  the 
enemy  again  getting  past  the  National  left 
flank,  and  finally  gaining  the  village  of  Mid- 
dletown, about  three  miles  northeast  of  the 
position  from  which  Sheridan's  army  had 
been  driven.  The  principal  aim  of  the 
National  commanders  now  was  to  cover  the 
trains  and  draw  off  the  army  with  as  little 
loss  as  possible  to  Newton,  where  they  hoped 
to  be  able  to  re-form  and  offer  an  effective 
resistance.  The  battle  had  been  completely 
lost.  Camps,  earth-works,  some  twenty-four 
guns  and  one  thousand  eight  hundred  pris- 
oners— all  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  routed  Nationals  were  flying 
in  all  directions,  large  numbers  of  them 
making  their  way  to  Winchester. 

"  Face  the  Other  Way,  Boys  !  " 

"  The  National  army  fell  back,  as  we  havi 
seen,  first  towards  Middletown,  and  after- 
wards in  the  direction  of  Newton.  About  a 
mile  or  so  in  the  rear  of  Middletown, Wright 
succeeded  in  restoring  something  like  order. 
Sheridan  was  still  absent.  He  had  been,  as 
we  have  mentioned,  on  a  visit  to  Washing- 
ton. On  his  return,  he  spent  the  night  at 
Winchester.  It  was  not  until  his  army  had 
been  defeated  that  he  was  made  aware  of 
Early's  attack.  He  was  in  his  saddle  in  a 
minute.  He  had  scarcely  left  Winchester 
when  he  beheld  sad  evidences  of  the  disaster 
which  had  befallen  his  army.  The  road  was 
covered  with  wagon  trains  and  crowds  of 
weary  fugitives. 

"  As  he  rode  along  on  his  splendid 
charger,  the  air  was  rent  with  cheers.  The 
fugitives  felt  abashed  and  halted;  and  the 
wounded  by  the  wayside  feebly  waved  a 
joyful  salute.  He  did  not  slacken  his  pace 
to  rebuke  or  encourage.  Waving  his  hat  to 
the  cheering  crowds,   his   horse  still  at  full 


760 


THE   CIVIL  WAR 


gallop,  he  shouted,  '  Face  the  other  way, 
boys  !  Face  the  other  way  !  We  arc  going 
back  to  our  camps.  We  are  going  to  lick 
them  out  of  their  boots.'  The  words  were 
electric.  The  tide  of  fugitives  began  to  turn. 
As  he  neared  the  main  body,  the  enthusiasm 
became  unbounded.  Officers  and  men 
tossed  their  hats  and  cheered  to  the  echo. 
He  repeated  his  fiery  words,  '  Boys,  if  I  had 
been  here  this  would  never  have  happened. 
We  are  going  back.  We'll  have  all  these 
camps  and  cannon  back  again.'  What 
Sheridan  said  he  meant ;  and  the  men 
believed  him.  He  was  in  the  field  shortly 
after  ten  o'clock. 

General  Early  Repulsed. 

"There  was  a  lull  in  the  fight,  which 
lasted  several  hours.  Wright,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  had  already  restored  order,  and 
made  dispositions,  if  not  for  attack,  at  least 
for  effective  resistance.  Sheridan  approved 
of  the  arrangements;  and  mid  the  most 
enthusiastic  cheers,  he  rode  along  the  lines, 
studying  the  ground  and  encouraging  the 
men.  About  one  o'clock  Early  made  a 
charge,  which  was  vigorously  repulsed  by 
Emory.  About  three  o'clock  Sheridan  gave 
the  order,  'The  entire  line  will  advance. 
The  Nineteenth  corps  will  move  in  con- 
nection with  the  Sixth.  The  right  of  the 
Nineteenth  will  swing  to  the  left,  so  as  to 
drive  the  enemy  upon  the  pike.' 

"The  order  was  promptly  obeyed.  The 
entire  line  moved  forward — Getty's  divis- 
ion leading  the  charge.  Merritt's  cav- 
alry covered  the  left  flank;  and  Cu.ster's 
cavalry  was  thrown  out  on  the  right.  As 
the  Nationals  advanced  they  were  checked 
for  a  moment  by  a  tremendous  fire  of  artillery 
and  musketry.  The  check,  however,  was 
but  momentary;  for  Emory  swung  around 
upon  the  foe,  and  by  two  gallant  charges 
greatly  disordered  his  lines.     Almost  at  the 


same  moment,  the  National  cavalry  fell  upon 
Early's  flank.  The  tide  of  battle  had  already 
turned. 

"  The  Confederates  fought  with  bravery 
and  determination  ;  but  Sheridan's  men  now 
fighting  in  the  presence  of  their  favorite 
chief,  were  not  to  be  resisted.  The  battle,  in 
fact,  was  already  won ;  and  what  was  so? 
recently  a  retreat,  was  now  changed  into  a 
pursuit.  It  was  a  perfect  rout.  On  his  arri- 
val, Sheridan  said,  '  We'll  have  all  those 
camps  and  cannon  back  again.'  His  word 
was  made  good.  That  night,  the  National 
infantry  halted  within  their  old  camps  ;  but 
the  cavalry  pursued,  hanging  upon  the  flanks 
and  rear  of  the  retreating  foe,  until  he  was 
beyond  Strasburg,  and  night  fell  upon  the 
scene.  Early  halted  for  the  night  at  Fisher's 
Hill,  and  in  the  morning  resumed  his  retreat 
southward.  In  the  pursuit,  all  the  captured 
guns  were  recovered.  The  Nationals  cap- 
tured not  only  their  own  guns,  but  twenty- 
three  of  those  of  the  enemy,  together  with 
one  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners,  and 
any  quantity  of  horses,  mules,  ambulances, 
wagons  and  stores  of  various  kinds." 

Sharp  Struggle  at  Resaca. 

The  Western  army  under  General  Shermarr 
was  increased  to  one  hundred  thousand  men, 
and  was  concentrated  in  and  around  Chatta- 
nooga about  the  last  of  April.  Opposed  to 
this  force.  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  had 
collected  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  at 
Dalton,  Georgia.  The  objective  point  of 
Sherman  was  Atlanta,  Georgia,  the  key  to 
the  railroad  system  of  the  South. 

On  the  seventh  of  May  the  Federal  army 
began  its  advance.  The  position  at  Dalton 
being  too  strong  to  be  assaulted,  Sherman 
turned  it  by  a  flank  movement  upon  Resaca, 
to  which  place  Johnston  fell  back.  On  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  of  May  Sherman 
endeavored  to  force  the  Confederate  lines  near 


..j^-#i 


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V*   ■  -r 


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TS« 


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ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


761 


Resaca,  but  without  success.  He  therefore 
moved  around  Johnston's  left  again,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  fall  back  to  Dallas.  Severe 
fighting  occurred  on  the  twenty  fifth  at  New 
Hope  Church,  but  Johnston  maintained  his 
position.  Heavy  skirmishing  ensued  until 
the  twenty-eighth, 
when  Sherman  hav- 
ing turned  Allatoona 
Pass,  Johnston  oc- 
cupied a  new  position, 
embracing  Pine,  Lost 
and  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tains. Between  the 
fifteenth  of  June  and 
the  second  of  July 
Sherman  made  several 
attempts  to  force  this 
position,  which  was 
one  of  the  strongest 
yet  occupied  by  the 
Confederates,  and  fail 
ing  to  carry  it,  again 
moved  to  the  left  and 
turned  it. 

Johnston  at  once  fell 
back  across  the  Chat- 
tahoochee and  within 
the  lines  of  Atlanta. 
He  had  prepared  this 
city  for  a  siege,  and 
strongly  fortified  it. 
He  had  his  army  v.ell 
in  hand,  and  he  was 
determined  as  soon 
as  the  Federal  army 
had  passed  the  Chat- 
tahoochee to  attack  majok 
Sherman  and  force  him  to  a  decisive  en- 
counter. He  hoped  to  defeat  him,  and  had 
purposely  avoided  a  general  battle  until 
now.  Should  he  succeed  in  his  attempt 
the  defeat  of  the  Federal  army  at  such  a 
great  distance   from   its  base  might   result 


in  its  ruin,  and  at  all  events  would  be  de- 
cisive of  the  campaign.  At  this  juncture, 
however,  he  was  removed  from  his  command 
on  the  seventeenth  of  July  by  the  Confeder- 
ate President,  who  was  greatly  dissatisfied 
with  the  results  of  the  campaign,  and  who. 


EKAL    JAMES    D.    M  PHEKSON. 


it  was  generally  believed,  was  influenced  by 
his  personal  hostility  to  Johnston. 

General  John  B.  Hood,  a  gallant  soldier, 
but  unfit  for  the  great  task  imposed  uporf 
him,  was  appointed  to  succeed  General 
Johnston.     In   Johnston    General   Sherman 


762 

had  recognized  an  antagonist  of  the  first 
rank,  and  had  conducted  the  campaign 
accordingly.  He  regarded  the  appoint- 
ment of  General  Hood  as  greatly  simplify- 
ing the  task  before  him.  The  Federal  army 
had  already  paid  the  heavy  price  of  over 
thirty  thousand  men  for  its  advance  to 
Atlanta,  while  Johnston  had  lost  less  than 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


ablest  commanders.  Sherman  now  drew  in 
his  lines  closer  to  Atlanta,  and  by  a  skilful 
movement  thrust  his  army  between  the  two 
wings  of  Hood's  forces,  thus  exposing  them 
to  the  danger  of  being  beaten  in  detail.  This 
movement  sealed  the  fate  of  Atlanta,  which 
was  evacuated  by  the  Confederates  on  the 
thirty-first   of  August.     On    the    second  of 


eight  thousand  men.     The  conditions  were     September     Sherman     occupied     the    city, 
now  to  be  reversed.  Hood  retreated  towards  Macon.     The  loss 

of  Atlanta  was  a  serious  blow  to  the 
South.  It  placed  the  Federal  army  in 
the  heart  of  Georgia,  and  destroyed  the 
principal  source  from  which  the  Con- 
federate armies  were  supplied  with  mili- 
tary stores,  which  had  been  manufactured 
in  great  quantities  at  Atlanta.  Rome, 
Georgia,  which  was  captured  by  Sher- 
man's army  during  the  campaign,  was 
also  largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  arms  and  ammunition. 

General  Sherman  was  now  anxious  to 
march  his  army  through  Georgia,  and 
unite  with  the  Union  forces  on  the  coast, 
but  he  was  unable  as  yet  to  undertake 
this  movement,  as  Hood,  with  an  army 
of  thirtj'-five  thousand  men  lay  in  his 
front,  and  his  communications  with  Chat- 
tanooga and  Knoxville  were  exposed  to 
the    raids  of    the    Confederate    cavalry. 
He  now   learned   that  the    Confederate 
government  had  ordered  General  Hood 
to  invade  Tennessee  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  his  army  out  of  Georgia,  and 
concluded  to  make  no  effort  to  prevent 
this  movement.    The  task  of  watching  Hood 
was  confided  to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
under  General  George  H.  Thomas,  who  was 
given  a  sufficient  force  to  hold  Tennessee, 
and  Sherman  set  about  preparing  his  army 
for    his    march    to    the   sea.      Thomas    was 
heavily  reinforced  from  the  North. 

Hood  began  his  forward  movement  towards 
the  last  of  October,  and  on  the  thirty-first  of 


GENERAL  GEORGE  H.  THOM.AS. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  July  the  Union 
army  crossed  the  Chattahoochee,  and 
advanced  towards  Atlanta.  On  the  twen- 
tieth and  twenty-second  Hood  attacked  the 
Federai  lines  on  Peach  Tree  Creek,  but  only 
to  be  beaten  back  with  a  loss  of  over  eight 
thousand  men,  without  inflicting  any  serious 
injury  upon  the  Union  army,  which,  how- 
ever,  lost    General    McPherson,  one    of  its 


i-|i|%^f\^ 


A\D  SOME  OF  HIS  COMMANDERS. 


763 


-64 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


that   month,    crossed    the    Tennessee,    near  I  command  of  General  Schofield,  and  effecting- 
Florence.     He  remained  on  tliis  river  until  |  a  passage   of  Duck   River,  on  the  twentj'- 

ninth.  Schofield  fell 
back  to  Franklin 
eighteen  miles  south 
of  Nashville.  He  was 
attacked  on  the  thir- 
tieth, by  the  Confed- 
erates and  forced  back 
to  Nashville,  witliin 
the  defences  of  which 
city.  General  Thomas 
had  collected  an  army 
of  about  forty  thou- 
sand men.  Hood  in- 
vested the  cit}^  and 
hastened  forward  his 
preparations  to  assault 
the  Federal  works. 
General  Thomas,  how- 
ever, anticipated  him, 
and  on  the  fifteenth 
of  December,  attacked 
the  Confederate  army 
and  forced  it  back  at 
all  points.  The  next 
day,  the  sixteenth,  the 
battle  was  renewed, 
and  Hood  was  com- 
pletely routed. 

On  the  seventeenth 
the  Union  army  set 
out  in  pursuit  of 
Hood's  broken  col- 
umns, and  followed 
them  for  over  fifty 
miles.  But  for  the 
gallantry  of  a  small 
rearguard, which  pre- 
served its  discipline 
and    covered   the   re- 

THE  COUNTRY  TRAVERSED  BY  SHERMAN  IN  HIS  MARCH  THROUGH  GEORGIA.  ^        ^    ^       ^t.       i      ^     ^I      I 

treat  to  the  last,  the 
the  middle  of  November,  and  on  the  nine-  I  Confederate  army  would  have  been  scattered 
teenth,  marched  northward,  forcing  back  tlie  |  beyond  all  hope  of  reunion.    Hood  recrossed 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


765 


the  Tennessee  with  barely  twenty  tliousand 
men  out  of  the  thirty-five  thousand  witli 
which  he  had  beg-un 


fire  to  Atlanta.     On  the  fourteentli  of  No- 
vember he  set  out  on  his  "  March  to  the  Sea," 


the  campaign.  He 
had  lost  half  of  his 
generals  and  nearly 
all  of  his  artillery.  He 
fell  back  to  Tupelo, 
Mississippi, andon  the 
tweniy-third  of  Jan- 
uary, 1865,  was,  at  his 
own  request,  relieved 
of  his  command.  In 
the  meantime  Gen- 
eral Sherman,  leaving 
Thomas  to  deal  with 
Hood,  had  begun  his 
march  through  the 
State  of  Georgia.  Sat- 
isfied that  the  war 
was  practically  de- 
cided in  the  South- 
west, he  proposed  to 
march  to  the  sea  near 
Savannah,  and  thence 
through  the  Confed- 
-eracy  to  the  position 
of  General  Grant's 
army.  This  move- 
ment would  compel 
the  Confederates  to 
mass  their  forces  in 
his  front,  and  would 
confine  the  decisive 
operations  of  the  war 
to  the  country  be- 
tween his  own  and 
Grant's  armies,  be- 
tween which  it  was 
believed  the  Southern 
forces  could  be  crush- 
ed.   Everything  being 

in    readiness,   Sherman   cut   loose   from   his 
communications  with  Chattanooga  and  set 


MAP  SHOWING  THE  CITV  OF  MOBILE  AND  ITS  DEFENCES. 

at    the    head   of  a   splendid    army   of  si.xty 
thousand  men.     He  ravaged  the  country  as 


766 

he  went,  leaving  behind  him  a  broad  belt  of 
desolation,  sixty  miles  in  width  and  three 
hundred  in  length. 

The  Confederates  had  not  sufficient  force 
to  offer  serious  opposition  to  his  march,  and 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


COMMODORE  DAVID  G.  FARRAGUT, 

in  about  four  weeks  ho  reached  the  coast 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  River.  On 
the  thirteenth  of  December  he  stormed  and 
captured  Fort  McAllister,  which  commanded 
that  river.     The  city  of  Savannah  was  thus 


left  at  Sherman's  mercy,  and  was  occupied 
by  his  army  on  the  twenty-second  of  Dece»n- 
ber.  By  this  successful  march  to  the  s»  \, 
General  Sherman  had  not  only  gotten  h.s 
army  in  a  position  to  co-operate  with  Grant 
in  the  final  struggle 
of  the  war,  but  had 
struck  terror  to  the 
South.  The  most 
hopeful  Confeder- 
ate now  saw  thai 
the  triumph  of  the 
Union  cause  was 
inevitable  and  close, 
at  hand. 

During  the  yeai 
important  opera- 
tions had  been  un- 
dertaken by  the 
Federal  forces  on 
the  coast.  In  July, 
a  powerful  fleet  un- 
der Admiral  Far- 
ragut,  accompanied 
by  a  strong  force  of 
troops  under  Gen- 
eral Granger,  was 
sent  against  Mo- 
bile. This  city  was 
one  of  tlie  principal 
ports  of  the  Con- 
federacy and  was 
strongly  fortified. 
The  entrance  to  the 
bay  was  command- 
ed by  Forts  Mor- 
gan and  Gaines, 
two  powerful  works 
built  before  the  war, 
and  a  number  of  batteries  and  a  Confederate 
fleet  under  Admiral  Buchanan — who  had 
commanded  the  "Virginia"  in  her  fight  with 
the  "Monitor" — lay  beyond  the  forts  ready 
to  contest  the  possession  of  the  bav. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN.  767 

On  the  fifth  of  August  Farragut  passed  the  I  employed  during  the  war  was  assemble 
forts  with  his  fleet  with 
iron-clad,  and  entered 
Mobile  Bay.  He  im- 
mediately attacked  the 
Confederate  fleet,  the 
flag-ship  of  which  was 
a  powerful  iron-clad 
ram  —  the  "  Tennes- 
see." After  one  of 
the  most  desperate 
fights  in  naval  annals, 
the  entire  fleet  was 
destroyed  or  captured 
by  the  Union  vessels. 
Fort  Powell  was  evac- 
uated and  blown  up 
by  its  garrison  on  the 
same  day.  On  the 
seventh  of  August 
Fort  Gaines  surren- 
dered to  General 
Granger,  and  on  the 
twenty-third  Fort 
Morgan  also  capitul- 
ated. These  successes 
made  the  Federal 
forces  masters  of  Mo- 
bile Bay,  and  closed 
the  port  to  blockade- 
runners  ;  but  the  city, 
which  was  strongly 
fortified,  was  not  taken 
until  the  ne.xt  year. 

Wilmington,  on  the 
Cape  Fear  River,  was 
now  the  only  port  in 
the  Confederacy  re- 
maining open  to  block- 
ade runners.  It  was 
defended    by    Fort 

Fisher,  an   unusually  cape  fear  kivek  a.nd  appro.achi 

formidable  work  near  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  1  force  of  eight  thousand  troops  under  General 
Fear.     A  larger   fleet   than   had   yet  been  |  Butler   was   embarked,   and  the  expedition 


TO  WILMINGTON,  N. 


^68  BOAT  OF  THE  "  bl. 


CAi'i.U.N   SEMMKS. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


7G9 


sailed  to  the  Cape  Fear.  Fort  Fisher  was 
subjected  to  a  vigorous  bombardment,  which 
was  begun  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  Decem- 
ber, and  the  troops  were  landed  ;  but  at  the 
last  moment  General  Butler  decided  that  the 
fort  was  too  strong  to  be  assaulted,  and  the 
expedition  returned  to  Hampton  Roads. 


I^Iobilc  in  August  of  that  year.  In  Januar)', 
1S63,  slic  ran  the  blockade,  and  in  three 
months  c.iptured  and  destroyed  fifteen  mer- 
chant vessels.  She  was  at  length  seized  in 
the  harbor  of  Bahia,  in  Brazil,  by  a  Feeler;;! 
man-of-war,  and  taken  to  Hampton  Ro;;ds. 
The    Brazilian   Government,    resenting   this 


SI.NKING    OF    T:1E    '•  ALAUA.M.A  "    BY    THE    "  KEAK3AKGE.' 


Since  the  opening  of  the  war  the  Confed- 
erate cruisers  had  nearly  driven  the  commerce 
of  the  Northern  States  from  the  ocean. 
These  vessels  were  built  in  England,  and 
were  usually  manned  by  crews  of  English 
seamen  under  Confederate  naval  officers. 
One  of  these,  the  "  Florida,"  put  to  sea  in  the 
sunmier  of  icSG2,  and  succeeded  in  reaching 


breach  of  its  neutrality,  demanded  the  release 
of  the  "  Florida,"  but  while  the  negotiations 
were  in  progress,  she  was  sunk  in  Hampton 
Roads  by  a  collision  with  another  vessel. 

The  most  famous  of  all  the  Confederate 
cruisers,  was  the  "Alabama."  She  was  built 
at  Liverpool,  and  was  suffered  to  go  to  s  a 
in    spite    of    the    protest    of  the    Amerit..:i 


770 

minister  at  London.  She  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Raphael  Semmes,  and  during  her 
lon^  career,  captured  sixty-five  merchant 
vessels,  and  destroyed  over  ten  millions  of 
dollars  worth  of  propert)-.  During  her  entire 
career,  she  never  entered  a  Confederate  port. 
In  the  summer  of  1864,  she  put  into  the 
harbor  of  Cherbourg,  in  France,  and  was 
blockaded  there  by  the  United  States  war 
steamer,  "  Kearsarge,"  Captain  Winslow. 
The  French  government  ordered  the  "Ala- 
bama"' to  leave  Cherbourg,  and  she  went  to 
sea  on  the  nineteenth  of  June.  She  was  at 
once  attacked  by  the  "  Kearsarge,"  and  was 
sunk  by  the  guns  of  that  steamer,  after  an 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


RAPII.AEL   SEMMES. 

engagement  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 
Semmes  was  saved  from  drowning  by  the 
English  yacht,  "Deerhound,"  that  had  wit- 
nessed the  battle  and  was  set  ashore.  The 
destruction  of  the  "Alabama"  was  hailed 
with  delight  throughout  the  North. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  the  presidential  election 
was  held  in  the  States  remaining  faithful  to  the 
Union.  The  Republican  party  nominated 
President  Lincoln  for  re-election,  and  Andrew 
Johnson,  of  Tennessee  for  the  vice-presidency. 
The  Democratic  party  supported  General 
George  B.  McClellan  for  the  presidency,  and 
George  H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  for  the  vice- 
presidency.       Mr.   Lincoln   received  at   the 


polls,  2,213,665  votes  to  1,802,237  cast  fot 
McClellan ;  and  the  electoral  votes  of  every 
State,  save  those  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
and  Kentucky,  were  cast  for  him. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  October,  1864,  Nevada 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  separate 
State. 

The  year  1864  closed  brilliantly  for  the 
Union  cause.  Though  the  Confederates  had 
gained  a  number  of  important  victories  dur- 
ing the  year,  they  had,  on  the  whole,  steadily 
lost  ground.  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Florida,  were  over- 
run by  the  Federal  armies,  and  on  the  coast 
there  was  not  a  single  port  remaining  open 
to  the  Confederacy  save  that  of  Wilmington, 
which  was  blockaded  by  a  powerful  fleet. 

A  Million  Union  Troops. 

It  was  evident  that  the  coming  spring  cam- 
paign would  end  the  war.  The  Federal  force.'' 
had  been  increased  to  the  enormous  total  o( 
one  million  of  men.  The  Confederates  could 
bring  into  the  field  scarcely  two  hundred 
thousand  men,  and  for  these  it  was  difficult 
to  find  subsistence.  The  vicious  financial 
system  adopted  by  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment had  run  its  appointed  course,  and  the 
notes  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  were  worth 
scarcely  three  or  four  cents  on  the  dollar. 

The  year  1865  opened  with  an  effort  to 
secure  the  return  of  peace  without  further 
bloodshed.  In  January  Mr.  F.  P.  Blair,  Sr., 
came  from  Washington  to  Richmond,  and  on 
his  own  responsibility  proposed  to  the  Con- 
federate Government  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  to  negotiate  with  the  Federal 
Government  for  the  close  of  the  war.  The 
following  commissioners  were  appointed  by 
the  Confederate  Government :  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  Vice-President  of  the  Confederate 
States;  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  Senator  from  Vir- 
ginia in  the  Confederate  Congress,  and  John 
A.  Campbell,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War. 


PORTRAITS  OF  PROMINENT  FEDERAL  GENEP 


7/2 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


They  proceeded  to  City  Point  under  a  safe 
conduct  from  General  Grant,  and  were  con- 
veyed from  that  place  to  Hampton  Roads  in 
a  Government  steamer.  On  the  third  of 
February  President  Lincohi  and  Secretary 
Seward  having  reached  Hampton  Roads,  an 


MAJOR-GENERAL  J.  M.  SCHOFIELD, 

informal  conference  was  held  between  the 
President  and  the  commissioners.  The  Presi- 
dent refused  to  entertain  any  propositions 
which  were  not  based  upon  the  unconditional 
submission  of  the  Southern  States  to  the 
authority  of  the  Union,  and  as  the  commis- 
sioners had  no  authority  from   their  govern- 


ment to  enter  into  any  such  arrangement  the 
conference  accomplished  nothing. 

In  the  meantime,  however.  Admiral  Porter, 
undaunted  by  the  failure  of  Butler  to  take 
Fort  Fisher,  had  remained  off  the  fort  with 
his  fleet  and  had  asked  for  troops  to  renew 
the  attempt.     The  sime 
force    that    Butler    had 
commanded,  with  fifteen 
hundred  additional  men, 
was  placed   under  Gen- 
eral   Terry's    command 
and  ordered  to  join  Por- 
ter.    This  force  arrived 
off  Fort   Fisher  on  the 
twelfth  of  January,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the 
thirteenth   accomplished 
its  landing  with  success. 
A  terrible  fire  was  rained 
upon  the  fort  by  the  fleet 
during  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth,  and    on    the 
fourteenth  a  daring   re- 
eonnoissance   of  the 
Union  force  revealed  the 
fact   that    the    fort    liad 
been    severely   damaged 
by    this    bombardment. 
The   trenches    of   the 
Union  army  were  pushed 
rapidly  through  the  sand 
to  within  two    hundred 
yards  of  Fort  Fisher  in 
order  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  garrison,  and 
on  the  fifteenthafeintwas 
made  by  a  force  of  sailors  and  marines  from 
the  fleet  in  this  direction.     At  the  same  time 
the  troops  under  General  Terry  stormed  the 
fort  from  the  land  side,  and  after  a  hard  hand- 
to-hand  struggle  of  about  five  hours,  during 
which  each  traverse  was  carried  in  succession 
by  a  separate  fi:;ht.  Fort  Fisher  was  captured. 


PORTRAITS  OF  FEDERAL  CAVALRY  COMMANDERS. 


774 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


On  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  the  Con- 
federates blew  up  their  other  works  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  retreated 
towards  Wilmington.  The  mouth  of  the 
river  was  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Fed- 
eral forces,  and  the  last  port  of  the  South  was 
closed.  A  number  of  blockade  runners,  igno- 
rant of  the  capture,  ran  into  the  river  and  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  victors.  Later  in  the 
month.  General  J.  M.  Schofield  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  department  of  North 
Carolina,  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  Feb- 
ruarj^  occupied  the  city  of  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina,  with  his  troops. 


INTERIOR  OF  FORT  STE.\DM..VN. 

Sherman,  after  the  capture  of  Savannah, 
allowed  his  army  a  month's  rest  on  the  coast, 
and  towards  the  end  of  January  moved 
northward  through  South  Carolina  towards 
Virginia.  His  force  was  sixty  thousand 
strong  and  moved  in  four  columns,  covering 
a  front  of  fifty  miles.  His  route  was  marked 
by  the  same  desolation  he  had  spread  through 
Georgia.  The  roads  were  in  a  horrible  con- 
dition, and  in  many  places  the  men  were 
forced  to  wade  through  the  icy  waters  up  to 
the  armpits.  Still  he  pressed  on  right  into 
the  heart  of  the  Confederacj-.  On  the  seven- 
teenth of  February  he  reached  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  having  destroj-ed  the  rail- 
road leading  north  from  Charleston. 


General  Hardee,  commanding  the  Con- 
federate forces  at  Charleston,  apprehensive 
of  being  shut  up  in  that  city,  which  was 
utterly  unprepared  for  a  siege,  evacuated 
Charleston  and  its  defences  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  February  and  retreated  northward 
to  join  General  Johnston  in  North  Carolina. 
The  next  day  Charleston  was  occupied  by 
the  Federal  forces.  Fort  Sumter  was  also 
taken  possession  of  at  the  same  time.  The 
fort  was  a  mass  of  ruins  ;  the  city  was  not 
much  better  off  It  had  suffered  severely 
from  the  bombardment  to  which  it  had  been 
subjected  since  the  fall  of  Fort  Wagner,  and 
the  Confederates  upon  their  withdrawal 
had  set  fire  to  a,  considerable  part  of  it. 

From  Columbia,  Sherman  moved  to- 
wards Fayetteville.  North  Carolina,  driv- 
ing back  the  Confederate  forces  that 
resisted  his  progress,  and  entered  that 
place  on  the  twelfth  of  March.  From 
■•'        I  ayetteville   he   moved   towards    Golds- 

The  Confederate  government,  in  the 
emergency  to  which  it  was  reduced,  was 
obliged  to  reappoint  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  to  the  command  of  the  force 
as.sembling  in  Sher.r.an's  front.  Johns- 
ton succeeded  in  collecting  about  thirty-five 
thousand  troops,with  which  he  attacked  Sher- 
man at  Averasborough  on  the  sixteenth  of 
March,  and  again  at  Bentonville  on  the  nine- 
teenth. The  Confederates  fought  with  their 
old  enthusiasm  in  these  encounters,  but  were 
unable  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  Federal 
army,  and  on  the  twenty-third  of  March 
Sherman  occupied  Goldsborough.  Johnston 
withdrew  towards  Raleigh.  At  Goldsborough 
Sherman  was  joined  by  the  forces  of  Gen- 
erals Schofield  and  Terry,  which  had  come 
up  from  the  coast. 

The  armies  of  Grant  and  Lee  had  lain  con- 
fronting each  other  during  the  winter. 
General  Lee  had  little  hope   of  maintaining 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


775 


destroyed   the   railroad   between  Charlottes- 
and  Lynchburg  for  about  forty  miles, 


his  position  after  the  opening  of  hostilities. 
His  army  was  growing  weaker  from  sickness 
and  desertion,  and  no 
more  men  could  be 
obtained.  The  Con- 
federate Congress 
made  a  feeble  effort 
during  the  winter  to 
enlist  negro  troops  in 
its  service,  but  with 
singular  recklessness 
refused  to  offer  the 
boon  of  freedom  to 
such  of  the  blacks  as 
would  take  up  arms. 
That  body  believed 
that  the  negroes 
would  fight  for  their 
own  enslavement. 

Early  having  been 
driven  out  of  the  val- 
ley. General  Sheridan 
was  ordered  to  start 
from  Winchester  with 
a  column  often  thou- 
sand cavalry,  and  cut 
the  communications 
of  Lee's  army  by  rail- 
road and  telegraph 
northandeastof  Rich- 
mond. He  left  Win- 
chester on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  February, 
and  defeating  Early's 
force  at  Waynesbor- 
ough,  broke  the  Vir- 
ginia Central  Railroad 
T.t  that  point  and 
moved  to  Charlottes- 
ville, which  surrend- 
ered to  him.  He  then 
divided  his  force  into  positions  of  the  armies  near  Petersburg,  va. 

two  columns  and  resumed    his    "ride"    on  I  and     the     canal     between     Richmond 
the  si.xth  of  March.     He  most  thoroughly  |  Lynchburg    shared    the    same    fate    f 


7/6 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


•considerable  distance.  Bcinc;  unable  to  cross 
the  James  above  Richmond  on  account  of 
ihe  high  water,  he  mo\cil  around  the  north 
of  Richmond,  crossed  the  river  at  Deep 
Bottom  and  joined  Grant  before  Petersburg 
'on  the  twentj--sixth  of  March.  He  had 
utterly  laid  waste  the  country  along  his 
route.  The  arrival  of  this  splendid  force  ol' 
cavalry  was  of  the  greatest  ser\ice  to  Grant, 
as  we  shall  sec. 

The  situation  of  General  Lee's  army  was  | 


GENERAL  ROBERT  F.   LEE. 

growmg  more  critical  every  day.  Me  liaJ 
less  than  fofty  thousand  troops.  He  was 
fully  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  abandon- 
ing Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  was  anx- 
ious to  do  so  at  once,  and  unite  his  army 
with  that  of  General  Jolinston  and  occupy  a 
/new  position  in  the  inter:. ir  of  the  South.  In 
order  to  secure  the  withdrawal  of  his  army, 
he  determined  to  make  a  vigorous  attack 
upon  Grant's  right,  hoping  to  compel  him,  in 
order  to  help  his  right,  to  draw  back  his  left  I 
wing,  which  was  in  dangerous  proximity  to 


the  road  by  which  Lee  wished  to  retreat. 
Could  he  succeed  in  this  effort,  he  meant  to 
e\acuate  his  position  at  Petersburg  and  recire 
towards  Danville,  where  he  hoped  to  unite 
with  General  Johnston. 

On  the  twenty-iifth  of  March,  he  made  a 
heavy  attack  upon   Fort  Steadman,  on   the 
right  of  Grant's  line,  and  captured  it.     The ' 
Federal   forces   rallied,  however,  and   drove 
the  Confederates  from   the  captured  works 
back  to  their  own  line,  inflicting  upon  them 
a  loss  of  three  thousand  men.     Lee  had 
now  no  alternative  but  to  await  the  move- 
ments of  General   Grant,  as  he  could  not 
afford  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  men  which 
a  renewal  of  his  efforts  would  require  of 
him. 

General  Grant  lost  no  time  in  taking 
the  field.  By  the  last  of  March,  his  army, 
numbering  about  one  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  men,  including  Sheridan's  mag- 
nificent cavalrj'  division,  was  in  readiness 
to  begin  the  campaign.  On  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  ?ilarch,  the  advance  of  the  Federal 
army  was  begun.  Leaving  the  bulk  of  his 
army  before  Petersburg,  Grant  sent  a  col- 
umn of  twenty-five  thousand  men  to  turn 
the  Confederate  right  and  seize  the  South- 
side  railroad,  Lee's  only  means  of  com- 
munication with  Johnston's  army  and  the 
country  in  his  rear.  By  the  morning  of  the 
tliirticth,  the  Federal  left  had  gotten  fairly 
to  the  right  of  the  Confederates. 

On  the  thirtieth,  a  heavy  storm  prevented 
a  further  advance,  and  Lee  took  advantage  of 
the  delay  to  reinforce  his  right  wing  with  all 
the  troops  lie  could  .spare.  On  the  thirty- 
first,  he  attempted  to  drive  back  the  Federal 
left,  but  without  success.  While  this  battle 
was  going  on,  Sheridan  swung  around  the 
Confederate  right  and  seized  the  important 
position  of  Fi\e  Forks.  Lee  then  sent  Pick- 
ett's and  Johnston's  divisions  to  recover  this 
point,  and  they  drove  off  the   cavalry,,  and 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


777 


occupied  Fi\e  Forks  at  night-fall  on  the 
thirty-first.  Being  joined  by  the  Fifth  corps, 
Sheridan  attacked  the  Confederates  on  the 
morning  of  the  first  of  April,  and  defeated 
them  after  a  determined  encounter,  taking 
over  five  thousand  prisoners. 

As  soon  as  Sheridan  had  secured  Five 
Forks,  Grant  opened  a  heavy  artillery  fire 
upon  the  lines  of  Petersburg  along  his  whole 
front,  and  continued  the  bombardment 
through  the  night.  On  the  morning  of  the 
second  of  April  he  made  a  determined  attack 
upon  Lee's  line  and  broke 
it  at  several  points.  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  now  forced 
to  assume  a  new  and 
shorter  line  immediately 
around  Petersburg.  The 
Federal  army  made  ,i 
vigorous  effort  to  foi  > 
its  way  into  the  city.  In: 
was  unsuccessful. 

The  fate  of  Petersbm 
was  now  decided.   It  was 
impossible    to    hold     it 
longer.     On  the  night  of 
the  second  of  April  Gen- 
eral   Lee    withdrew   his 
army    from     Riciimond 
and   Petersburg  and  re- 
treated  in  the  direction 
of  Amelia  Court-house. 
His  intention  was  to  move  towards  Danville 
and  endeavor  to  join  Johnston.     His  retreat 
was  discovered  on  the  morning  of  the  third  of 
April,  and  the  Federal  army,  leaving  a  small 
force  to  occupy  Petersburg,  set  off  in  pursuit, 
following  the  line  of  the  Southside  Railroad. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Confederates  from  the  lines  of  Rich- 
mond was  discovered  by  General  Wcitzel 
commanding  the  Federal  forces  on  the  north 
side  of  the  James.  He  at  once  advanced  and 
occupied  the  city  of  Richmond,  a  large  part 


of  which  was  in  flames  as  he  entered  it,  hav- 
ing been  set  on  fire  by  the  Confederates  up<Mi 
their  evacuation  of  it.  Thus  fell  the  Confed- 
erate capital  after  four  long  years  of  bloody 
war  for  its  possession. 

Upon  reaching  Amelia  Court-house  Gen- 
eral Lee  found  that  the  supplies  he  had 
ordered  to  be  sent  there  from  Danville  were 
not  to  be  had.  The  trains  sent  from  Danville 
by  his  instructions  had  been  ordered  to  Rich- 
mond to  remove  the  property  of  the  Confed- 
erate government,  and  had  not  been  allowed 


^"^ 


"^^^M-^^ 


-'^ 


THE  LAST  CAVALRY  CHARGE  OF  THE  WAR. 

to  unload  their  stores  at  Amelia  Court-house. 
This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  Lee,  who  was  now 
unable  to  furnish  food  to  his  troops,  who  had 
eaten  nothing  since  the  commencement  of 
the  retreat.  Parties  were  sent  into  the  sur- 
rounding country  to  obtain  supplies,  and  this 
consumed  the  wdiole  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  of 
April,  which  Lee  had  hoj^ed  to  spend  in 
pushing  on  beyond  his  pursuers. 

The  delay  enabled  Sheridan,  with  eighteen 
thousand  mounted  men,  to  seize  the  Confed- 
erate  line   of   retreat  at    Jetersville.     This 


778 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


movement  put  an  end  to  Lee's  hope  of  reach- 
ing Danville  and  joining  Johnston.  A  battle 
was  impossible,  for  Sheridan  had  a  force  nearly 
equal  to  his  own,  and  Grant  was  hurrying  on 
with  the  rest  of  the  Federal  army.  General 
Lee  therefore  turned  off  and  retreated  towards 
Farmville,  hoping  to  be  able  to  reach  Lynch- 
burg, but  Sheridan,  after  passing  Farmville, 
pushed  forward  again,  and  by  a  forced  march 
reached  Appomattox  Station,  on  the  South- 
side  Railroad,  on  the  night  of  the  eighth,  and 
planted  his  force  squarely  across  the  Confed- 
erate line  of  retreat. 

Surrender  of  General  Lee. 

The  next  morning  Lee,  when  near  Appo- 
mattox Court-house,  discovered  this  obstacle 
in  his  way,  and  about  the  same  time  Sheridan 
was  joined  by  the  Army  of  the  James,  under 
General  Ord,  while  the  Army  cf  the  Poto- 
mac, under  General  Meade,  was  closing  in 
fast  upon  Lee's  rear.  General  Lee  had  now 
but  eight  thousand  men  with  arms  in  their 
hands.  The  bulk  of  his  forces,  being  too 
much  broken  down  by  fatigue  and  hunger 
to  keep  their  places  in  their  ranks,  accompa- 
nied the  regiments  in  a  disorganized  mass. 
As  soon  as  he  discovered  Sheridan  in  his 
front,  Lee  attempted  to  cut  his  way  through 
his  lines,  but  failing  in  this  effort,  and  being 
convinced  that  further  resistance  would 
merely  be  a  useless  sacrifice  of  his  men,  he 
asked  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  and 
went  to  meet  General  Grant. 

The  two  commanders  met  at  a  house  near 
Appomattox  Court-house,  and  after  a  brief 
interview  arranged  the  terms  of  the  surren- 
der. General  Grant  treated  the  beaten  army 
with  great  liberality.  The  hungry  Confed- 
erates were  fed  by  the  victors,  and  after 
laying  down  their  arms  were  permitted  to 
•eturn  to  their  homes.  In  order  that  the 
nen  might  betake  themselves  as  soon  as 
Possible  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  so 


avoid  the  suffering  which  the  failure  of  the 
harvest  would  entail  upon  the  South,  Gen- 
eral Grant  released  all  captured  horses  which 
were  identified  as  the  property  of  the  sol- 
diers surrendering  them. 

The  terms  of  the  surrender  were  arranged 
on  the  ninth  of  April.  On  the  twelfth  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  formed  in  divis- 
ions for  the  last  time,  and  marching  to  a  des- 
ignated spot  near  Appomattox  Court-house, 
laid  down  its  arms,  and  disbanded.  About 
seventy-five  hundred  men  with  arms,  and 
about  eighteen  thousand  unarmed  strag- 
glers, took  part  in  the  surrender.  The  Fed- 
eral troops  treated  their  vanquished  oppo- 
nents with  true  soldierly  kindness,  and  care- 
fully refrained  from  everything  which  might 
seem  to  insult  the  valor  that  had  won  their 
earnest  admiration. 

Terms  of  Surrender. 
The  following  is  a  detailed  account  of  the 
correspondence  which  passed  between  Gen- 
erals Grant  and  Lee,  and  a  full  statement  of 
the  terms  upon  which  the  Confederate  Gen- 
eral surrendered  his  army.  On  the  evening 
of  April  7th  Lee  received  Grant's  first  letter. 

"  April  yih,  1865. 

"  General:  The  result  of  the  last  week  must  con- 
vince you  of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  this 
struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  ray 
duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any 
further  effusion  of  blood,  by  asking  of  you  the  sur- 
render of  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  States 
army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

■■  U.  S.  GRANT,  Ueut.-General. 

"  General  R.  E.  Lee." 

To  this  letter  Lee  wrote  an  immediate 
answer ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  following 
morning  that  it  reached  Grant  at  Farmville. 
It  was  couched  in  these  words  : 

"  April  7th,  1865. 
"  General  :  I  have  received   your  note  of  this 
date.     Though  not  entertaining  the  opinion  you  ex- 
press of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


779 


part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate 
your  desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and, 
therefore,  before  considering  your  proposition,  ask 
the  terms  you  will  offer,  on  condition  of  its  surren- 
der. "  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

"  Lieut.-General  L".  S.  Grant." 
On  the  instant  Grant  replied  as  follows  : 
".\pril  Sth,  1S65. 

"  General  :  Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to 
mine  of  the  same  date,  asking  the  condition  on 
which  I  will  accept  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  is  just  received.  In  reply,  I 
would  say  that  peace  being  my  first  desire,  there  is 
but  one  condition  that  I  insist  upon,  viz. :  That  the 
men  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for  taking  up 
arms  against  the  government  of  the  United  States 
until  properly  exchanged.  I  will  meet  you.  or  des- 
ignate officers  to  meet  any  officers  you  may  name 
for  the  same  purpose,  at  any  point  agreeable  to  you, 
for  the  purpose  of  arranging  definitely,  the  terms 
upon  which  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  will  be  received. 

"  U.  S.  GR.-\NT,  Lieut.-General. 

"  General  R.  E.  Lee." 

Lee  was  in  a  strongly  intrenched  position, 
a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  the  Appomattox. 
As  soon  as  he  indited  his  reply  to  Grant's 
first  message  he  resumed  his  retreat  under 
cover  of  the  darkness;  and  so  quietly  was  it 
conducted  that  Humphreys  was  ignorant  of 
the  fact  until  morning,  when  he  was  prepared 
to  renew  the  attack.  Lee's  skillful  general- 
ship was  again  conspicuously  revealed.  Ever 
vigilant,  ever  fertile  in  resource,  and  evei 
active,  he  had  again  put  miles  between  him- 
self and  his  pursuers. 

Lee's  Hurried  Retreat. 

The  fact  that  Lee  had  retreated  during  the 
night  was  at  once  made  known  to  Grant,  who 
immediately  gave  orders  for  the  renewal  of 
the  pursuit.  The  Second  and  Sixth  corps, 
under  the  immediate  direction  of  Meade,  who 
was  accompanied  by  the  General-in-chief, 
were  pushed  forward  with  all  possible  haste 
along  the  north  bank  of  the  Appomattox. 
Sheridan  meanwhile  had  made  e.xcellent  use 


both  of  his  troopers  and  of  his  time.  Lee 
was  pressing  along  that  gradually  narrowing 
neck  of  land  which  lies  between  the  head- 
waters of  the  Appomattox  and  the  affluents 
of  the  James. 

It  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  Sheri- 
dan should  be  able  to  interpose  his  troops 
between  Lee's  army  and  Lynchburg.  If  he 
could  close  the  outlet  in  the  direction  of  that 
city  it  would  be  all  over  with  Lee,  pursued 
closely  as  he  was  by  the  Second  and  Sixth 
corps,  under  the  direction  of  Meade  and  the 
General-in-chief.  This  was  precisely  what 
Sheridan  was  aiming  at,  and  what,  within  a 
few  hours,  he  actually  did  accomplish.  Hav- 
ing learned  from  one  of  his  scouts  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  eighth  that  four  trains  of 
cars  with  supplies  for  Lee's  army  were  at 
Appomatto.x  Station,  he  at  once  notified  Mer- 
ritt  and  Crook,  and  briskly  pushed  the  whole 
command  towards  that  point. 

Desperate  Attempt  to  Escape. 

Lee  was  not  ignorant  of  the  extreme  peril 
of  his  situation ;  but  he  kept  pressing  eagerly 
forward,  still  clinging  to  the  skirts  of  hope, 
and,  in  spite  of  almost  irresistible  evidence  to 
the  contrary,  indulging  the  thought  that  he 
might  yet  find  refuge  among  the  ranges  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  beyond  Lynchburg.  In  these 
circumstances  he  received  Grant's  second  let- 
ter, and  replied  as  follows  : 

"  April  Sth,  1S65. 

"General:  I  received  at  a  late  hour  your  note 
of  to-day.  In  mine  of  yesterday,  I  did  not  intend  to 
propose  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia, but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your  proposition.  To 
be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  has  arisen 
to  call  for  the  surrender  of  luis  army  ;  but  as  the  res- 
toration of  peace  should  be  the  sole  object  of  all,  I 
desire  to  know  whether  your  proposals  would  tend 
to  that  end.  I  cannot,  therefore,  meet  you  with  a 
view  to  surrender  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia; 
but  so  far  as  your  proposition  may  affect  the  Confed- 
erate States  forces  under  my  command,  and  tend  to 
the  restoration  of  peace,  I  should  be  pleased  to  meet 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


you  at  ten  a.  m.,  to-morrow,  on  the  old  stage-road 
to  Richmond,  between  the  picketlines  of  the  two 
armies. 

"R.  E.  LEE,  Gent'raL 
"  I.ieut.-General  W  S.  (Jka.nt.' 

This  note  was  received  b\"  (}rant  about 
midnight  ;  and  he  replied  next  morning  in 
the  following  terms : 

"April  Sth,  1865. 

"Gexkral:  Your  note  of  vestcrd.iv  is  received. 


(iENEKAL    JOHN    IS.    GORDON. 

As  I  have  no  authority  to  treat  on  the  subject  of 
peace,  the  meeting  proposed  for  ten  a.  m.,  to-day, 
could  lead  to  no  good.  I  will  state,  however,  Gen- 
eral, that  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  your- 
self; and  the  whole  North  entertain  the  same  feel- 
ing. The  terms  upon  which  peace  can  be  had  are 
well  understood,  fiy  the  South  laying  down  their 
arms  they  will  hasten  that  most  desirable  event, 
save  thousands  of  human  lives,  and  hundreds  of 
millions  of  property  not  yet  destroyed.  Sincerely 
hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  m.\y  be  settled  with- 


out the  loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe  myself, 

"  U.  S.  GRANT,   Lic-uUiiaiil-General. 
"  General  R.  E.  Lee." 

As  soon  as  he  had  finished  this  letter 
Grant  left  Meade  in  charge  of  the  Second 
and  Sixth  corps  and  hurried  on  to  join 
Sheridan  and  Griffin.  While  the  letter  was 
on  its  way,  and  before  the  General-in-chief 
had  joined  the  one  or  the  other,  further 
parley  had  become  unnecessary.  Sheridan 
had  already  settled  the  question.  On  the 
morning  of  the  eighth,  after  a  forced  march 
of  about  thirty  miles,  his  advance,  under 
Custer,  had  reached  Appomattox  Station, 
about  four  miles  to  the  south  of  Appomat- 
tox Court  House.  Lee's  vanguard  had  just 
arri\-ed  with  four  trains  of  cars,  laden  with 
supplies. 

Custer  Makes  a  Dash. 
Custer,  with  lightning-like  rapidity, 
dashed  upon  the  rear  of  the  trains,  and  cap- 
tured them.  Supported  by  Devin,  who  had 
come  up,  he  then  rushed  with  fierce  energy 
on  the  vanguard,  and  drove  it  back  to  Ap- 
pomattox Court  House,  near  which  was 
the  main  body  of  Lee's  army.  Twenty-five 
guns,  a  hospital  train,  a  large  number  of  ad- 
ditional wagons,  with  many  prisoners,  were 
captured  by  the  National  cavalry.  Sheridan, 
hurrying  forward  with  the  remainder  of  his 
command,  flung  himself  across  the  line  of 
Lee's  retreat,  with  the  determination  of  hold- 
ing his  ground  at  any  and  every  risk  until  the 
morning,  when,  he  knew,  he  would  be  joined 
by  Ord,  and  the  Army  of  the  James,  and  by 
Griffin  with  the  Fifth  corps.  He  knew  also 
that  by  that  time,  Meade,  with  the  Second 
and  Sixth  corps,  would  be  well  forward  and 
able  to  fall  with  effect  on  the  Confederate  rear. 
Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs  on  the 
niglit  of  the  eighth.  Lee  was  completely  cut 
off  from  his  own  line  of  retreat.  Brave  and 
resolute  to  the  last,  and  believing  that  he 
had  nothing  but  cavahy   in  front  of  him,  he 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


78 1 


decided  to  make  an  attempt,  at  least,  to   cut 
through  Sheridan's  lines. 

Early   on  the   morning  of  the  ninth   Lee 
was  ready  to  carry    out   his  purpose.     Ilis 
heart,  however,  must    have  bled  within  him, 
when  he  looked  around  him,  and  beheld  the 
wretched    remnant    of  what  was    once  the 
proud  and  invincible  army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia.    It  consisted  of  two  thin   lines — the 
one    composed    of  what  was    left  of  Hill's, 
now    Gordon's   command,  the   other  of  the 
wreck  of  Longstreet's  corps.     Between  these 
lines  were  the  debris  of  the  wagon-train,  and 
some    thousands    of    miserable 
creatures  who  were  too  weak  to 
carry  arms.     Lee  gave  orc;rs  to 
Gordon  to  cut  his  way  through, 
at  all  hazards.     The  charge  was 
made  with  tremendous  energy. 
Such,  in  truth,  was  the  violence 
of  the  shock,  and  so  persistent 
was  the  pressure,  that  Sheridan's 
men    who    had    dismounted    to 
resist    the    attack,    were    forced 
back. 

hX  this  critical  moment,  Sher- 
idan, who  had  been  to  Appomat- 
tox Station  for  the  purpose  of 
hurrying  forward  Ord,  arrived  on 
thesceneofaction.  Knowingwell 
the  purpose  of  the  enemy,  and  keenly  alive  to 
the  value  of  time,  he  directed  his  troopers  to 
fall  back  gradually,  but  to  continue  to  offer 
a  firm  and  steady  resistance,  so  as  to  allow 
Ord,  with  his  infantry,  to  come  up  and  form 
his  lines.  This  done,  they  were  to  move  to 
the  right  and  mount.  Sheridan's  orders  were 
admirably  executed.  As  soon  as  the  cavalry 
moved  towards  their  own  right,  the  Confed- 
erates beheld  to  their  amazement,  the  glit- 
tering arms  and  serried  ranks  nf  the  in- 
fantry'. 

The  unlooked-for  vision  had  all  the  effect  | 
of  a  stunning  and  unexpected   blow.     The  1 


Confederates  immediately  discontinued  their 
pressure,  and  began  to  give  wa\-.  The  Na- 
tional infantry  were  now  pressing  upon  the 
confused  and  bewildered  multitude.  Sheridan 
had  ridden  round  to  the  Confederate  left 
flank  ;  his  bugles  had  sounded  the  order  to 
remount,  and  he  was  just  about  to  fall  with 
all  his  weight  on  the  already  disordered 
mass,  when  a  flag  of  truce  was  presented  to 
Custer  who  led  the  advance.  Sheridan  rode 
to  Appomattox  Court  House,  where  he  was 
met  by  General  Gordon  and  General  Wilcox. 
Gordon  asked  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities, 


i  HL  .McLEA.N    HOUSli. 

and  informed  Sheridan  that  Grant  and  Lee 
were,  even  now,  making  arrangements  for  the 
surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
There  was  no  more  fighting  between  the  two 
great  rival  armies — the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

On  the  morning  of  the  ninth,  a  heavy  fog 
enveloped  the  entire  country  around  Appo- 
mattox Court  House.  Long  before  that  fog 
dispersed,  Lee,  clad  in  a  new  gray  uniform, 
might  have  been  seen  at  a  camp-fire  with 
Mahone  and  Longstreet.  Care  and  anxiety 
were  written  on  each  of  their  countenances. 
Lonestreet,  his  arm  in  a  sline,  and  a  ciear  in 


782 

his  mouth,  sat  on  the  tr 
Gordon  had  been  sent 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


of  a  felled  tree. 
his  mission.      It 


Of  Gordon's  failure  to  penetrate  the  National 
lines,  they  were  soon  made  aware. 

Lee  mounted  his 
horse.  "  General 
Longstreet,"  he  said, 
"I  leave  you  in  charge; 
I  am  going  to  hold  a 
conference  with  Gen- 
eral Grant."  He  then 
rode  off.  On  his  way 
he  received  Grant's 
tter,  before  quoted, 
c  replied  immedi- 
ately : 

"April  9,  1865. 
"General:  I  received 
your  note  of  this  morning, 
on  the  picket-Hne, whither 
I  had  come  to  meet  you, 
and  ascertain  definitely 
what  terms  were  embrac- 
ed in  your  proposition  of 
yesterday,  with  reference 
to  the  surrender  of  this 
army.  I  now  ask  an  in- 
terview, in  accordance 
with  the  offer  contained 
in  your  letter  of  yesterday 
for  that  purpose. 

"  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
"  Lieut.-General 

U.  S.  Grant." 

To    this   Grant    re- 
plied as  follows : 

"April  9th,  1865. 
"  GeInERAL  :  Your  note 
of  this  date  is  but  this 
moment  (11.50  a.  m.)  re- 
ceived. In  consequence 
of  my  having  passed  from 
the  Richmond  and  Lynch- 
burg road  totheFarmville 
and  Lynchburg  road, I  am 
at  this  writing  about  four 
.  miles    west    of    Walter's 

was  agreed  that  if  success  were   denied   him  I  church,  and  will  push  forward  to  the  front  for  the 
there  was  no  longer  any  chance  of  escape.  J  purpose  of  meeting  you.    Notice  sent  to  me.  on  this 


.SURKENDEK    OF    GENERAL    LEE. 


784 


road,  where  you  wish  the  interview  to  taki 
will  meet  me. 

"  II.  S.  GRANT,  iJetitena>it-Ge7ieral. 

"  General  R.  E.  Lee." 

The  scene  and  the  main  features  of  the 
interview  have  been  preserved  for  us  by  an 
eye-witness.  It  took  place  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Wilmer  McLean — a  square  brick  build- 
ing surrounded  with  roses,  violets  and  daffo- 
dils. Grant — with  his  slouched  hat,  dark 
blue  frock-coat  unbuttoned  and  covered  with 
mud,  gray  pantaloons  tucked  in  his  soiled 
boots,  and  a  dark  waistcoat,  and  with  nothing 
to  indicate  his  rank,  except  the  double  row 
of  brass  buttons  and  the  three  silver  stars — 
walked  up  to  the  house,  accompanied  by 
Ord,  Sheridan  and  their  respective  staffs. 
Lee  had  already  arrived ;  and  his  blooded 
iron-gray  horse,  in  charge  of  an  orderly,  was 
nibbling  at  the  grass.  Grant  and  two  aids 
entered  the  house;  the  others  who  accom- 
panied him,  sat  down  on  the  porch.  Lee 
was  standing  beside  a  table,  wearing  a  bright 
bluish-gray  uniform,  a  military  hat,  with  a 
gold  cord,  buckskin  gauntlets,  high  riding 
boots,  and  the  splendid  dress-sword  which 
had  been  presented  to  him  by  the  State  of 
Virginia.  Tall  and  erect,  he  had  a  fine 
soldierly  bearing.  It  was  noticed  that  his 
hair  was  long  and  gray.  He  was  attended 
only  by  Colonel  Marshall,  his  chief  of  staff. 
On  Grant's  entrance  the  two  shook  hands, 
sat  down  and  proceeded  to  business. 

Grant  Delivers  His  Terms. 

As  Lee  made  no  special  request.  Grant  at 
once  wrote  out  his  terms  : 

"Api'omattox  CoiRT  House, I 
April  9,  1865.  ) 

"General:  In  accordance  with  the  substance  of 
my  letter  to  you  of  the  eighth  instant,  I  propose  to 
receive  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia on  the  following  terms,  to  wit :  Rolls  of  all  the 
officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy 
tobcciven  to  an  officer  desijjnated  by  me,  the  other 


THE   CIVIL  WAR 
place. 


to  be  retained  by  such  officers  as  you  may  designate. 
The  officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles  not  to 
take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  until  properly  exchanged,  and  each  company 
or  regimental  commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for 
the  men  of  his  command.  The  arms,  artillery  and 
public  property  to  be  parked  and  stacked  and  turned 
over  to  the  officers  appointed  by  me  to  receive  them. 
This  will  not  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers, 
nor  their  private  horses  or  baggage.  This  done, 
each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to  his 
home,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authority 
so  long  as  they  observe  their  paroles  and  the  laws 
in  force  where  they  may  reside. 

•'  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 
"General  R.  E.  Lee." 

The  following  is  Lee's  letter  of  acceptance : 

"  Headquarters  Army  of  Northern  > 
Virginia,  April  9,  1865.  ) 

"General:  1  have  received  your  letter  of  this 
date,  containing  the  terms  of  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  proposed  by  you. 
As  they  are  substantially  the  same  as  those  expressed 
in  your  letter  of  the  eighth  instant,  they  are  accepted. 
1  will  proceed  to  designate  the  proper  officers  to 
carry  the  stipulations  into  effect. 

"  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
"  Lieut. -General  U.  S.  Grant." 

The  signatures  had  just  been  attached, 
when  Lee,  after  a  moment's  reflection,  said 
that  he  had  forgotten  one  thing.  Many  of 
the  cavalry  and  artillery  horses  belonged  to 
the  men  who  had  charge  of  them.  It  was 
too  late,  however,  to  speak  of  that  now. 

Grant  replied,  "  I  will  instruct  my  paroling 
officers  that  all  the  enlisted  men  of  your 
cavalry  and  artillery,  who  own  horses,  are  to 
retain  them,  just  as  the  officers  do  theirs. 
They  will  need  them  for  their  spring  plough- 
ing, and  other  farm  work."  Lee  seemed 
greatly  pleased  with  Grant's  prompt  com- 
pliance with  his  only  half-expressed  wish. 
"General,"  he  said  earnestly, "there  is  nothing 
which  you  could  have  accomplished  mere 
for  the  good  of  the  people  or  of  the  govern- 
ment." Grant's  terms  were  in  the  last  degree 
magnanimous  and  liberal. 


786 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  Richmond  and 
Petersburg  and  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army- 
was  received  in  the  North  with  the  greatest 
rejoicing.  Bells  were  rung,  cannon  fired, 
and  illuminations  flashed  from  every  town 
and  village,  for  it  was  understood  that  these 
great  successes  were  decisive  of  the  war. 

In  the  midst  of  these  rejoicings  occurred 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


THE  GRAVE  OF  PRESIDENT  LINXOLN 

a  terrible  tragedy  which  plunged  the  countr\- 
into  mourning.  President  Lincoln,  whose 
re-election  we  have  related,  entered  upon  his 
second  term  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1865, 
a-iid  the  congratulations  of  the  country. 
On  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  of  April  he 
attended  a  performance  at  Ford's  Theatre,  in 
the  city  of  Washington.  During  the  midst 
of  the    performance   the    report   of  a  pistol 


rang  through  the  house,  and  the  next  moment 
a  man  leaped  from  the  President's  box  upon 
the  stage,  and  wav'ing  a  pistol  over  his  head, 
shouted  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis"  (Thus  always 
with  tyrants),  and  disappeared  behind  the 
scenes.  The  cry  was  raised  that  the  Presi- 
dent had  been  killed,  and  in  the  commotion 
which  ensued  the  assassin  escaped.  The 
„  murderer  had    en- 

tered the  lobby  of 
thetheatre,andhad 
fired  from  the  door 
of  the  private  box 
upon  the  unsuspic- 
ious President, 
who  was  sitting 
with  his  back  to 
him. 

Mr.  Lincoln  fell 
h  eavily  forward  and 
never  spoke  again. 
He  was   conveyed 
to  a  house  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the 
street, and  the  high- 
c  it  skill  was  exert- 
ed to  save  him,  but 
all  in  vain.  He  died 
on  the  morning  of 
the    fifteenth,   sur- 
rounded by  his  fa- 
mily and  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  na- 
tion.    Appropriate 
funeral    services 
uere  held  on  the  nineteenth,  and  the  body 
of   the   martyred    President   was    conveyed 
through    the  principal  cities  of  the    North 
and  West   to  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  it 
was  buried.     Along  the  entire  route  it  was 
received  with  the  evidences  of  the  nation's 
grief     Cities  were  draped  in  mourning,  and 
dense  crowds  poured  out  to  greet  the  fun- 
eral cortege,  and  testify  their  love  and  sorrovr 


'-'-'^^s^^^ 

'^^^^4^^^^.^ 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


787 


for  the  dead  man.  Even  in  the  South, 
which  had  made  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  the  occasion  of  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  the  unaffected  and  manly  virtues 
of  this  simply  great  man  had  conquered  the 
people,  who  had  come  to  regard  him  as  their 
best  and  truest  friend. 

His  death  was  sincerely  lamented  there, 
and  in  the  lamentation  of  the  South,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  had  his  proudest  triumph.  His 
death  was  a  crushing  misfortune  to  the  whole 
country.  He  was  the  only  man  capable  of 
carrying  out  a  policy  of  generous  concilia- 
tion towards  the  South,  and  he  had  resolved 
upon  such  a  course.  He  was  sincerely 
desirous  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  war  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  was  strong  enough  to 
put  down  all  opposition  to  his  policy.  His 
untimely  death,  as  well  as  the  manner  of  it, 
threw  back  the  settlement  of  our  national 
troubles  fully  five  years. 

The  Assassin  Escapes. 

As  he  leaped  from  the  President's  box  to 
the  stage,  the  assassin's  foot  caught  in  an 
American  flag  with  which  the  bo.x  was 
draped,  and  he  fell  heavily,  breaking  his  leg. 
He  managed  to  escape,  however.  It  was 
immediately  ascertained  that  the  assassin  was 
John  Wilkes  Booth,  a  younger  son  of  the 
famous  actor  Junius  Brutus  Booth.  Almost 
at  the  same  time  that  the  President  was  shot, 
another  assassin,  one  Payne,  alias  Powell, 
entered  the  residence  of  Secretary  Seward. 
Proceeding  to  the  chamber  where  the  Secre- 
tary was  confined  to  a  sick  bed,  he  attacked 
the  two  attendants  of  the  invalid  and  his  son, 
Frederick  W.  Seward,  and  injured  them 
severeh",  and  then  attempted  to  cut  Mr. 
Seward's  throat.  He  succeeded  in  gashing 
the  face  of  his  intended  victim,  but  fled 
before  further  harm  could  be  done. 

Booth,  who  was  most  probably  insane,  had 
drawn  quite  a  number  of  persons  into  a  con- 


spiracy, which  had  for  its  object  the  murder 
of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  Secre- 
taries Seward  and  Stanton,  and  Chief  Justice 
Chase.  The  plot  failed  through  unexpected 
movements  of  some  of  the  intended  victims 
and  the  cowardice  of  some  of  the  conspinitors. 
Booth  and  a  }oung  man  named  Harold  fled 
into  lower  Maryland,  from  which  they 
crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  They 
were  pursued  by  the  government  detectives 
and  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  and  were  tracked 
to  a  barn  in  Caroline  County,  Virginia, 
between  Bowling  Green  and  Port  Royal. 

Booth  Shot  by  Sergeant  Corbett. 

Here  they  were  surrounded  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  April.  Harold  surrendered  himself 
but  Booth,  refusing  to  yield,  was  shot  by 
Sergeant  Boston  Corbett,  and  died  a  few 
hours  later,  after  suffering  intensely.  His 
accomplices  were  arrested,  and  were  brought 
to  trial  before  a  military  commission  at 
Washington.  Payne  or  Powell,  Atzerot, 
Harold,  and  Mrs.  Surratt  were  condemned 
to  death,  and  were  hanged  on  the  seventh  of 
July,  1865,  for  complicity  in  the  plot.  Dr. 
Mudd,  O'Laughlin  and  Arnold  were  im- 
prisoned in  the  Dry  Tortugas  for  life,  and 
Spangler  for  six  years.  What  Booth  expected 
to  accomplish  by  his  horrible  deed  yet 
remains  a  mystery.  It  is  now  generally 
believed  that  he  was  insane  ;  rendered  so 
perhaps  by  his  dissipated  habits — and  in  this 
state  of  mind  had  concei\ed  the  idea  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  tyrant,  and  as  such  ought 
to  be  put  to  death.  He  had  no  accomplices 
in  the  South,  and  his  bloody  deed  was 
regarded  with  horror  by  the  southern  people. 

We  must  now  return  to  Sherman's  army, 
which  we  left  resting  at  Goldsboro'.  John- 
ston's army  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Raleigh, 
and  after  the  fall  of  Richmond  was  joined  by 
Mr.  Davis  and  the  various  officers  of  the 
Confederate  government.     On   the  tenth  of 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


April  Sherman  advanced  from  Goldsboro' 
towards  Johnston's  position,  and  steadily- 
pressed  the  Confederate  army  back.  On  the 
thirteenth  Sherman  entered  Raleigh.  Being 
convinced  that  further  resistance  was  hope- 
less, and  having  learned  of  the  surrender  of 
General  Lcc's  army,  General  Johnston  '-.ow 


States  of  the  Confederacy  to  their  lost  places 
in  the  Union,  it  was  disapproved  by  the 
Federal  government,  and  Sherman  was 
ordered  to  resume  hostilities.  General  John- 
ston was  at  once  notified  by  General  Sherman 
of  this  order,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
April  entered  into  an  ac^reement  with  him  by 


\SU  jonNslOS 

opened  negotiations  with  General  Sherman     which  he  surrendered  to  General   Sherman 
for  the  surrender  of  his  army  to  the  Federal  ]  all  the  Confederate  forces  under  his  command, 

on  terms  similar  to  those  granted  to  General 


commander. 

The  result  of  these  nec:^'-- 
agreement  signed  by  the  ' 
on  the  eighteenth  of  April. 
ment   provided    for   the    rcstui 


Lee  by  General  Grant. 

The  example  of  Generals  Lee  and  John- 
ston was  followed  by  the  other  Confederate 
commanders    throughout   the    South.     The 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


789 


last  to  surrender  was  General  E.  Kirby 
Smith,  in  Texas,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
May.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May  Presi- 
dent Johnson  issued  a  proclamation  announc- 
ing the  close  of  the  war,  and  offering  amnesty 
to  all  who  had  participated  in  it  on  the  Con- 
federate side,  with  the  exception  of  fourteen 
specified  classes. 

Upon  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army, 
Mr.  Davis  and  the  members  of  his  former 
cabinet  endeavored  to  make  their  way  to  the 
coast  of  Florida,  from  which  they  hoped  to 
be  able  to  reach  the  West  Indies.     Some  of 


them  succeeded  in  doing  so,  but  Mr.  Davis 
was  captured  at  Irwlnsville,  Georgia,  on  the 
tenth  of  May,  and  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to 
Fortress  Monroe,  where  he  was  held  in  con- 
finement until  May,  1867. 

The  civil  war  was  over.  It  had  cost  the 
country  one  million  men  in  the  killed  and 
crippled  for  life  of  the  two  armies.  In  money 
the  North  and  South  had  expended  proba- 
bly the  enormous  sum  of  ^5 ,000,000,000. 
The  exact  amount  will  never  be  known  as 
the  Confederate  debt  perished  with  the  gov- 
ernment which  created  it. 


ipliiiiiii^lli:  -j^^     zmm 


CHAPTER   XLIII 

The  Administration  of  Andrew  Johnson 


rhe  New  President — Return  of  the  Army  to  Civil  Life — 
President — He  Declares  the  Soutliern  Slates  Readmi 
Congress — The  President's  Acts  Annulled — Reconstn 
Freedman's  Bureau  and  Civil  Rights  Bills — The  Tenu 


le  Public  Debt — The  Reconstruction  Question — Action  of  the 
;d  into  the  Union — The  Fifteenth  Amendment — Meetir.t;  at 
:ion  Policy  of  Congress — The  Fourteenth  Amendment — The 
!  of  Office  Act — Admission  of  Nebraska  into  the  Union— Tiie 


-Southern  States  Organized  as  Military  Districts— Admission  of  Southern  States  into  the  Union — The  Fourteenth 
Amendment  Ratified — President  Johnson's  Quarrel  with  Secretary  Stanton — Impeachment  of  the  President — His 
Acqaital — Release  of  Jefferson  Davis— Indian  War — The  French  in  Mexico — Fall  of  the  Mexican  Empire — Lajmg 
of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph — Purchase  of  Alaska — Naturalization  Treaty  with  Germany — Treaty  with  China — Death  ot 
General  Scott — Death  of  ex-President  Buchanan — General  Grant  Elected  President — The  Fifteenth  Amendment. 


UPON  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
Andrew  Johnson,  the  vice-Pres- 
ident, by  the  terms  of  the  Con.sti- 
tution,  became  President  of  the 
United  States.  He  took  the  oath  of  office 
on  the  fifteenth  of  April,  and  at  once  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  His  first 
act  was  to  retain  all  the  members  of  the 
cabinet  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina, having  been  born  in  Raleigh  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  December,  1808.  At  the 
age  of  ten  he  was  bound  as  an  apprentice  to 
a  tailor  of  that  city.  He  was  at  this  time 
unable  to  read  or  write.  Some  years  later, 
being  determined  to  acquire  an  education,  he 
learned  the  alphabet  from  a  fellow-workman, 
and  a  friend  taught  him  spelling.  He  was 
soon  able  to  read,  and  pursued  his  studies 
steadily,  working  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day 
at  his  trade,  and  studying  two  or  three  more. 
In  1S26  he  removed  to  Greenville,  Tenne.s- 
see,  carrying  with  him  his  mother,  who  was 
dependent  upon  him  for  support. 

Upon  attaining  manhood  he  married,  and 
iontinued  his  studies  under  the  direction  of 
his  wife,  supporting  his  family  in  the  mean- 
time by  his  trade.  He  was  subsequently 
chosen  alderman  of  his  town,  and  with  this 
election  entered  upon   his   political   career. 

790 


Studing  law  he  abandoned  tailoring,  and 
devoted  himself  to  legal  pursuits  and  politics. 
He  was  succesively  chosen  mayor,  member 
of  the  legislature,  presidential  elector,  and 
State  senator.  He  was  twice  elected  gover- 
nor of  Tennessee,  and  three  times  a  senator  of 
the  United  States  from  that  State.  Upon  the 
secession  of  Tennessee  from  the  Union  he 
refused  to  relinquish  his  seat  in  the  Senate, 
and  remained  faithful  to  the  cause  of  the 
Union  throughout  the  war,  wining  consider- 
able reputation  during  the  struggle  by  his 
services  in  behalf  of  the  national  cause. 

He  was  an  earnest,  honest-hearted  man, 
who  sincerely  desired  to  do  his  duty  to  the 
country.  His  mistakes  were  due  to  his  tem- 
perament, and  proceeded  from  no  desire  to 
serve  his  own  interests  or  those  of  any  party. 
In  his  public  life  he  was  incorruptible.  A 
man  of  ardent  nature,  strong  convictions, 
and  indomitable  will,  it  was  not  possible  that 
he  should  avoid  errors,  or  fail  to  stir  up  a 
warm  and  determined  opposition  to  his  policy. 

The  first  duty  devolving  upon  the  new 
administration  was  the  disbanding  of  the 
army,  which  at  the  close  of  the  war  numbered 
over  a  million  of  men.  It  was  prophesied 
by  foreign  nations,  and  feared  by  many  per- 
sons at  home,  that  the  sudden  return  of  such 
a  large  body  of  men  to  the  pursuits  of  civil 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 

life  would  be  attended  with  serious  evils,  but  1 
both  the  Union  and  the  Confederate  soldiers 
went  back  quietly  and  readily  to  their  old 
avocations.  Thus  did  these  citizen-soldiers 
give  to  the  world  a  splendid  exhibition  of 
the  triumph  of  law  and  order  in  a  free 
country,  and  a  proof 
of  the  stability  of  our 
institutions. 

Two  questions — 
both  difficult  and  de- 
licate— presented 
themselves  for  settle- 
ment by  the  govern- 
ment. In  June,  1865, 
the  war  debt  amount- 
ed to  $2,700,000,000. 
The  interest  on  this 
sum  was  ^133 ,000,000, 
and  was  nearly  all  pay- 
able in  gold.  The  gov- 
ernment was  called 
upon  to  raise  the  latter 
amount  to  pay  the 
interest  on  its  bonds, 
and  at  the  same  time 
to  take  measures  to 
.strengthen  the  confi- 
Jence  of  the  bond- 
holders in  the  security 
of  their  investments. 
The  latter  object  was 
accomplished  by  a 
solemn  resolution  of 
the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, adopted 
with  but  one  dissent- 
ing voice  on  the  fifth 

of  December,  1865,  pledging  the  faith  of  the 
nation  to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt, 
"principal  and  interest." 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  immediate 
wants  of  the  government  Congress  levied 
additional   duties   on  imported  articles,  and 


ANDREW   JOHNSON.  791 

imposed  taxes  upon  manufactured  articles, 
incomes,  etc.  These  burdensome  imposts 
were  cheerfully  submitted  to  by  the  people, 
and  a  revenue  of  over  $300,000,000  was 
raised,  providing  not  only  for  the  payment 
of  the  interest  on  the  debt,  and  of  the  current 


ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

expenses  of  the  government,  but  also  leaving 
a  large  surplus,  which  was  applied  to  the 
reduction  of  the  national  debt.  In  the  year 
1 866,  "  before  all  the  extra  troops  called  out 
by  the  w^ar  had  been  discharged,  the  debt 
had   been  diminished  more  than   thirty-one 


792 


TIIK   CIVIL   WAR. 


millions  of  dollars  " — a  strikip;^  proof  of  tlie 
ability  as  well  as  tlic  willingness  of  the  nation 
to  discharge  its  financial  obligations.  During 
the  remainder  of  Mr.  Johnson's  term  this 
policy  was  faithfully  adhered  to  under  tlie 
able  guidance  of  llugii  McCuUoch,  secretary 
of  the  treasnr)-. 


which  he  claimetl  they  had  no  power  to 
renounce.  Now  that  they  had  submit- 
ted to  the  authority  they  had  formerly  endea- 
vored to  reject,  he  claimed  that  they  were 
entitled  to  immediate  restoration  to  their  old 
places  in  the  Union. 

In  support  of  his  position   he  quoted  the 


The  other  question  demanding  immediate 
attention  was  the  adjustment  of  the  relations 
of  the  States  of  the  South  to  the  Union.  The 
President  held  that  they  had  never  been  out 
of  the  Union  but  had  simply  been  in  insur- 
rection, and  had  been  brought  back  to  the 
acknowledgment  of  their  allegiance  to  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States, 


solemn  declaration  of  Congress  in  the  sum- 
mer of  i86r,  and  the  assurances  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  administration  that  the  war  was 
fought  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  and 
not  for  purposes  of  conquest.  In  accordance 
with  these  declarations,  provisional  govern- 
ments had  been  formed  in  some  of  the  South- 
ern States  and  their  representatives  had  been 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


'93 


admited  to  Congress  during  the  progress  of 
the  war.  A  considerable  party  in  the  North 
supported  President  Johnson  in  this  position  ; 
but  the  Republican  party,  now  the  dominant 
political  organization  of  the  United  States, 
opposed  his  views  with  great  determination. 
The  Republicans  insisted  that  the  results 
;  of  the  war  should  be  secured  by  stringent 
laws,  and  that  the  Southern  States,  before 
their  admission  into   the  Union,  should   be 


Preside:. t  Johnson,  however,  proceeded 
alone  and  without  delay  to  the  work  of 
restoring  the  Southern  States  to  their  places 
in  the  Union.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May, 
1865,  he  issued  a  proclamation  appointing  a 
provisional  governor  for  the  State  of  North 
Carolina,  and  providing  for  the  assembling 
of  a  convention  in  that  State  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  new  constitution,  under  which 
the  State  would  be  recognized  by  him  as  a 


^■^-^^^fe^^?-' 


FORT    WARREN,    BOSTON    HARBOR. 


compelled  to  give  guarantees  for  the  perpet- 
uation of  these  results.  The  Republican 
party,  moreover,  claimed  that  the  work  of 
reconstructing  the  Union  properly  belonged 
to  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government 
and  not  to  the  President.  Mad  the  President 
summoned  Congress  in  extra  session  and 
sought  the  aid  of  that  body  in  the  task 
before  him,  a  conciliatory  policy  might  have 
been  agreed  upon,  and  the  work  of  recon- 
struction have  been  completed  without  delay. 


member  of  the  Federal  Union.  In  the  mean- 
time North  Carolina  was  kept  under  military 
rule.  A  similar  course  was  pursued  by  the 
President  towards  the  States  of  Virginia, 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississipi,  Arkansas,  Louisiana  and  Texas. 

The  people  of  the  ten  Southern  States 
held  conventions  in  accordance  whh  the 
President's  requirements,  annulled  their  or- 
dinances of  secession,  renewed  their  obliga- 
tions  to  the    Federal    Union,   adopted  new 


794 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


State  constitutions,  and  ratified  the  thirteenth 
amendement  to  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  prohibiting  slavery  forever  in  all  the 
States  of  the  Union.  They  also  elected  sen- 
ators and  representatives  to  Congress,  and 
(Were  recognized  by  the  President  as  formally 
restored  to  their  places  in  the  Federal  Union. 
On  the  first  of  February,  1865,  Congress 
passed  a  resolution  submitting  to  the  legisla- 
tures of  the  various  States  the  following 
amendement  to  the  constitution  : 

"Article  XIII.  Section  j.  Neither  slavery  nor 
involuntar)-  ser\'itude,  except  as  a  punishment  for 
crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con- 
victed, shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any 
place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

"  Section  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce 
this  article  by  appropriate  legislation." 

On  the  eighteenth  of  December,  William 
H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  formally  an- 
nounced that  this,  the  thirteenth  amendment, 
had  been  duly  ratified  by  the  States,  and  had 
become  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.  The  ratification  of  this  amend- 
ment  had  been  required  of  the  Southern 
t  States  by  the  President  as  a  condition  of 
their  readimission  into  the  Union. 

The  Thirt}'-ninth  Congress  met  in  Decem- 
bre,  1865,  and  at  once  took  measures  to 
neutralize  the  reconstruction  policy  of  the 
President.  The  Republican  party  had  a 
large  majority  in  each  house,  and  was  thor- 
oughly united  in  its  opposition  to  the  Presi- 
dent. The  senators  and  representatives  of 
the  Southern  States  were  refused  admission 
to  seats  in  Congress,  and  the  reconstruction 
measures  of  the  President  were  treated  as 
null  and  void.  Congress  insisted  that  the 
Union  should  not  be  "  restored  "  as  it  was 
before  the  war,  but  "  reconstructed  "  upon 
an  entirely  new  basis. 

The  measures  of  the  President  had  made 
no  change  in  the  political  status  of  the  black 
population  of  the  South.     The  negroes  were 


secured  in  their  freedom  by  the  thirteenth 
amendment.  Congress  now  proceeded  to 
make  the  negro  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  reconstruct  the  Union  upon 
this  basis.  The  following,  known  as  the 
fourteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
was  adopted  by  Congress  and  proposed  to 
the  States  for  ratification  : 

"  Article  XIV.  Section  i.  All  persons  born  or 
naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  States  wherein  they  reside.  No  State 
shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge 
the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person  of 
life,  hberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law, 
nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

"Section  3.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  according  to  their  respec- 
tive numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons 
in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed ;  but 
when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election,  for  the 
choice  of  electors  for  President  and  vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  representatives  in  Congress, 
the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of  a  State  or 
the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to 
any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State  (being 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States),  or  in  any  way  abridged  except  for  participa- 
tion in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  repre- 
sentation therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion 
which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear 
to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  in  said  State. 

"Section  j.  No  person  shall  be  a  senator  or  repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and 
Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military, 
under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who, 
having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States  or  as 
a  member  of  any  State  legislature,  or  as  an  execu- 
tive or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  en- 
gaged in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same, 
or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof;  but 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House, 
remove  such  disability. 

"Section  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the 
United  States  authorized  by   law,  including  debts 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


r95 


incurred  for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for 
services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion, 
shall  not  be  questioned  ;  but  neither  the  United 
States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt 
or  obligation  incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebel- 
lion against  the  United  States,  or  any  claim  for  the 
loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave  ;  but  all  such  debts, 
obligations  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

'•Section  j.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
enforce,  by  appropriate  legislation,  the  provisions 
of  this  article." 

This  amendement  was  rejected  by  all  the 
Southern  States  except  Tennessee,  and  by 
several  of  the  North- 
ern States.  Tennessee 
ratified  the  amend- 
ment, and  was  admit- 
ted by  Congress  into 
the  Union.  Congress 
at  this  session  enacted 
what  is  known  as  the 
"  Freedman's  Bureau 
Bill,"  creating  a  de- 
partment under  the 
Federal  Government 
for  the  care  and  pro- 
tection of  the  newly 
emancipated  negroes 
and  the  destitute 
whites  of  the  South. 
This  measure  was  \e- 
toed  by  the  President 
as  unconstitutional, 
and  was  passed  over 
his  veto.  It  was  immediately  put  in  operation 
throughout  the  South.  While  the  Freed- 
man's Bureau  did  much  to  assist  the  negro 
in  adapting  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  new 
position,  it  was  productive  of  an  immense 
amount  of  corruption  and  fraud. 

Another  measure  of  Congress  which  was 
vetoed  by  the  President  upon  constitutional 
grounds,  and  was  passed  over  his  veto,  was 
the  "  Civil  Rights  Bill,"  which  secured  to  the 
negro  the  rights  of  a  citizen. 


As  the  quarrel  between  the  President  and 
Congress  deepened,  various  efforts  were  made 
by  the  latter  to  hamper  the  executive  and 
impair  his  powers.  The  Thirty-ninth  Con- 
gress adopted  for  this  purpose  a  measure 
known  as  the  "Tenure  of  Office  Act,"  by 
the  terms  of  which  the  President  was  forbid-  ' 
den  to  remove  any  person  from  a  civil  office 
under  the  government  without  the  consent 
of  the  Senate.  This  bill  was  promptly  vetoed 
by  the  President,  but  was  passed  over  his 
\-etn  b\'  the   rongress. 


"*^^5^^^f>^n 


LINCOLN  MO.NU.ME> 


.T  l.\  F.\IKMOU.NT  P.\KK,  I'lllL 

On  the  first  of  March,  1867,  a  new  State 
was  added  to  the  Union  by  the  admission  of 
Nebraska  on  an  equality  with  the  original 
thirteen  States — four  of  which  were  at  that 
time  undergoing  the  process  of  reconstruc- 
tion. 

In  February,  1867,  Congress  proceeded  to 
take  extreme  measures  wiih  ihe  Southern 
States  that  had  refused  to  ratify  the  four- 
teenth amendment.  The  State  governments 
were  abolished,  the  State  officers  removed. 


796 


THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


and  the  Southein  States  were  organized  as 
military  districts,  and  placed  under  absolute 
martial  law.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was 
suspended,  and  the  civil  law  was  made  to 
give  place  to  the  will  of  a  military  com- 
mander. This  was  done  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  compelling  the  Southern  States 
to  ratify  the  fourteenth  amendment  and  seek 
admission  into  the  Union  upon  the  terms 
prescribed  by  Congress. 

Bitter  Hostility  in  the  South. 

The  effect  of  the  measures  of  Congress  was 
to  disfranchise  the  better  class  of  the  South- 
ern people,  and  to  confer  the  unrestricted 
right  of  suffrage  upon  the  negroes.  The 
intelligence  of  the  Southern  States  was  denied 
any  voice  in  their  government,  which  was 
intrusted  to  the  most  ignorant  and  degraded 
part  of  their  population.  The  measures  of 
Congress  were  regarded  with  bitter  hostility 
by  the  South,  and  there  were  very  many  of 
the  more  thoughtful  Republicans  of  the 
North  who  seriously  doubted  the  wisdom  of 
this  method  of  reconstruction.  The  mea- 
sures of  Congress  were  vetoed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, but  were  passed  over  his  veto,  March 

2,  1867. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  military  dis- 
tricts, the  commanding  generals,  who,  as  a 
rule,  exercised  their  power  with  moderation 
and  forbearance,  caused  a  registry  of  voters 
to  be  made,  and  ordered  elections  to  be  held 
for  conventions  to  form  State  governments. 
The  conventions  so  elected  could  not  in  any 
case  be  said  to  represent  the  white  people  of 
the  South.  After  a  bitter  and  protracted 
struggle,  some  of  the  conventions  ratified 
/the  fourteenth  amendment,  and  organized 
State  governments.  On  the  twenty-fourth 
of  June,  1867,  Congress  passed  a  bill  over 
the  President's  veto  admiting  the  States  of 
Arkansas,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louis- 
iana,  North    Carolina,  and   .South  Carolina 


into  the  Union,  Virginia,  Mississippi,  and 
Texas,  having  refused  to  ratify  the  amend- 
ment, were  denied  admission  into  the  Union. 
The  fourteenth  amendment  havin;T  been 
adopted  by  the  requisite  number  ol  States, 
was  formally  declared  a  part  of  the  constitu- 
tion on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  1868. 

Attempt  to  Impeach  the  President. 

In  the  meantime  the  quarre'.  between  the 
President  and  Congress  came  to  a  decisive 
issue.  The  extreme  or  radical  wing  of  the 
Republican  party,  comprising  the  majority 
in  Congress,  was  anxious  to  remove  Mr. 
Johnson  from  his  position.  Could  it  succeed 
in  doing  so,  Benjamin  Wade,  of  Ohio,  the 
President  of  the  Senate,  would,  by  virtue  of 
his  office,  become  President  of  the  United 
States.  As  Mr.  Wade  was  one  of  the  ex- 
treme radical  leaders,  this  would  place 
the  whole  power  of  the  government  in 
the  hands  of  that  party.  A  quarrel  be- 
tween the  President  and  Mr.  Stanton,  the 
Secretary  of  War,  furnished  the  occasion  for 
this  effort.  On  the  twelfth  of  August,  1867, 
Secretary  Stanton  was  removed  from  the  war 
department  by  President  Johnson,  who  ap- 
pointed General  Grant  Secretary  of  War  ad 
interim.  Upon  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in 
December,  1867,  the  President's  course  was 
denounced  as  a  violation  of  the  tenure  of 
office  act,  and  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1868, 
the  Senate  refused  to  sanction  the  removal  of 
Mr.  Stanton.  Mr.  Stanton  thereupon  de- 
manded of  General  Grant  the  surrender  of 
the  war  department,  and  the  latter  at  once 
complied  with  the  demand. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  February,  President 
Johnson  again  removed  Mr.  Stanton,  and 
appointed  General  Lorenzo  Thomas,adjutant- 
general  of  the  United  States,  Secretary  of 
War  ad  interim.  He  held  the  tenure  of  ofifice 
act  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  an  invasion 
of  his  lawful  powers  as  chief  magistrate  of 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


797 


the  Republic.  This  second  removal  of  Mr. 
Stanton  brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  and  on 
the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  1 868,  the 
House  of  Representatives,  by  a  strict  party 
vote,  ordered  the  President  to  be  impeached 
of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.*  The 
Senate,  siting  as  a  high  court  of  impeach- 
ment, met  on  the  fifth  of  March,  1868,  under 
the  presidency  of  Chief-Justice  Chase.  The 
impeachment  was  conducted  by  managers 
appointed  by  the  House,  and  the  President 
was  defended  by  able  counsel.  On  the 
t^venty-sixth  of  May,  the  case  being  closed, 
the  vote  was  taken,  with  the  following  result : 
For  conviction,  thirty-four;  for  acquittal, 
nineteen.  There  not  being  the  requisite 
two-thirds  vote  for  conviction,  the  President 
was  acquitted. 

Jefferson  Davis  Releasd  on  Bail. 

Jefferson  Davis  had  been  confined  in  For- 
tress Monroe  since  his  capture  by  the  Federal 
forces,  in  May,  1865.  All  the  Confederate 
officials  taken  by  the  Union  forces  had  been 
released  within  a  year  after  their  capture  on 
giving  their  parole  to  answer  any  prosecution 
that  might  be  brought  against  them  by  the 
Federal  authorities.  Mr.  Davis  was  ex- 
cepted from  this  clemency,  and  remained  in 


prison  for  two  years.  A  prosecution  for 
treason  was  instituted  against  him  in  the 
district  court  of  Virginia,  but  he  was  not 
brought  to  trial.  A  number  of  prominent 
citizens  of  the  North  who  had  been  so 
active  in  their  support  of  the  war  that 
their  motives  could  not  be  suspected,  ex- 
erted themselves  to  procure  his  release  on 
bail,  and  became  his  sureties.  He  was  ac- 
cordingly released  on  bail  on  the  thirteenth 
of  May,  1867.  During  the  following  year 
the  indictment  against  him  was  quashed  by 
the  government. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  civil  war  a 
vexatious  and  bloody  warfare  with  the 
Indians  broke  out  on  the  frontier.  It  began 
in  1864,  and  extended  through  1865  and 
1 866,  and  until  the  fall  of  1868  its  ravages 
were  spread  along  the  frontier  through 
Southern  Colorado  into  the  Indian  Territory, 
causing  severe  suffering  to  the  settlers  of  this 
region.  By  the  winter  of  1865-66  the  war 
had  assumed  such  formidable  proportions 
that  General  Sheridan  was  sent  with  a  con- 
siderable force  against  the  savages.  The 
vigorous  measures  of  Sheridan,  and  General 
Custer's  victory  over  the  band  of  Black 
Kettle  at  Wacheta,  brought  the  war  to  a 
close  in  the  fall  of  1868. 


*  The  charges  against  the  President  may  be  summed  up  as  follows :  I.  Unlawfully  ordering  the  removal  of  Mr.  Stanton 
from  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War,  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  tenure  of  office  act.  2.  The  unlawful  appointment 
of  General  Lorenzo  Thomas  as  Secretary  of  War  ail  interim.  3.  Conspiring  with  General  Thomas  and  other  persons  to 
prevent  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the  lawfully  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  from  holding  that  office.  5.  Conspiring  with 
General  Thomas  and  other  persons  to  hinder  the  operation  of  the  tenure  of  office  act;  and  in  pusuance  of  this  conspiracy 
attempting  to  prevent  Mr.  Stanton  from  acting  as  Secretary  of  War.  6.  Conspiring  with  General  Thomas  and  others  to 
take  forcible  possession  of  the  property  in  the  war  department.  7.  The  President  was  charged  with  having  called 
before  him  the  commander  of  the  troops  in  the  department  of  Washington,  and  declaring  to  him  that  a  law  passed  on  the 
thirtieth  of  June,  1867,  directing  that  "  all  orders  and  instructions  relating  to  military  operations,  issued  by  the  President 
or  Secretary  of  War,  shall  be  issued  through  the  general  of  the  army,  and  in  case  of  his  inability,  through  the  ncNl  in  rank,'' 
was  unconstitutional,  and  not  binding  upon  the  commander  of  the  department  of  Washington,  the  design  being  to  iniuce 
that  commander  to  violate  the  law,  and  obey  orders  issued  directly  from  the  President.  8.  Thai  in  a  number  of  ]>ublic 
speeches  the  President  had  attempted  to  set  aside  the  authority  of  Congress,  to  bring  it  into  disgrace,  and  tb  e.\cite  the 
hatred  and  resentment  of  the  people  against  Congress  and  the  laws  enacted  by  it.  9.  That  in  August,  1S66,  in  a  pi;blic 
speech  in  Washington,  the  President  had  declared  that  Congress  was  not  a  body  authorized  by  the  constitution  to  exercise 
legislative  powers.  Then  followed  a  specification  of  alleged  attempts  on  the  part  of  t'le  President  to  prevent  the  execution 
of  the  laws  of  Congress.  The  impeachment  articles  were  eleven  in  number.  The  other  two  were  simply  repetitions  of 
some  of  the  abo\e  charges. 


798 


THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


While  the  civil  war  was  at  its  height, 
France,  England  and  Spain  became  involved 
in  a  quarrel  with  Mexico  concerning  the  non- 
payment of  certain  claims  due  citizens  of 
those   countries  by   the    Mexican    re 


the   fourth    of  March,   1862,  and  withdrew 
their  forces. 

The  French,  however,  continued  the  war, 
and  after  a  hard  struggle,  during  which  the 
iNIexicaiT:  fought  gallantly  for  their  country. 


EMPEROR  MAX 


and 

Mexico  in  the  fall  of  1861.  Discovenng 
that  France  was  .seeking  to  use  the  expe- 
dition to  destroy  the  independence  of  Mexico, 
England  and  Spain  settled  their  claims  with 
the  republic  by  the  convention  of  Solidad,  on 


jomt  expedition  was  despatched  to  |  Mexico  was  conquered,  and  early  in  June, 
1863,  the  French  army  entered  the  capital. 
The  emperor  of  the  French  now  proceeded 
to  overthrow  the  republic,  it  being  his 
intention  to  replace  it  with  an  empire  which 
should    be    dependent    upon    France.     An 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 

election  was  held,  and  under  the  intimidation  i 
of  the  French,  resulted  in  a  majority  in  favor  ! 
of  the  abolition  of  the  republic  and  the 
erection  of  the  empire.  Through  the  same 
influence,  the  Mexicans  chose  Maximilian, 
archduke  of  Austria,  emporer  of  Mexico,  and 
in  an  e\il  hour  for  himself,  that  amiable  and 
high-souled  prince  accepted  the  crown. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  had 
viewed  the  interference  of  France  in  Alexican 
affairs  with  marked  displeasure,  but  being  too 
much  engaged  in  its  efforts  to  bring  the  civil 
war  to  a  successful  close  to  undertake  any 
new  difificulty,  simply 
entered  its  protest 
against  the  action  of 
France.  The  civil  war 
ha\-ing  been  brought 
to  a  close,  however,  it 
took  a  bolder  stand, 
and  demanded  of  the 
French  emporer  the 
withdrawal  cf  hib 
troops  from  Mexico. 
The  action  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  sustained 
by  the  great  mass  of 
the  American  people, 
and  it  was  believed  by 
many  that   a   foreign 

war  would  be  a  sure  n\ii\ 

and  speedy  way  of  bringing  about  the  res- 
toration of  the  Union. 

The  Emperor  Napoleon  hesitated  for  a 
while,  but  finally  acceded  to  the  American 
demand.  The  French  troops  were  recalled 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1866,  and  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  was  left  to  face  the  Mexican 
people  alone.  They  at  once  rose  against 
him.  defeated  his  forces  and  took  him  prisoner. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1867,  he  was  shot 
by  order  of  the  Mexican  government,  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  United  States  to 
save  him.     Thus  ended  the  hope  of  reviving 


ANDREW  JOHNSON.  799 

the  iloiiiinion  of  France  on    the   American 
continent. 

The  efforts  of  the  gentlemen  interested  in 
the  laying  of  a  telegraphic  cable  across  the 
Atlantic  did  not  end  with  their  failures  in 
1858.  In  1865  the  same  company  succeeded 
in  laying  a  cable  for  about  fourteen  hundred 
miles  from  the  Irish  coast,  when  it  suddenly 
parted  and  sank  into  the  sea.  The  expe- 
dition then  returned  to  England.  Undis- 
mayed by  this  failure,  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field, 
of  New  York,  to  whose  courage  and  deter- 
mination the  final  success  of  the  scheme  was 


due,  succeeded  in  persuading  capitalists  to 
make  one  more  effort,  and  in  July,  1866,  a 
cable  was  laid  from  Valentia  Bay,  in  Ireland, 
to  Heart's  Content,  in  Newfoundland,  a  dis- 
tance of  eighteen  hundred  and  si.xty-four 
miles.  It  was  found  to  work  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  parties,  and  the  great  enter- 
prise was  now  an  accomplished  fact. 

The  fleet  then  sailed  from  Newfoundland 
to  the  spot  where  the  cable  of  1865  had 
parted  in  mid-ocean,  and  proceeded  to  grap- 
ple for  it.  It  was  recovered  and  raised  from 
a  d'jpth    of  over  two  miles,  and    was  then 


8oo 


THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


spliccQ  to  the  coil  on  board  the  "  Great 
Eastern,"  tlie  ship  employed  in  the  under- 
taking. The  huge  steamer  then  put  about, 
and  completed  the  laying  of  the  cable  to 
Heart's  Content,  thus  giving  the  company 
two  working  lines.  The  completion  of  the 
work  was  hailed  with  rejoicings  in  both 
America  and  Europe. 

Purchase  of  Russian  America. 

On  the  twenty-ninthof  March, 1867,  atreaty 
was  concluded  between  the  United  States 
and  Russia,  by  which  the  latter  power  sold  to 
the  United  States  for  the  sum  of  seven  mil- 
lion two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  all  of  the 
region  in  the  extreme  northwestern  part  of 
the  American  continent  known  as  Russian 
America.  The  treaty  was  ratified  by  the 
Senate  on  the  ninth  of  April.  The  new 
territory  added  to  the  area  of  the  United 
States  a  district  of  about  five  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ninety  square  miles. 

In  the  same  year  a  treaty  was  negotiated 
with  China,  through  an  embassy  from  that 
country,  which  visited  the  United  States 
under  the  charge  of  Anson  Burlingame,  for- 
merly the  American  Minister  to  China.  It 
was  the  first  instance  in  which  that  exclusive 
nation  had  ever  sought  to  negotiate  a  treaty 
of  commerce  and  friendship  with  a  foreign 
nation.  Liberty  of  conscience  to  Americans 
residing  in  China,  protection  of  their  property 
and  persons  and  important  commercial  privi- 
leges were  secured  by  this  treaty. 

In  1 866  the  Fenians,  a  secret  society,  organ- 
ized for  the  purpose  of  delivering  Ireland 
from  British  rule,  invaded  Canada  in  large 
numbers  from  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  St. 
-Mbans,  Vermont.  President  Johnson  at  once 
issued  his  proclamation  declaring  the  Fenian 
movement  a  violation  of  the  neutrality  of  the 
United  States,  and  sent  General  Meade  with 


a  sufficient  force  to  the  border  to  execute  the 
laws.  This  decisive  action  put  an  end  to  the 
hopes  of  the  Fenians  of  embroiling  this  coun- 
try in  hostilities  with  Great  Britain,  and  after 
some  slight  encounters  with  the  British  troops 
in  Canada  they  abandoned  the  expedition. 

During  President  Johnson's  administration, 
two  distinguished  public  servants  passed 
away.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  May,  1866, 
Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott,  the  vet- 
eran conqueror  of  Mexico,  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty  years.  On  the  first  of  June,  1S68, 
e,x-President  James  Buchanan  died  at  his 
home  at  Wheatland,  near  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his 
age. 

In  the  fall  of  1 868,  the  presidential  election 
was  held.  The  Republican  party  nominated 
General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  the  commanding- 
general  of  the  army,  for  the  presidency,  and 
Schuyler  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  The  Democratic  party  nomin- 
ated Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York,  for  the 
presidency,  and  Frank  P.  Blair,  of  Missouri, 
for  the  vice-presidency.  The  election  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  General  Grant  by  a  popular 
vote  of  2,985,031  to  2,648,830  votes  cast  for 
Mr.  Seymour.  In  the  electoral  college.  Grant 
received  two  hundred  and  seventeen  votes 
and  Seymour,  seventy-seven.  The  States  of 
Virginia,  Mississippi  and  Texas  were  not 
allowed  to  take  part  in  this  election,  being 
still  out  of  the  Union. 

In  February,  1869,  the  two  houses  of  Con- 
gress adopted  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  various  States  for  ratification 
by  them.  It  was  in  the  following  words: 
"  The  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by 
the  United  States,  or  any  State,  on  account 
of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servi- 
tude." 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 
The  Administration   (^f  Ulysses  S.   Grant. 

-Early  Life  of  President  Grant— Completion  of  the  Pacific  Railway— Death  of  ex-President  Pierce— The  Fifteenth 
Amendment  Ratified — Prosperity  of  the  Country — The  Enforcement  Act — The  Test-oath  Abolished — The  Constitu- 
tionality of  the  Legal  Tender  Act  Affirmed — Death  of  Admiral  Farragut — Death  of  General  Lee — The  Income  Tax 
Repealed — The  Alabama  Claims — Treaty  of  Washington — The  Geneva  Conference — Award  in  favor  of  the  United 
States — The  San  Juan  Boundary  Question  settled — Eflorts  to  annex  St.  Domingo — Burning  of  Chicago — Forest  Fires — 
The  Civil  Disabilities  removed  from  the  Southern  People— Re-election  of  General  Grant— Death  of  Horace  Greeley 
— Great  fire  at  Boston — The  Modoc  War — Murder  of  General  Canby  and  the  Peace  Commissioners — Execution  of  the 
Modoc  Chiefs — The  Cuban  Revolution — Capture  of  the  •' Virginius" — Execution  of  the  Prisoners — Action  of  the 
Federal  Government — The  Panic  of  I S73 — Bill  for  the  Resumption  of  Specie  Payments — The  Centennial  Exhibition 
— The  Sioux  War — Death  of  General  Custer — Presidential  Election — Controversy  over  it — The  Electoral  Commission — 
The  Count  of  the  Vote — Hayes  declared  elected. 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  the  eigh- 
teenth president  of  the  United 
States,  was  inaugurated  at  Wash- 
ington with  imposing  ceremonies, 
on  the  fourth  of  IVIarch,  1869.  He  was  born 
at  Mount  Pleasant,  Ohio,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  April,  1822.  His  father  was  a 
tanner,  and  wished  him  to  follow  his  trade, 
but  the  boy  had  more  ambitious  hopes,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  a  friend  secured  for 
him  an  appointment  as  a  cadet  at  West  Point, 
where  he  was  educated.  Upon  graduating, 
he  entered  the  army.  Two  years  later  he 
■was  sent  to  Mexico,  and  served  through  the 
war  with  that  country  with  distinction.  He 
was  specially  noticed  by  his  commanders, 
aiid  was  promoted  for  gallant  conduct. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  resigned 
his  commission,  and  remained  in  civil  life  and 
■obscurity  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil 
■war,  when  he  volunteered  his  services,  and 
was  commissioned  by  Governor  Yates,  col- 
onel of  the  twenty-first  Illinois  regiment.  He 
was  soon  made  a  brigadier-general,  and 
fought  his  first  battle  at  Belmont.  His  sub- 
'sequent  career  has  already  been  related  in 
these  pages.  He  selected  the  members  of 
his  cabinet  more  because  of  his  personal 
51 


friendship  for  them,  than  for  their  weight  and 
influence  in  the  party  that  had  elected  him. 
Hamilton  Fish,  of  New  York,  was  made  sec- 
retary of  state. 

The  most  important  event  of  the  year 
1869,  was  the  opening  of  the  Pacific  rail- 
way from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  eastern  division  of  this  road  is 
known  as  the  Union  Pacific  railway,  and  was 
begun  at  Omaha,  Nebraska,  in  December, 
1S63,  and  carried  westward.  But  little  prog- 
ress was  made  in  the  work  until  1S65,  when 
it  was  pushed  rapidly  forward.  The  western 
division,  known  as  the  Central  Pacific  rail- 
way, was  begun  at  San  Francisco,  near  about 
the  same  time,  and  carried  eastward  across 
the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  two  roads  unite  at 
Ogden,  near  Salt  Lake  City,  in  L^tah,  and 
the  union  was  accomplished  on  the  tenth  of 
May,  1869,  on  which  day  the  last  rail  was 
laid.  The  Union  Pacific  railway,  from  Omaha 
to  Ogden,  is  one  thousand  and  thirty-two 
miles  in  length;  the  Central  Pacific,  from 
Ogden  to  San  Francisco,  eight  hundred  and 
eighty-two  miles  ;  making  a  total  line  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen  miles,  and 
constituting  by  far  the  most  important  rail- 
way enterprise  in  the  world. 

801 


802 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


By  the  completion  of  ihis  great  road,  to 
the  construction  of  which  the  general  gov- 
ernment contributed  liberally  in  money  and 
lands,  Portland,  Maine,  and  San  Francisco, 
the  extremes  of  the  continent,  are  brought 
within  a  week's  travel.  The  long  and  difficult 
journey  across  the  plains  has  been  dispensed 
with,  and  the  traveler  may  now  pass  over 
this  once  terrible  and  dangerous  route  with 
speed  and  safety,  enjoying  all  the  while  the 
highest  comforts  of  the  most  advanced  civil- 
ization. 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

The  east  and  the  west  are  no  longer  separ- 
ated, and  the  rapid  development  of  the 
lesources  of  the  rich  Pacific  slope  has  more 
than  repaid  the  enormous  cost  of  the  road. 
A  direct  trade  with  China  and  Japan  has 
been  opened,  and  the  wealth  of  the  Orient  is 
beginning  to  pour  into  America  through  the 
portals  of  the  Golden  Gate.  The  shortest 
route  to  India — the  dream  of  Columbus  and 
the  old  mariners — has  indeed  been  found. 

On  the  eighth  of  October,  1869,  ex-Presi- 


dent Franklin  Pierce  died,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  }-ears. 

The  fifteenth  amendment,  having  been 
ratified  bv  the  necessary  number  of  States, 
was  formally  proclaimed  by  Hamilton  Fish, 
secretary  of  state,  a  part  of  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  thirtieth  of  March, 
1 870. 

In  the  \-ear  1S70  the  ninth  census  of  the 
United  States  was  taken,  and  showed  tlie 
population  of  the  country  to  be  38,558,371 
souls. 

The  countn,'  had  now  attained  a  marked 
degree  of  prosperity'.  Gold  fell  to  one 
hundred  and  ten,  and  during  the  first  two 
}-ears  of  President  Grant's  administration, 
$204,000,000  of  the  national  debt  w^ere  paid. 
The  effects  of  the  war  were  being  rapidly 
o\  ercome,  and  the  bitter  feelings  engendered 
by  the  struggle  were  giving  way  to  a  more 
friendly  intercourse  between  the  North  and 
the  South.  The  manufacturing  industries 
of  the  countrj'  had  nearly  doubled  since 
1 860,  and  the  five  years  that  had  elapsed 
since  the  war  had  witnessed  a  marked 
improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  South, 
which  was  gradually  adjusting  her  industry 
upon  the  basis  of  free  labor,  and  entering 
upon  new  and  profitable  enterprises  of 
manufacture  and  commerce. 

The  work  of  reconstruction  was  concluded 
in  the  year  1870.  On  the  eighth  of  October 
i86y,  the  State  of  Virginia  ratified  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  amendments,  and  on  the 
twenty-si.xth  of  January,  1870,  was  read-, 
mitted  into  the  Union.  On  the  eleventh  of 
January,  1S70,  Mississippi  ratified  these 
amendments,  and  was  readmitted  into  the 
Union  on  the  seventeenth  of  Februarj'-,  1870, 
Texas  was  the  last  to  return  to  the  Union, 
but  came  in  during  the  year,  having  ratified 
the  amendments  to  the  constitution. 

The  political  troubles  in  the  South,  how- 
ever, did  not  end  with  the  return  of  the  States. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


to  the  Union.  A  ijreat  deal  of  lawlessness  pre- 
vailed in  many  of  the  Southern  States,  and  con- 
siderable suffering  was  experienced  by  the 
negroes,  whose  sudden  endowment  with  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  citizenship  was  re- 
sented by  a  lawless  class  of  white  men. 
The  Federal  goverment  undertook  to  remedy 
these  troubles  rather  than  leave  them  to  be 
dealt  with  by  the  States. 


ber  issued  a  proclamation  suspending  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  nine  counties  in 
South  Carolina,  in  order  that  the  law  might 
be  enforced  without  the  interference  of  the 
Courts  of  the  State.  The  evils  which  these 
severe  measures  were  intended  to  remed\- 
were  unquestionably  very  great,  but  the 
enforcement  bill  was  nevertheless  a  danger- 
ous   departure    from    the    principles  of  free 


VIEW  0.\  THE  GREENE  RIVER  AT  THE  CROSSI.NG  OF  THE  U.  P.  R.  R.,  \VY0M1.N(J. 


In  the  spring  of  187 1  Congress  passed  a 
measure  known  a.s.  the  "  Enforcement  Act," 
or  the  "  Kuklux  Act  of  1871,"  which  gave 
to  the  Federal  ofiRcials  absolute  power  over 
the  liberties  of  the  citizens  of  the  States  in 
—hich  these  troubles  occurred.  The  Presi- 
ent  carried  out  the  terms  of  the  act  with 
promptness,  and  on  the  seventeenth  of  Octo- 


government  as  understood  in  this  country. 
A  free  people  cannot  too  jealously  guard 
their  liberties. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  January,  1S7 1,  Con-, 
gress  repealed  the  test  oath  law,  which 
required  all  applicants  for  civil  offices  to 
swear  that  they  had  not  participated  in  tlii: 
secession  movement.     As  few  Southern  men 


8o4 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 


could  take  this  oath,  this  law  excluded  the 
genuine  inhabitants  of  the  Southern  States 
from  ofRce  under  the  general  government, 
and  threw  the  political  power  of  those  States 
into  the  hands  of  a  class  of  adventurers,  who 
had  been  drawn  to  the  South  since  the  war 
by  the  hope  of  obtaining  office.     The  repeal 


PRESIDENT  GRANT  ON  HIS  WAY  TO  THE  INAUGURATION 


of  this  law  by  Congress  restored  the  control 
of  the  Southern  States  to  the  legitimate 
citizens  and  tax-payers  thereof 

In  1870  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  decided  that  the  act  of  Congress 
making  "  greenbacks,"  or  the  notes  of  the 
Federal  treasury,  a  legal  tender,  was  uncon- 
stitutional as  regarded  the  payment  of  debts 


contracted  prior  to  the  passage  ol  tnat  act. 
As  this  decision  had  been  given  by  a  majority 
of  but  one  justice,  Mr.  Hoar,  the  Attorney- 
General,  moved  to  reconsider  it.  The  case 
was  heard  again,  and  the  decision  of  the 
court  was  reversed  by  a  vote  of  five  to  four, 
on  the  eighteenth  of  January,  1871.  Thus 
,  the  constitutionality  of  the  legal- 
tender  act  was  affirmed. 

In  iSjodied  Admiral  David  G. 
Farragut,  on  the  fourteenth  of 
August,  aged  sixty-nine;  General 
George  H.  Thomas,  "  the  Rock  of 
Chickamauga,"  and  the  defender  of 
Nashville,  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
December,  aged  fifty-three,  and 
General  Robert  E.  Lee,  the  com- 
mander of  the  Confederate  army 
of  Northern  Virginia  during  the 
civil  war,  on  the  twelfth  of  October, 
aged  sixty-three. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  January, 
1 87 1,  Congress  repealed  the  income 
tax  It  had  been  retained  long  after 
the  necessity  for  it  had  passed  away 
and  liad  become  odious  to  the  na- 
tion which  had  only  submitted  to 
it  at  first  because  of  the  urgency 
of  the  need  for  it. 

Inmiediately  upon  the  opening 
of  President  Lincoln's  second  term 
of  office.Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
the  American  minister  at  the  court 
of  St.  James,  was  instructed  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  the  depredations  committed 
upon  American  commerce  by  Confederate 
cruisers,  built,  equipped  and  manned  in  Eng- 
land, and  to  insist  upon'  the  responsibility 
of  Great  Britain  for  the  losses  thus  incurred 
by  American  ship-owners.  Mr.  Adams  dis- 
charged this  duty  in  a  communication 
addressed  to  the  British  Government,  on 
the  seventh  of  April,  1865.     This  led  to  a 


ADMIXI5TRATI0N    OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


So; 


correspondence  which  continueil  through  the 
summer  of  that  year.  Great  Britain  refused 
to  admit  the  validity  of  the  American  claim, 
or  to  submit  the  question  to  the  arbitration 
of  any  foreign  government. 

The  "  Alabama  question"  remained  unset- 
tled for  several  years,  and  occasioned  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  ill-feeling  between  the 
two  countries.  Both  governments  regarded 
it  as  full  of  danger,  but  to  Great  Britain  it 
was  especially  so,  as  in  the  event  of  a  war 
between  that  country  and  any  foreign  power, 
the  United  States,  fol-  s^^-' 

lowing    the    example  '^^ 

of  England,  might  and  ^-y,,,^-  -  -  ^, 
doubtless  would  allow 
cruisers  to  be  sent  ovit 
from  their  ports  wh 
would  seriously  crip 
pie,  if  they  did  n->\ 
destroy,  the  Britisl; 
commerce.  After  Mr. 
Adams'  return  fron; 
England,  his  succes- 
sor, Reverdy  Johnson, 
was  directed  by  the 
President  to  reopen 
the  matter.  He  nego- 
tiated a  treaty  with 
the  Earl  of  Clarendrjii 
on  behalf  of  the  Brit- 
ish Government  in  i86g,  but  this  arrange- 
ment was  unsatisfactory  to  the  Senate,  which 
body  refused  to  ratify  it. 

Two  years  later  the  matter  was  revived, 
and  in  1 87 1  a  joint  high  commission,  com- 
posed of  a  number  of  distinguished  public 
men,  appointed  by  the  American  and  British 
Governments,  met  at  Washington,  and 
arranged  a  settlement  known  as  the  treaty  of 
Washington,  which  was  ratified  by  both 
Governments.  This  treaty  was  ratified  by 
the  Senate  on  the  twentj^-fourth  of  May,  and 
provided  for  the  settlement  not  only  of  the 


Alabama  claims,  but  of  all  other  questions 
at  issue  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain. 

The  Alabama  claims  were  referred  by  the 
treaty  of  Washington  to  a  board  of  arbitra- 
tion composed  of  five  commissioners  selected 
from  the  neutral  nations.  This  board  met 
at  Geneva,  in  Switzerland,  on  the  fifteenth  oi 
April,  1S72,  and  the  American  and  English 
representatives  presented  to  it  their  respective 
cases,  which  had  been  prepared  by  the  most 
learned   counsel  in  both  countries.     On  the 


twenty-seventh  of  June  the  board  announced 
its  decision.  The  claims  of  the  United  States 
were  admitted,  and  the  damages  awarded  to 
that  Government  were  $16,250,000.  These 
were  paid  in  due  time. 

In  our  account  of  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  we  have  related  the  dispute 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
concerning  the  possession  of  the  Island  of 
San  Juan,  growing  out  of  the  uncertainty  as 
to  the  true  course  of  the  northwestern  bound- 
ary of  the  Union.  This  had  been  an  open 
question  all  through  the  civil   war.     By  the 


8o6 


ADMINISTRATKJN    OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


thirty-fourth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Washing- 
ton the  two  countries  agreed  to  refer  this 
dispute  to  the  friendly  arbitration  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany.  Soon  after  the  award 
of  the  Geneva  conference  was  made  the 
boundary  question  was  decided  by  the  Emper- 
or William  in  favor  of  the  United  States, 
into  the  possession  of  which  the  island  of  San 
Juan  accordingly  passed.  Thus  were  these 
delicate  and  dangerous  que'^tinn';  satisfactur- 


Measures  were  introduced  into  Congress  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  this  union,  but  were 
warmly  opposed.  A  commission  of  eminent 
gentlemen  was  appointed  by  the  President  to 
visit  the  island  and  examine  into  its  condi- 
tion. They  reported  favorably,  but  after  a 
warm  debate  in  Congress  the  measures  for 
the  annexation  of  the  Dominican  republic 
were  defeated  by  a  decisive  majorit}-. 

On  the  night  of  Sunday,  October  8,  1 87 1, 


ily  adjusted  by  peaceful  methods,  and  not  by 
the  sword. 

In  1870  the  republic  of  St.  Domingo,  com- 
prising a  large  part  of  the  island  of  Hayti, 
applied  for  annexation  to  the  United  States. 
President  Grant  was  very  anxious  to  secure 
the  annexation  of  this  island,  and  to  accom- 
plish it  went  to  the  very  verge  of  his  consti- 
tutional powers — going  farther,  indeed,  than 
manyof  his  friends  believed  he  had  the  right. 


a  fire  broke  out  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and 
raged  with  tremendous  violence  for  two  days 
laying  the  greater  part  of  the  city  in  ashes 
It  was  the  most  destructive  conflagration  of 
modern  times.  The  total  area  of  the  city 
burned  over  was  two  thousand  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  acres,  or  very  nearly  three 
and  one-third  square  miles.  The  number  of 
buildings  destroyed  was  seventeen  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty.     About  two  hundred 


t.^^K'i'       J 


«©s 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 


and  fifty  persons  died  from  various  causes 
during  the  conflagration,  and  ninety-eight 
thousand  persons  were  rendered  homeless  by 
it.  The  entire  business  quarter  was  destroyed. 
The  actual  loss  will  never  be  known.  As  far 
as  it  can  be  ascertained,  it  was  about  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  millions  of  dollars. 

Almost    simultaneous    with    this    disaster 
extensive  forest  fires  swept  o\-er  the  woods  of  i 


sities  of  life  was  liberally  extended  to  the 
sufferers  in  Chicago  and  the  other  afflicted 
communities.  The  telegraph  flashed  the 
news  across  the  Atlantic,  and  in  an  almost 
incredibly  short  time  liberal  contributions  in 
money  came  pouring  in  from  England  and 
continental  Europe,  and  even  from  the  far-off 
cities  of  India. 

On  the  twent\--ninth   of  Ma\-.    1S72,  Con- 


'fTMZiI^- 


\ 


Wisconsin.  .Minnesota  and  Michigan.  Whole 
villages  were  destro>'ed  by  the  flames,  which 
traveled  with  such  speed  that  it  was  often 
impossible  for  the  fleetest  horse  to  escape 
from  them.  Over  fifteen  hundred  people 
perished  in  Wisconsin  alone. 

These  terrible  calamities  aroused  the  gen- 
erous -sympathy  of  the  rest  of  the  country, 
and  aid  in  money,  clothing,  and  the  neces- 


gress  passed  an  act  removing  the  disabilities 
imposed  upon  the  Southern  people  by  the 
third  section  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  to 
the  constitution.  From  this  general  exemption 
were  excepted  all  persons  who  had  been 
members  of  Congress,  officers  of  the  army 
or  navy,  heads  of  departments  under  the 
general  government,  or  ministers  to  foreign 
countries,  who  had  resigned  their  positions 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 

and  joined  the  secession  movement.  By  this 
act  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
men  of  capacity  and  experience,  whose 
services  were  greatly  needed  by  the  South, 
were  restored  to  political  life. 

In  the  fall  of  1 8/2  the  presidential  eleciion 
occurred.     The  canvass  was  marked  by  the 
most  intense  partisan  bitterness.    The  Repub- 
lican party   renominated  General  Grant  for  j 
the  Presidency,  and  supported  Henry  Wilson  I 
for  the  Vice-Presidency.     The    mea- 
sures of  the  administration  had  arrayed 
a  large  number  of  Republicans  against 
it.     These  now  organized  themselves 
as  the  Liberal   Republican  party,  and 
nominated    Horace    Greeley   of   New 
York  for  the  Presidency,  and  B.  Gratz 
Brown  of  Missouri  for  the  Vice-Presi- 
denc\-.     The  Democratic  party  made 
no    nominations,   and    its    convention 
endorsed  the  candidates  of  the  Liberal 
Republican    party.     The  election  re- 
sulted in  the  triumph  of  the  Republican 
candidates  by  overwhelming  majorities. 

The  elections  were  scarcely  over 
when  the  country  was  saddened  by  the 
death  of  Horace  Greeley.  He  had  been 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  had  been  closely  identified 
with  the  political  history  of  the  coun- 
try for  over  thirty  years.  He  was 
the  "  Founder  of  the  New  York 
Tribune"  and  had  done  good  service 
with  his  journal  in  behalf  of  the 
cause  he  believed  to  be  founded  in  right. 
He  was  a  man  of  simple  and  childlike 
character,  utterly  unaffected,  and  generous 
to  a  fault.  In  his  manner  and  dress  he 
was  eccentric,  but  nature  had  made  him  a 
true  gentleman  at  heart.  His  intellectual 
ability  was  conceded  by  all.  His  experience 
in  public  life  and  his  natural  disposition 
induced  him  to  favor  a  policy  of  conciliation 
in    the    settlement    of    the    reconstruction 


ULYSSES   S.    GRANT.  S09 

question,  and,  influenced  by  these  convictions, 
he  signed  the  bail-bond  of  Jefferson  Davis 
and  secured  the  release  of  the  fallen  leader  of 
the  South  from  his  imprisonment. 

This  act  cost  him  a  large  part  of  his  popu- 
larity in  the  North.  He  accepted  the  presi- 
dential nomination  of  the  Liberal  party  in  the 
belief  that  his  election  would  aid  in  bringing 
about  a  better  state  of  feeling  between  the 
North  and  the  South.     He  was  attacked  by 


I* 


1 


HOK^LL    i..l\LLLL\ 

his  political  opponents  with  a  bitterness 
which  caused  him  much  suffering,  and  many 
of  his  old  friends  deserted  him  and  joined  in 
the  warfare  upon  him.  Just  before  the  close 
of  the  canvass,  his  wife,  to  whom  he  was  ten- 
derl\- attached,  died,  and  his  grief  for  her  and 
the  excitement  and  sorrow  caused  him  by  the 
political  contest,  broke  down  his  firmness  and 
unsettled  his  mind.  He  was  conveyed  by  his 
friends  to  a  private  asylum,  where  he  died  on 


8io 


AUMINISTRAilON   OF   ULYSSES  S.    GRANT. 


the  twenty-ninth  of  November,  1872,  in  the 
sixy-second  year  of  his  age.  The  countrv 
could  ill  afford  to  spare  him. 

On  the  ninth  of  November,  1S72,  a  fire 
occurred  in  Boston,  an(J  burned  until  iate  on 
the  tenth,  sweeping  i.\er  .nn  aic.i  of -;xt\--fnc 


Grant  was  inaugurated  a  second  time,  at 
Washington,  with  great  pomp.  Twelve  thou- 
sand troops  took  part  in  the  procession  which 
escorted  him  to  the  capitol. 

Early  in   iSjt,,  a  troublesome  ^var  began 
the   Ar.d  .-■    In^Mn  tril..-,  ,  r.  the  Pacific 


PRESIDENT  GR.ANT  P.4SSING  THKOUi.K  THl 

acres  in  the  centre  of  the  wholesale  trade  of 
the  city,  and  destrojing  property  to  the 
amount  of  seventy-eight  million  dollars.  As 
this  fire  was  confined  to  the  business  quarter 
of  the  city,  compartively  few  jjersons  were 
deprived  of  their  homes. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1873,  President 


ROTUNDA  TO  TAKE  THE  OATH  OF  OFFICE. 

coast.  These  Indians  had  been  removed  by 
the  government  from  their  old  homes  in  Cal- 
ifornia to  reservations  in  the  northern  part  of 
Oregon.  They  at  length  became  dissatisfied 
with  their  new  location,  which  they  declared 
was  unable  to  afford  them  a  support,  and 
began    a  series   of    depredations    upon    the 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


8i; 


settlements  of  the  whites,  wliich  soon  drew 
upon  them  the  vengence  of  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment. Troops  were  sent  against  them,  but 
they  retreated  to  their  fastnesses  in  the  lava 
beds,  where  they  maintained  a  successful 
resistance  for  several  months.  The  govern- 
ment at  length  reinforced  the  troops  operating 
against  them,  and  General  Canby,  command- 
ing the  department  of  the  Pacific,  assumed 
the  immediate  command  of  the  troops  in  the 
field. 

At  the  same  time,  a  commissioii  was 
appointed  by  the  government  to  endeavor 
to  settle  the  quarrel  with  the  Indians  peace- 
ably. This  commission  held  several  con 
ferences  with  Captain  Jack,  the  head  chief 
of  the  Modocs,  and  the  other  Indian  leadei  ■5, 
but  accomplished  nothing.  At  length  the 
commissioners  and  General  Canby  agreed 
to  meet  the  Indians  in  the  lava  beds,  a  short 
distance  in  advance  of  the  lines  of  the  troops 
They  went  unarmed  and  without  an  escoit 
While  the  conference  was  in  progress,  the 
Indians  suddenly  rose  upon  the  commit 
sioners,  and  killed  all  but  one,  who  managed 
to  escape  with  severe  wounds.  General 
Canby  was  shot  down  at  the  same  tiniL 
and  died  instantly. 

The  Indians  at  once  fled  to  their  strong     , 
holds  amid    the  rocks.     The  troops,  infu- 
riated by  the  murder  of  their  commander, 
closed  in  upon  them  fiom  all  sides, and  shut 
them  in  the  lava  beds.     Their  position  was 
one  which  a  handful  of  men  might  defend 
against  an   army,  and    they   held  it  with  a 
desperate    determination.      They    were    dis- 
lodged finally  by  the  shells  of  the  American 
guns,  and  such  as  were  not  killed  were  cap- 
tureil.     Captain  Jack  and  his   associates   in 
the  murder  of  General  Canby  and  the  com- 
missioners were  tried  by  a  court-martial  and 
sentenced  to  death.     They  were  hanged   in 
the  presence  of  their  countrymen  and  of  the 
troops  on  the  third  of  Clctober,  1873. 


For  many  years  Cuba  had  been  growing 
dissatisfied  with  the  rule  of  Spain.  In  1868 
a  revolution  broke  out  in  that  island,  having 
for  its  object  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards 
and  the  establishment  of  the  independence 
of  Cuba.  The  patriot  army  was  able  to 
win  numerous  successes  over  the  Spanish 
troops,  and  for  several  years  maintained  its 
position  against  every  effort  to  dislodge  it. 
Very  great  sympathy  was  manifested  for  the 
Cuban  patriots  by  the  people  of  the  United 


^ISf 


States,  and  repeated  efforts  were  made  to 
induce  the  government  of  this  country  to 
recognize  the  independence  of  Cuba  and 
assist  the  patriots,  or  at  least  to  acknowledge 
their  rights  as  belligerents.  The  govern- 
ment, however,  faithfully  observed  its  obli-> 
gations  as  a  neutral  power,  and  forbade  the 
organization  or  d.parture  of  all  expeditions 
from  this  country  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Cubans.  The  Cuban  agents  ve:c  prevented 
fi  om  shipping  arms  or  iniIita->    supplies    to 


Si: 


AD.MINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S    GRANT. 


theii  forces,  and  several  vessels  intended  to 
serve  as  cruisers  against  the  Spanish  com- 
merce were  seized  and  detained  by  the 
Federal  authorities. 

In  spite  of  the  precautions  of  the  govern 


the  next  day.  Captain  Fry,  the  com- 
mander of  the  "  Virginius,"  and  the  crew 
and  passengers  of  the  vessel  were  thrown 
into  prison. 

After  a  mock  trial,  in  which  the  simplest 


ment,  however,  several  expeditions  did  sue-      forms  of  decency  were  disregarded,  Captain 
ceed  in  getting  to  sea  and   reaching  Cuba.      Fry  and  a  number  of  the  crew  and  passengers 

One    of    these     embarked    on    the     steamer      of  the  "  Vir -inius."  ahnut  thirt\-five  or  fortv 


I  .    -hot   by  order  of   the   ..iihtary 

the  coast  ofjamaica  the  Spanish  war  steamer  '  authorities.     The  other  prisoners  were  held 

"Tornado  "  was  sighted.     She  at  once  gave  in  a  most  cruel  captivity  to  await  the  pleasure 

chase,  and  though  the  "  Virginius  "  was  on  of  the  Spanish  officials  at  Havana.     The  ron- 

the  high  seas  and  was  flying  the  American  sul  of  the  United  States  at  Sanciago  de  C-iba 

flag,  overhauled  her  and  took  possession  of  ■  made  great  exertions  to  save  Fry  and  those 

her   on   the    th.rty-first   of    October.      The  j  condemned  to  die  with  him.     He  was  treated 

Tornado"  then  earned  her  prize  into  the  with  great  indignity  by  the  Spanish  officials, 

port  ofSantiagode  Cuba,  which  was  reached  I  and   was  not  allowed  to  communic.le  with 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES  S.   GRANT. 


Havana,  from  which  point  he  could  consult 
his  governiiient  by  telegraph. 

When  the  news  of  the  seizure  of  the  "  Vir- 
ginius "  at  sea  under  the  American  flag 
reached  the  United  States  it  aroused  a  storm 
of  indignation.  Meetings  were  held  in  all 
the  principal  cities,  and  the  press  unanimously 
sustained  the  popular  demand  that  the  gov- 
ernment should  require  satisfaction  for  the 
outrage  upon  its  flag.  The  general  senti- 
ment of  the  people  was  in  favor  of  instant 
"war,  and  it  was  openly  declared  that  a  better 
opportunity  would  never  arise  to  drive  the 
Spaniards  out  of  Cuba  and  obtain  possession 
of  the  island. 

Prompt  Demands  of  the  United  States. 

The  government  acted  with  firmness  and 
prudence.  Several  vessels  of  war  were  sent 
to  Santiago  de  Cuba  to  prevent  the  execution 
of  the  surviving  prisoners  taken  with  the 
"Virginius;"  the  fleet  in  the  West  Indies 
was  reinforced  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  the 
navy  was  at  once  put  on  a  war  footing  in 
order  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  The 
President  was  urged  to  convene  Congress  in 
e.xtra  session,  but  he  declined  to  do  so,  know- 
ing that  that  body  would  be  most  likely  to 
yield  to  the  popular  demand  for  war,  and  he 
was  anxious  to  settle  the  difficulty  by  peace- 
ful means  if  possible. 

General  Sickels,  the  American  minister  at 
Madrid,  was  ordered  to  demand  of  the 
Spanish  government  the  arrest  and  punish- 
ment of  the  officials  implicated  in  the  mas- 
sacre of  Captain  Fry  and  his  associates,  a 
suitable  indemnity  in  money  for  the  families 
of  the  murdered  men,  an  apology  to  the 
United  States  for  the  outrage  upon  their  flag, 
and  the  surrender  of  the  "  Virginius  "  to  the 
naval  authorities  of  the  United  States.  These 
demands  were  at  once  submitted  to  Senor 
Castellar,  the  President  of  the  Spanish  repub- 
Jic.     In  the  critical  situation  in  which  Spain 


was  then  placed  by  her  internal  dissensions, 
Castellar  had  no  choice  but  to  submit  to  the 
American  demands.  Orders  were  at  once 
transmitted  to  Cuba  to  surrender  the  "  \'ir- 
ginius  "  and  all  the  prisoners  to  the  Ameri- 
can na\'al  forces. 

The  orders  of  the  Spanish  government 
were  at  first  disregarded  by  the  officials  at 
Havana,  who  blustered  a  great  deal,  and 
declared  their  willingness  to  go  to  war  with 
the  United  States.  They  were  brought  to 
their  senses,  however,  by  the  warning  of 
Captain  General  Jovellar,  who  told  them  that 
their  refusal  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  Madrid 
government  would  certainly  involve  them  in 
a  war  with  the  United  States,  in  which  Spain 
would  leave  them  to  fight  that  power  without 
aid  from  her.  The  Havana  officials,  there- 
fore, yielded  an  ungracious  obedience  to  the 
orders  of  the  home  government. 

The  survivors  of  the  "  Virginius  "  expe- 
dition, who  were  in  a  most  pitiable  condition 
in  consequence  of  the  cruelty  with  which 
they  had  been  treated  during  their  imprison- 
ment, were  released,  and  delivered  on  board 
of  an  American  man-of-war  in  the  harbor  ol 
Havana.  On  the  twelfth  of  December  the 
"  Virginius"  which  had  been  taken  to  Havana 
by  her  captors  some  time  before,  was  towed 
from  that  harbor  and  delivered  to  an  Ameri- 
can vessel  sent  to  receive  her.  She  was  car- 
ried to  Key  West,  from  which  port  she  was 
ordered  to  New  York.  On  the  voyage  she 
foundered  at  sea  in  a  gale  off  Cape  Fear,  on 
the  twenty-sixth  of  December.  At  a  later 
period  the  Spanish  government  paid  the 
indemnity  demanded  by  the  United  States. 

Financial  Crisis. 

In  the  fall  of  i  S73  a  severe  commercial  crisis, 
known  as  the  "  Railroad  Panic,"  burst  upon 
the  country.  It  was  caused  by  e.xcessive 
speculation  in  railway  stocks  and  the  reckless 
construction  of  railways  in  portions  of  the 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  ULYSSES    S.   GRANT. 


country  where    hey  were  not  yet  needed  and  j 
which  could  i.ot  support  them.     The  excite-  | 
ment  beijan  on  the  seventeenth  of  September, 
and  on  the  eighteenth,  nineteenth  and  twen-  i 
tieth   several   of  the  principal  banking  firms 
of    New  York   and   Philadelphia  suspended 
payment.     The  failure  of  these    houses   in- 
volved hundreds  of  other  firms  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  in  their  ruin.  'The  excitement 


measures  to  be  taken  for  the  relief  of  the 
business  of  the  country.  Various  measures 
were  urged  upon  them.  A  strong  appeal 
was  made  to  the  President  to  lend  the  whole 
or  the  greater  part  of  the  treasury  reserve  of 
forty-four  million  dollars  of  greenbacks  to  the 
banks  to  furnish  the  Wall  street  brokers  with 
funds  to  settle  their  losses  and  resume  busi- 
ness.     He  at  once  declined  to  take  so  grave 


PNI-   IN  THE  NtW    \oKK  STOCK  EXCHANGE  DURING  THE  PANIC  OF  I  873. 


became  so  intense  that  on  the  twentieth  the 
New  York  Stock  PLxchange  closed  its  doors 
and  put  a  stop  to  all  sales  of  stocks  in  order 
to  prevent  a  general  destruction  of  the  values 
of  all  securities.  The  banks  were  obliged  to 
resort  to  the  most  stringent  measures  to  avoid 
being  drawn   into  the  common  ruin. 

President  Grant  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  hastened  to  New  York  to  consult 
the   capitalists  of  that  city  as  to  the  projier 


a  step,  and,  thanks  to  his  firmness,  the  credit 
of  the  United  States  was  not  placed  at  the 
mercy  Oi  the  reckless  men  who  had  caused 
the  trouble. 

The  government  as  a  measure  of  relief  con- 
sented to  purchase  a  number  of  its  bonds  of 
a  certain  class  at  a  fair  price,  and  thus  enable 
the  holders  who  were  in  need  of  money  to 
obtain  it  without  sacrificing  their  securities. 
On  the  twenty-second  the  excitement  in  New 


ADMINISTRATION    UP'   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


815 


York  and  the  Eastern  cities  began  to  subside. 
The  trouble  was  not  over,  however.  The 
stringency  of  the  money  market  which  fol- 
lowed the  first  excitement  prevailed  for  fully 
a  year,  and  affected  all  branches  of  the 
industry  of  the  country,  and  caused  severe 
suffering  from  loss  of  employment  and 
lowering  of  wages  to  the  working  classes. 

The  panic  shovs'.d  the  e.\tent  to  which 
railroad  gambling  had  ile  n  1 
ness  and  the  people  (;f  t 
showed  that  some  of  the 
strongest  and  most  trusted 
firms  in  the  Union  had  lent 
themselves  to  the  task  of 
inducing  people  to  in\e^t 
their  money  in  the  sec  ur 
ities  of  enterprises  the  sue 
cess  of  which  was,  to  say  the 
least,  doubtful.  It  showed 
that  the  banks,  the  deposi- 
tories of  thepeople's  mont.y, 
had  to  an  alarming  extent 
crippled  themselves  by  neg 
lecting  their  legitimate 
business  and  making  ad 
vances  on  securities  which 
in  the  hour  of  trial  proved 
worthless  in  many  ca^e-^., 
uncertain  in  most.  The 
money  needed  for  the  use 
of  the  legitimate  business 
of  the  country  had  been 
placed  at  the  mercy  of  the  railroad  gamblers 
and  had  been  used  by  them.  The  funds  of 
helpless  and  dependent  persons,  of  widows 
and  orphan  children,  had  been  used  to  pay 
fictitious  dividends  and  advance  schemes 
which  had  been  stamped  with  the  disapproval 
of  the  public. 

An  amount  of  recklessness  and  demoral- 
ization was  revealed  in  the  management  of 
the  financial  interests  of  the  country  that 
startled  even  the  most  hardened.     The  lesson 


was  severe,  but  it  was  needed.  The  panic 
was  followed  by  a  better  and  more  healthful 
state  of  affairs.  The  business  of  the  country 
slowly  settled  down  within  proper  channels. 
Recklessness  was  succeeded  by  prudence ; 
extravagance  by  economy  in  all  quarters. 
The  American  people  took  their  severe  les- 
son to  heart,  and  resolutely  set  to  work  to 
secure  the  ^ood  results  that  came  to  them 
from  this  harvest  of   misfortune. 

Dmmgthe  yeai    1874,  sixty  persons  were 


ENE  (IN  THE  COLORADO  KIVEK. 

murdered  at  different  times  in  Texas  by 
raider  Indians  from  the  F"ort  Sill  reservation, 
where  they  were  fed  by  the  government  and 
treated  as  friends.  In  addition  to  these  atroc- 
ities, they  also  ran  off  with  a  large  number 
of  horses  and  mules  belonging  to  settlers  on 
the  frontier  and  to  freighters. 

In  July,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
in  turning  over  the  savages  to  the  military, 
directed  that  "  friendly  Indians,  not  partici- 
pating in  late  outrages,  coming  into  agencies 


8i6 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


will  be  protected.  All  professing  to  be  loyal 
must  enter  immediately  and  be  enrolled, 
and  each  one  capable  of  bearing  arms  must 
answer  to  daily  roll-call.  No  additional 
Indians  must  be  received  amongst  them  with- 
out permission."  The  result  of  this  announce- 
ment was  the  enrollment  of  one  hundred  and 
seventy-three  Kiowas,  present  at  the  time  of 
the  receipt  of  the  commissioner's  dispatch, 
and  who,  the  agent  was  positive,  had  not 
been  at  war;  one  hundred  and  eight  Apaches, 
hkewise  present;  and  eightj'-three  Coman- 
ches,  either  there  at  the  time  or  arriving  by 
August  third,  the  day  appointed  by  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Davidson  as  the  last  upon  which 
the  enrollment  could  take  place. 

Some  time  after  August  third,  the  follow- 
ing Comanche  chiefs  asked  permission  to 
come  in :  Big  Red  Food,  Tobermanca,  Assan- 
onica,  Little  Crow  and  Black  Duck.  Word 
was  sent  to  Assanonica  that  he  would  be 
admitted  on  condition  of  yielding  up  his 
arms.  The  rest  were  forbidden  to  come, 
since  it  was  well  known  that  they  had  been 
jCngaged  in  several  massacres.  Big  Red 
■Food,  however,  defied  the  prohibition,  and 
drawing  near  to  the  Wichita  agency  with  his 
band,  formed  a  point  around  which  the  dis- 
affected began  to  gather. 

The  Kiowas  Open  Fire. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  August,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Davidson  received  word  from  the 
officer  commanding  at  the  agency  that  trouble 
was  anticipated  there.  He  at  once  marched 
with  four  companies  of  cavalry,  and  imme- 
diately upon  his  arrival  effected  the  arrest  of 
Red  Food,  chief  of  the  Nocanees,  and  told 
him  that  he  and  his  band  must  submit.  He 
appeared  to  consent,  but  presently  escaped 
from  his  guard. 

At  the  same  time  the  troops  were  fired 
upon  from  the  rear  by  Kiowas,  many  of  whom 
had  just  been  enrolled  at  Fort  Sill  as  friendly. 


The  troops  were  much  perplexed  in  the 
endeavor  to  distinguish  the  amicable  from 
the  hostile  Indians ;  but  by  the  aid  of  inter- 
preters this  was  accomplished;  the  inimical 
band  was  scattered  and  its  lodges  and  prop- 
erty were  destroyed.  It  had  undoubtedly, 
been  their  design  to  implicate  those  of  their 
band  who  were  disposed  to  peace,  but  their 
purpose  was  entirely  frustrated,  and  the  aflfil- 
iated  tribes  belonging  to  the  agency  were  set- 
tled in  their  allegiance  more  firmly  than  ever. 
In  April,  1875,  an  engagement  occurred  at 
the  north  fork  of  Sappa  Creek.  On  the 
morning  of  the  nineteenth  of  April  Lieuten- 
ant Austin  Henely,  of  Fort  Wallace,  Kansas, 
started  to  find  the  trail  of  a  party  of  Indians 
reported  to  be  at  Punished  Woman's  Fork. 
With  him  were  forty  men  of  Company  H, 
Si.xth  Cavalr)-,  Lieutenant  C.  C.  Hewitt,  Sur- 
geon F.  H.  Atkins,  and  i\Ir.  Homer  Wheeler, 
post- trader  of  Fort  Wallace,  as  guide.  He 
also  had  fifteen  days'  rations,  ten  days'  forage 
and  two  six-mule  teams. 

On  the  Trail. 

On  the  second  day  he  directed  that  his 
wagons,  with  a  guard  under  the  command  of 
Sergeant  Kitchin,  should  proceed  directly  to 
Hackberr)'  Creek  while  he  scouted  Twin 
Butte  and  Hackberry  to  find  a  trail.  About 
noon  Corporal  Morris,  commanding  the  ad- 
vance, discovered  traces  of  twelve  lodges. 
Lieutenant  Henely  at  once  collected  his 
wagons,  abandoned  one  of  them,  as  well  as 
half  his  forage,  rations  and  camp  equipage, 
notified  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Wal- 
lace of  the  fact,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
recovered,  and  started  on  the  trail  at  the 
rate  of  nearly  five  miles  an  hour,  reaching 
Smoky  Hill  River  that  night.  A  heavy  rain 
during  the  night  rendered  it  difficult  to  fol- 
low the  tracks  the  next  day.  At  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railroad  the  trail  was  scattered  and 
lost. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


817 


After  considerable  deliberation  it  was  de- 
cided to  take  a  northeast  course  to  the  North 
Bca\er  and  follow  it  to  its  source,  upon  the 
supposition  that  the  Indians  would  collect 
there  and  pass  down  for  the  purpose  of  hunt- 
ing. Shortly  after  daylight  a  party  of  hunt- 
ers was  met,  who  informed  Lieutenant  Henely 
that  the  Indians  he  was  in  search  of  were  on 
the  north  fork  of  Sappa  Creek,  and  had 
robbed  their  camp  during  their  absence  the 
day  before.  Three  of  the  hunters  volunteered 
to  guide  the  party  to  the  Indian  encamp- 
ment. 

In  the  gray  dawn  of  the  morning  the  squad 
arrived  at  the  creek,  about  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  abo\-e  the  camp,  being  attracted  to  the 
spot  b\-  the  sight  of  a  number  of  ponies  graz- 
ing. Presently  Mr.  Wheeler  came  back, 
galloping  with  furious  speed,  swinging  his 
hat  and  shouting  in  a  loud  voice.  As  the 
force  came  up  with  him  the  Indian  camp  was 
displayed  to  view. 

Plan  of  Attack. 

The  plan  for  the  attack  had  been  arranged 
as  follows  :  Sergeant  Kitchin  was  detailed  to 
kill  the  herders,  round  up  the  herd  as  near 
as  possible  to  the  main  command  and  take 
charge  of  it  with  half  of  his  men.  Corporal 
Sharpies,  with  fi\-e  men,  was  left  with  the 
wagon  and  instructed  to  keep  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  Lieutenant  Heneh',  the  rest  of  the 
command  were  to  attack  the  savages. 

The  north  fork  of  Sappa  Creek  at  this 
point  is  very  crooked,  is  bordered  by  high 
and  precipitous  bluffs,  and  flows  sluggishly 
through  a  marshy  bottom,  making  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  cross.  As  the  men 
charged  down  the  sides  ten  or  twelve  of  the 
Indians  ran  rapidly  up  the  bluff  to  a  small 
herd  of  ponies ;  others  escaped  down  the 
creek  to  another  herd  ;  while  the  remainder, 
the  last  to  be  awakened,  probably  seeing  that 
flight  was  impossible,  prepared  for  a  des- 
52 


perate  defence.  By  this  time  the  men  had 
reached  the  creek,  which  looked  alarmingly 
deep  and  marshy. 

Lieutenant  HeneK-,  realizing  that  no  time 
was  to  be  lost  in  searching  for  a  crossing, 
plunged  in  with  his  horse,  followed  by  Mr. 
Wheeler.  By  extraordinary  efforts  their 
horses  struggled  through.  A  corporal  who 
followed  became  mired ;  but  at  length,  by 
strenuous  endeavors,  all  succeeded  in  cross- 
ing just  as  a  number  of  dusky  figures  with 
long  rifles  confronted  them,  their  heads  ap- 
pearing over  a  bank  made  by  the  creek  in 
highwater. 

The  Battle-ground. 

This  bank,  with  the  portion  of  the  creek 
and  bluffs  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  possessed 
the  rather  remarkable  feature  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  curious  holes  or  pits,  for  what  purpose 
constructed  did  not  appear.  Some  of  the 
Indians  took  refuge  in  these  hollows  ;  others 
lined  the  bank,  with  their  rifles  resting  on  the 
crest.  Lieutenant  Henely  rapidly  formed 
his  men  in  line  and  signalled  to  the  savages 
to  surrender,  as  did  likewise  I\Ir.  Wheeler. 
One,  who  appeared  to  be  a  chief,  made  some 
rapid  gesticulations  which  seemed  to  be 
motions  for  a  parley  ;  but  it  was  soon  obvious 
that  they  were  meant  for  Indians  in  the  rear. 

The  lieutenant  now  ordered  his  men  to 
dismount  and  fight  on  foot,  and  as  they  did 
so  the  enemy  fired,  but  in  so  e.xcited  a 
manner  that  no  one  was  hurt.  The  troops, 
posted  around  in  a  skirmish-line,  were  com- 
manded to  fire.  If  the  reader  will  imagine 
the  dress  circle  of  a  theatre  lowered  to  within 
about  five  feet  of  the  pit,  the  men  to  be 
deployed  about  the  edge,  and  the  Indians 
down  among  the  orchestra-chairs,  they  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  relative  positions  of 
the  parties.  The  most  exposed  portion  was 
near  the  centre  of  the  arc.  Here  Sergeant 
Theodore  Papier  and  Pri\ate  Robert  Thcims, 


8i8 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 


of  Company  H,  Sixth  Ca\ali\-,  were  instantly 
killed  while  fighting  with  great  valor. 

After  some  twenty  minutes  of  firing  the 


VIEW  i\  Tirr  r.KANn  c  wi  )\ 
Indians  ceased  to  r^tu.ii  the  attack,  and  ihe 
licutcnr.r.t  prepared  to  draw  off  his  men  in 
pursuit  of  those  who  had  fled.     Scarcely  had 


they  mounted  when  two  savages  ran  up  tc 
the  two  bodies  in  the  endeavor  to  gain  pos- 
session of  them;  but  three  or  four  men 
charged  them  at  a  gal- 
and  rendered  their 
ciTorts  useless.  At 
this  moment  an  In- 
dian, gaudily  dressed, 
jumped  from  a  hole 
and.with  peculiarside- 
long  leaps,  attempted 
to  escape,  but  was  shot 
down.  Lieutenant 
Henely  then  posted 
s  men  at  the  ends  of 
the  crest  and  resumed 
the  attack,  the  savages 
returning  it  from  their 
pits.butwithout  doing 
any  damage. 

The  firing  having 
ceased,  it  was  inferred 
that  all  were  killed, and 
tlie  command  moved 
III  the  direction  of  the 
nics,  driving  off  the 
ndian  guard  and 
bi  inging  in  a  herd  of 
th?  animals.  As  they 
returned  a  solitary 
^hot  was  fired  from 
ths  holes,  piercing 
horse  of  one  of 
officers  entirely 
ugh  the  body. 
Lieutenant  Henely 
th  :n  determined  to 
ni  ike  a  termination, 
3  md  ordered  the  men 
to  idvance  on  all  sides, 
keeping  up  a  steady 
fire.  The  only  response  was  a  few  shots  from 
the  pits,  which  did  no  damage. 

Nineteen  dead  warriors  were  counted.  Id 


I     nil    CO    l)K\DO  KUFR 


ADMINISTRATIOX    OF    ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


819 


addition  to  eiyht  squaws  and  children  acci- 
dentallj'  killed.  From  the  war-bonnets  and 
rich  ornaments,  two  were  judged  to  be 
chiefs,  and  one  whose  bonnet  was  sur- 
mounted by  two  horns  was  thought  to  be  a 
medicine-man. 

The  Indian  camp  was  burned  and  the  cap- 
tured stock,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  animals,  driven  off.  On  the  re- 
turn march  to  Fort  Wallace  the  command 
was  overtaken  by  a  terrible  snow-storm  and 
forced  to  encamp  under  a  bank.  It  was  im- 
possible to  herd  the  captured  stock,  the  en- 
tire attention  of  the  men  being  required  to 
save  themselves  and  their  horses  from  freez- 
ing to  death.  Having  no  tents  and  but  one 
blanket  each,  the  men  passed  a  night  of  in- 
tense suffering.  Some  of  them  were  frozen ; 
others,  who  had  dug  holes  in  the  banks  for 
shelter,  had  to  be  extricated  in  the  morning 
by  their  comrades.  On  the  following  day 
the  men  disbanded  into  small  squads  to 
search  for  the  captured  stock,  and  succeeded 
in  recapturing  about  one  hundred  head. 

In  January,  1875,  Congress  passed  an  act 
providing  for  the  resumption  of  specie  pay- 
ments, and  requiring  that  on  and  after  Janu- 
ary I,  1S79,  the  legal  tender  notes  of  the 
Go\ernment  shall  be  redeemed  in  specie.  In 
the  meantime  silver  coin  is  to  be  substituted 
for  the  fractional  paper  currency. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1875,  Congress 
authorized  the  Territoiy  of  Colorado  to  form 
a  State  Constitution.  She  was  admitted  as  a 
State  August  i,  1876. 

Centennial  Celebration. 

The  political  troubles  in  Louisiana  and 
Arkansas  assumed  a  most  serious  character 
during  the  year  1873,  amounting  to  civil  war 
in  both  States.  The  President,  in  view  of 
the  serious  nature  of  the  disturbances,  inter- 
vened with  force  in  each  State,  and  compelled 
the   rival   parties  to  refrain  from   additional 


hostilities,  and  the  quarrels  were  settled  in 
the  course  of  the  }-ear  without  further  blood- 
shed. 

The  year  1875  completed  the  period  of 
one  hundred  years  from  the  opening  of  the 
revolution,  and  the  events  of  1775  were  cele- 
brated with  appropriate  commemorative  cere- 
monies in  the  places  where  they  occurred. 
The  centennial  anniversary  of  the  battles  at 
Lexington  and  Concord  was  celebrated  at 
those  places  on  the  nineteenth  of  April  with 
great  rejoicings.  On  the  seventeenth  01 
June  the  centennial  of  Bunker  Hill  was  cele- 
brated at  Charlestown.  Vast  crowds  were 
present  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  One 
of  the  most  gratifying  features  of  the  cele- 
bration was  the  presence  and  hearty  partici- 
pation in  the  ceremonies  of  a  large  number 
of  troops  from  the  Southern  States.  Nearly 
all  of  these  had  served  in  the  Confederate 
army,  and  their  presence  in  the  metropolis 
of  New  England  was  an  emphatic  proof  that 
the  Union  has  indeed  been  restored.  The 
memory  of  the  common  glory  won  by  the 
fathers  of  the  republic  has  already  done 
much  to  heal  the  wounds  and  obliterate  the 
scars  of  the  civil  war.  May  the  good  work 
go  on. 

Imposing  Ceremonies. 

As  early  as  1872  measures  were  set  on 
foot  for  the  proper  observance  of  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States.  It  was  resolved  to 
commemorate  the  close  of  the  first  century 
of  the  republic  by  an  International  Exhibi- 
tion, to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  in 
which  all  the  nations  of  the  world  were  in- 
vited to  participate.  Preparations  were  at 
once  set  on  foot  for  the  great  celebration. 

The  European  governments  with  great 
cordiality  responded  to  the  invitations  ex- 
tended to  them  by  the  government  of  the 
United    States,   and    on  the    tenth   of  ^^.lay. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


1876,  the  International  Centennial  Exhibi- 
tion was  opened  with  the  most  imposing 
ceremonies,  in  the  presence  of  an  immense 
concourse  of  citizens  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Emperor  of  Brazil.  The  ex- 
liibition  remained  open  from  May  loth  to 
November  10th,  1876,  and  was  visited  by 
several  million  people  from  the  various 
States  of  the  Union,  from  Canada,  South 
America  ?.nd  Europe.  It  was  one  of  the 
grandest  and  most  notable  events  of  the  cen- 
tury, and  illustrated  our  country's  progress. 


On  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1876,  the  United 
States  of  America  completed  the  one  hun- 
dredth year  of  their  existence  as  an  inde- 
pendent nation.  The  day  was  celebrated 
■with  imposing  ceremonies  and  with  the  most 
patriotic  enthusiasm  in  all  parts  of  the  Union. 
The  celebrations  began  on  the  night  of  the 
third  of  July,  and  were  kept  up  until  near 
inidnight  on  the  fourth.  Each  of  the  great 
cities  of  the  Union  vied  with  the  others  in 
the  .splendor  and  completeness  of  its  rejoic- 
ings ;  but  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
celebrations  was    naturally  that   which   was 


held  at  Philadelpliia,  in    which   city  the  De- 
claration of  Independence  was  adopted. 

The  arrangements  for  the  proper  observ- 
ance of  the  day  were  confided  to  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission,  and  extensive 
preparations  were  made  to  conduct  them  on 
a  scale  of  splendor  worthy  of  the  glorious 
occasion.  The  city  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  lent  their  cordial  co- 
operation to  the  effort  to  have  all  things  in 
readiness  for  the  Fourth,  and  the  work  went 
forward  with  a  heartiness  and  vigor  that 
could  not  fail  of  complete  success. 

__  — - -...^  It  was  wisely  re- 

^  ^X  solved  by  the  Com- 
Ay  mission  that  as  the 
';4^  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence was 
signed  in  Independ- 
ence Hall  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  peo- 
ple m  Independence 
Square,  the  com- 
memorative cere- 
monies should  be 
■-o  conducted  as  to 
make  the  venerable 
buildmg  the  grand 
central  figure  of  all 
the  demonstrations. 
The  city  authorities 
caused  the  building  to  be  handsomely  draped 
in  the  national  colors,  and  enormous  stands, 
covered  with  canvas  awnings  and  orna- 
mented with  flags  and  streamers,  were 
erected  in  Independence  Square  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  singers  and  invited 
guests  who  were  to  take  part  in  the  rejoic- 
ings. A  new  bell  of  vast  proportions — the 
gift  of  a  patriotic  and  public-spirited  citizen 
— was  hung  in  the  State  House  tower, 
ready  to  join  its  deep  tones  to  the  shouts 
of  the  multitude  when  the  moment  of  rejoic- 
ing should  arrive. 


ADMINISTRATION    OK   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


82  1 


Being  anxious  that  the  Centennial  celebra- 
tion should  do  its  share  in  cementing  the 
reunion  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  States, 
the  Commission  began,  at  least  a  year  before 
the  occasion,  the  formation  of  a  "  Centen- 
nial Legion,"  consisting  of  a  detachment  of 
troops  from  each  of  the  thirteen  original 
States.  The  command  of  this  splendid  body 
of  picked  troops  was  conferred  upon  General 
Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
General  Henry  Heth,  of  Virginia,  was  chosen 
Lieutenant-Colonel.  Both  were  veterans  of 
the  late  civil  war.  The  Legion  was  readily 
made  up,  the  best  volunteer  commands  of 
the  original  States  being  eager  to  serve  in  it. 
For  a  week  previous  to  the  fourth  of  July 
crowds  of  people  began  to  pour  steadily  into 
Philadelphia.  Volunteer  organizations  from 
the  various  States  were  constantly  arriving  and 
were  either  encamped  at  various  points  in 
and  around  the  E.xhibition  grounds  or  were 
quartered  at  the  various  hotels. 

Gay  Decorations. 

The  city  was  gayly  decorated  with  flags 
and  streamers,  and  the  \ie\v  down  any  of  the 
principal  streets  was  brilliant  by  reason  of 
the  clouds  of  bunting  with  which  it  was 
decorated.  The  principal  buildings  were 
almost  hidden  by  the  flags  which  adorned 
them,  or  were  ornamented  with  patriotic 
inscriptions,  and  at  various  points  on  Chestnut 
street  triumphal  arches  were  erected.  By 
the  night  of  the  thirdof  July  it  was  estimated 
that  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
strangers  were  assembled  in  Philadelphia. 

The  Centennial  ceremonies  were  begun  on 
the  morning  of  Saturda\-,  the  first  of  July. 
The  leading  writers  of  the  Union  had  been 
invited  to  prepare  memoirs  of  the  great  men 
of  our  revolutionary  period,  which  were  to 
be  deposited  among  the  archives  of  the  State 
House,  and  all  who  were  able  to  accept  the 
invitation  assembled  in  Independence  Hall  at 


eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  I, 
1S76,  where  they  were  joined  by  a  number 
of  in\ited  guests.  The  ceremonies  were 
opened  by  an  address  from  Colonel  Frank 
M.  Etting,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  the  Restoration  of  Independence  Hall,  and 
a  prajer  by  the  Rev.  William  White  Bronson. 
Whittier's  Centennial  Hymn  was  then  sung 
by  a  chorus  of  fifty  voices.  The  names  of 
the  authors  were  then  called,  to  which  each 
responded  in  person  or  by  pro.xy,  and  laid 
his  memoir  on  the  table  in  the  hall.  The 
exercises  were  then  brought  to  a  close,  and 
the  company  repaired  to  the  stand  in  Inde- 
pendence Square,  where  a  large  crowd  had 
assembled. 

Odes,    Speeches   and    Orations. 

The  ceremonies  in  the  square  were  begun 
at  half-past  twelve  o'clock  with  Helfrich's 
Centennial  Triumphal  March,  performed  by 
the  Centennial  Musical  Association.  Mr. 
John  William  Wallace,  the  president  of  the 
day,  then  delivered  a  short  address,  after- 
which  Whittier's  Centennial  Hymn  was  sung' 
by  a  chorus  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  voices, 
and  Mr.  William  V.  McKean  reviewed  at 
some  length  the  great  historical  event  in 
commemoration  of  which  the  ceremonies 
were  held. 

After  the  band  had  played  "  God  Save 
America,"  the  Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall,  of 
Massachusetts,  delivered  an  address,  which 
elicited  warm  applause.  "  The  Voice  of  the 
Old  Bell,"  a  Centennial  ode,  was  then  sung, 
and  Governor  Henry  Lippitt,  of  Rhode 
Island,  made  a  short  speech.  The  band 
followed  with  a  number  of  patriotic  airs,  and 
Mr.  Wallace  announced  the  unavoidable 
absence  of  General  John  A.  Dix,  and  intro- 
duced in  his  place  Frederick  De  Peyster, 
President  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
who  made  a  few  remarks.  After  a  Cen- 
tennial Ode,  by  S.  C.  Upham,  had  been  sung 


filB'Hil!' 


822 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.  GRANT. 


!23 


by  the  chorus,  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Harris 
Brewster  delivered  an  eloquent  address,  at 
the  close  of  which  another  Centennial  Hymn, 
by  WilHam  F'ennimore,  was  sung.  Senator 
Frank  P.  Stevens,  of  Maryland,  then  said  a 
few  words,  after  which  the  "  Star  Spangled 
Banner"  was  sung,  and  the  exercises  were 
brought  to  a  close  by  a  prayer  from  Bishop 
Stevens. 

All  through  Sunday,  the  second,  the  crowds 
continued  to  pour  into  the  city,  and  on  Mon- 
day, third,  the  streets  were  almost  impassable. 
Business  was  generally  suspended  from  the 
first  to  the  fifth  of  July. 

Brilliant   Illuminations. 

The  celebration  ushering  ni  the  F'ourth  of 
July  was  begun  on  the  night  of  the  third.  A 
grand  civic  and  torchlight  procession  paraded 
the  streets,  which  were  brilliantly  illuminated 
along  the  whole  line  of  march.  The  proces- 
sion began  to  move  about  half-past  8  o'clock 
at  night,  and  consisted  of  deputations  repre- 
sentati\'eof  the  various  trades  of  the  cit}-,  the 
Centennial  Commissioners  from  the  various 
foreign  countries  taking  part  in  the  Exhibi- 
tion, the  Governors  of  a  number  of  the  States 
of  the  Union,  officers  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,  civic  and  political  asso- 
ciations and  officers  of  foreign  men-of-war 
visiting  the  city.  Some  of  the  deputations 
bore  torches,  and  these  added  to  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  scene.  All  along  the  line  fire- 
works were  ascending  into  the  air,  and  cheer 
after  cheer  went  up  from  the  dense  masses  of 
enthusiastic  spectators  which  filled  the  side- 
walks. 

The  illumination  of  the  streets  along  the 
route  of  the  procession  was  superb.  Chest- 
nut and  Broad  streets  flashed  rcsplendently 
in  lines  of  fire  and  colored  lanterns.  The 
dense  masses  which  thronged  these  streets 
stood  out  boldly  in  the  clear  light  of  the  illu- 
mination, and  the  long,  slow-moving   line  of 


the   procession   flowed   through  them  like  a 
vast  river. 

Crowds  had  collected  around  Independence 
Hall,  filling  the  street  before  it  and  the  square 
in  the  rear  of  it.  An  orchestra  and  chorus 
were  stationed  on  the  stands  in  the  square  to 
hail  the  opening  of  the  Fourth  with  music. 
The  movements  of  the  procession  were  so 
timed  that  the  head  of  the  column  arrived  in 
front  of  Independence  Hall  precisely  at  mid- 
night. 

Grand  Military  Parade. 

The  crowd,  which  had  been  noisy  but  good 
natured,  was  hushed  into  silence  as  the  hands 
of  the  clock  in  the  tower  approached  the 
midnight  hour,  and  one  hundred  thousand 
people  waited  in  breathless  eagerness  the 
strokes  which  were  to  usher  in  the  glorious 
day.  As  the  minute-hand  swept  slowly  past 
the  hour  there  was  a  profound  silence,  and 
then  came  rolling  out  of  the  lofty  steeple  the 
deep,  liquid  tones  of  the  new  liberty  bell, 
sounding  wonderfully  solenm  and  sweet  as 
they  floated  down  to  the  crowd  below.  Thir- 
teen peals  were  struck,  and  the  first  tone  had 
hardly  died  away  when  there  went  up  from 
the  crowd  such  a  shout  as  had  never  been 
heard  in  Philadelphia  before.  It  was  caught 
up  and  re-echoed  all  over  the  city,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  musicians  and  singers  in  the 
square  broke  into  the  grand  strains  of  the 
"  Star  Spangled  Banner."  All  the  bells  and 
steam  whistles  in  the  city  joined  in  the  sounds 
of  rejoicing,  and  fireworks  and  firearms  made 
the  noise  tenfold  louder.  When  the  "  Star 
Spangled  Banner"  was  ended  the  chorus  in 
Independence  Square  sang  the  "  Doxology," 
in  which  the  crowd  joined  heartily,  and  the 
band  then  played  national  airs. 

The  festivities  were  kept  up  until  after  two 
o'clock,  and  it  was  not  until  the  first  streaks 
of  the  dawn  began  to  tinge  the  sky  that  the 
streets  of  the  city  resumed  their  wonted 
appearance. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 


The  lull  in  the  festivities  was  not  of  long 
duration.  The  day  was  at  hand,  and  it  threat- 
ened to  be  mercilessly  hot,  as  indeed  it  was. 
As  the  sun  arose  in  his  full-orbed  splendor, 
the  thunder  of  cannon  from  the  Navy  Yard, 
from  the  heights  of  Fairmount  Park,  and  from 
the  Swedish,  Brazilian,  and  American  war 
vessels  in  the  Delaware,  and  the  clanging  of 
bells  from  every  steeple  in  the  city,  roused 
the  few  who  had  managed  to  snatch  an  hour 
or  two  of  sleep  after  the  fatigues  of  the  night, 


GENERAL  J.  R.  HAWLEY. 

and  by  six  o'clock  the  streets   were  again 
thronged. 

In  view  of  the  extreme  heat  of  the  weather, 
the  military  parade  had  been  ordered  for  an 
early  hour  of  the  day.  The  troops  numbered 
about  ten  thousand  men,  rank  and  file,  and 
the  whole  column  was  under  the  chief  com- 
mand of  General  Hartranft,  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  a  gallant  veteran  of  the  civil 
war.  The  command  was  made  up  of  troops, 
who  during  that  bloody  stru;.jgle  had  fought 
each  other  gallantly,  and  who  had  now  come 
to  testify  their  devotion   to  their  common 


country,  and  to  show  to  the  world  that  in 
trusting  its  defence  to  its  well-regulated  mil- 
itia, the  American  republic  is  stronger  than 
the  most  powerful  monarchies  of  the  old 
world. 

At  half-past  eight,  the  column  began  to 
move  down  Chestnut  street  towards  Indepen- 
dence Hall,  in  front  of  which  the  troops  were 
reviewed  by  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  the 
Commanding  General  of  the  armies  of  the 
United  States;  the  Secretary  of  War ;  Prince 
Oscar  of  Sweden  ;  Lieutenant-General  Saigo, 
of  the  Imperial  army  of  Japan  ;  the  officers 
of  the  Swedish  men-of-war  in  the  harbor;  the 
go\-ernors  of  several  of  the  States;  and  Gen- 
eral Hawley,  the  President  of  the  Centennial 
Commission. 

As  the  troops  passed  along  they  were 
greeted  with  enthusiastic  cheers  by  the 
crowds  on  the  street.  The  Centennial  Legion 
and  the  troops  from  the  Southern  States  were 
the  objects  of  an  especially  hearty  demon- 
stration. The  route  chosen  was  a  short  one, 
the  extreme  heat  forbidding  an  extended 
parade,  and  by  ten  o'clock,  the  military  cere- 
monies were  over. 

Huzzahs  in  Independence  Square. 

As  soon  as  the  parade  was  ended  the  crowd 
turned  into  Independence  Square,  which  was 
soon  tilled  The  approaches  to  the  building 
by  way  of  Chestnut  and  Sansom  streets  were 
kept  clear  by  the  police,  in  order  that  those 
who  were  entitled  to  seats  on  tlie  stand  might 
reach  their  places.  Four  thousand  persons 
were  given  seats  on  the  stand,  and  a  vast 
crowd  filled  the  square.  As  the  invited  guests 
appeared  and  took  their  seats  on  the  platform, 
the  prominent  personages  were  cheered  by 
the  crowd.  The  Emporer  of  Brazil  received 
a  welcome  that  was  especially  noticeable  for 
its  heartiness. 

It  was  hoped  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  would  be  present  and  preside 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


over   the    ceremonies ;     but    General    Grant 
declined  the  invitation  to  do  so,  which  it  was 


Wendell  Holmes,  music,  '  Keller's  Hymn,'  " 
was    sunij.     The    Vice-President    then    an- 


at  once  his  privilege  and  his  duty  to  accept,  !  nounced  that  Richard    Henry   Lee,  of  Vir- 


and  remained  in  Washington,  preferring  his 


a    grandson     of    the    patriot    of    the 


selfish  ease  to  a  little  patriotic  exertion  and  j  Revolution    who    offered    the    resolution   in 


exposure  to  the  heat  on  this  grandest  of  his 
country's  festivals.  His  absence  was  gen- 
•  erally  remarked  and  severely  condemned  by 
his  countrj'men. 

At  a  few  minutes  after  ten  o'clock,  Gen- 
eral Hawley,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commission,  appeared  at 
the  speaker's  stand  and  signalled  to  the 
orchestra  to  begin.  The  opening  piece, 
which  was  an  overture  entitled  "  The  Great 
Republic,"  based  on  the  national  air,  "  Hail 
Columbia,"  and  arranged  for  the  occasion 
by  Professor  George  F.  Bristow,  of  New 
York,  was  rendered  in  fine  style  by  the 
orchestra  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  P. 
Gilmore.  As  the  music  ceased  General 
Hawley  again  came  forward  and  introduced 
as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  day  the  Hon. 
Thomas  W.  Ferry,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  who  was  received  with  loud 
cheers. 

Great  Enthusiasm  Over  the  Declaration. 

After  a  few  remarks  appropriate  to  the 
occasion  Vice  President  Ferry  presented  to 
the  audience  Right  Reverend  WilKam  Bacon 
Stevens,  D.  D.,  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  whom  he  introduced 
as  the  ecclesiastical  successor  of  the  first 
chaplain  of  the  Continental  Congress.  The 
bishop  was  in  his  canonical  robes,  with  prayer 
book  in  hand.  He  delivered  a  solemn  and 
impressive  prayer,  during  the  utterance  of 
which  the  whole  audience  stood  with  un- 
covered heads,  silent  and  attentive,  unmind- 
ful of  the  blazing  sun  which  poured  down 
upon  them. 

When  the  prayer  was  ended  the  "  Hymn, 
'  Welcome  to  All   Nations,'  words  by  Oliver 


Congress  that  "  these  United  Colonies  are 
and  of  right  ought  to  be  free  and  independ- 
ent States,"  would  read  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  from  the  original  manuscript, 
which  the  President  had  entrusted  to  the 
Mayor  of  Philadelphia.  The  faded  and 
crumbling  manuscript,  held  together  by  a 
simple  frame,  was  then  exhibited  to  the 
crowd  and  was  greeted  with  cheer  after  cheer. 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  a  soldierly-looking  Vir- 
ginian, then  came  forward  and  read  the 
Declaration  ;  but  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
crowd  was  too  great  to  permit  them  to  listen 
to  it  quietly. 

At  the  close  of  the  reading  the  orchestra 
performed  a  musical  composition  entitled 
"A  Greeting  from  Brazil,"  a  hymn  for  the 
first  Centennial  of  American  Independence, 
composed  by  A.  Carlos  Gomez,  of  Brazil,  at 
the  request  of  His  Majesty  Dom  Pedro  II, 
Emperor  of  Brazil.  It  was  received  with 
cheers  by  the  crowd,  which  were  repeated 
for  the  Braziliaa  Emperor,  whose  hearty 
interest  in  the  Centennial  celebrations  and 
the  Exhibition  had  made  him  a  favorite  in 
Philadelphia. 

The   HaUelujah   Chorus 

Mr.  John  Welsh,  Chairman  of  the  Centen- 
nial Board  of  Finance,  then,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Vice-President  Ferry,  introduced 
Bayard  Taylor,  the  poet  of  the  day,  who 
recited  a  noble  ode,  which  was  listened  to 
with  deep  attention,  the  audience  occasionally 
breaking  out  into  applause.  When  the  poem 
was  ended,  the  chorus  sang  "Our  National 
Banner,"  the  words  by  Dextei  Smith.  oV 
Massachusetts,  the  music  by  Sir  jnhu.«  Bfe»« 
diet,  of  England. 


826  INTERSECTION  OF  NINTH  AND  CHESTNUT  STS.,  PHILADELPHIA. 


ADMINISTRATI(3N   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


827 


As  the  music  died  away  the  \'ice-l'resi- 
dent  introduced  the  lion.  William  M.  Evarts, 
of  New  York,  the  orator  of  tlie  day.  Mr. 
Evarts  was  greeted  with  hearty  cheers,  after 
which  he  proceeded  to  deliver  an  eloquent 
and  able  address,  reviewing  the  lessons  of 
the  past  century,  and  dwelling  upon  the  great 
work  America  had  performed  for  the  world. 

When  Mr.  Evarts  retired  from  the  speak- 
er's stand,  General  Hawley  gave  the  signal 
to  the  leader  of  the  orchestra,  and  the  "  Hal- 
lelujah Chorus,"  from  "The  Messiah,"  was 
sung  ;  after  which  the  vast  audience,  at  the 
request  of  the  Vice-President,  joined  in  the 
One  Hundredth  Psalm,  with  wliich  the 
memorable  ceremonies  came  to  an  end. 

At  night  the  city  was  brilliantly  illumin- 
ated, and  a  magnificent  display  of  fireworks 
was  given  by  the  municipal  authorities  at  old 
Fairmount. 

■War  with  the  Sioux. 

The  year  1S76,  howe\er,  w.is  not  destined 
to  be  entirely  a  period  of  jjeace.  In  1867 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  made 
a  treaty  with  the  Sioux  Indians,  by  which 
the  latter  agreed  to  relinquish  to  the  United 
States  all  the  territory  south  of  the  Niobrara 
River,  west  of  the  one  hundred  and  fourth 
meridian  of  longitude  and  north  oftlie  forty- 
sixth  parallel  of  latitude.  This  treaty  secured 
to  the  Sioux  a  large  reservation  in  the  south- 
western part  of  Dakota,  and  they  agreed  to 
withdraw  to  this  reservation  by  the  first  of 
January,  1876.  A  fvw  years  later  gold  was 
discovered  in  the  Black  Hills  countr}-,  a  very 
desirable  region  situated  in  southwestern 
Dakota,  and  l)'ing  within  the  Sioux  reser- 
vation. 

The  announcement  of  this  discovery  pro- 
duced great  excitement  among  the  mining 
class.  In  the  summer  of  1874  an  expedition 
under  General  Custer  was  sent  by  the  War 
Department    to    explore    the     Black     Hills 


region,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  character  of  the  country,  and  partly  to 
discover  practicable  military  routes  between 
F""ort  Lincoln,  in  the  Department  of  Dakota, 
opposite  the  terminus  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway,  and  Fort  Laramie,  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Platte.      Ther'-port  of  this  expe- 


KhVliKsE  OF  CENTENNIAL  MED.\L. 

dition  confirmed  the  stories  of  the  discovery 
of  gold,  and  immediate  preparations  were 
made  by  parties  of  miners  to  proceed  to  the 
favored  lands  for  the  purpose  of  working  the 
gold  mines.  These  expeditions  being  re- 
ported to  tlie  Government,  measures  were 
taken    by   the  War  Department   to   v^revent 


82S 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


any  intrusion  into  the  Indian  reservation. 
Notwithstanding  this  prohibition,  private 
expeditions  were  fitted  out  and  started  for 
the  Black  Hills.  Some  of  these  were  driven 
back  by  the  Indians,  with  loss  of  life  and 
property,  but  others  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  Black  Hills. 

It  was  now  e\idcnt  that  a  sj-stematic  and 
determined  effort  would  be  made  to  settle 
the  Black  Hills,  in  spite  of  the  oppusitinn  of 


to  retire  to  the  resei'\'ation  to  which  the 
treaty  of  1S67  confined  them,  and  now  took 
advantage  of  the  intrusions  of  the  whites  into 
their  territory  to  gratify  their  long-cherished 
wish  for  war.  They  broke  away  from  their 
reservation,  and  made  repeated  fora\-s  into 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  laid  the  country 
waste,  carried  off  the  horses  and  cattle,  and 
murdered  such  settlers  as  ventured  to  oppose 
them. 


«^ 


//''  ;'t 


>^^=*- 


the  army ;  and  the  government  decided  to 
endeavor  to  purchase  the  region  from  the 
Sioux  and  throw  it  open  to  emigration 
Efforts  were  made  during  the  year  1S75  to 
induce  the  Sioux  to  sell  their  lands,  but  the 
weak  and  vacillating  course  pursued  by  the 
government  simply  disgusted  the  Indians, 
and  they  refused  to  make  the  desired  ar- 
rangement. 

The  Sioux  had   never  been   really  willing 


This  brought  matters  to  a  crisis,  and  early 
in  1S76  the  government  resolved  to  drive 
the  Sioux  back  upon  their  reservation.  A 
force  of  regular  troops,  under  Generals  Terry 
and  Crook,  was  sent  into  the  difficult  moun- 
tainous region  of  the  Upper  Yellowstone, 
and  an  active  campaign  was  begun  against 
the  Indians.  The  force  was  too  small,  how- 
ever, for  the  work  required  of  it. 

In  spite  of  the  smallness   of  its  numbers^ 


ADMIXISTRATIOX   OF   ULYSSHS   S.    GRANT. 


829 


the  army  on  the  frontier  succeeded  in  foi'c- 
ing  the  savages,  who  were  led  by  Sitting 
Bull,  their  most  famous  chief,  and  who  num- 
bered several  thousand  fighting  men,  back  to 
the  Big  Horn  mountains.  The  Indians  now 
took  up  a  strong  position  in  the  mountains, 
and  on  the  t\vent}--fifth  of  June,  1S76,  the 
Seventh  Cavalry,  under  Generals  Custer  and 
Reno,  were  sent  forward  to  ascertain  the 
whereabouts  of  the  enemy.  They  found  the 
savages  encamped  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Little  Horn  River,  and  occup}ing  a  large 
village  some  three  miles  in  length.  General 
Custer,  with  his  little  command,  at  once 
made  a  gallant  attack  upon  the  Indian  vil- 
lage, hoping  that  General  Reno  would  be 
able  to  come  up  in  time  to  support  him. 
Reno  was  unable  to  advance,  howe\er,  Cus- 
ter's little  band  was  soon  surrounded  by  sev- 
eral thousand  of  the  bravest  Sioux  warriors. 
The  conflict  which  ensued  was  one  of  the 
most  heroic  in  the  annals  of  the  American 
army,  and  one  of  the  most  disastrous.  Cus- 
ter was  slain,  together  with  every  man  who 
accompanied  him  into  the  fight,  but  not 
until  they  had  exacted  a  fearful  price  for 
their  li\-es  at  the  hands  of  tlie  savages. 

The    Indians   Defeated. 

General  Reno,  in  the  meantime,  had  be- 
come engaged  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
tow-n,and  was  so  hard  pressed  by  the  Indians 
that  he  was  unable  to  go  to  Custer's  assist- 
ance. He  succeeded  in  drawing  off  his  men 
and  in  retiring  to  the  bluffs  of  the  Little  Horn, 
where  he  held  his  position  until  the  arrival 
of  General  Gibbon  with  reinforcements  com- 
pelled the  savages  to  retreat,  and  saved  the 
remnant  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  from  destruc- 
tion. The  disaster  of  the  Little  Horn  was 
the  most  terrible  defeat  ever  inflicted  upon 
the  United  States  army  by  the  savages,  and 
was  directly  due  to  the  criminal  folly  of  the 
administration  in  sending  a  mere  handful  of 


troops  to  meet  a  strong  body  of  the  bravest 
Indian  warriors  on  the  continent. 

The  disaster  aroused  such  a  storm  of  indig- 
nation throughout  the  country  that  the  Gov 
ernment  hastily  forwarded  reinforcements  to 
the  frontier,  and  Generals  Terry  and  Crook 
were  able  to  conduct  their  campaign  with 
more  vigor.  The  Indians  were  beaten  in  a 
number  of  engagements,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  November  suffered  a  decisive  defeat 
in  a  battle  with  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  under 
Colonel  McKenzie,  at  one  of  the  passes  of 


the  Big  Horn  ^Mountains.  Negotiations  were 
in  progress  during  the  summer  and  autumn 
for  the  remo\al  of  the  Sioux  to  the  Indian 
Territory,  and  by  the  beginning  of  tlie  winter 
the  greater  part  of  the  savages  had  surren- 
dered. 

A  few  bands  under  Sitting  Bull  and  Crazy 
Horse  continued  in  the  field.  Tlicy  were  not 
allowed  to  remain  insecurity  dining  the  win- 
ter, and  on  the  eighth  of  Januar\-,  1877,3 
decisive  victory  was  won  o\er  the  band  of 
Crazy  Horse  at  Wolfe  Mountains,  in  Mon- 
tana Territory,  by  General  Miles,  with  a  force 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 


of  infintr\  and  artiller) 
the  surrender  of  (   li   r  ' 


/^.^. 


This  \ictory  led  to  I  terntou  of  British  America.  By  the  spring 
""I  'in  Til  1  I  rf  is-j  the  war  had  been  practicallybrought 
to  a  close. 

The  question  of  the  re- 
construction of  the  South- 
ern States  was   one  of  the 

acies  which  President 
Grant  received  at  the  hands 
J  of  his  predecessor.  It  was 
,  fondly  hoped  by  the  coun- 
try at  large  that  under  the 
'  new  administration  "  the 
work  of  reconstruction 
w  ould  be  accomplished  and 
the  wounds  of  civil  war 
healed."  The  utterances  of 
President  Grant  upon  en- 
tcung  upon  his  new  duties 
,  ^  justified  these  expectations, 
is  it  was  not  believed  that 
he  cherished  extreme  views, 
or  that  he  harbored  vindict- 
ive feelings. 

"  Nor  is  it  probable,"  says 
a  distinguished  Northern 
writer,*  "that  those  who 
relied  upon  the  President's 
disposition  to  deal  iairly 
and  even  liberally  with  the 
Southern  States,  were  at  all 
mistaken  in  that  regard; 
but  his  ignorance  in  civil 
■iffairs,  which  in  some  cases 
was  conspicuous  and  mor- 
tify ing,  seems  very  early  to- 
have  thrown  him  into  the 
hands  of  managing  politi- 
cians, and  these  were  mainly 
of  the  extreme  type,  who 
made  up  in  bitterness  what 
they  lacked  in  breadth.  The 
politicians  from  the  South 
early  in  1877  the  operations  against  Sitting  I  who  were  most  about   him  were   generally 

Bull  obliged   that  chief  to  take    refuge  in  the   |       *  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr. 


INDIANS   .SUKP 


ND    DEFEATED. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   5.  GRANT. 


831 


adventurers,  who  found  the  power  of  the 
government  a  convenient  instrument  for 
the  furtherance  of  personal  schemes,  and 
who  did  not  scruple  to  make  use  of  their 
influence  with  the  President  to  that  end. 
Among  these  was  one  of  the  President's 
brothers-in-law,   who    amazed    the   countr)- 


judicial  fairness?  Republican  leaders  who 
were  disposed  to  amnesty  and  a  real  oblivion 
for  past  offences,  were  elbowed  out  of  place, 
and  at  last  driven  to  the  rear." 

The  labors  of  reconstruction  were  nomi- 
nally completed  in  1870.  "  Had  the  course 
of  the  managing  men  of  the  party  in  power 


by  his  daring  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  |  been  wise  and  conciliatory,  had  it  been  actu- 


State  which  he  had  chosen  as  the  scene 
of  his  operations.  The  Northern  politicians 
who  surrounded  the  President  were  largely 

of  a   similar    stripe Was   it   to 

be  expected  of  such  men  that  they  would 
deal  generously  with  a  fallen  foe,  or  was  it 
within  the  compass  of  partisanship  like  theirs 
that  their  opponents  should  be  treated  with 


I  atcd  by  high  motives  and  statesmanlike 
views,  and  had  the  men  who  represented  the 
party  in  the  Southern  States  been  men  who 
were  laboring  for  the  good  of  their  section, 
rather  than  for  the  advancement  of  their  own 
personal  interests,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that 
the  administration  would  have  been  able  to 

i  attach  to  itself  the  support  of  a  majority  of 


S32 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES  S.   GRANT, 
olored   people 


the  Southern  people.     Th 
were  naturally  its  friends. 

"  The  patronage  of  the  administration  was 


CANVON  OF  THE  LODORE  AND  OM  L\E 

(large,  and  it  would  ha\-e  drawn  a  strong 
support  to  the  party  had  it  been  distributed 
-wisely  and  from  an  evident  desire  to  accom- 


plish only  the  purposes  for  which  offices  are 
created.  Moreover,  the  Southern  people 
needed  peace  and  quiet  to  recuperate  their 
exhausted  interests; 
and  while  many 
hot-heads  were  sup- 
posed to  be  violent 
and  troublesome, 
the  best  and  most 
influential  of  them, 
of  whom  the  late 
Vice-President  of 
the  Confederacy 
was  an  example, 
were  disposed  to 
accept  with  grati- 
tude such  advances 
oftheir  late  enemies 
as  promised  to 
render  peace  pos- 
sible and  perma- 
nent. But  as,  un- 
fortunately, all 
were  not  of  this 
class,  the  persons 
who  had  the  Presi- 
dent's ear,  and  who 
assumed  to  speak 
for  the  party  in 
Congress,  found  it 
convenient  fortheir 
,)urpose  to  present 
ihe  impracticable 
and  violent  as  the 
proper  representa- 
ti\es  of  Southern 
-eatiment,  and  to 
-^peak  of  and  deal 
with  the  Southern 
eopleas  unrepent- 
ant rebels.who  were 
to  be  held  down  by  the  strong  hand. 

"  That  the  white  people  of  the  South  were 
alienated  from  the  Republican  part\^  was  not 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES  S.   GRANT. 


^o5 


surprising.  It  was  almost  a  matter  of  course 
that  the  control  of  the  Southern  States  should 
pass  to  the  Democratic  party,  for  it  was  quite 
impossible  to  retain  all  the  freedmen  in  one 
part}',  while  their  late  masters,  the  persons 
upon  whom  they  now  relied  for  employment, 
were  mainly  to  be  found  in  the  other.  The 
'color  line'  was  drawn  when  the  narrow  pol- 
icy of  extreme  partisans  among  the  Repub- 
lican leaders  arrayed  against  them  Southern 
whites ;  the  drawing  of  it  indeed  left  some 
white  leaders  among  the  freedmen,  but  it  did 
not  prevent  a  still  greater  number  of  the  lat- 
ter following  the  political  fortunes  of  those 
with  whose  material  interests  their  own  were 
so  closely  identified  ;  and  the  political  ascen- 
dency of  the  Republican  party  in  the  South- 
ern States  was  lost  permanently."* 

Trouble  in  Louisiana. 

This  interference  of  the  President  in  the 
affairs  of  a  State  was  brought  to  a  crisis  in 
the  winter  of  1874-75,  in  the  State  of  Louisi- 
ana. At  the  election  for  members  of  the 
Legislature,  held  during  the  fall  of  1 874,  both 
the  Republican  and  Conservative  parties 
claimed  the  victory.  The  Legislature  met 
in  New  Orleans,  on  the  fourth  of  Januarj-, 
1875,  and  a  struggle  ensued  for  the  control 
of  the  organization  of  the  lower  House.  By 
their  superior  strategy  the  Democrats,  or 
Conservatives,  were  successful,  and  proceeded 
to  organize  the  House  and  seat  five  members 
of  their  own  party,  who  had  contested  as 
many  Republican  seats 'in  the  House.  The 
Democratic  triumph  was  of  short  duration, 
however,  for  in  a  few  moments.  General  De 
Trobriand,  of  the  United  States  army,  entered 
the  hall  and  announced  that  he  had  orders  to 
remove  the  five  members  sworn  in. 

The  Democratic  Speaker,  and  the  five 
members  themselves,  protested  against  this 


'  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr 
S3 


interference  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  troops, 
and  declared  that  they  would  not  leave  their 
scats  until  forced  from  them.  General  De 
Trobriand  immediately  summoned  a  file  o{ 
soldiers,  and  the  five  members  were  removed 
from  their  seats  and  expelled  from  the  hall, 
the  Democratic  Speaker  and  members  at 
once  withdrew  from  the  hall,  and  the  House 
was  organized  b\'  the  Republicans. 

This  strange  and  inexcusable  spectacle  of 
the  interference  of  the  Federal  troops  in  the 
domestic  affairs  of  a  State  had  no  parallel  in 
American   history.     It   aroused  a  feeling  of 


SAMUEL  J     TILDEN. 

general  indignation  throughout  the  North^ 
and  the  President  was  sharply  denounced, 
even  by  men  of  his  own  party,  for  his  inter- 
ference with  the  organization  of  a  State 
Legislature.  Several  Governors  addressed 
special  messages  on  the  subject  to  the  Legis- 
latures of  their  respective  States,  and  legisla- 
lative  resolutions  were  passed  denouncing 
the  course  pursued  by  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. 

The  indignation  which  thus  expressed 
itself  was  greatly  increased  by  a  dispatch 
frcjm  General  Sheridan,  commanding  at  New 


834 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


Orleans,  to  the  War  Department,  dated  fifth 
of  January,  1S75,  advising  the  general  govern- 
ment to  declare  the  people  of  Louisiana 
banditti,  and  to  turn  them  over  to  him  and  to 
his  troops  for  punishment.  This  savage  sug- 
gestion was  deeply  resented  bj'  the  people  of 
the  whole  countr\%  who  had  by  this  time 
good  cause  to  deplore  an\-  interference  of 
the  military  in  civil  affairs. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  public 
indignation  was  felt  by  even  the  President, 
for,  in  a  message  to  Congress  upon  the  sub- 
ject, he  made  this  admission,  while  defending 


the  course  of  the  administration  :  "  I  am 
well  aware  that  any  military  interference  by 
the  officers  or  troops  of  the  United  States 
with  the  organization  of  a  State  Legislature 
or  any  of  its  proceedings,  or  with  any  civil 
department  of  the  government,  is  repugnant 
to  our  ideas  of  government.  I  can  conceive 
of  no  case  not  involving  rebellion  or  insur- 
rection where  such  interference  by  authority 
of  the  general  government  ought  to  be  per- 
mitted, or  can  be  justified.'' 

In  the  summer  of  1S76  the  various  poiliti- 
cal  parties  of  the  Union  met  in  their  respective 


conventions  to  nominate  candidates  foi 
the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  which  officers  were  to  be 
chosen  at  the  general  election  in  November. 
The  Republican  Convention  assembled  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on  the  fourteenth  of  June, 
and  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Governor 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  for  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  William  A.  Wheeler, 
of  New  York,  for  Vice-President.  The 
Democratic  Convention  was  held  at  St.  Louis 
on  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  and  nomi- 
nated Governor  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  of  New 
York,  for  the  Presidency,  and  Governor 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  for  the 
Vice-Presidency.  A  third  convention,  repre- 
senting the  Independent  Greenback  party, 
met  at  Indianapolis,  on  the  eighteenth  of 
May,  and  nominated  Peter  Cooper,  of  New 
York,  for  President,  and  Samuel  F.  Cary,  of 
Ohio,  for  Vice-President. 

Result  of  the  Campaign. 

The  campaign  which  followed  these  nomi- 
nations was  one  of  intense  bitterness,  and  was 
in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  the 
country  has  ever  witnessed.  A  most  dis- 
creditable feature  of  it  was  the  appearance 
of  Mr.  Chandler,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
as  the  chief  manager  of  the  Republican  party. 
It  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
country  that  a  member  of  the  President's 
Cabinet  had  ever  held  so  questionable  a 
position  ;  the  first  time  that  the  patronage 
of  the  government  had  ever  been  used 
so  openly  in  behalf  of  a  political  party. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Secretary  Chandler, 
the  manly  and  conciliatory  letter  of  accept- 
ance of  Governor  Hayes  was  ignored,  and 
a  campaign  of  great  bitterness  was  inaugur- 
ated. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  seventh  oJ 
November.  The  popular  vote  was  as 
follows : 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 


835 


For  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  4,284,265 

"    Rutherford  B.  Hayes,        4,033,295 

"    Peter  Cooper,  81,737 

Tilden  thus  received  a  popular  majority  of 

250,970  votes  over  Hayes,  and  a  majority  of 

169,233  votes  over  both   Hayes  and  Cooper. 

In  the  Electoral  Colleges,  one  hundred  and 

eighty-five  votes  were  necessary  to  a  choice. 


Carolina  to  Governor  Ha}-es,  Mr.  Tilden  had 
fairly  carried  both  Florida  and  Louisiana, and 
was  entitled  to  one  hundred  and  ninetj'-six 
electoral  votes.  The  revision  of  the  vote  in 
Florida  and  Louisiana  had  been  confided, 
since  the  reorganization  of  those  States,  to 
Returning  Boards. 

It  was  evident  from  the  first  that  each  of 


^^^mi&^i^M 


POINT    PLEASANT,  OHIO,    THE    BIRTHPLACE    OF    PRESIDENT    GRANT. 


Of  this  number,  Governor  Tilden  received 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four,  and  Governor 
Hayes  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  undis- 
puted votes.  The  votes  of  the  States  of 
Florida,  Louisiana,  Oregon  and  South  Car- 
olina, twenty-two  in  number,  were  claimed 
by  both  parties  for  their  respective  candidates. 
It  was  declared  by  the  Democrats  that,  even 
conceding  the  votes  of  Oregon   and  South 


these  boards  would  return  the  vote  of  its 
respective  State  for  the  Republican  candidate, 
and  it  was  feared  that  this  would  be  produc- 
tive of  trouble,  as  the  Democrats  claimed  a 
majority  in  these  States.  Immediately  after 
the  election,  therefore,  President  Grant 
appointed  a  number  of  prominent  Republi- 
cans to  proceed  to  Florida  and  Louisiana  to 
watch   the  counting  of  the   votes   of  those 


836 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


States;  and  a  number  of  prominent  Dem- 
ocrats repaired  to  Tallahassee  and  New 
Orleans  for  the  same  purpose.  These  gen- 
tlemen had  no  official  character,  and  were 
without  power  to  interfere  in  any  way  with 
the  counting  of  the  vote.  It  was  hoped,  how- 
ever, that  their  presence  as  witnesses  would 
act  as  a  check  upon  the  boards,  and  thus  a 
fair  count  be  secured.  Both  States  were 
returned  for  Hayes. 

Investigations  showed  that  the  electoral 
vote  of  South  Carolina  had  been  fairly  cast 
for  Hayes,  and  it  was  generally  conceded  to 


him  by  both  parties.  The  Democratic  Gov- 
ernor of  Oregon  attempted  by  a  transparent 
fraud  to  give  the  electoral  vote  of  that  State 
to  Tilden,  and  thus  elect  him  ;  but  it  came  to 
be  the  general  sentiment  of  the  country  that 
the  electoral  vote  of  Oregon  should  right- 
fully be  cast  for  Hayes. 

This  confined  the  real  struggle  to  the  votes 
of  Florida  and  Louisiana.  It  was  the  general 
conviction  of  the  country  that  both  of  those 
States  had  been  fairly  carried  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  many  earnest  Republicans 
gave  open   expression  to  this  belief.     The 


action  of  the  Return  Boards,  however,  was 
still  within  the  letter  of  the  laws  under  which 
they  had  acted.  The  Republican  party,  there- 
fore, claimed  that  as  such  action  was  not  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  Florida  and  Louisiana  itf 
must  stand ;  that  neither  Congress  nor  any 
other  body  had  power  to  go  behind  the  cer- 
tificate of  the  electoral  vote  of  a  State,  prop- 
erly signed  and  authenticated  by  the  State 
officials  ;  and  that  when  such  certificates  were 
presented  to  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  at 
the  counting  of  the  electoral  votes  of  the 
States,  they  must  be  accepted  without  ques- 
tion, and  the  electoral  votes  of  Florida  and 
Louisiana  be  counted  for  Hayes.  They 
declared  that  the  States  had  power  to  make  any 
laws  they  might  see  fit  for  the  counting  of  their 
popular  vote,  and  that  for  Congress  to  seek  to 
interfere  with  such  laws  would  be  to  illegally 
trespass  upon  the  reserved  rights  of  the 
States.  They  held,  therefore,  that  as  the 
action  of  the  Return  Boards  was  within  the 
letter  of  the  laws  of  their  respective  States 
Florida  and  Louisiana  must  be  counted  foi 
Ha)'es. 

The  Country  Agitated. 

The  Democrats,  on  the  other  hand,  main- 
tained that  the  popular  majority  for  Tilden  in 
Florida  and  Louisiana  was  too  evident  to  be 
doubted,  being  simply  overwhelming  in  the 
latter  State,  .-^nd  ':hat  the  Return  Boards  had 
overcome  these  majorities  only  by  a  fraudu- 
lent use  of  their  powers  in  throwing  out 
Democratic  votes  to  an  extent  sufficient  to 
give  Florida  and  Louisiana  to  the  Republi- 
cans. They  declared,  moreover,  that,  as  the 
Louisiana  Board  had  refused  to  appoint  a 
Democratic  member  to  the  vacancy  in  that 
body,  as  required  by  the  law  under  which 
they  acted,  their  action  was  necessarily  ille- 
gal. They  held  that,  as  both  Florida  and 
Louisiana  had  been  wrongfully  and  fraudu- 
lently given  to  the  Republicans  by  the  Return 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   ULYSSES  •  S.    GRANT. 


837 


Boards  in  defiance  of  the  will  of  the  people  r.f 
those  States  as  expressed  at  the  polls,  the 
electoral  votes  of  both  of  those  States  should 
not  be  counted  by  Congress. 

Such  action  on  the  part  of  Congress  would 
have  resulted  in  a  declaration  by  that  body 
that  there  had  been  no  popular  choice  of  a 
President  and  Vice-President,  and  the  elec- 


Boards ;  and  the  Republicans  announced 
their  decision  to  insist  upon  the  counting  of 
the  votes  of  those  States  as  certified  by  the 
State  officials.  Each  party  denounced  the 
other  with  great  bitterness  ;  the  country  was 
deeply  agitated,  and  threats  of  armed  resist- 
ance were  freely  indulged  in  by  both  parties. 
The  crisis   was  the  most  alarming  that  had 


THt    NEW     DEPXKlMt. 


tion  of  the  President  would  have  devolved 
upon  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the 
choice  of  the  Vice-President  upon  the  Senate, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution. The  Democrats,  therefore,  declared 
that  they  would  insist  upon  the  rejection  of 
the  votes  of  Florida  and  Louisiana  upon  the 
ground  of  fraud  on  the  part  of  the  Return 


threatened  the  country  since  the  outbreak  of 
the  civil  war.  A  feeling  of  general  uneasiness 
prevailed  throughout  the  Union,  which 
showed  itself  in  the  depression  of  business  in 
all  sections. 

Congress  met  on  the  fourth  of  December, 
1876.  The  House  of  Representatives  was 
organized  by  the  Democratic  majority  by  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES  S.    GRANT. 


election  of  Samuel  J.  Randall,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, as  Speaker.  Immediately  upon  the 
organization  of  Congress  the  question  of  the 
mannerof  counting  the  electoral  votes  of  the 
States  came  up  in  that  bod\-.  The  Repub- 
lican majority  in  the  Senate  claimed  that,  by 
the  terms  of  the  Constitution,  the  Vice-Pre- 
sident was  compelled  to  open  the  certificates 
of  the  States  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  in  joint  convention, 
and  declare  the  result,  the  two  Houses 
being   pre=;('nt   mcte'\-  as    wit'^e-ses   of  the 


GEORGE    F.  EDMUNDS. 

count  by  the  Vice-President.  With  this 
view  the  Republicans  in  the  lower  House 
agreed. 

The  Democrats  in  both  Houses  maintained 
that  while  the  Constitution  required  the  Vice- 
President  to  open  the  certificates  and  count 
the  electoral  votes,  the  two  Houses  of  Con- 
gress were  made  the  judges  of  the  legality 
of  those  certificates,  and  that,  in  the  case  of 
the  presentation  of  two  certificates  from  the 
same  State,  the  two  Houses  were  the  rightful 
judges  of  which  was  the  proper  one;  and 
that,  in    the  event  of  a  failure    of  the    two 


Houses  to  agree  in  such  a  decision,  the  vote 
of  such  State  must  be  rejected. 

In  support  of  this  view,  they  brought  for- 
ward the  Twenty-second  Joint  Rule  of  Con- 
gress, adopted  February  si.Kth,  1865,  by  a 
Republican  Congress,  and  under  which  the 
counting  of  the  electoral  vote  in  1865,  1869 
and  1873  had  been  conducted.  In  January, 
1876,  the  Senate,  still  Republican,  passed  a 
concurrent  resolution  adopting  the  joint  rules 
of  the  previous  session  of  Congress,  as  the 
joint  rules  for  that  session,  "  excepting  the 
Twenty-second  Joint  Rule."  The  House 
failed  to  act  upon  the  resolutions.  At  the 
opening  of  the  session  in  December,  1876, 
the  President  of  the  Senate  ruled  that  there 
were  no  joint  rules  in  operation.  The  Speaker 
of  the  House,  on  the  other  hand,  ruled  that  the 
joint  rules  previously  existing,  still  existed. 

Angry  Speeches  and  Threats. 

Thus  the  issue  between  the  two  Houses 
was  distinctly  made.  The  House  declared 
its  intention  of  insisting  upon  the  right 
secured  to  it  by  the  Twenty-second  Joint  Rule 
of  objecting  to  the  vote  of  a  State,  and  that 
it  would  withdraw  from  the  joint  convention 
if  this  right  were  denied  it  by  the  Senate.  The 
Senate  declared  that,  in  case  of  such  with- 
drawal by  the  House,  the  count  would  be 
continued  by  the  Senate,  and  the  result  pro- 
claimed by  the  Vice-President.  The  House, 
on  tne  other  hand,  announced  its  intention 
of  acting  in  such  a  case  if  there  had  been  no 
choice  by  the  electoral  vote;  it  would  at 
once  proceed  to  elect  the  President  as  re- 
quired by  the  Constitution. 

Each  House  was  firm  in  its  resolution,  and 
the  breach  between  them  widened  daily. 
Angry  speeches  and  threats  were  made  by 
members  of  Congress,  and  the  general  alarm 
and  uneasiness  deepened  throughout  the 
country.  The  time  appointed  by  the  Con- 
stitution for  countintr  the  electoral   vote  was 


ADMINISTRATION    OP'   ULYSSES   S.    GRANT. 


839 


rapidly  drawing  nigh,  and  it  seemed  likely 
that  an  era  of  anarchy  was  about  to  ensue. 
Each  House  would  act  for  itself;  two  Presi- 
dents would  be  declared  elected.  There 
was  no  doubt  that  President  Grant  would 
sustain  the  choice  of  the  Senate  with  the 
army.  In  such  an  event  civil  war  was  inevi- 
table. 

The  danger  was  so  great  that  patriotic  men 
of  both  parties  in  Congress  set  to  work  to 
devise  some  means  of  settlement.  It  was 
plain  that  this  could  be  accomplished  only 
by  a  compromise.  A  conference  committee 
was  appointed  by  each  House,  which  com- 
mittee, after  a  long  deliberation,  reported  to 
the  two  Houses  of  Congress  a  bill  providing 
for  the  appointment  of  a  commission,  to 
consist  of  fifteen  members.  Five  of  these 
were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Senate,  and  five 
by  the  House  of  Representatives.  The  re- 
maining five  were  to  be  chosen  from  the 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Four  of  the 
justices  were  designated  by  the  bill ;  the  fifth 
was  to  be  chosen  by  the  justices  named  in 
the  bill. 

The  Joint  Convention. 

The  bill  provided  for  the  meethig  of  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress  in  joint  convention 
on  the  first  Thursday  in  February.  The 
votes  were  to  be  opened  by  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  counted  by  tellers  appointed  for 
the  purpose.  Each  House  was  to  have  the 
right  to  object  to  the  vote  of  a  State,  but  in 
cases  where  only  one  certificate  was  pre- 
sented the  objection  must  be  sustained  by  the 
affirmative  vote  of  both  Houses.  If  not  so 
sustained,  the  objection  must  fall  and  the 
vote  be  counted.  Section  II.  of  the  bill  pro- 
vided :  "That,  if  more  than  one  return,  or 
paper  purporting  to  be  a  return  from  a  State, 
shall  have  been  received  by  the  President  of 
the  Senate,  purporting  to  be  the  certificates 
of  electoral  votes  given  at  the  last  preceding 


election  for  President  and  Vice-President  in 
such  State  (unless  they  shall  be  duplicates 
of  the  same  return),  all  such  returns  and 
papers  shall  be  opened  by  him  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  two  Houses  when  met  as  afore- 
said, and  read  by  the  tellers,  and  all  such 
returns  and  papers  shall  thereupon  be  submit- 
ted to  the  judgment  and  decision  as  to  which 
is  the  true  and  lawful  electoral  vote  of  sucii 
State,"  of  the  commission  appointed  by  the 
bill. 

The  decision  of  the  commission,  with  the 


THOMAS    F.  BAYARD. 

reasons  therefor,  was  to  be  submitted  to  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress.  Should  objection 
be  made  by  five  senators  and  five  representa- 
tives to  the  report  of  the  commission,  the  two 
Houses  were  to  separate  and  discuss  the  said 
objections,  the  time  allowed  for  debate  being 
limited  by  the  bill ;  but  unless  both  Houses 
should  agree  to  sustain  the  objections,  the 
decision  of  the  commission  should  stand. 

This  plan  met  with  considerable  favor  from 
the  conservative  element  of  both  Houses,  but 
was  strongly  opposed  by  the  more  ultra  of 
both  parties.     It  was  debated  at  length  and 


84C 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 


with  great  vigor.  It  passed  the  Senate  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  1S77,  by  a  vote 
of  forty-seven  yeas  and  seventeen  nays ;  ten 
senators  not  voting.  The  vote  in  the  House 
was  taken  the  next  day,  and  stood,  yeas,  one 
hundred  and  ninety-one ;  nays,  eighty-six ; 
fourteen  representatives  not  voting.  The 
vote  in  the  Senate  was  divided  as  follows: 
Yeas — Republicans,  twenty- one;  Democrats- 
forty-six.  A^aj'S — Republicans, sixteen;  Dem- 
ocrats, one.  In  the  House  it  stood :  Yeas — 
Democrats,  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine : 
Republicans,  thirty-two.  Najs — Democrats, 
eighteen;  Republicans,  sixty-eight.  The  bill 
was  immediately  signed  by  President  Grant, 
who  had  from  the  first  given  it  his  warm 
encouragement. 

Counting  the   Electoral  Vote. 

The  members  of  the  commission  were 
promptly  appointed.  They  were  as  follows  ; 
Justices  Clifford,  Strong,  Miller,  Field  and 
Bradley,  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  Senators 
Edmunds,  Morton,  Frelinghuysen,  Thurman 
and  Bayard ;  and  Representatives  Payne, 
Hunton,  Abbott,  Garfield  and  Hoar. 

The  two  Houses  of  Congress  met  in  joint 
convention  on  the  first  of  February,  1877, 
and  began  the  counting  of  the  electoral  vote. 
When  the  vote  of  Florida  was  reached,  three 
certificates  were  presented  and  were  referred 
to  the  Electoral  Commission.  This  body, 
upon  hearing  the  arguments  of  the  counsel 
of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties^ 
decided  that  it  had  no  power  to  go  behind 
the  action  of  the  Return  Board,  and  that  the 
certificate  of  that  body  giving  the  vote  of  that 
State  to  Hayes,  must  be  accepted  by  the  two 


Houses  of  Congress.  The  vote  by  which 
this  decision  was  reached  stood  eight  all 
Republicans)  in  favor  of  it,  and  seven  (all 
Democrats)  against  it.  The  party  line  appear- 
ing thus  so  sharply  in  the  commission  mor- 
tified and  disgusted  the  whole  country,  which 
had  looked  to  the  commission  for  a  decision 
that  should  be  beyond  question. 

A  similar  conclusion  was  come  to  in  the 
case  of  Louisiana.  Objections  were  made 
to  the  reception  of  the  votes  of  Oregon  and 
South  Carolina.  In  the  Oregon  case  the 
decision  was  unanimously  in  favor  of  counting 
the  votes  of  the  Hayes  electors.  In  the 
South  Carolina  case  the  commission  decided 
that  the  Democratic  electors  were  not  law- 
fully chosen  ;  but  on  the  motion  to  give  the 
State  to  Hayes,  the  vote  stood  eight  yeas  to 
seven  nays.  So  South  Carolina  was  counted 
for  Hayes.  Objection  was  made,  on  the 
ground  of  ineligibility,  to  certain  electors 
from  Michigan,  Nevada,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode 
Island,  Vermont  and  Wisconsin,  but  the 
objections  were  not  sustained  by  the  two 
Houses. 

The  final  result  was  reached  at  ten  minutes 
after  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
second  of  March,  1877.  The  counting  of 
the  votes  of  the  States  having  been  con- 
cluded, Mr.  Allison,  one  of  the  tellers  on  the 
part  of  the  Senate,  announced  the  result  of 
the  footings  ;  whereupon  the  presiding  officer 
of  the  two  Houses  declared  Rutherford  B, 
Hayes,  of  Ohio,  the  duly  elected  President, 
and  William  A.  Wheelei,  of  New  York,  the 
duly  elected  Vice-President,  for  the  term  of 
four  years,  commencing  on  the  fourth  of 
March,  1877. 


CHAPTER  XLV 


The  Administration   of  Rutherford   B.    Hayes. 

nauguration  of  President  Haj-es— Sketch  of  the  Xew  President— Civil  Ser\-ice  Reform — Troops  in  South 
Carolina — Two  Legislatures  in  Session — Investigation  by  President  Hayes— Prompt  Action — Settlement 
of  the  Troubles  in  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana — General  Grant's  Tour  Around  the  World — Enthusiastic 
Reception  by  the  Crowned  Heads  of  other  Nations — Tenth  Census  of  the  United  States— Election  of  General 
Garfield  as  President — Arctic  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  DeLong — Hardy  Adventurers  Two  Winters  in  the 
Ice-Pack — Destruction  of  the  "Jeannette  " — Relief  Expeditions — Death  from  Starvation. 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  the 
nineteenth  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  publicly  inaugurated  at 
Washington  on  Monday,  March  5 , 
1S77.  As  the  fourth  of  March  fell  on  Sun- 
day, the  President-elect  simply  took  the  oath 
of  ofiFice  on  that  day.  The  inaugural  cere- 
monies were  carried  out  on  the  fifth  at  the 
Capitol  with  the  usual  pomp  and  parade,  and 
in  the  presence  of  an  enormous  multitude  of 
citizens  and  visiting  military  organizations 
from  all  parts  of  the  country.  After  the  cus- 
tomary reception  by  the  Senate,  the  new 
President  was  escorted  Ij  the  eastern  portico 
of  the  Capitol,  where  he  delivered  his  inaug- 
ural address  to  the  assembled  multitude,  after 
which  the  oath  of  office  was  publicly  admin- 
istered to  him  by  Chief  Justice  Waite. 

The  new  President  was  a  native  of  Ohio, 
having  been  born  at  Delaware,  in  that  State, 
on  the  fourth  of  October,  1822.  He  graduated 
at  Kenyon  College,  Gambler,  Ohio,  and 
obtained  his  professional  education  at  the 
Cambridge  Law  School.  He  began  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law  at  Cincinnati  in  1856.  He  was 
shortly  afterwards  made  City  Solicitor,  which 
office  he  held  until  the  beginning  of  the  civil 
war  in  1861.  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the 
war  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-third  Ohio 
Volunteers,  with  which  regiment  he  served 
as  major,  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel.  He 
led   his   regiment,  which  formed   a  part;    of 


General  Reno's  division,  at  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain,  in  September,  1862,  and 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  arm  in  that 
engagement. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  made  colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  in  1 864  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general  of  volunteers 
"  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the 
battles  of  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar 
Creek,"  and  was  brevetted  major-general  "  for 
gallant  and  distinguished  services  during  the 
campaigns  _f  1864  in  West  Virginia,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  battles  of  Fisher's  Hill  and 
Cedar  Cre'k."  At  the  time  of  this  last  pro- 
motion he  was  in  command  of  a  division. 
He  served  until  the  close  of  the  war,  receiv- 
ing four  wounds  and  having  five  horses  shot 
under  him  during  his  military  career.  In  the 
fall  of  1864  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and 
was  returned  a  second  time  in  1 866.  In  1 867, 
before  the  expiration  of  his  Congressional 
term,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Ohio,  and 
was  re-elected  to  that  office  in  1869,  being 
each  time  the  candidate  of  the  Republican 
party.  In  1870  General  Hayes  was  again 
elected  to  Congress,  and  in  1874  was  nomi- 
nated for  a  third  term  as  Governor  of  Ohio. 
His  opponent  was  Governor  William  Allen, 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  Democratic 
leaders  of  Ohio.  General  Hayes  was  elected 
by  a  handsome  majority.  He  resigned  this 
office  in  March,  1877,  to  enter  upon  his 
841 


842  ADMINISTRATKJX    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

new  duties  as  President  of  tlie  United  States, 
President   Hayes,  in    his  letter  accepting 
the  nomination   of  his  party  for  the 


dency,    declared    that    if  elected    he 


Presi- 
would 


^^-;= 


earnestly  and  faithfully  seek  to  do  justice  to 
the  States  of  the  South,  and  reform  the  civil 
service  of  the  country  by  ridding  it  of  cor- 
rupt men,  and  requiring  a  faithful  discharge 
of  duty  at  the  hands  of  every  public  officer. 


Immediately  upon  his  inauguration  he  set  to 
work    to    make    good    his    promises.      He 
selected  his  Cabinet  from  among  the  ablest 
men  in  the  country,  making  ability,  and  not 
—   -       ___^^^    partisan    service,    the 
ust  of  the    fitness   of 
;    the  persons  selected. 
William  RI.  Evarts,  of 
New  York,  was  made 
Secretary  of  State,  and 
the    existence  of  the 
NA,  Southern    States   as 

^ft  members  of  the  Union 

y      ^.  was  recognized  by  the 

■    '  appointment,  as  Post- 

master-General,of  Mr. 
Key,  of  Tennessee, 
who  had  sustained  the 
Democratic  ticket  in 
the  canvass  of  1876. 
Except  to  the  extreme 
partisans  who  had 
done  the  country  so 
much  harm  under  the 
last  administration, 
the  appointments  of 
the  new  President 
gave  great  satisfaction 
to  the  entire  nation. 

Measures  were 
promptly  set  on  foot 
for  the  inauguration 
(}fa  better  civil  service 
s\-stem.  The  most  im- 
ortant  matter  which 
resented  itself  to  the 
new  President  for  set- 
tlement was  the  con- 
dition of  the  States  of 
Louisiana  and  South  Carolina.  In  the  fall 
of  1876  an  election  for  Governor  and  other 
State  officers  was  held  in  each  of  these 
States.  The  result  at  the  polls  appeared  to 
be  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  or  Conservative 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


candidates.  In  each  State  tlie  revision  of 
the  vote  was  controlled  by  Republicans, 
some  of  whom  were  candidates  for  re-elec- 
tion. The  Returning  Boards  announced  the 
triumph  of  the  Republican  tickets  in  Louis- 
jiana  and  South  Carolina. 
'  In  South  Carolina  the  Conservatives  re- 
solved to  inaugurate  General  Wade  Hamp- 
ton, their  candidate,  as  Governor.  The 
Governor  of  the  State  was  Mr.  Daniel  H. 
Chamberlain,  who  had  been  the  Republican 
candidate  for  re-election.  Upon 
learning  the  intention  of  the  De- 
mocrats to  inaugurate  their  Gov- 
ernor, Mr.  Chamberlain  applied  to 
President  Grant  for  military  aid. 
His  application  to  President  Grant 
was  promptly  responded  to,  and 
General  Ruger,  commanding  the 
Department  of  the  South,  was  or- 
dered to  place  the  troops  stationed 
in  Columbia  at  Governor  Chamber- 
lain's disposal.  Having  secured  the 
aid  of  the  troops,  Governor  Cham- 
berlain now  proceeded  to  take  the 
first  step  in  his  plan.  On  the  night 
of  the  twenty-seventh  of  November 
the  State  House  was  occupied  by  a 
detachment  of  troops,  which  was 
posted  so  as  to  command  all  the 
apprcaches  to  the  halls  of  the 
Legislature. 

The  twenty-eighth  of  November, 
I  S76,was  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting  of 
the  Legislature.  The  Democratic  members 
met  in  caucus  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  proceeded  in  a  body  to  the  State  House. 
Arriving  there,  they  found  the  building  occu- 
pied by  the  troops,  and  were  compelled  to 
submit  their  credentials  to  the  officers  of  the 
guard,  who  admitted  such  as  had  papers 
which  he  pronounced  satisfactory.  Passing 
through  the  troops  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature reacl:ed  the   door   c  f  the  hall  of   the 


Lower  House,  which  they  found  guarded  also 
by  troops.  The  doorkeeper,  backed  by  the 
military  force,  refused  to  admit  certain  of  the 
delegates  whose  credentials  he  declared  were 
null  and  void.  The  entire  body  of  Demo 
cratic  members  then  withdrew,  after  protest 
ing  against  the  interference  of  the  military 
Under  the  protection  of  the  troops  the 
Republicans  organized  the  Legislature. 

The  irtterference  of  the  troops  aroused  the 
most  intense  excitement  in  Columbia,  and  it 


WILLIAM    A.  WHEELER. 

was  with  difficulty  that  an  outbreak  was  pre- 
vented, mainly  through  the  influence  of 
General  Hampton.  The  Democrats,  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  November,  succeeded  in 
gaining  admission  to  the  State  House,  where 
they  organized  the  House  of  Representatives. 
After  a  struggle  of  a  week  with  the  Repub- 
licans, they  withdrew  to  South  Carolina  Hall, 
and  conducted  the  sessions  of  the  Legisla- 
ture there,  gaining  members  by  degrees  from 
Chamberlain's  Leirislaturc  atthe  State  House. 


i544 


ADMINISTRATION'    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


The  Republican  Legislature  declared  the 
election  of  Governor  Chamberlain,  and  on 
the  seventh  of  December  he  was  sworn  into 
office,  under  the  protection  of  the  Federal 
troops. 

The  Conservative  Legislature  continued  its 
sessions  at  South  Carolina  Hall,  and  on  the 
fourteenth  of  December  Governor  Hampton 


tion  of  the  taxes  to  enable  him  to  ~.a.rry  on. 
the  government  were  cordially  and  promptly- 
responded  to.  The  authority  o*"  Governor 
Chamberlain  was  not  recognized  beyond  the 
h.-nits  of  the  State  House  in  which  the 
Federal  troops  were  quartered  ;  the  people 
refused  to  pay  their  taxes  to  his  government, 
and  his  frovernori^hio  \va'=  a  mere  name.     In 


was  publicly  inaugurated  amid  the  greatest 
enthusiasm.  He  at  once  set  to  work,  with 
his  associates,  to  administer  the  government 
of  the  State.  He  was  recognized  by  the  vast 
majority  offthe  people  of  South  Carolina,  by 
many  eveni  wjlw  had  voted  against  him.  His 
authority  watv  everywhere  respected ;  and 
his  calls  upoj):  the  people  to  advance  a  por- 


view  of  this  state  of  affairs  President  Grant 
was  repeatedly  urged  to  withdraw  the  troops 
from  the  State  buildings  to  their  barracks, 
but  persistently  refused  to  do  so. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  South  Car- 
olina at  the  inauguration  of  President  Hayes. 
The  new  President,  with  characteristic  cau- 
tion, proceeded    to    investigate    the    mattei. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


After  a  patient  and  thorough  inquiry  he 
found  that  the  Federal  troops  were  quartered 
in  the  State  House  of  South  Carolina  in  an 
unlawful  manner  ;  that  the  Constitution  gave 
to  the  Federal  government  no  authority  to 
interfere  in  the  domestic  concerns  of  a  State, 
leaving  the  decision  of  disputed  elections  to 
the  State  courts  for  settlement ;  and  that  no 
such  state  of  lawlessness  or  insurrection  as 
would  justify  Federal  interference  existed  in 
South  Carolina. 

In  view  ofthe.se  facts,  his  duty  in  the  case 
was  plain.  It  was  to  restore  the  proper  rela- 
tions between  the  Federal  government  and 
the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  to  put  an 
end  to  the  unlawful  and  unjustifiable  interfer- 
ence with  the  affairs  of  that  State.  The  mat- 
ter was  laid  before  the  Cabinet,  and  on  the 
second  of  April,  1877,  it  was  resolved  to 
order  the  troops  to  withdraw  from  the  State 
House  to  their  barracks  at  Columbia.  The 
order  was  at  once  issued,  and  was  carried 
into  effect  on  the  sixth  of  April.  The  troops 
were  withdrawn,  and  South  Carolina  was  left 
;to  settle  her  own  affairs.  This  step  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  speedy  withdrawal  of  Governor 
Chamberlain  from  the  contest.  The  Hamp- 
ton government  was  soon  installed  in  the 
State  House,  and  its  authority  was  firmly- 
established  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  to  the 
great  joy  of  its  people. 

The  Trouble  in  Louisiana. 

The  State  buildings  of  Louisiana  had  been 
held  by  the  Federal  troops  ever  since  the 
expulsion  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
by  General  De  Trobriand,  in  1873.  At  the 
election,  in  1876,  Mr.  Stephen  B.  Packard 
was  the  Republican  candidate  for  Governor, 
and  Mr.  H.  T.  Nicholis  was  the  candidate  of 
the  Democratic  party  for  the  same  office. 
The  Republicans  claimed  that  there  was 
intimidation  of  Republican  voters  through- 
out   the    State,    and    the    Returnin<j    Board 


declared  that  Mr.  Packard  had   been-  chosen 
Governor. 

The  substitution  of  Mr.  Packard  for  Mr. 
Kellogg  as  Governor  of  Lo.uisiana  did  not 
touch  the  evils  from  which  the.  people  of  that 
State  had  been  suffering  for  so  many  years. 
Their  patience  was  e.xhausted,  and  the)- 
resolved  to  sustain  the  government  which 
they  claimed  had  been  chosen.  The  Conser- 
vative Legislature  was  accordingly  organized, 
and  on  the  eighth  of  January,  1877,  Governor 
NichoHs  was  publicly  inaugurated.  On  the. 
same  day  Mr.  Packard  was  sworn  into  office, 
under  the  protection  of  the  troops. 


The  Nicholis  government  got  to  work  a^ 
soon  as  possible ;  its  authority  was  recognized 
throughout  the  State  by  the  courts  and  peo- 
ple; taxes  were  paid  to  it  and  it  was  indorsed 
and  supported  by  avast  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Louisiana.  President  Grant  was  urged 
to  remove  the  troops  from  the  State  House 
and  other  buildings  belonging  to,  t,ouisiana, 
and  was  assured  that  the  Packard  govern- 
ment would  fall  to  pieces  for  lack  of  support 
as  soon  as  he  should  take  the  troops  away. 
He  refused  to  do  so,  however. 

President  Hayes  found  Louisiaria  in  this, 
condition  when  he  entered  upoii  his  duties  as_ 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   la'THERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


84; 


Chief  Magistrate.  He  selected  a  commission 
consisting  of  four  Republicans  and  one  Dem- 
ocrat, and  these  gentlemen,  at  his  request, 
proceeded  to  New  Orleans  to  investigate  and 
report  to  him  the  real  state  of  affairs  in  Louis- 
iana. They  made  an  investigation  of  the 
affairs  of  the  State,  and  f  jund  Packard  a  o-nv- 


reported  to  the  President  on  the  nineteenth 
of  April,  and  the  next  day  he  issued  the  order 
to  withdraw  the  United  States  troops  in  New 
Orleans  from  the  State  buildings  to  their 
barracks.  The  troops  were  withdrawn  at 
noon  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  amid  the 


^fthf 


nU..      G'^^.f  rnnr  Packard 


^^i 

^i 


^^^^ 


ernor  in  name  only,  while  the  authority  of'  at  once  abandoned  the  contest.    The  members 


the  Nicholls  government  extended  through- 
out the  State.  They  found  also  that  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  Louisiana  was  not  such  as 
to  justify  the  further  interference  of  the  I-"ed- 
eral  government  in  the  domestic  concerns  of 
the  State. 

The  conclusions   of  the  commission  were 


of  his  Legislature  joined  the  Nicholls  Legis- 
lature, and  the  affairs  of  the  State  were  once 
more  placed  in  her  own  hands. 

The  action  of  the  President  in  withdraw- 
ing the  troops  from  South  Carolina  and 
Louisiana  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the 
country  at  large.     A  small  class  of  extreme 


84S 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


politicians  were  disposed  to  denounce  it,  but 
their  partisan  outcries  were  silenced  by  the 
general  voice  of  approval  which  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  Union.  The  nation  was  sick 
of  civil  war  and  partisan  strife,  and  hailed 
the  action  of  the  President  as  the  beginning 
of  the  long -hoped-for,  long-delayed  era  of 
peace  and  good  will. 

General  Grant's  Tour  Around  the  World. 

On  May  17,  187S,  ex-President  Grant 
sailed  from  Philadelphia  in  the  steamer 
Indiana  for  a  tour  around  the  world.  He 
had  achieved  the  highest  distinction  in  his 
native  land,  and  was  welcomed  with  every 
demonstration  of  respect  by  all  the  nations 
he  visited.  The  rulers  and  nobility  of  Europe 
and  Asia  accorded  him  an  enthusiastic  recep- 
tion. On  his  return  trip  he  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  September  20,  1879,  and  was 
warmly  greeted  by  his  fellow-countrymen  in 
every  place  where  he  made  his  appearance. 
His  tour  called  out  the  friendly  feeling  of 
other  countries  toward  America,  and  was  not 
without  political  significance. 

In  the  year  1880  the  tenth  census  of  the 
United  States  was  taken,  and  showed  the 
population    of  the    country    to    be    50,152,- 

559- 

In  the  summer  of  1880  the  various  politi- 
cal parties  of  the  country  met  in  convention 
to  nominate  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and 
Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States.  The 
Republican  Convention  met  at  Chicago  on 
the  second  of  June,  and  nominnted  James  A. 
Garfield,  of  Ohio,  for  President,  and  Chester 
A.  Arthur,  of  New  York,  for  Vice-President. 
The  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Cincin- 
nati, on  the  twenty-second  of  June,  and  nomi- 
nated Winfield  Scott  Hancock,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  President,  and  William  H.  English, 
of  Indiana,  for  Vice-President.  The  Green- 
back   Convention  met  at  Chicago,    on   the 


ninth  of  June,  and  nominated  James  A. 
Weaver,  of  Iowa,  for  President,  and  B.  J. 
Chambers,  of  Texas,  for  Vice-President. 

The  election  was  held  on  the  second  of 
November,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
General  James  A.  Garfield,  who  received  214 
electoral  votes  to  155  electoral  votes  cast  for 
General  Hancock.  The  popular  vote  was  as 
follows  :  Garfield,  4,437,345  ;  Hancock, 
4,435,0:5  ;  Weaver,  305.931- 

The  year  1879  was  memorable  in  Arctic 
exploration  by  the  expedition  of  Lieutenant 
George  W.  DeLong,  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  The  e.xpedition  was  projected  by 
James  Gordon  Bennett,  proprietor  of  the 
New  York  Herald,  with  the  object  of  reach- 
ing the  North  Pole,  if  possible,  by  way  of 
Behring  Straits.  Lieutenant  DeLong  sailed 
in  the  steamship  "  Jeannette"  from  San  Fran- 
cisco, July  8,  1879.  All  of  the  crew  were 
volunteers,  selected  with  great  care  from 
many  applicants. 

The  outcome  of  the  expedition  was  disas- 
trous, and  it  shared  the  unhappy  fate  which 
has  attended  many  other  heroic  attempts  to 
explore  the  polar  world.  After  spending  two 
winters  in  the  ice-pack  the  hardy  adventurers 
lost  their  ship  and  attempted  to  make  theii 
way  southward  in  the  hope  of  reaching  a 
place  of  safety  in  the  three  boats  belonging 
to  the  ship. 

The  boats  were  separated  during  a  strong 
gale ;  the  provisions  were  at  length  exhausted, 
and  in  the  heroic  effort  to  save  their  lives 
Lieutenant  DeLong  and  the  men  in  his  boat 
perished  of  starvation.  Several  relief  e.\pe- 
ditions  were  sent  out  in  search  of  the  "Jean- 
nette," but  these  were  too  late  to  rescue  all 
the  party.  The  last  records  of  DeLong  were 
found,  and  also  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
hardships  and  perils  through  which  he  and 
his  men  had  passed  in  their  endeavor  to 
escape  from  their  perilous  situation. 


CHAPTER  XLVI 


The  Administration  of  James  A.  Garfield. 


General  Garfield  Declared  President — Inaugural  Ceremonies — Sketch  of  the  New  President — Contest  with  the  Stal- 
warts— The  Star  Route  Cases — Assassination  of  President  Garfield — His  Illness — Removal  to  Long  Branch — Death 
of  President  Garfield — Removal  of  the  Remains  to  Washington  and  Cleveland — Interment  at  Cleveland — Inauguration 
of  President  Arthur — Indictment  of  Guiteau  for  Murder — Trial  and  Execution  of  Garfield's  Assassin — Remarkable 
Scene  upon  the  Scaffold — The  Greeley  Artie  I-Jxpedition — Reaching  a  point  beyond  the  Eighty-first  Parallel — 
Lieutenant  Lockwood's  Heroic  Exploit — Return  of  the  Exploring  Party — Valuable  Records — Three  Relief  Expedi- 
tions—Terrible Sufferings  and  Privations— A  Crew  Charged  with  Cannibalism— Celebration  of  the  Landing  of 
William  Penn — Great  Suspension  Bridge  between  New  York  and  Brooklyn — Dimensions  of  the  Bridge  and  Cost. 


ON  the  second  Wednesday  in  Feb- 
ruary, i88i,the  two  Houses  of 
Congress  met  in  joint-session  in 
the  hall  of  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives, for  the  purpose  of  counting 
the  electoral  vote.  The  certificates  of  the 
electoral  colleges  of  the  various  States  hav- 
ing been  opened  and  read,  with  the  result 
mentioned  above,  the  Vice-President  an- 
nounced that  James  A.  Garfield  had  been 
duly  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  Chester  A.  Arthur  Vice-President,  for  the 
term  of  four  years,  from  the  fourth  of  March, 
iSSi. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  cordially  ac- 
cepted by  the  country,  and  the  nation  began 
to  look  forward  to  a  new  era  of  prosperity 
and  happiness. 

On  Fridaj-,  March  4,  1881,  the  inaugura- 
tion ceremonies  took  place  upon  a  scale  of 
unusual  magnificence,  and  were  participated 
in  by  numerous  military  and  civic  organiza- 
tions, and  by  thousands  of  citizens  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  After  the  new  Vice- 
President  had  taken  the  oath  of  office,  Presi- 
dent-elect Garfield  was  formally  received  by 
the  Senate,  and  escorted  to  the  eastern  portico 
of  the  Capitol,  where,  in  the  presence  of  an 
iinniense  multitude  of  citizens  and  soldier)', 
he  delivered  an  able  and  eloquent  inaugural 
54 


address,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  at  the 
hands  of  Chief-Justice  W'aite. 

The  new  President  had  been  long  and 
favorably  known  to  his  countrymen.  He 
was  in  his  fiftieth  year,  and  in  vigorous 
health.  A  man  of  commanding  presence, 
he  was  dignified  and  courteous  in  his  de- 
meanor, accessible  to  the  humblest  citizen, 
and  deservedly  popular  with  men  of  all 
parties.  Born  a  poor  boy,  without  influen- 
tial friends,  he  had  by  his  own  efforts  secured 
a  thorough  collegiate  education,  and  had 
carefully  fitted  himself  for  the  arduous  tluties 
he  was  now  called  upon  tc  discharge.  En- 
tering the  army  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war,  he  had  won  a  brilliant  reputation  as  a 
soldier,  and  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  major-general  of  volunteers.  Elected  tc> 
Congress  from  Ohio,  in  1862,  he  had  entered 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  December, 
1863,  and  had  seen  almost  eighteen  years  of 
constant  service  in  that  body,  in  which  he 
had  long  ranked  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  trusted  leaders  of  the  Republican  party.  / 
Early  in  1880  he  had  been  chosen  a  United 
States  Senator  from  Ohio,  but  had  been 
prevented  from  taking  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
by  his  electior.  to  the  Presidencj'.  Imme- 
diately after  his  inauguration  he  sent  to  t)ie 
Senate  for  confirmation  the  names  of  the 
84Q 


8so 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD. 


members  of  his  Cabinet.  Tliey  were  cliosen 
from  among  the  leading  members  of  the 
conservative  portion  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  were  headed  by  James  G.  Blaine,  of 
Maine,  as  Secretary  of  State.  They  were  at 
once  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  the  new 
administration  embarked  upon  its  short-lived 
career. 

Very  soon  after  enter/ng  upon  his  duties. 
President  Garfield  found  that  the  Executive 


JAMES    A.  GARFIELD. 

chair  was  by  no  means  a  bed  of  roses.  The 
Republican  party  soon  divided  into  two  sec- 
tions, one,  known  as  the  "  Conservative," 
supporting  the  administration,  and  the  other, 
known  as  the  "  Stalwarts,"  opposing  it.  A 
bitter  partisan  quarrel  sprang  up  between 
these  two  wings  of  the  ])arty,  and  prolonged 
the  Executive  session  of  the  Senate  until  late 
in  June.  The  quarrel  was  the  fiercest  over 
the  appointment  of  a  new  collector  for  the 


port  of  New  York,  and  culminated  in  the 
resignation  of  their  seats  in  the  Senate  by 
Senators  Conkling  and  Piatt  of  New  York, 
on  the  sixteenth  of  May. 

The  resignation   of  these   gentlemen   was 
based  upon  the  ground  that  the   President 
had  nominated  Judge  Robertson  to  be  col- 
lector of  the  port  of  New  York,  without  con- 
sulting   or   yielding   to    the    wishes    of  the 
senators  from  that  State,  the  said  senators  in 
effect  claiming  the  right  to  determine 
what  appointments  should  or  should 
not  be  made  by  the  President  in  their 
State.      The   President,  on    his   part, 
insisted  upon  his  right  to  nominate  to 
office  any  man  whom  he  should  deem 
worthy  of  the  trust. 

The  struggle  was  in  reality  a  contest 
for  the  independence  of  the  Executive 
in  the  matter  of  public  appointments, 
and  President  Garfield  was  warmly 
supported  by  the  great  mass  of  the 
nation  without  regard  to  party.  He, 
therefore,  pursued  with  unshaken  firm- 
ness the  policy  he  had  determined 
upon.  After  the  resignation  of  Sen- 
ators Conkling  and  Piatt,  the  nomina- 
tion of  Judge  Robertson  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Senate. 

As    the   time    wore    on,    President 
Garfield  gained  steadily  in  the  esteem 
of  his  countrymen.     His  purpose  to 
give  to   the   nation   a   fair  and   just 
administration  of  the  government  was 
every    day    more    apparent,    and    his    high 
and  noble  qualities  became  more  conspicu- 
ous.    Men    began   to    feel    that   the    Exec- 
utive   chair   was    occupied    by    a    President 
capable  of  conceiving  a  pure  and  noble  stand- 
ard of  duty,  and  possessed  of  the  firmness 
and   strength  of  will   necessary  to  carry  it 
into  execution.    The  country  was  prosperous, 
and  there  was  every  reason  to  expect  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  general  happiness. 


ADMIXISTRATIOX    OF   JAMES    A.    GARFIELD. 


Soon  after  the  opening  of  President  Gar- 
field's administration,  the  Postmaster-General 
discovered  that  certain  contracts  for  carr\-ing 
the  mails  on  what  are  known  as  "  The  Star 
Routes,"  were  fraudulent,  and  that  the  per- 
sons interested  in  them  were  defrauding 
the  government  of  large  sums  of  money. 
The  President,  Postmaster-General  and  At- 
torney-General, sustained  by  the 
other  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
without  exception,  thereupon  re- 
solved to  bring  the  guilty  parties 
to  justice. 

The  latter  being  men  of  wealth 
and  position,  bitterh-  resented  the 
course  of  the  government,  and 
violently  denounced  it.  Never- 
theless the  President  caused  mea- 
sures looking  to  the  punishment 
of  the  accused  parties  to  be 
begun,  and  only  the  unexpected 
adjournment  of  the  grand  jur>^ 
and  court  prevented  a  formal 
indictment  from  being  brought 
against  them.  Before  other  mea- 
sures could  be  taken,  the  atti.  r. 
tion  of  the  entire  nation  \\.i 
occBpied  by  an  event  of  gra\  ci 
importance. 

While  these  matters  were  still 
in  progress.  President '  Garfield 
began  preparations  for  a  brief 
pleasure  trip  to  Long  Branch, 
A'here  Mrs.  Garfield  was  recover-  ^"'^i.f 

ing  from  a  severe  illness;  in- 
tending from  that  point  to  visit 
New  England,  and  be  present  at  the  com- 
mencement exercises  of  his  alma  mater, 
Williams'  College,  in  Massachusetts.  He 
was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  distinguished 
party,  including  several  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  On  the  morning  of  the  second  of 
July,  the  party  proceeded  to  the  Baltimore 
and  Potomac  depot,  where  they  were  to  take 


the  cars,  in  advance  of  the  President,  who 
arrived  soon  after  in  company  with  Secretary 
Blaine,  who  came  simply  to  see  him  off  and 
say  good-bye.  They  left  the  President's  car- 
riage together,  and  sauntered  arm-in-arm 
through  the  depot  towards  the  cars. 

In  passing    through    the    ladies'  waiting- 
room,  the   President  was   fn-ed  at  twice  by  a 


man  named  Charles  J.  Guiteau.  The  nrst 
shot  inflicted  a  slight  wound  in  the  President's 
right  arm,  and  the  second  a  terrible  wound 
in  the  right  side  of  his  back,  between  the  hip 
and  the  kidney.  The  President  fell  heavily 
to  the  floor,  and  the  assassin  was  secured  as 
he  was  seeking  to  make  his  escape  from 
the  building  and  was  conveyed  to  a.  ijoiice 


852  ADMINISTRATION   OF 

station,    from   which    he    was    subsequently 
taken  to  prison. 

The  President  lay  helpless  upon  the  floor 
of  the  waiting-room,  the  blood  flowing 
copiously  from  both  his  wounds.   As  soon  as 


JAMES    G.  BLAINE. 

those  near  him  recovered  from  the  dismay 
'  into  which  the  tragedy  had  thrown  them,  he 
was  placed  upon  a  mnttrass,  physicians  were 
summoned  and  he  was  conveyed  to  an  upper 
room  in  the  depot.     He  bore  his  sufferings 


JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 

with  great  firmness,  and  from  the  first  dis- 
played a  cool  courage  that  won  the  warm 
admiration  of  the  country.  The  surgeons 
summoned  were  soon  at  hand,  and  found 
that  the  President's  injuries  were  very  critical. 
It  was  decided  to 
remove  him  to  the 
Executive  Man- 
sion, and  he  was 
carried  down  the 
stairs,  placed  in  an 
army  ambulance 
and  driven  rapid- 
ly to  the  White 
House.  Arriving 
there  he  was  con- 
veyed to  his  wife's 
chamber,  overlook- 
ing the  Potomac, 
and  placed  in  bed. 
Two  attempts  were 
made  by  the  sur- 
geons to  find  the 
ball  —  one  at  the 
depot,  and  one  at 
the  White  House 
after  his  arrival 
there — but  both 
were  unsuccessful. 
Grave  fears  were 
entertained  by  the 
surgeons  for  the 
President's  life,  and 
Mrs.  Garfield  was 
summoned  by  tele- 
graph from  Long 
Branch.      She    ar- 

~ rived    during    the 

evening. 
The  news  of  the  attempt  upon  the  Presi- 
dent's life  spread  rapidly  throughout  the 
Union,  and  was  everywhere  received  with 
horror  and  indignation.  During  the  after- 
noon his  condition  became  more  alarming. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 


853 


and  bulletins  were  issued  by  the  surgeons 
in  charge  at  frequent  intervals,  giving  the 
latest  news  of  the  state  of  the  illustrious 
sufferer.  These  were  telegraphed  to  all  parts 
of  the  countrj',  and  were  watched  with  eager 
impatience  by  vast  crowds  of  citizens  wherever 
they  were  posted.  The  sympathy  of  the 
whole  nation  went  out  warmly  towards  the 
wounded  President  and  his  afflicted  family, 
and    from    the    t^overnnients  and    nations  of 


fulness  that  astonished  his  attendants,  and 
encouraged  them  to  hope  for  a  favorable 
result. 

The  afternoon  of  the  second  of  July  wore 
anxiously  away,  no  signs  of  a  reaction  being 
manifested,  but  after  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Gar- 
field, in  the  evening,  the  President  began  to 
rally  slightly.  The  night  was  passed  in 
anxious  suspense.  On  the  morning  of  the 
third,  the   Pre'^ident  wa«  calm  and  cheerful. 


Europe  messages  of  inquiry  and  sympathy 
were  constantly  received  through  the  Atlantic 
cable.  During  the  entire  period  of  the  Presi- 
dent's illness  the  official  bulletins  were  issued 
three  times  each  day,  and  the  nation  was 
thus  kept  informed  of  his  condition. 

The  best  medical  and  surgical  skill  of  the 
country  was  employed  in  the  effort  to  save 
the  President's  life,  and  throughout  the  whole 
period  of  his  illness  he  never  lost  his  calm 
courage,  but  displayed  a  firmness  and  cheer- 


THE   ASSASSIN.^TION    OF  J.4MES   A.    GARFIELD. 

though  he  fully  realized  the  gravity  ot  his 
situation.  He  told  Dr.  Bliss,  the  surgeon  in 
charge  of  his  case,  that  he  wished  to  know 
exactly  what  his  chances  for  life  were  ;  that 
while  he  desired  to  live,  he  was  prepared  to 
die,  and  did  not  fear  to  learn  the  worst. 
Dr.  Bliss  replied  that  though  his  injuries 
were  formidable,  he  had,  in  his  judgment,  a 
chance  for  his  life.  "  Well,  Doctor,"  ex- 
claimed the  sufferer,  with  a  cheerful  smile, 
"  we'll  take  that  chance." 


854 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 


The  day  passed  away  without  any  event  of 
importance,  and  the  anxious  nation,  as  well 
as  the  President's  attendants,  drew  some  hope 
from  the  fact  he  continued  "  to  hold  his  own." 
The  popular  anxiety  and  sympathy  were 
strikingly  manifested  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
the  anniversary  of  the  National  Independ- 
ence, in  the  listless  and  careless   manner  in 


I  was  kept  all  the  while  in  a  mosl  painful 
suspense.  The  surgeons  in  charge,  however, 
1  recognized  the  true  character  of  the  wound 
I  from  the  first,  and  while  they  hoped  for  a 
I  recover)-,  could  not  conceal  from  themselves 
the  fact  that  such  a  result  would  be  almost 
I  miraculous. 

111.    lit^i.lrnt's  sufferings  were  very  great 


DEATH-BED    OF   JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 


which  the  day  was  celebrated.     The  people  [ 
were  too  much  engrossed  with  their  anxiety 
to  take  part  in  any  demonstration  of  joy. 

The  two  months  following  the  wounding  I 
of  President  Garfield  dragged  wearily  awa\-, 
the  patient  at  times  showing  symptoms  of  ' 
marked  improvement,  and  at    others    e.xpe-  j 
riencing    dangerous    relapses.      The   nation 
alternated  between    hope   and   despair,  and  I 


during  this  period,  and  were  increased  by 
the  intense  heat  of  the  season  and  the 
unhealthy  suroundings  of  the  White  House. 
Yet  he  bore  them  all  with  unshaken 
firmness  and  unalterable  cheerfulness.  Dr. 
Bliss,  his  chief  surgeon,  writes  of  him  during 
this  period  : — "  The  time  which  passed  until 
the  twenty-third  of  July,  when  the  first  rigoi 
occurred,    was    chieflv   remarkable    for  tht 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   JAMKS   A.   GARFIKLD. 


855 


quiet,    cool    determination   of  the    sufferer. 
Quite  ready  for,  and  evidently  expecting  the 
worst,  his   demeanor   \'.  :i 
whose  great  intellect  a 
wonderful  will    enabk 
him    to    give    the    nio^t 
intelligent    aid     to    the 
physician.      Appari.nth 
indifferent  as  to  res  ult  s  > 
far  as  it  should  affect  hnn 
alone,  he  still   watched 
every   symptom,  even 
making    inquiry   aftCi 
each  examination  as  tc 
the    temperature,    puUc 
and    respiration,    aiK 
every  measure  of  relief 
adopted,  with   evidentl) 
firm  determination  to 
live    for    others    if   pos- 
sible."' 

Towards  the  last  of 
August,  the  surgeons  m 
attendance  upon  the 
President  resolved  to 
remove  him  from  the 
White  House  to  a  more 
healthful  locality.  The 
removal  was  a  risk,  but 
not  so  great  a  risk  as  to 
permit  him  to  remam  m 
the  malarious  atmos- 
phere which  surrounded 
the  Executive  Man'.ion, 
and  which  was  rapidly 
destroying  the  little 
strength  left  him.  It  w  as 
decided  to  convey  him 
to  Long  Branch,  in  the 
hope  that  the  pure  and 
bracing  air  of  the  sea 
would  enable  him  to  regain  some  of  his  lost 
vitality. 

Accordingly,  on  the  sixth  of  September. 


the    President,  accompanied   by   his  fiimily, 
his  surgeons  and  attendants,  was  conveyed 


THE  CATAFALQUE  AT  CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

for  the  purpose.  The  journey  was  made 
quickly  and  successfully,  and  after  reaching 
Long  Branch  the  President  seemed  to      lly. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 


For  the  first  few  days  after  his  arri\al  at  the 
seashore,  his  symptoms  were  so  much  better 
that  renewed  hope  sprang  up  in  the  hearts 
of  his  countrj'men.  It  was  only  for  a  brief 
period,  however.  On  the  sixteenth  of  Sep- 
tember there  was  a  marked  change  for  the 
worse,  with  unmistakable  evidences  of  in- 
creasinfT  weakness   in  mind  and  bodv.     On 


passed  away  appeared  more  comfortable,  and 
his  attendants  were  hopeful  of  a  quiet  night 
for  him. 

Towards  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  he 
fell  into  a  quiet  sleep,  from  which  he  awak- 
ened, shortly  after  ten  o'clock,  in  great  pain. 
General  Swaim,  who  was  watching  by  him, 
alarmed  by  the  President's  symptoms,  hastily 


THE  ROTUNDA    OF   THE   CAPITOL    AT   WASHINGTON. 


the  seventeenth  the  President  sank  still  lower, 
and  in  the  forenoon  was  seized  with  a  severe 
rigor.  On  the  evening  of  the  eighteenth 
another  alarming  rigor  occurred,  followed  by 
other  grave  symptoms.  From  this  time  the 
President  continued  to  grow  worse.  On  the 
morning  of  the  nineteenth  he  was  attacked 
•with  another  severe  rigor,  but  after  that  had 


summoned  the  family  and  the  surgeons.  The 
President  was  unconscious  when  they  arrived, 
and  continued  to  sink  rapidly.  Efforts  were 
made  to  revive  him  with  stimulants,  but  in 
vain,  and  at  thirty-five  minutes  after  ten 
o'clock,  the  brave  struggle  was  brought  to 
an  end,  and  the  soul  of  James  A.  Garfield 
passed  into  eternity. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   CHESTER   A.  ARTHUR. 


?57 


The  sad  news  of  the  death  of  President 
Garfield  was  at  once  telegraphed  to  New 
York,  and  by  eleven  o'clock  the  whole  coun- 
try was  aware  that  its  Chief  Magistrate  was 
dead.  Bells  were  tolled  in  every  city,  town 
and  village  of  the  Union,  and  everywhere 
citizens  draped  their  houses  in  mourning. 
Such  a  display  of  national  sorrow  had  never 
been  witnessed  before. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Presi- 
dent Garfield  was  at  once  trans- 
mitted by  telegraph  to  Vice-Presi- 
dent Arthur  by  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet  present  at  Long  Branch, 
and  he  was  advised  by  them  to  take 
the  oath  of  office  as  President  with- 
out delay.  Accordingly,  Justices 
Brady  and  Donahoe  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  York  were  at  once 
.summoned  by  the  Vice-President, 
and  at  a  little  after  two  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  twentieth  of 
September,  he  took  the  oath  of 
office  as  President  of  the  United 
-States  before  them  at  his  private 
residence  in  New  York. 

On  the  twentieth  of  September, 
arrangements  were  made  for  remov- 
ing the  body  of  the  late  President 
to  Washington  City,  and  on  the 
same  day  an  autopsy  was  held 
upon  the  body  by  the  surgeons 
who  had  been  in  attendance  upon 
the  President,  assisted  by  several 
others.  The  autopsy  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  wound  had  been  fatal  from  the 
first.  On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first, 
funeral  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  cottage 
at  Long  Branch  in  which  the  President  died, 
and  at  ten  o'clock  the  remains  were  placed 
on  board  of  a  special  train,  and  conveyed  to 
Washington,  and  accompanied  by  the  fair.ily 
and  friends  of  the  dead  President,  and  by 
President  Arthur  and  a  number   of  distin- 


guished personages.  Washington  was 
reached  at  4.35  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
body  was  escorted  by  a  detachment  of  mil- 
itary- and  Knights  Templar  to  the  Capitol, 
where  it  was  laid  in  state  until  the  twent>-- 
third. 

During  the  twenty-second  and  twenty- 
third  it  was  visited  by  over  one  hundred 
thousand  persons.     On  the  afternoon  of  the 


twenty-third,  the  public  funeral  services  were 
held  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  after  which 
the  body  was  escorted  to  the  Baltimore  and 
Potomac  depot,  and  conveyed  to  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  by  a  special  train.  Cleveland  was 
reached  the  ne.xt  day,  and  the  remains  were 
laid  in  state  in  a  structure  especially  prepared 
for  them,  until  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
sixth,  when  they  were  buried  with  the  most 
imposing  ceremonies  in  Lake  View  Cemetery 


658 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  CHESTER    A.  ARTHUR. 


in  the  suburbs  of  that  city.  Business  was 
suspended  and  memorial  services  were  held 
during  the  day  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

On  the  twent)--second  of  September,  Pres- 
ident Arthur  again  took  the  oath  of  office, 
this  time  at  the  hands  of  the  Chief-Justice  of 
the  United  States,  and  was  quietly  inaugura- 
ted in  the  Vice-President's  room,  in  the  Cap- 
itol, delivering  upon  this  occasion,  a  brief 
inaugural  address. 

Soon  after  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of 
President  Garfield,  a  popular  subscription  was 
set  on  foot  to  provide  a  fund  for  the  support 


JOHN    A.    IOi.\N. 

of  his  family  in  the  event  of  his  death.  The 
movement  was  successful,  and  over  ^330,000 
were  raised,  and  invested  in  United  States 
bonds  for  the  benefit  of  the  widow  and  chil- 
dren of  the  "  Martyred  President." 

President  Arthur  entered  quietly  upon  the 
duties  of  his  administration,  and  his  first  acts 
were  satisfactory  to  a  majority  of  his  country- 
men. As  he  had  been  the  leader  of  "  the 
Stalwart,"  section  of  the  Republican  party, 
it  was  felt  by  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  of 
the  late  President  that  he  should  be  free  to 
choose  his  own  advisers.  Therefore,  imme- 
diately upon  his  accession  to  the  Executive 


chair,  Mr.  Blaine  and  his  colleagues  ten- 
dered him  their  resignations.  They  were 
requested,  however,  by  the  new  President  to 
retain  their  offices  until  he  could  find  suitable 
successors  to  them.  To  this  they  agreed, 
but  before  the  year  was  out  several  import- 
ant changes  had  been  made  in  the  Cabinet. 
The  principal  of  these  were  the  substitution 
of  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, for  Mr.  Blaine,  as  Secretary  of  State, 
and  the  appointment  of  Judge  Charles  J. 
Folger  to  the  Treasury  Department. 

Indictment  of  Garfield's  Assassin. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  adminis- 
tration was  to  cause  the  indictment  of  Charles 
J.  Guiteau  for  the  murder  of  President  Gar- 
field. The  grand  jury  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  met  on  the  third  of  October,  1 88 1 , 
and  promptly  found  a  true  bill  against 
Guiteau,  who  was  arraigned  in  the  Criminal 
Court  of  the  District  on  the  fourteenth  of 
October.  After  some  delay  the  trial  of  the 
assassin  began  on  the  fourteenth  of  Novem- 
ber. The  first  three  days  were  consumed  in 
selecting  a  jury,  and  then  the  trial  began  in 
earnest.  It  ended  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
January,  1882,  in  the  conviction  of  Guiteau 
for  the  murder  of  the  late  President.  The 
prisoner  was  defended  by  able  counsel,  and 
was  allowed  many  privileges  never  before 
granted  to  persons  on  trial  for  so  grave  an 
offence. 

The  plea  upon  which  the  defence  was 
based  was  insanity,  but  the  evidence  entirely 
destroyed  this  assumption,  and  the  verdict  of 
the  jury  was  received  throughout  the  country 
as  just  and  proper.  An  effort  was  made  by 
Guiteau's  counsel  to  obtain  a  new  trial  for 
him,  but  this  was  denied  by  the  court,  and 
on  the  fourth  of  February  Guiteau  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  hanged  on  the  thirtieth  of  June, 
1882.  The  counsel  for  the  prisoner  still 
continued  his  efforts  to  secure   a   new  trial. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  CHESTER  A.    ARTHUR. 


but  these  being  unsuccessful  in  each  and 
every  instance,  his  only  resource  was  an 
appeal  to  the  clemency  of  the  Executive. 
The  President  decHned,  however,  to  interfere 
with  the  sentence. 

Execution  of  Guiteau. 

During  the  interval  between  his  sentence 
and  his  execution,  Guiteau  was  confined  in 
the  jail  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  at  Wash- 
ington. His  conduct  during  this  interval 
was  in  keeping  with  that  which  had  marked 
his  trial — vain,  egotistical,  and  blasphemous. 
To  the  last  the  prisoner  was  confident  that 
President  Arthur  would  interfere  in  his 
behalf,  but  the  result  proved  this  to  be  a  vain 
hope. 

The  execution  took  place  in  the  District 
jail  on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  1S82,  and  was 
witnessed  by  about  two  hundred  people, 
nearly  all  representatives  of  the  press.  Guiteau 
displayed  more  firmness  than  had  been 
expected  of  him.  He  walked  to  the  gallows 
without  making  the  violent  scene  which  had 
been  anticipated  by  many,  and  ascended  it 
with  a  firm  step.  Upon  the  scaffold,  how- 
ever, he  displayed  considerable  emotion, 
which  he  quickly  subdued.  His  religious 
adviser,  Rev.  Dr.  Hicks,  offered  a  short 
prayer,  and  Guiteau  read  a  selection  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Then  he  read  a  prayer,  strangely  at  vari- 
ance with  his  religious  professions,  in  which 
he  called  down  the  curse  of  the  Almighty 
upon  all  who  had  been  engaged  in  his  trial 
and  execution,  and  upon  the  nation  at  large, 
and  denounced  President  Arthur  as  a  coward 
and  an  ingrate.  Finally  he  chanted  a  poem 
which  he  had  written  during  the  morning. 
At  the  close  of  this  singular  recital  the  trap 
fell.precisely  at  forty-three  minutes  past  twelve 
o'clock,  and  the  great  crime  against  the 
American  people  was  avenged.  Guiteau's 
neck  was  broken  bv  the    fall,  and  his  death 


859 

rele. 


was  painless.     He   died  without  a    struf^_ 
and  with  scarce  a  tremor. 

At  the  opening  of  Congress  in  1S83,  John 
G.  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  was  chosen  speaker 
of  the  House. 

In  1 88 1  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish 
a  signal  station  at  a  point  north  of  the  eight\-- 
first  parallel,  and  Lieutenant  A.  \V.  Greeley, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  was  selected  as 
the  officer  to  take  charge  of  the  e.xpedition. 
He  received  his  instructions    from  the  chitf 


JOHN    G.    CARLISLE. 

signal  officer,  General  Hazen.  The  steamer 
"  Proteus,"  which  was  to  convey  the  party 
to  its  destination  sailed  from  St.  John's,  New- 
foundland, on  the  seventhof  July,  and  imme 
diatcly  encountered  rough  weather. 

The  adventurers  pressed  forward  and, 
notwithstanding  almost  insurmountable  ob- 
stacles succeeded  in  reaching  a  point  beyond 
the  eighty-first  parallel,  where  they  estab- 
lished a  post  and  named  it  Fort  Conger. 
After  landing  the  party  the  "  Proteus"  had 
return  ctl. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    CHESTER    A    ARTHUR. 


860 

As  is  usual  with  all  polar  expeditions 
anxiety  began  to  be  felt  for  the  safety  of  the 
party,  and  attempts  were  made  in  1882  and 
1883  to  send  relief.  The  colonists  were  not 
found,  and  at  length,  on  account  of  their 
provisions  being  exhausted,  they  were 
reduced  to  terrible  straits. 

The  e.xpedition  of  Greeley  is  especially 
memorable  for  having  reached  the    highest 


the  northern  sky;  the  Arctic  moon  wore  a 
strange  appearance;  the  air  was  sharp  with 
penetrating  frost ;  and  the  long  night  of  the 
Arctic  winter  was  attended  with  a  loneliness 
impossible  to  describe. 

The  brave  company  at  length  retreated 
from  their  post.  Few  pages  in  the  history 
of  polar  exploration  record  such  terrible 
hardships  and  sufferings  as  fell  to  the  lot  of 


<SON  5    HOl-K,  UFKKN'.W'IK,  BAFFIN    B.^W. 


point  ever  gained  ia  Arctic  exploration. 
This  achievement  was  due  to  Lieutenant 
Lockwood,  who  approached  nearer  the 
North  Pole  than  any  other  explorer  either 
before  or  since.  The  records  of  the  expedi- 
tion are  replete  with  valuable  information 
Iconcerning  the  meteorology  of  that  latitude, 
and  with  descriptions  of  very  remarkable 
natural  phenomena.    Brilliant  auroras  lighted 


the  Greeley  e.xpedition.  Three  relief  ships, 
the  "Thetis,"  "Bear"  and  "  Alert,"  were 
sent  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  The  survivors 
were  at  last  found  when  they  were  in  dire 
distress  and  must  soon  have  perished  from 
starvation,  except  for  the  timely  relief  which 
reached  them. 

The  officers  of  the  expedition  were  charged 
with  cannibalism  and  inhuman  cruelty.    One 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR. 


86 1 


of  their  number  who  was  accsed  of  steahng 
rations  was  shot,  and  if  half  suppressed 
reports  are  to  be  credited,  his  body  furnished 
food  for  his  famishing  comrades.  All  who 
were  left  of  Greeley's  command  were  found 
on  the  twenty-second  of  June,  1884,  three 
years  after  the  party  started  on  its  perilous  ■ 
voyage.  The  heroism  of  the  brave  explorers 
— -^'    '"■        '-^ ■     -     '■•' -'  '    induni-  ! 


trating  events  in  the  early  history  of  Penn- 
S)-lvania.  It  was  estimated  that  upwards  of 
four  hundred  thousand  persons  attended  the 
celebration. 

One  of  the  notable  events  of  1883,  was  the 
opening  of  the  great  Suspension  Bridge  over 
the  East  River,  between  New  York  City  and 
Brooklyn.  Work  commenced  January  3, 
1.S70,   and   the    bridije    was    ooened   to    the 


versa!  interest  was  felt  in  the  thrilling  story 
of  their  sufferings. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  October,  1882, 
the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  landing 
of  William  Penn  w^as  celebrated  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  exercises  included  public 
addresses,  a  military  display,  and  an  indus- 
trial parade.  In  addition  to  these  there  were 
varkjus  historic  devices  and  tableaux,  illus- 


public  May  24.  1S83.  The  total  cost  was 
815.500,000  The  total  length  from  New 
York  to  Brooklyn  is  5,989  feet,  and  the 
length  of  the  main  span  is  1,595  ><  feet.  The 
height  of  the  towers  is  276^  feet.  Tht 
height  of  the  floor  of  the  bridge  at  the  cen- 
tre, above  high  water  mark  is  135  feet.  The 
height  of  the  floor  of  the  bridge  at  the  piers 
is  1 1 8  feet. 


.E   l.\    IHK  AKC'llL   REGIONS— AMONG  THE  ICEBERGS. 


ADMINISTRATION-    OF 

The  caisson  for  the  New  York  pier  was 
sunk  y&  feet,  and  that  for  the  Brooklyn  pier 
45^  feet  below  the  bed  of  the  river.  Eacli 
cable  is  15^  inches  in  diameter  and  is 
made  up  of  5,000  wires,  each  'a  inch  in  diam- 


CHESTER   A.   ARTHUR. 


S63 


In  the  campaign  of  18S4,  James  G.  Blaine, 
of  Maine,  and  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois, 
were  the  nominees  of  the  Republican  party 
for  the  offices  of  President  and  Vice-Pres 
ident.     Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York,  and 


THE   BKnoKLYN   SUSPENSION   BRIDGE. 


°ter.  The  anchorages  are  930  feet  from  the 
towers  and  weigh  120,000,000  pounds  each. 
The  cables  are  capable  of  su.staining  49,200 
tons.  The  weight  of  the  central  span  is 
6,742  ton.s. 


Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  were  the 
nominees  of  the  Democratic  party.  The 
campaign  resulted  in  the  election  of  Cleve- 
land and  Hendricks,  the  vote  in  the  Elec- 
toral College  being  219  to  182. 


CHAPTER  XLVII 

The  Administration  of  Grover  Cleveland. 

Mr.  Qeveland's  Early  Life— Governor  of  New  York — Elected  Tresident — Inauguration  Ceremonies — Civil  Service  and 
Revenue  Reform— The   New  Cabinet — Death    of  General   Grant — Imposing   Obsequies — Honors  to  the  Illustrious 

Dead Death  of  General  George  B.  McClellan — Free  Trade  Conference  at  Chicago— Death  of  Vice-President  Thomas 

B.  Hendricks — Pension  Granted  to  the  Widow  of  President  Grant — President  Cleveland's  Message— Bill  Regulating 
the  Presidential  Succession— Labor  Agitations— Riot  at  Chicago  Instigated  by  "  Anarchists  "—Statue  of  Liberty  En- 
lightening the  World — President  Cleveland's  Marriage — Soldiers'  Pensions — Capital  and  Labor — Centennial  Anni- 
versary of  the  Adoption  of  the  Constitution — Nomination  of  President  Cleveland — Nomination  of  Benjamin  Harrison 
— Harrison's  Election. 


THE  twenty-second  President  of  the 
United  States  was  Hon.  Grover 
Cleveland.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  a 
native  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  born 
in  Caldwell,  Essex  County,  March  i8,  1837. 
He  came  from  sturdy  New  England  stock, 
many  of  his  ancestors  having  held  honor- 
able positions  in  their  respective  localties. 

President  Cleveland,  after  teaching  two 
or  three  years,  studied  law  in  Buffalo,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  became  sheriff  of  the 
county,  mayor  of  the  city,  and,  having 
received  the  nomination  for  governor  of 
New  York,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 
This  was  followed  by  his  nomination  in  the 
Democratic  Convention  of  1884,  and  his 
election  in  the  following  November  to  the 
Presidency. 

Naturally  the  departure  of  the  Republican 
administration  and  the  return  of  the  Denio- 
cratic  party  to  power  after  twenty-four  years 
of  exile  from  the  highest  seats  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  Republic  awakened  a  profound 
interest.  As  the  fourth  of  March,  1885, 
approached,  eyes  were  turned  toward  Wash- 
ington, and  multitudes  went  up  to  the  Capital 
as  to  a  Mecca.  Washington  itself,  accus- 
tomed to  civic  displays,  exciting  events  and 
magnificent  parades,  was  more  than  usually 
awakened,  and  an  interest  was  exhibited  in 
864 


the  inauguration  which  overshadowed  all 
other  concerns.  The  representatives  of  the 
press  throughout  the  country  were  there  in 
full  force  to  record  the  event  and  depict  the 
scene  in  its  imposing  aspects. 

The  ceremonies  incident  upon  the  inaugu- 
ration presented  a  pageant  exceeding  in  civic 
and  military  display  any  such  preceding 
occasion  in  the  history  of  the  government. 
There  were  in  attendance  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  visitors, and  the  city  in  its 
profuse  decorations  was  a  bewildering  maze 
of  bright  colors.  Among  the  significant 
allegorical  designs  was  a  great  floral  ladder 
reaching  to  the  roof  of  a  business  house  on 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  which  bore  upon  its 
rungs  the  words,  "Sheriff,"  "Mayor,"  "Gov- 
ernor," "  President,"  thus  graphically  .sym- 
bolizing the  life-work  of  the  President  elect. 

The  inaugural  of  President  Cleveland 
began  as  follows: 

"In  the  presence  of  this  vast  assemblage 
of  my  countrymen  I  am  about  to  supplement 
and  seal  by  the  oath  which  I  shall  take  the 
manifestation  of  the  will  of  a  great  and  free 
people.  In  the  exercise  of  their  power  and 
right  of  self-government  they  have  committed 
to  one  of  their  fellow-citizens  a  supreme  and 
sacred  trust,  and  he  here  consecrates  himsel/ 
to  their  service. 


ADMINISTRATIOX    OF   GROVKR    CLEVELAND. 


865 


"  This  impressive  ceremony  adds  little  to 
the  solemn  sense  of  responsibility  with  which 
I  contemplate  the  duty  I  owe  to  all  the  people 
of  the  land.  Nothing  can  relieve  me  from 
anxiety  lest  by  any  act  of  mine  their  in- 
terests may  suffer,  and  nothing  is  needed  to 


purpose  by  which  he  would  be  -uided  in  the 
administrationof  the  affairs  of  the  government: 
"  In  the  discharge  of  my  official  duty  I 
shall  endeavor  to  be  guided  by  a  just  and 
unstrained  construction  of  the  ConstitLition,  a 
careful  observance  of  the  distinction  betweea 


strengthen  my  resolution  to  engage  everj- 
facult>'  and  effort  in  the  promotion  of  their 
welfare." 

Having  stated  his  sense  of  the  importance 
and  sacredness  of  the  trust  confided  in  him, 
President  Cleveland  gave  expression  to  the 


the  powers  granted  to  the  Federal  govern- 
ment and  those  reserved  to  the  States  or  to 
the  people,  and  by  a  cautious  appreciation  of 
those  functions  which,  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws,  have  been  especially  assigned  to 
the  executive  branch  of  the  government." 


866 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  GROVER    CLEVELAND. 


■  Upon  the  question  of  civil  service  reform 
President  Cleveland  expressed  himself  in 
accordance  with  the  sentiments  enunciated  in 
the  platform  of  his  party,  adopted  at  the  con- 
vention of  1884: 

"  The  people  demand  reform  in  the 
administration  of  the    government    and    the 


influence  of  those  who  promise  and  the 
vicious  methods  of  those  who  expect  such 
rewards.  And  those  who  worthily  seek 
public  employment  have  the  right  to  insist 
that  merit  and  competency  shall  be  recog- 
nized instead  of  party  subserviency,  or  the 
surrender  of  honest  political  belief." 


CHIEI--JUSTICE  \\.\n 


ADMI.NISTEKING    THE    OATH    OF    OFFICE    TO    PRESIDENT    CLEVELAND. 


application  of  business  principles  to  public 
affairs.  As  a  means  to  this  end  civil  service 
reform  should  be  in  good  faith  enforced. 
Our  citizens  have  the  right  to  protection 
from  the  incompetency  of  public  employees 
who  hold  their  places  soleh'  as  the  reward  of 
partisan    service,   and  from    the    corrupting 


Revenue  reform  was  another  topic  referred 
to  in  President  Cleveland's  inaugural  address. 
Thus  early  in  his  administration  he  presented 
a  matter  which  was  very  fully  discussed  in 
his  subsequent  messages  to  Congress,  and, 

,  became  the  subject  of  contention  between  the 

j  two  great  parties. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


"A  due  regard,"  he  says,  "  for  the  interests 
and  prosperity  of  all  the  people  demand  that 
our  finances  shall  be  established  upon  such  a 
sound  and  sensible  basis  as  shall  secure  the 
safety  and  confidence  ofbusiness  interests  and 
make  the  wage  of  labor  sure  and  steady,  and 
that  our  system  ofrevenue  shall  be  so  adjusted 
as  to  relieve  the  people  from  unnecessary 
taxation,  having  a  due  regard  to  the  interests 


S67 

Interior;  Augustus  H.  Garland,  of  Arkansas, 
Attorney-General ;  William  Crowninshield 
Endicott,  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of 
War;  William  F.  Vilas,  of  Wisconsin,  Post- 
master-General ;  William  Collins  Whitney, 
of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  the  day  of  Presi-, 
dent  Cleveland's  inauguration,  ex-President 
Grant  was  placed    on   the   retired  list  of  the 


of  capital  invested  and  workingmea  employed 
in  American  industries,  and  preventing  the 
accumulation  of  a  surplus  in  the  treasury  to 
tempt  extravagance  and  waste." 

The  new  cabinet  was  composed  as  follows  : 
Thomas  Francis  Bayard,  of  Delaware,  Secre- 
tary of  State ;  Daniel  Manning,  of  New 
York,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  Lucius  Q. 
C.   Lamar,  of  Mississippi,  Secretary  of  the 


army.  For  some  months  pre\-ious  to  this 
there  were  ominous  rumors  respecting  the 
state  of  his  health.  The  great  general  who 
had  led  the  Federal  forces  in  the  last  part  of 
the  civil  war,  and  who  had  gained  a  military 
reputation  second  to  that  of  no  commander 
of  modern  times ;  who  had  also  been  lifted 
to  the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  a  grate- 
ful people,  and  had  served  eight  years  in  the 


868 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   GROVER    CLEVKLAND. 


White  House   as   our    chief  executive,  was 
reported  to  be  in  his  last  illness. 

The  sympathy  of  the  entire  country  was 
profoundly  stirred  by  this  announcement. 
Medical  skill  of  the  highest  order  was  sum- 
moned ;  daily  bulletins  of  the  condition  of 
the  illustrious  patient  were  issued  ;  hope  was 
expressed  that  his  life  might  be  spared  for 
many  years,  a  hope  which  soon  proved  to  be 
unfounded;  and  although  his  labors  in  the 
preparation  of  his  "  Memoirs  "  continued,  it 
became  evident  that  he  was  sustained  more 
by    will-power     than    by     any     increasing 


L 


THE  COTTAGE  IN  WHICH   GRANT  DIED  AT  MT.   McGREGOR. 

strength,  and  that   very  .s,oon   he  would  be  I  lur  glory, 
compelled  to   lay  down  his  pen  as  he  had 
already  laid  down  his  sword. 

In  the  summer  of  1885  he  was  removed 
to  Mount  McGregor,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  hope  that  he 
would  be  invigorated  by  the  mountain  air. 
Disease,  however,  had  progressed  so  far  that 
his  death  became  inevitable,  and  this  occurred 
on  the  twenty-third  of  July,  at  8  o'clock  A. 
M.  Demonstrations  of  sorrow  attended  his 
obsequies.  A  special  train  bore  his  remains 
from  Mount  McGregor  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  the    funeral   services    and    the 


interment  were  to  take  place.  On  the  sixth 
of  August  he  was  laid  in  state  in  the  City 
Hall,  and  vast  crowds  of  people  came  to  take 
their  last  look.  On  August  eighth  the 
funeral  took  place,  which  was  an  extraordi- 
nary pageantry.  It  was  attended  by  celeb- 
rities from  all  parts  of  the  land.  All  that 
statesmen,  members  of  Congress,  Governors 
of  States,  Judges  of  Supreme  Courts  and  per- 
sons in  the  highest  walks  of  professional  and 
mercantile  life  could  do  to  give  honor  to  the 
illustrious  dead  was  rendered  on  this  ocasion. 
The  Grand  Army,  of  which  General  Grant 
had  been  the  leader,  was  fully 
represented.  A  procession  num- 
ring  from  fifty  to  si.xty  thou- 
sand men  followed  the  hearse 
from  the  City  Hall  to  the  mau- 
soleum erected  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  which  was  to  con- 
tarn  the  remains  of  the  illustrious, 
dead  The  closing  scenes  of  the 
life  of  General  Grant  were  as  im- 
pressive as  his  previous  illness 
had  been  painful,,  and  fitted  to 
iwaken  public  sympathy.  Thus 
was  laid  in  the  tomb  another  of 
the  renowned  sons  of  the  Re- 
public who  had  done  much  to 
add  to   her   fame  and    brighten 


It  was  not  long  after  this  that  another 
death  occurred  which  added  to  the  affliction 
caused  by  that  of  ex-President  Grant.  On 
the  29th  of  October  General  George  B. 
McClellan  died  at  his  residence  at  Orange 
Mountain,  N.  J.  General  McClellan 's  name 
comes  out  conspicuously  in  the  history  of 
our  country  since  i860.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  war  he  was  commander  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  Having  been  displaced,  the 
part  that  he  occupied  in  the  war  was  not 
afterward  prominent.  He  was  widely  known, 
however,    in   political    life,  antl  was  invested 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


%vith  several  offices,  one  of  which  was  the 
governorship  of  New  Jersey.  His  funeral 
took  place  in  the  city  of  New  York  on  the 
second  of  November. 

The  public  agitation  of  the  question  of 
free  trade  and  revenue  reform  took  definite 
shape  in  the  latter  part  of  this  year.  At 
Chica<T0  on  the  eleventh  of  November  there 


more  and  more  prominent,  entering  more 
largely  into  public  discussion,  and  was  des- 
tined to  be  the  leading  issue  in  the  next  presi- 
dential campaign. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  November  Vice- 
President  Thomas  B.  Hendricks  died  sud- 
denly at  Indianapolis,  and  his  obsequies 
were  attended  December  first.     Thus  passed 


GENERAL  GRANTS  TEMPORARY  TOMB,  RIVERSIDE  PARK,  NEW  YORK. 


was  a  national  conference  of  free-traders  and 
revenue  reformers.  This  was  preliminary  to 
political  action  which,  it  was  understood, 
would  be  taken  afterward.  The  conference  was 
attended  by  representative  men,  views  were 
freely  exchanged,  and  it  was  thought  that 
by  this  action  the  cause  of  free  trade  would 
be  materially  promoted.  Thus  it  may  be 
seen  that  the  tariff  question   was   becoming 


away  another  of  the  prominent  figures  whose 
removal  made  the  year  1885  conspicuous  as 
a  year  of  death  in  high  places. 

In  December  both  houses  of  Congress 
passed  a  bill  granting  a  pension  to  President 
Grant's  widow.  This  was  thought  to  be  an 
act  of  justice  in  consideration  of  the  services 
rendered  to  the  nation  by  her  distinguished 
husband — a    measure    which    was    heartily 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


approved  by  the  people  at  large,  and  which 
was  another  evidence  of  the  fact  that,  not- 
withstanding the  old  saying  that  "  Repub- 
lics are  ungrateful,"  ours  is  not  to  be  classed 
in  that  number. 

In  the  early  part  of  December,  Congress 
reassembled  at  Washington,  and  President 
Cleveland  submitted  his  annual  message.  In 
this  message  the  matter  of  silver  coinage  was 
given  a  prominent  place,  and  in  connection 
with  it  the  existing  condition  of  the  laboring 
classes  throughout  the  country  was  dis- 
cussed. The  president  expressed  the  gravest 
anxiety  for  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
unless  measures  should  be  taken  by  Con- 
gress to  remedy  the  existing  evils.  Another 
important  recommendation  had  reference  to 
the  Indians.  It  was  maintained  that  the  pres- 
ent laws  and  regulations  for  their  control 
should  be  prudently  administered,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  was  stated  that  there  was  a 
iack  of  fixed  purpose  or  policy  on  this  subject. 

'    The  Presidential  Succession. 

The  president  took  the  ground  that  the 
Indians  were  within  the  care  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  their  rights  should  be  protected 
from  invasion  by  the  most  solemn  obliga- 
tions. It  was  stated  that  there  was  a  general 
concurrence  in  the  proposition  that  the  ulti- 
mate object  of  their  treatment  should  be  their 
civilization  and  citizenship,  and  it  was  urged 
that  measures  to  this  end  should  be  pressed 
forward  as  speedily  as  possible.  The  pass- 
age of  a  law  was  recommended  which  should 
authorize  the  appointment  of  si.x  commis- 
sioners to  carry  out  the  preceding  recom- 
mendations. These  were  the  most  important 
matters  which  were  submitted  by  President 
Cleveland  in  this  message. 
I  A  bill  stating  the  terms  of  the  presidential 
succession  was  passed  by  Congress  on  the 
fifteenth  of  January,  1886.  The  opinion  had 
long  b^Cii  hold  by  members  of  Congress,  and 


had  been  discussed  by  the  journals  through-' 
out  the  country,  that  the  statutes  regulating 
the  succession  in  the  office  of  president  were 
not  sufficiently  adequate.  The  intention  was, 
by  this  bill,  to  set  up  such  safeguards  as 
would  prevent  any  revolutionary  act  in  the 
e\-ent  of  the  death  of  the  chief  executive,  the 
vice-president,  or  both,  during  a  single  pres- 
idential term. 

Agitations  upon  the  labor  question  con- 
tinued throughout  the  country;  organiza- 
tions were  rapidly  formed,  conventions  were 
held,  leading  agitators  inflamed  the  laboring 
classes,  and  the  subject  assumed  such  grave 
proportions  that  on  the  twenty-second  of 
April,  1886,  President  Cleveland  sent  a  spec- 
ial message  to  Congress.  The  object  was  to 
recommend  such  measures  as  would  tend  to 
quiet  the  labor  agitation,  and  at  the  same 
time  guard  the  interests  of  capital. 

Anarchists  Sentenced  to  be  Executed. 

The  next  event  of  importance,  although 
occurring  in  Chicago,  very  soon  assumed  a 
national  aspect.  On  the  fourth  of  May  a 
riot  occurred  in  that  city,  instigated  by  a  • 
company  of  revolutionary  spirits  who  have 
been  denominated  "  Anarchists."  After 
having  held  secret  and  public  meetings  for  a  < 
longtime,  which  were  promoted  and  reported 
by  one  or  two  journals  edited  by  the  leaders 
in  the  movement,  an  open  outbreak  occur- 
red on  the  above  date.  While  a  public  meet- 
ing was  being  held  and  speeches  were  being 
made  of  a  revolutionary  description,  the 
police  attempted  to  disperse  the  crowd.  At 
that  instant  dynamite  bombs  were  thrown, 
and  seven  policemen  were  killed,  and  eighty- 
three  officers  and  citizens  were  wounded. 

A  number  of  arrests  followed,  and  on  the 
twentieth  of  August,  after  a  protracted  trial, 
seven  anarchists  were  convicted  of  murder 
and  sentenced  to  be  executed.  Able  coun- 
sel defended  them,  and   managed   their  trial 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   GROVKR    CLEVELAND. 


871 


in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate  that  they  were 
as  much  in  sympathy  with  the  measures 
proposed  by  the  anarchists  as  they  were 
with  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order.  On 
the  se\enth  of  October  a  new  trial  was 
refused,  and  on  the  ninth  formal  sentence  of 
execution  was  pronounced.  Four  were  exe- 
cuted on  November  1 1,  1S87,  one  committed 
suicide  in  prison,  two  were  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  life  and  one  to  fifteen  years 
in  the  penitentiary. 

Earthquake  at  Charleston. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  August,  1S86,  the 
city  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  was 
visited  by  a  severe  earthquake.  Nearly  seven 
thousand  buildings  were  totally  destroyed  or 
seriously  injured.  About  one  hundred  lives 
were  lost,  and  so  great  was  the  work  of 
destruction  that  more  than  one-half  of  the 
city  had  to  be  rebuilt.  This  calamity  threw 
a  gloom  over  the  entire  country  ;  prompt  aid 
was  offered  the  sufferers,  and  the  people  of 
the  stricken  city  began  at  once  to  repair  their 
desolated  homes. 

On  Thursday,  October  28,  1886,  the  great 
statue  of  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World 
was  unveiled  on  Bedlow's  Island,  in  New 
York  Harbor.  This  massive  work  was  con- 
ceived and  executed  by  M.  Auguste  F.  Bar- 
tholdi,  of  Paris,  France,  and  was  presented 
by  the  French  nation  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  The  first  steps  toward  its 
construction  were  taken  in  I874,  when  the 
French-American  Union  was  established,  a 
banquet  given,  and  an  appeal  made  to  the 
people  of  France.  In  1876  M.  Bartholdi 
had  begun  his  great  work,  and  with  extended 
right  arm  of  the  statue — the  first  part  that 
was  completed — came  to  America  and 
placed  it  with  the  torch  in  the  Centennial 
Exhibition  at  Philadcliihia,  whence  it  was 
subsequently  removed  to  Madison  Sejuare, 
New    York.     In  February,    1877,  Congress 


set  apart  Bedloe's  Island  for  the  statue,  and 
a  committee  was  chosen,  with  William  M. 
Evarts  at  its  head,  to  make  preparations  for 
receiving  the  great  work. 

The  statue  weighs  450,000  pounds,  or  225 
tons.  The  bronze  alone  weighs  200,000 
pounds.  Forty  persons  can  stand  comfort- 
ably in  the  head,  and  the  torch  will  hold 
twelve  people. 

The  total  number  of  steps  in  the  tempor- 
ary staircase,  which  leads  from  the  base  of 
the  foundation  to  the  top  of  the  torch  is  403. 
From  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  pedestal, 
195  steps.  The  number  of  steps  in  the  statue 
from  the  pedestal  to  the  head  is  1 54,  and  the 
ladder  leading  up  through  the  extended 
right  arm  to  the  torch  has  54  rounds.  The 
cost  of  the  statue  was  estimated  at  $250,000; 
the  cost  of  the  pedestal  and  the  erection  of 
the  statue,  $350,000.  Total  cost  of  the  work 
completed  and  in  place,  5600,000. 

President  Cleveland's  Marriage. 

A  social  event  of  great  interest  during  the 
administration  of  President  Cleveland  was 
his  marriage  at  the  White  House,  on  the 
second  of  June,  1886,  to  Miss  Frances  Fol- 
som,of  Buffalo,  New  York,  who  was  educated 
at  Well's  College,  and  who,  just  previouslyto 
her  marriage,  had  made  the  tour  of  Europe. 
At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  wedding 
guests  assembled  in  the  Blue  Room.  Owing 
to  the  President's  desire  that  the  affair  should 
be  as  private  as  possible,  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  had  not  been  invited. 

The  guests  placed  themselves  in  the  form 
of  a  semicircle,  Mr.  Bayard  being  at  the 
extreme  left  and  Rev.  Mr.  Cleveland  at  the 
extreme  right. 

The  Marine  Band,  which  was  stationed  in 
the  ante-room,  gave  forth  the  dulcet  strains 
of  the  perennial  wedding-march  of  Men- 
delssohn as  the  Rev.  Dr.  .Sunderland  took 
his  position  at  the  south  end  of  the  room, 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVKR    CLEVELAND. 


and  immediately  after  the  bridal  party 
entered.  The  bearing  of  the  couple  was 
dignified  and  impressi\e.  They  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  few  guests  who  were  closely 
related  to  the  contracting  parties. 

The  reverend  doctor  then    performed  the 
marriage    ceremon\-    in    a  manner    at    once 


FKANCKS    Fi  iLSOM-CLEVELANn 


solemn  and  impressive,  the  bride  and  groom 
;making  their  responses  in  clear  tones.  The 
ring  was  then  passed  and  placed  on  the  bride's 
finger,  and  the  two  wore  pronounced  man 
and  wife.  The  following  benediction  was 
spoken  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cleveland,  brother  of 
the  President: 


"  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God 
the  Holy  Ghost,  bless,  preserve  and  keep 
yoLi  ;  the  Lord  mercifully  fill  you  with  all 
temporal  and  all  spiritual  blessings,  and 
grant  that  you  may  so  live  together  in  this 
world  that  in  the  world  to  come  you  may 
have  life  everlasting.     Amen." 

E.x-President  Chester  A.  Ar- 
thur died  November  i8,  1886, 
aged  fifty-si.K  years. 

In  his  message  of  December, 
1886,  President  Cleveland  made 
special  reference  to  the  statutes 
granting  and  regulating  pensions. 
This  was  done,  doubtless,  in  part 
\  to  answer  criticisms  upon  his 
man)'  vetoes  of  bills  passed  which 
;  granted  pensions  to  disabled  sol- 

^_^_^^      diers  and  their  families.   Hesays: 
^^■■^HHH         "  The  usefulness  and  the  jus- 
'^^^^^^^1    tice  of  any  system  for  the  distri- 
a^^^^^^H     bution  of  pensions  depend  upon 
W^^K^^^     ^he  equality  and  uniformity  of  its 
^^^^^^^^^t     operation.     It  will  be  seen  from 
the  report  of  the  Commissioner 
that  there  are  now  paid  by  the 
I  government    one    hundred    and 

'/  thirty-one  different  rates  of  pen- 

'  sion. 

"  He   estimates   from  the   best 
information    he  can   obtain  that 
nine  thousand  of  those  who  have 
Jy^  served  in  the  army  and  navy  of 

^  the  United  States  are  now  sup- 

ported, in  whole  or  in  part,  from 
public  funds  or  by  organized 
charities,  exclusive  of  those  in 
soldiers'  homes  under  the  direction  and  con- 
trol of  the  government.  Only  thirteen  per 
cent,  of  these  are  pensioners,  while  of  the 
entire  number  of  men  furnished  for  the  late 
war  something  like  twenty  per  cent,  includ- 
ing their  widows  and  relatives,  have  been  or 
are  now  in  the  receipt  of  pensions. 


AD.MIXISTRATIOX    <)F    CROVKR    CLl-.VELAND. 


873 


"  The  American  people,  with  a  patriotic 
and  grateful  regard  for  our  ex-soldiers — too 
broad  and  too  sacred  to  be  monopolized  by 
any  special  advocates — are  not  only  willing 
but  anxious  that  equal  and  exact  justice 
should  be  done  to  all  honest  claimants  for 
pensions.  In  their  sight  the  friendless  and 
destitute  soldier,  dependent  on  public  charity, 
if  otherwise  entitled,  has   precisel\'  the  same 


work  an  injustice  to  the  brave  and  crippled, 

I  but  poor  and  friendless  soldier,  who  is  entirely 

'  neglected  or  who   must  be  content  with  the 

smallest  sum  allowed  under  general  laws." 

In  the  same  message  occurred   a   further 
discussion    of    the    labor    question    as    fol- 
lows : 
I       "  The  relations  of  labor  to  capital  and  of 
!  laboring  men  to  their  emplo\-ers,  are  of  the 


POM    OFFICE    liLILDINC     PH  II  ADFLPH  I  A 


right  to  share  in  the  provision  made  for  those 
who  fought  their  country's  battles  as  those 
better  able,  through  friends  and  influence,  to 
push  their  claims. 

"  Every  pension  that  is  granted  under  our 
present  plan  upon  any  other  grounds  than 
actual  service  and  injury  or  disease  incurred 
in  such  service,  and  every  instance  of  the 
many  in  which  pensions  are  increased  on 
other  grounds  than  the   merits  of  the  claim, 


utmost  concern  to  every  patriotic  citizen. 
When  these  are  strained  and  distorted,  unjus- 
tifiable claims  are  apt  to  be  insisted  upon  by 
both  interests,  and  in  the  controversy  which 
results,  the  welfare  of  all  and  the  prosperity 
of  the  country  are  jeopardized.  Any  inter- 
vention of  the  General  Government,  within 
the  limits  of  its  constitutional  autliority,  to 
avert  such  a  condition,  should  be  willingly 
accorded. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


"  In  a  special  message  transmitted  to  the 
Congress  at  its  last  session,  I  suggested  the 
enlargement  of  our  present  Labor  Bureau, 
and  adding  to  its  present  functions  the  power 
of  arbitration  in  cases  where  dififerences  arise 
between  emplo)-er  and  employed.  When 
these  differences  reach  such  a  stage  as  to 
result  in  the  interruption  of  commerce  be- 
tween the  States,  the  application  of  this 
remedy  by  the  General  Government  might 
be  regarded  as  entirely  within  its  constitu- 
tional powers. 


PHILADELPHIA 


"  And  I  think  we  might  reasonably  hope 
that  such  arbitrators,  if  carefully  selected 
and  if  entitled  to  the  confidence  of  the  parties 
to  be  affected,  would  be  voluntarily  called  to 
the  settlement  of  controversies  of  less  extent 
and  not  necessarily  within  the  domain  of 
Federal  regulation. 

"  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  this  suggestion 
is  worthy  the  attention  of  the  Congress. 

"  But  after  all  has  been  done  by  the  pas- 
sage of  laws  either  Federal  or  State  to  relieve 
a  situation  full  of  solicitude,  much  more 
remains  to  be  accomplished  by  the  reinstate- 


ment and  cultivation  of  a  true  American  sen- 
timent which  recognizes  the  equality  of 
American  citizenship.  This,  in  the  light  of 
our  traditions  and  in  loyaltj-  to  the  spirit  of 
our  institutions,  would  teach  that  a  hearty 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  all  interests  is 
the  surest  path  to  national  greatness  and  the 
happiness  of  all  our  people,  that  capital 
should,  in  recognition  of  the  brotherhood  of 
our  citizenship  and  in  a  spirit  of  American 
fairness,  generously  accord  to  labor  its  just 
compensation  and  consideration,  and  that 
contented  labor  is  capital's 
best  protection  and  faithful 
ally.  It  would  teach,  too, 
that  the  diverse  situations 
of  our  people  are  insepar- 
able from  our  civilization, 
that  every  citizen  should, 
m  his  sphere,  be  a  contrib- 
utor to  the  general  good, 
that  capital  does  not  neces- 
sarily tend  to  the  oppression 
of  labor,  and  that  violent 
disturbances  and  disorders 
alienate  from  their  pro- 
moters true  American  sym- 
^^  pathy  and  kindly  feeling." 
In  September,  of  1887, 
the  centennial  anniversary 
ofthe  adoption  and  promul- 
gation of  the  United  States  Constitution  was 
celebrated  in  Philadelphia.  The  celebration 
occupied  the  three  days — Thursday,  Friday 
and  Saturday,  September  fifteenth,  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth.  On  the  fifteenth  there  was 
a  grand  industrial  display  under  the  general 
direction  of  Colonel  A.  Louden  Snowden, 
which  was  seven  hours  in  passing  a  given 
point,  and  was  by  far  the  largest  exhibition 
of  the  sort  ever  made  in  America. 

On  Friday,  the  sixteenth,  there  was  a  mili- 
tary parade,  composed  of  United  St.itcs. 
regular  troops.  United  States  marines,  Gir.uil 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


875 


College  cadets  and  companies  of  State  militia 
from  over  half  the  States  in  the  Union.  Fif- 
teen thousand  men  were  in  line,  the  gov- 
ernors of  States  riding  at  the  head  of  their 
se\eral  State  troops,  the  whole  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-General  Phillip  H. 
Sheridan.      It  was  rcxicucd  l,v  t'l     ?■•    ^^    :;; 


in  Independence  Square,  at  which  President 
Cleveland  presided,  the  opening  and  closing 
prayers  being  made  by  Bishop  Potter  of  New 
York  and  Cardinal  Gibbons  of  Baltimore, 
respectively.  There  were  addresses  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  and  President  Kasson,  of  the 
'"■         ■■    -.i-iial    Ctlcbratii'H    Committee,  and 


STEAMSHIP    DOCK.-    (iN     iHK    Dl 

of  the  United  States.  Stands  had  been 
erected  along  Broad  street  from  Wharton  to 
Dauphin  streets,  and  on  Market  and  Chestnut 
streets  from  Broad  to  Fifth  streets,  and  they 
were  filled  with  tier  upon  tier  of  enthusiastic 
thousands,  the  whole  forming  one  of  the 
grandest  military  spectacles  of  the  century. 
On   Saturday  there  were  public  exercises 


the  oration  was  given  by  Associate  Justice 
Samuel  F.  Miller,  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court. 

Hon.  Roscoe  Conkling,  e.K-United  States 
SenatorofNew  York, died  April  i8,i8S8,aged 
fifty-nine.  Hon.  Morrison  R.  Waite,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
died  March  23,  1888,  aged  seventy-two  years. 


875 


ADMINISTRATIOX   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


At  St.  Louis,  June  5, 1888,  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  was  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  nominating  candidates  for  the  offices 
of  President  and  Vice-President.  When  the 
convention  was  called  to  order  the  scene  was 
an  inspiring  one.  Back  of  the  delegates  rose 
tier  after  tier  of  spectators,  a  vast,  undulating 
sea  of  heads  and  faces.  In  the  galleries  the 
bright  ribbons  of  the  ladies  and  the  highly- 
colored  fans  fluttered  among  the  red,  white 
and  blue,  the  silver  stars  and  the  graceful 
folds  of  bunting.  The  morning  was  close 
and  muggy  and  threatened  rain,  but  when 


ALLEN    G.   THURMAN. 

Chairman  Barnum,  of  the  Democratic  Na- 
tional Committee,  and  Secretary  Frederick 
O.  Prince  came  upon  the  platform  the  sun 
burst  through  the  clouds,  and  through  the 
windows  of  the  convention  hall  as  well. 

President  Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York, 
was  unanimously  nominated  for  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Allen  G. 
Thurman,  of  Ohio,  for  the  office  of  Vice- 
President;  after  which  the  convention  ad- 
journed on  June  7.  The  meetings  of  the 
convention  were  attended  by  scenes  of  e.\cite- 
ment  and  enthusiasm,  which  indicated  com- 
plete   harmony    in    the    Democratic   party, 


resolute  determination  to  make  the  ap- 
proching  campaign  one  of  great  vigor,  and 
hope  of  success  at  the  general  election  to  be 
held  in  November. 

The  Republican  National  Convention,  held 
at  Chicago  from  the  nineteenth  to  the 
twenty-fifth  of  June,  1888,  nominated  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana,  for  the 
office  of  President. 

Previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  con- 
vention, and  even  during  its  early  sessions, 
Mr.  Harrison  was  not  so  prominently  named 
for  the  nomination  as  several  others.  Sher- 
man, of  Ohio  ;  Gresham,  of  Illinois  ;  Alger, 
of  Michigan,  and  that  distinguished  leader  of 
the  Republican  party,  James  G.  Blaine,  had 
their  respective  enthusiactic  following.  The 
nomination  was  given  to  Mr.  Harrison  after 
a  long  and  patient  effort  to  secure  the  best 
man  for  the  high  honor  of  leading  the  Repub- 
lican hosts. 

Nomination    of  Benjamin  Harrison. 

When  the  convention,  on  the  eighth  ballot, 
declared  in  favor  of  Harrison,  the  decision 
was  hailed  with  universal  delight.  Although 
the  friends  of  other  candidates  had  worked 
with  great  zeal  to  secure  the  prize  for  their 
favorites,  there  was  a  hearty  acquiesence  in 
the  final  decision,  the  choice  was  made 
unanimous,  the  building  shook  with  hearty 
plaudits,  great  waves  of  excitement  swept 
over  the  vast  audience,  and  the  scene  was 
one  never  to  be  forgotten  by  those  who  wit- 
nessed it.  At  once  all  differences  among  the 
delegates  were  harmonized,  and  they  pre- 
pared to  push  the  canvass  with  vigor  up  to 
the  day  of  decision  in  November. 

Hon.  Levi  P.  Morton,  of  New  York,  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  Vice  President. 

On  the  twentieth  of  July,  1888,  the  nomi- 
nation of  Melville  W.  Fuller,  of  Illinois,  as 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  '»" 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


877 


the  fourteenth  of  August  General  John  M. 
Scofield  was  appointed  to  command  the  army 
of  the  United  States. 

General  Philip  H.  Sheridan,  the  dij^tin- 
guished  cavalry  commander,  died  August  5, 
1 888,  ai^ed  fifty-seven  years. 

In  October  occurred  an  incident  which 
resulted  in  the  recall  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment of  its  Minister  at  Washington.  On  the 
thirtieth  Lord  Sackville-West  was  notified  by 
Secrefary  Bayard  that  his  presence  in  this 
country  in  a  diplomatic  capacity  was  no  longer 
desired  by  the  United  States.  This  action 
was  taken  because  of  the  publication  of  a 
letter  from  Minister  West  to  a  mythical  per- 
sonage named  Murchison,  in  which  headvised 
support  of  Cleveland  for  President  because 
he  was  fa\'orable  to  British  interests. 

Result  of  the  Election. 

On  the  sixth  of  November  the  election  w  as 
held,  which  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the 
Republican  party,  the  States  voting  as  they 
did  at  the  election  four  years  before,  with  the 
exception  of  New  York  and  Indiana,  which 
gave  their  votes  to  Benjamin  Harrison. 

The  first  session  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress 
was  the  longest  continuous  session  ever  held, 
having  lasted  32 1  days,  ending  October  twen- 
tieth. In  the  Senate  3,641  bills  and  1 16  joint 
resolutions  were  introduced ;  in  the  House, 
11,598  bills  and  230  jr.int  resolutions — a 
grand  total  of  15,585  measures.  President 
Cleveland's  message  calling  attention  to  the 
surplus  and  recommending  a  revision  of  the 


tariff  forced  a  discussion  of  that  economic 
question  which  extended  through  and  pro- 
longed the  session. 

What  became  known  as  the  Mills  bill  was 
reported  to  the  House,  and  passed  July 
twenty-first.  A  substitute  measure  known  as 
the  Senate  bi'l   was  report  d  to  tl.e  Senate 


October  fourth  and  debated,  but  no  action 
was  taken  thereon.  So  much  time  was  occu- 
pied by  the  tariff  debate  and  other  discus- 
sions brought  about  for  effect  on  the  Presi- 
dential election  that  there  was  very  little 
important  legislation.  About  1,200  bills 
were  passed,  of  which  800  were  private  pen- 
sion bills. 


CHAPTER   XLVIII 


The  Administration  of  Benjamin   Harrison 


Insragm-ation  of  President  Harrison — Imposing    ?cene  at  Washington — Vast  Assembly — Civic  and  Military  Parade — 

President  Harrison's  Inaugural  Address — Celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  Washington's   Inauguration 

Fine  Naval  Parade — Religious  and  Literary  Exercises— Military  Display — President  Harrison  at  the  Banquet — The 
President's  Address — The  New  Cabinet — Terrible  Calamity  at  Johnstown — Admission  of  New  States — President's 
Message  to  the  Fifty-first  Congress — Legislation  of  the  First  Session  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress — The  New  Tariff  Law — 

Indian  War  in  the  Northwest — Death  of  Sitting  Bull — Restriction  of  Immigration — Mob  Law  in  New  Orleans 

Trouble  with  Chile — Political  Conventions  of  1892 — Labor  Contest  at  Homestead — Defeat  of  the  Bland  Silver  Bill. 


THERE  was  an  imposing  demonstra- 
tion at  Washington  on  the  occasion 
of  President  Harrison's  inaugura- 
tion, March  4,  1889.  A  vast  con- 
course of  people  assembled  from  all  parts  of 
the  countrj^  and  the  civic  and  military  dis- 
play surpassed  all  pageantries  ever  before 
witnessed  at  the  capital. 

President  Harrison's  inaugural  address, 
while  recommending  some  important  meas- 
ures, was  regarded  as  conservative  in  its  tone, 
and  served  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  new 
administration. 

The  address  traced  the  necessary  growth 
of  tariff  legislation.  This  legislation  was 
adopted  in  the  early  history  of  the  nation. 

"  Societies  for  the  promotion  of  home 
manufactures  and  for  encouraging  the  use  of 
domestics  in  tiie  dress  of  the  people  were 
organized  in  many  of  the  States.  The 
revival  at  the  end  of  the  century  of 
the  same  patriotic  interest  in  the  preserva- 
tion and  development  of  domestic  industries, 
and  the  defence  of  our  working  people 
against  injurious  foreign  competition,  is  an 
incident  worthy  of  attention.  It  is  not  a 
departure,  but  a  return  that  we  have  wit- 
nessed. The  protective  policy  had  then  its 
opponents.  The  argument  was  made,  as  now, 
that  its  benefits  inured  to  particular  classes 
or  sections." 

878 


Continuing,  the  President  said  :  "  I  look 
hopefully  to  the  continuance  of  our  protec- 
tive system  and  to  the  consequent  develop- 
ment of  manufacturing  and  mining  enter- 
prises in  the  States  hitherto  wholly  given  to 
agriculture,  as  a  potent  influence  in  the  per- 
fect unification  of  our  people.  The  men  who 
have  invested  their  capital  in  these  enterprises, 
the  farmers  who  have  felt  the  benefit  of  their 
neighborhood,  and  the  men  who  work  in 
shop  or  field  will  not  fail  to  find  and  to 
defend  a  community  of  interest." 

The  President  gave  some  timely  sug- 
gestions respecting  the  formation  of  trusts 
and  the  evils  which  are  likely  to  attend  them. 
Among  other  things  he  said :  "  The  evil 
example  of  permitting  individuals,  corpora- 
tions or  communities  to  nullify  the  laws 
because  they  cross  some  selfish  or  local 
interest  or  prejudices  is  full  of  danger,  not 
only  to  the  nation  at  large,  but  much  more 
to  those  who  use  this  pernicious  expedient 
to  escape  their  just  obligations  or  to  obtain 
an  unjust  advantage  over  others.  They  will 
presently  themselves  be  compelled  to  appeal 
to  the  law  for  protection  and  those  who 
would  use  the  law  as  a  defense  must  not  deny 
that  use  of  it  to  others. 

"  If  our  great  corporations  would  more 
scrupulously  observe  their  legal  limitations 
and    duties,  they  would  have  less  cause   to 


ADMIXISTRATIOX   OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


8/9 


complain  of  the  unlawful  limitations  of  their 
rights  or  of  violent  interference  with  their 
operations.  The  community  that  by  concert, 
open  or  secret,  among  its  citizens  denies  to  a 
portion  of  its  members  their  plain  rights 
under  the  law,  has  severed  the  only  safe  bond 
of  social  order  and  prosperity.  The  evil 
works,  from  a  bad  centre,  both  ways.  It 
demoralizes  those  who  prac- 
tice it,  and  destroys  the  faith 
of  those  who  suffer  by  it  in 
the  efficiency  of  the  law  as 
a  safe  protector.  The  man 
in  whose  breast  that  faith 
has  been  darkened  is  natur- 
ally the  subject  of  danger- 
ous uncanny  suggestions. 
Those  who  use  unlawful 
methods,  if  moved  by  no 
higher  moti\e  than  the 
selfishness  that  prompted 
them,  may  well  stop  to  in- 
quire what  is  to  be  the  end 
of  this." 

The  President  also  recom- 
mended that  our  naturaliza- 
tion laws  be  so  amended  as 
to  exclude  the  worst  class 
of  immigrants.  "We  should 
not  cease  to  be  hospitable  to 
immigration,  but  we  should 
cease  to  be  careless  as  to 
the  character  of  it." 

The  address  recommend- 
ed that  care  be  exercised  to 
maintain    friendly   relations   with    the   other 
nations  of  the  globe,  but  not  at  the  expense 
of  our  own  interests. 

A  strong  navy  for  the  protection  of  the 
United  States  was  urged  as  a  prime  consid- 
eration, with  such  appropriations  as  would 
be  needed  to  build  and  equip  a  fleet  of  w'ar 
vessels  capable  of  defending  our  coasts  and 
upholding  the  dignity  of  our  flag. 


The  reform  of  the  civil  service,  the  admis- 
sion of  new  States,  the  freedom  of  the  ballot 
and  the  safeguards  needed  to  give  efficacy 
to  our  election  laws,  were  topics  discussed 
by  the  address  in  a  timely,  patriotic  manner. 

The  new  cabinet  was  constituted  as  fol- 
lows :  Secretary  of  State,  James  G.  Blaine, 
Maine   (resigned),   succeeded   by   John  W. 


BENJ.AMIN    H.'VRRISON. 

Foster,  Indiana;  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
William  Windom,  Minnesota  (deceased),  suc- 
ceeded by  (3harles  Foster,  Ohio ;  Secretary  of 
War,  Redfield  Proctor,  Vermont  (resigned), 
succeeded  by  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  West  Vir- 
ginia ;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Benjamin  F. 
Tracy,  New  York;  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
John  W.  Noble,  Missouri  ;  Post-master- 
General,   John    Wanamaker,    Pennsylvania; 


88o 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 


Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Jeremiah  M.  Rusk, 
Wisconsin ;  Attorney-General,  William  H. 
H.  Miller,  Indiana. 

On  the  thirtieth  of  April,  1889,  the  Cen- 
tennial Anniversary  of  Washington's  Inaug- 
uration was  celebrated  in  New  York  city. 
On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-ninth,  Presi- 
dent Harrison  was  received  in  New  York 
harbor  with  a  naval  parade,  which  comprised 


BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 

The  religious  exercises  comprised  a  prayer 
by  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  and  a 
sermon  by  Bishop  Potter,  of  New  York. 
The  literary  exercises  comprised  a  poem 
written  for  the  occasion  by  John  Greenleat 
Whittier,  and  an  oration  by  Hon.  Chauncey 
Depew. 

At  a  banquet  in  the  evening,  President 
Harrison  spoke  as  follows : 


>i 


BIRDi-EVi:    VIEW    I 

ships  of  the  navy,  steamboats,  and  a  large 
numberof  vessels  belonging  to  the  merchant 
marine.  On  the  thirtieth,  religious  and  liter- 
ary exercises  were  held,  and  these  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  fine  military  parade,  comprising 
regiments  from  the  regular  army  and  militia 
from  a  number  of  States.  On  a  stand  erected 
at  Madison  Square,  President  Harrison  and 
several  cabinet  officers  reviewed  the  parade. 


■  NEv,'   vu,<K   crrv. 

"  The  occasion  and  all  its  incidents  will  be 
memorable,  not  only  in  the  history  of  your 
city,  but  in  the  history  of  our  country.  New 
York  did  not  succeed  in  retaining  the  seat  of 
national  government  here,  thou|;h  she  made 
liberal  provision  for  the  assembling  of  the 
first  Congress  in  the  expectation  that  Con- 
gress might  find  its  permanent  home  here. 
But  though  you  lost  that  which  you  coveted. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


I  think  the  representatives  here  of  all 
the  States  will  agree  that  it  was  fortunate 
that  the  first  inauguration  of  Washington 
took  place  in  the  State  and  city  of  New  York. 
"  For  where  in  our  country  could  the  cen- 
tennial of  the  event  have  been  so  worthily 
celebrated  as  here ?  What  seaboard  offeied 
so  magnificent  a  bay,  on  which  to  display 
our  merchant  and  naval  marine  V    What  city 


your  great  exchanges  have  closed  and  your 
citizens  given  themselves  up  to  the  observ- 
ance of  the  celebration  in  which  we  are  par- 
ticipating. 

"  I  believe  that  patriotism  has  been  inten- 
sified in  many  hearts  by  what  we  ha\  e  wit- 
nessed to-day.  I  believe  that  patriotism  has 
been  placed  into  a  higher  and  holier  fane  in 
many  hearts.     The  bunting  with  which  you 


Ml !  911)1 


j'^^WJftT^-^^ 


THE    POST    OFFICE,  NEW    VOKK. 


offered  thoroughfares  so  magnificent  or  a 
people  so  great  or  so  generous  as  New  York 
has  poured  out  to-day  to  celebrate  that 
event  ? 

*'  I  congratulate  you  to-day,  as  one  of  the 
instructive  and  interesting  features  of  this 
occasion,  that  these  great  thoroughfares  dedi- 
cated to  trade  have  closed  their  doors  and 
covered  up  the  insignia  of  commerce ;  that 
.S6 


have  covered  your  walls,  these  patriotic 
inscriptions,  must  go  down,  and  the  wage 
and  trade  be  resumed  again. 

■'  Here  may  I  not  ask  you  to  carry  those 
inscriptions  that  now  hang  on  the  walls  into 
you  homes,  into  the  schools  of  your  city, 
into  all  your  great  institutions  where  children 
are  gathered,  and  teach  them  that  the  e\  e 
cf  the  young  and  old  should  look  upon  that 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


882 

flacj  as  one  of  the  familiar  glories  of  every 
American. 

"  Have  we  not  learned  that  no  stocks  and 
bonds  nor  land  is  our  country?  It  is  a 
spiritual  thought  that  is  in  our  minds  ;  it  is 
the  fireside  and  the  home  ;  it  is  the  flag  and 
what  it  stands  for  ;  it  is  the  thoughts  that  are 
in  our  hearts  ;  born  of  the  inspiration  which 
comes  with  the  story  of  the  flag  of  martyrs 


the  inhabitants  of  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  neighboring  villages  on  the  preced- 
ing day.  Instantly  the  whole  land  was 
stirred  by  the  startling  news  of  this  great 
disaster.  Its  appalling  magnitude,  its  dread- 
ful suddenness,  its  scenes  of  terror  and  agony, 
the  fate  of  thousands  swept  to  instant  death 
by  a  flood  as  frightful  as  that  of  the  cataract 
of  Niagara,  awakened  the  profoundest  horror. 


XTTKKV    A\D    CASTLE    riARDEN,  NEW    VDKK. 


to  liberty ;  it  is  the  grave\ard  into  which  a 
common  country  has  gathered  the  uncon- 
scious deeds  of  those  who  died  that  the  thing 
jimight  live  which  we  love  and  call  our  coun- 
■  try,  rather  than  anything  that  can  be  touched 
or  seen." 

On  the  advent  of  summer,  June  first,  the 
country  was  horror-stricken  by  the  announce- 
ment that  a  terrible  calamity  had  overtaken 


No  calamity  in  the  history  of  modern  limes 
so  appalled  the  civilized  world. 

The  South  Forks  dam,  situated  a  few  miles 
above  the  city  of  Johnstown,  suddenly  gave 
way,  precipitating  an  immense  body  of  water 
into  the  valley  below.  The  impetuous  tor- 
rent swept  downward  with  frightful  velocity, 
overturning  trees,  carrying  with  it  barns, 
houses,    fences    and    vast   accumulations    of 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


883 


^ 


debris.  People  fled  in  terror  to  save  their 
lives,  but  were  overtaken  b\-  the  rushing  tor- 
rent. The  destruction  to  Hfe  and  property 
was  appalling. 

The  greatest  damage  occurred  at  Johns- 
town, a  large  part  of  the  dwellings  being 
swept  away,  transforming  a  flourishing  manu- 
facturing town  of  twelve  thousand  persons 
into  a  scene  of  utter  desolation.  The  story 
of  this  great  disaster  is  replete  with  thrilling 
incidents,  narrow  escapes 
from  death,  the  rending 
asunder  of  families,  the  loss 
of  husbands,  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  in  many  instances 
the  obliteration  of  entire 
households.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  upwards  of  fmi 
thousand  persons  perishc  ;. 

Profound  sympathy 
throughout  the  world  \\\i- 
awakened  for  the  surviving 
sufierers,and  immense  sums 
of  money  and  contributions 
of  clothing  were  sent  to  the 
scene  of  the  disaster. 

On  the  twenty-second  of 
Februarj-,  18S9,  an  act  was 
passed  by  Congress  admit- 
ting the  following  Terri- 
tories into  the  Union  as 
States:    North    Dakota, 

South    Dakota,    Montana,    

and  Washington.  President 
Harrison  issued  his  proclamations  by  which 
the  admission  of  these  Territories  took  effect 
during  the  same  year,  that  of  the  two  Dakotas 
on  November  2,  that  of  Montana  on  No- 
vember 8,  and  that  of  Washington  on  No- 
vember 1 1.  The  addition  of  so  many  States 
in  one  year  was  styled  by  the  President  "  an 
event  as  unexampled  as  it  is  interesting." 

The  message  of  the  President,  sent  to  the 
Fifty-first  Congress  at  the  beginning   of  its 


j  first  session,  made  reference  to  the  conference 
I  held  during  the  year  of  the  representatives 
of  all  the  independent  States  of  North  and 
South  America  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
petuating and  expanding  the  relations  of 
mutual  interest  and  friendliness  existing 
among  them.  While  it  was  hoped  com- 
mercial results  would  follow,  the  crowning 
benefit  would  be  found  in  the  better  secu- 
rities that  would  be  de\ised  for  the  mainten- 


HARBOK    OF    NEW    YORK, 

ance  of  peace  among  all  American  nations, 
and  the  settlement  of  all  contentions  by  the 
methods  of  Christian  civilization. 

The  message  also  called  attention  to  the 
international  conference  at  Washington  to 
adopt  a  uniform  system  of  marine  signals  and 
to  amend  the  rules  and  regulations  governing 
vessels  at  sea.  The  foregoing  conferences 
brought  together  the  accredited  representa- 
tives of  thirty-three  nations. 


884 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


The  President  then  discussed  the  question 
of  Chinese  immigration.  After  calling 
attention  to  the  fact  that  previous  legislation 
had  failed,  he  continued :  "  While  our 
supreme  interests  demand  the  exclusion  of  a 
laboring  element,  which  experience  has 
shown  to  be  incompatible  with  our  social 
life,  all  steps  to  compass  this  imperative  need 
should  be  accompanied  with  a  recognition  of 
the  claim  of  those  strangers  now  lawfully 
among  us  to  humane  and  just  treatment." 


cities  against  foreign  attack,  the  improvement 
of  rivers  and  harbors,  how  far  "  trusts " 
should  be  brought  under  Federal] urisdiction, 
the  revision  of  our  naturalization  laws,  the ' 
allotment  of  lands  to  the  Indians  and  such 
legislation  as  was  required  for  the  protection 
of  these  wards  of  the  nation  in  their  lawful 
rights  and  of  the  white  settlers  on  our  fron- 
tiers. The  message  dealt  largely  with  the 
subject  of  pensions  for  our  ex-sold:ers,  and 
urged  that,  with  due  regard   to  the  public 


THE    BREAK    IN    THE    SOUTH    FOKK~ 


The  message  took  strong  ground  upon 
the  question  of  protection  to  American 
industries.  A  new  schedule  of  customs 
duties  was  recommended.  "  The  inequalities 
of  the  law  should  be  adjusted,  but  the  pro- 
tective principle  should  be  maintained  and 
fairly  applied  to  the  products  of  our  farms  as 
well  as  of  our  shops." 

Other  subjects  discussed  in  the  message 
were  silver  coinage,  provision   for  our  coast 


treasury.  Congress  should  meet  every  just 
claim  on  the  part  of  those  who  made  heroic 
sacrifices  in  the  hour  of  the  nation's  peril. 

The  foregoing  were  the  most  important 
subjects  treated  by  the  President,  all  of  which 
were  discussed  with  marked  ability  and  with 
a  breadth  of  view  which  impressed  the 
country  with  his  statesmanlike  sagacity. 

For  many  years  the  Louisiana  State  Lot- 
tery carried  on  its   operations  in  defiance  of 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BENJAMIN   HARRISON. 


885 


the  moral  sentiment  of  the  country.  Both 
Houses  of  Congress  finally  passed,  without 
a  di\  ision,  an  act  forbidding  the  use  of  the 
United  States  mails  by  any  person  or  com- 
pany engaged  in  conducting  any  lottery, 
gift  enterprise,  or  any  scheme  for  obtaining 
money  by  false  and  fraudulent  pretenses. 
The  passage  of  this  act  resulted  in  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Louisiana  Lottery. 

An  act  was  also  passed  declaring  to  be 
illegal  every  contract,  combination  in  the 
form  of  trust  or  conspiracy  in  restraint  of 
trade  or  commerce  among  the  several  States, 
or  with  foreign  nations.  This  act  passed 
both  Houses  of  Congress  without  a  division. 
Its  aim  was  to  check  the  growing  e\ils  of 
trusts  andall  combinations  of  capital  whereby 
a  restriction  is  put  upon  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  commodities  which  constitute  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

Increasing  the  Navy. 

President  Harrison's  administration  was 
also  signalized  by  important  legislation  affect- 
ing the  Navy.  Provision  was  made  for  the 
construction  of  three  sea-going  coast-line 
battle  ships,  to  carry  the  heaviest  armor  and 
ordnance,  the  cost  not  to  exceed  $4,000,000 
each  ;  one  protected  cruiser,  to  have  a  maxi- 
mum speed  of  2 1  knots,  and  to  cost  not  more 
than  ;S2,750,ooo;  one  swift  torpedo  cruiser, 
to  have  a  maximum  speed  of  not  less  than 
23  knots  ;  and  one  torpedo  boat. 

Acts  were  passed  admitting  the  Territories 
of  Idaho  and  Wyoming  as  States  into  the 
Union,  the  act  admitting  Idaho  being  ap- 
proved July  3,  and  that  admitting  Wyoming 
July  ID,  1890. 

By  a  vote  of  29  to  5  in  the  Senate,  and  a 
vote  of  1 19  to  93  in  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, Congress  passed  an  act  pnniding 
that  "  All  fermented,  distilled  or  other  intoxi- 
cating liquors  or  liquids  transported  into  any 
State  or  Territory  remaining  therein  for  use, 


consumption,  sale  or  storage  therein,  shall, 
upon  arrival  in  such  State  or  Tcnitory,  be 
subject  to  the  operation  and  effect  of  the 
laws  of  such  State  or  Territory  enacted  in 
the  exercise  of  its  police  powers,  to  the  same 
extent  and  in  the  same  manner  as  though 
such  liquids  or  liquors  had  been  produced  in 
such  State  or  Territory,  and  shall  not  be  ex-^ 
empt  therefrom  by  reason  of  being  introduced 
therein  in  original  packages  or  otherwise." 
The  act  ui-    >  '    \ugu-,t   8,    1890, 


and  was  occasioned  by  a  decision  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  (three  judges 
dissenting)  that  brewers  in  Illinois  had  the 
right  to  import  into  Iowa  beer,  and  to  sell  it 
in  original  packages  without  regard  to  the 
law  of  Iowa.  Congress  took  up  the  matter 
promptly  and  provided  ample  legislation  for 
the  enforcement  by  the  various  States  of 
their  laws  relating  to  the  traffic  in  liquors. 

On  the  twenty  fifth  of  April,  1890,  Con- 
gress passed  an  act  relating  to  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  at  Chicago.  The  act' 
provides  for  an  exhibition  of  arts,  indus- 
tries, manufactures,  products  of  the  soil,  mine 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISOX. 


S86 

and  sea,  in  1S93,  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  in  cele- 
bration of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  discovery  of  America  by  Christopher 
Columbus.  A  commission  of  two  persons 
from  each  State  and  Territory  to  be  appointed 
by  the  President  on  the  nomination  of  the 
Governors,  and  of  eight  commissioners  at 
large  and  two  from  the  District  of  Columbia, 
to  be  appointed  by  the  President,  in  all  which 
there  shall  be  one  from  each  of  the  two  lead- 
ing political  parties — with  alternates — shall 
be  the  World's  Columbian  Commission,  with 


t  il  \KLL-,    1      CKl:^l> 

power  to  accept  the  site,  etc.,  on  condition  of 
their  being  satisfied  that  $10,000,000  are 
secured  for  the  complete  preparation  for  said 
Exposition.  The  Commission  is  required  to 
appoint  a  board  of  lady  managers,  who  may 
appoint  one  or  more  members  of  all  com- 
mittees authorized  to  award  prizes  for 
exhibits  which  may  be  produced  in  whole  or 
in  part  by  female  labor. 

A  naval  review  is  directed  to  be  held  in 
New  York  harbor  in  April.  1S93,  and  the 
President  is  authorized  to  extend  to  foreign 
nations  an  invitation  to  send  ships  of  war  to 


join  the  United  States  navy  in  rendevous  at 
Hampton  Roads  and  proceed  tbence  to  said 
review.  The  buildings  shall  be  dedicated 
October  12,  1892,  and  the  Exposition  open 
not  later  than  May  I,  1893,  and  closed  not 
later  than  October  30,  1893.  The  Commis- 
sion shall  exist  no  longer  than  Januar)'  i, 
1898.  A  government  building  for  $400,000 
shall  be  erected,  to  contain  the  go\-ernment 
exhibits. 

The  United  States  shall  not  in  any  manner, 
;ior  under  any  circumstances,  be  liable  for 
any  of  the  acts,  doings,  proceedings  or  repre- 
sentations of  the  said  corporation  organized 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  its 
officers,  agents,  ser\'ants  or  employees,  or 
any  of  them,  or  for  the  service,  salaries,  labor 
or  wages  of  said  officers,  agents,  servants,  or 
employees,  or  any  of  them,  or  for  any  sub- 
scriptions to  the  capital  stock,  or  for  any  cer- 
tificates of  stock,  bonds,  mortgages,  or  obli- 
gations of  any  kind  issued  by  said  corpora- 
tion, or  for  any  debts,  liabilities  or  expenses 
of  any  kind  whatever  attending  such  cor- 
poration or  accruing  by  reason  of  the 
same. 

The  foregoing  were  the  main  provisions 
of  the  act.  On  December  24,  1890,  Presi- 
dent Harrison  issued  a  proclamation  inviting 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  take  part  in  the 
Chicago  Exposition  of  1893. 

The   Nev^'  Tariff  Law. 

One  of  the  most  important  measures  en- 
acted during  President  Harrison's  admin- 
istration was  the  McKinley  Tariff  Bill.  After 
a  lengthy  discussion  the  bill  was  passed  by 
a  party  vote,  the  Republican  party  being 
pledged  to  the  principle  of  protection.  The 
act  went  into  effect  October  I,  1890, and  in 
its  practical  workings  was  closely  wa'ched 
and  universally  discussed. 

A  remarkable  political  revolution  swept 
over  the  country   in  the  autumn  of  1890, 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


887 


which  was  considered  largely  due  to  the 
enactment  of  the  McKinley  Tariff  Bill.  In 
the  Fifty-first  Congress 
the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives contained  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six 
Republicans  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five 
Democrats.  In  the  Fifty- 
second  Congress  there 
were  eighty-eight  Re- 
publicans and  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  De- 
mocrats. The  House 
was  organized  by  elect- 
ing Charles  F.  Crisp,  of 
Georgia,  as  Speaker. 

In  the  autumn  of  1 890 
troubles  broke  out  afresh 
at  the  Indian  agencies. 
The  several  tribes  were 
seized  with  a  peculiar 
craze,  and  began  to  per- 
form the  "  ghost  dance," 
which  was  supposed  to 
indicate  their  belief  in 
a  coming  Messiah  who 
was  about  to  appear. 

It  seems  impossible  to 
trace  the  exact  origin  of 
the  Indian  faith.  An 
Indian  from  the  upper 
Columbia  River,  named 
Smohalla,  preached  the 
doctrine  of  an  Indian 
Messiah  about  the  year 
1880.  This  Indian  taught 
that  there  would  be  an 
upheaval  of  nature, which 
would  destroy  the  white 
man  and  restore  to  the 
Indian  his  ancestral  re- 
mains, and  that  the  dust  of  countless  dead  In- 
dians would  spring  to  life,  and  would  surround 


without  one  word  of  warning  each  pale  face, 
iho  would  be  swept  from  the  face   of  the 


SiniNG  BULL   IN    HIS   WAR-DRESS. 


earth.      None    of  the    deadly    weapons    of 
civilization  or  skill  in   their  use  would  avail. 


888  ADMINISTRATION    OF 

and  the  blood  of  eighty  millions  of  whites 
would  atone  for  the  wrongs  done  to  the  red 
race. 

Within  a  few  months  the  belief  in  this  new 
religion  spread  from  tiibe  to  tribe  with 
marvellous  rapidity.  Runners  traversed 
thousands  of  miles  to  reach  distant  tiibcs 
and  bear  the  glad  tidings.     The  Arrapahot-i, 


pa 


CHIEF     \M1  KIL  V\    imi  SI 

the  Shoshoncs,  the  great  Sioux  tribes,  the 
Cheyenncs,  both  north  and  south,  and  many 
other  tribes,  were  taught  the  faith ;  and  the 
"  ghost-dance,"  the  religious  ceremony  of 
the  creed,  was  danced  by  all  these  tribes. 

Possessed  by  these  superstitious  notions, 
these  extraordinary  beliefs,  the  powerful  tribe 
of  Siou.K  began  and  continued  to  perform 
their  fantastic    ghost-dances.      Sitting-Bull, 


BENJAMIN   HARRISON. 

the  old  deadly  foe  of  the  white  men,  took 
advantage  of  tlie  craze  to  inflame  the  anger 
of  his  people  and  prepare  for  deeds  of  blood. 
The  disquietude  among  the  Sioux  Indians 
resulting  from  Sitting-Bull's  prophecy  that  a 
new  Messiah  was  soon  to  appear  to  restore 
to  the  Indians  the  land  taken  from  them  by 
lul  to  bring  back  the  buffalo,' 
ssumed  such  proportions  that 
n\  the  fourteenth  of  Novem- 
>i  r  the  Interior  Department 
transferred  the  control  of  the 
Indians  of  North  Dakota,  un- 
tie i  orders  of  the  President, 
t  <  the  War  Department,  and 
(iLueial  Miles,  commanding 
the  Department  of  the  Mis- 
Miuii,  was  placed  in  control. 
Ti  oops  were  ordered  to  be 
<  lit  forward,  and  it  was  ex- 
^iLLted  that  within  a  short  time 
there  would  be  three  thousand 
regulars  massed  in  North  Da- 
kota. Sitting-Bull  had  about 
three  thousand  warriors,  and 
it  was  the  intention  of  the  War 
Department  to  overawe  the 
Indians  by  bringing  against 
them  an  equal  force  of  United 
States  soldiers. 

The  Indian  hostility  to 
those  of  their  number  who 
were  friendly  to  the  United 
States  Government  showed 
itself  in  the  attempted  assas- 
suiation  of  American  Horse.  This  In- 
dian was  a  prominent  Sioux  chief,  and  a 
friend  of  the  United  States.  He  was  so 
regarded  for  years,  and  was  always  inclined 
to  be  peaceable  and  loyal.  To  nothing  but 
the  turbulent,  hostile  and  disaffected  spirit 
of  the  Indians  can  be  attributed  the  attempt' 
to  murder  him.  They  were  seemingly 
angry    because    American     Horse    opposed 


ADMIXISTRATIOX    OF   REXJA.MIX    HAKRISOX- 


889 


the  turbulent  spirit  manifested  by  the  In- 
dians. 

On  the  seventh  of  December  some  of  the 
hostile  chiefs  from  the  Bad  Lands  appeared 
at  the  Pine  Ridge  agency  to  hold  a  confer- 
ence with  General  Brooke.  They  came  bear- 
inga  flag  of  truce  andarmedwithWinchester 
and  Springfield  rifles.  The  entrance  of  the 
novel  procession  cre- 
ated great  excitement. 
First  came  the  chiefs, 
who  were  Turning 
Bear,  Big  Turkey, 
High  Pine,  Big  Bad 
Horse  and  Bull  Dog, 
who  was  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  Custer 
massacre.  Next  came 
Two  Strike,  the  head 
chief,  seated  in  a  bug- 
gy with  Father  Jule, 
a  priest  who  induced 
the  chiefs  to  take  this 
step.  Surrounding 
these  was  a  body 
guard  of  four  young 
warriors. 

All  the  Indians  were 
decorated  -with  war 
paint  and  feathers, 
while  many  wore 
ghost-dance  leggings 
and  the  ghost-dance 
shirt  dangling  at  their 
saddles.  The  warlike 
cavalcade     proceeded 

at  once  to  General  Brooke's  spacious  head- 
qiiartcrs  in  the  agency  residence.  At  a 
given  signal  all  leaped  to  the  ground, 
hitched  their  ponies  and,  guided  by  Father 
J. lie,  entered  the  General's  apartments,  where 
the  council  was  held,  lasting  two  hours. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  powwow  General 
Brooke   explained   that    the    Great    Father, 


through  him,  asked  them  to  come  in  and 
have  a  talk  regarding  the  situation.  A  great 
deal  of  misunderstanding  and  trouble  had 
arisen  by  the  reports  taken  to  and  fro  bctweer. 
the  camps  by  irresponsible  parties,  and  it  wa? 
therefore  considered  very  necessary  that  they 
have  a  talk  face  to  face.  Through  him,  he 
said,  the  Great  Father  wanted  to  tell  them  if 


GENERAL    NELSON    A.  MILES. 

they  would  come  in  near  the  agency,  where 
lis  (G-neral  Brooke)  could  see  them  often, 
and  not  be  compelled  to  depend  on  hcaisay, 
that  he  would  give  them  plenty  to  eat  and 
would  employ  many  of  their  young  men  as 
I  scouts,  etc. 

I       The  soldicr.'J   did  not  come  there  to  fight 
I  but  to   protect  the  <!ef.t)e'-2  and  keep  peace. 


S90 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


He  hoped  they,  the  Indians,  were  all  in  favor 
of  peace,  as  the  Great  Father  did  not  want 
war.  As  to  the  feeling  over  the  change  in 
the  boundary  line  between  Pine  Ridge  and 
Rosebud  Agency,  he  said  that  and  many 
other  things  would  be  settled  satisfactorily 
after  they  had  shown  a  disposition  to  come 
in,  as  asked  by  the  Great  Father.  Wounded 
Knee  was  suggested  as  a  place  that  would 


It  would  be  a  bad  thing  for  them  to  come 
nearer  the  agency,  because  there  was  no  water 
or  grass  for  their  horses  here.  He  could  not 
understand  how  their  young  men  could  be 
employed  as  scouts  if  there  was  no  enemy  to 
be  watched.  They  would  be  glad  to  be 
employed  and  get  paid  for  it.  They  might 
come  in,  but  as  the  old  men  and  old  women 
have  no  horses,  and  as   their   people   have 


prove  satisfactory  to  the  Great  Father  to  have 
them  live. 

The  representatives  of  the  hostiles  listened 
with  contracted  brows,  sidelong  glances  at 
one  another  and  low  grunts.  When  the 
General  had  concluded  his  remarks.  Turning 
Bear  came  forward  and  spoke  in  reply.  He 
proved  a  most  entertaining  person.  Sim- 
mered down  to  a  few  words,  Turning  Bear 
gave  expression  to  the  following  ideas ; 


nothing  generally  to  pull  their  wagons,  it 
would  take  them  a  long  time  to  come.  If 
they  should  come  they  would  want  the  Great 
Father  to  send  horses  and  wagons  to  the 
Bad  Lands  camp  and  bring  in  great  quanti- 
ties of  beef,  etc.,  they  had  there,  and  take  it 
anywhere  to  a  new  camp  that  might  be 
agreed  on.  In  conclusion,  the  speaker  hoped 
that  they  would  be  given  something  to  eat 
before  thev  started  back. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


To  this  the  general  replied  that  they  should 
be  given  food.  As  for  horses  and  wagons 
being  sent  after  the  beef,  the  general  said 
that  and  other  things  would  be  considered 
after  the\-  had  acceded  to  the  Great  Father's 
request  to  move  into  the  agency.  Any 
reference  whatever  to  the  wholesale  devasta- 
tion and  depredation,  thieving  and  burning 
of  buildings,  etc.,  was  scudiously  avoided  on 
both  sides.  After  the  pow-wow  was  over 
the  band  was  conducted  to  the  quarter- 
master's department  and  there  given  a  big 
feast.  The  squaws  living  at  the  agency  came 
out  in  gala-day  feathers  and  gave  a  squaw 
dance. 

The  conference  amounted  to  nothing,  and 
the  trouble  was  no  nearer  a  settlement  than 
before. 

Bloody  Engagement  with  the  Sioux. 

The  next  news  received  was  of  a  startling 
character.  It  was  known  that  General  Miles 
considered  Sitting-Bull  the  chief  instigator  of 
the  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  yet 
no  public  notice  had  been  given  of  his  inten- 
tion to  have  the  crafty  old  warrior  arrested. 
The  Indian  police,  however,  employed  on  the 
Pine  Ridge  reservation,  were  ordered  to 
make  the  arrest.  The  chief  was  taken,  and 
in  the  melee  which  followed  an  attempt  to 
rescue  him  he  was  shot,  together  with  his 
son  and  six  braves,  while  four  of  his  captors 
were  slain. 

The  following  is  the  dispatch  announcing 
the  capture : 

Fort  Yates,  N.  D.,  December  15,  1890. 

"At  daybreak  this  morning  there  was  a  desperate 
fight  at  the  camp  of  the  hostile  Indians,  forty  miles 
northwest  of  Standing-Rock  .•\gency,  and  before  it 
could  be  quelled  Sitting-Bull,  his  son,  Crow  Foot, 
and  six  other  Indians  were  killed,  besides  four  of  the 
Indian  police,  while  quite  a  number  on  both  sides 
were  wounded.  The  fight  was  the  result  of  an 
attempt  to  arrest  Sitting-Bull  in  order  to  prevent  his 
departure  for  the  Bad  Lands. 


891 

"  The  Indian  police  were  ordered  early  this  morn- 
ing to  proceed  to  the  camp  and  arrest  the  wily  old 
chief,  who  it  was  known  had  arranged  to  make  an 
early  start  for  the  Bad  Lands,  where  he  would  be 
almost  absolutely  safe  from  arrest.  The  police  were 
followed  by  a  troop  of  cavalry  in  command  of  Cap- 
tain Fechet  and  a  company  of  infantry  under  Col- 
onel Drum.  When  the  police  reached  Sitting-Bulls 
camp  on  the  Grand  River,  they  found  arrangemenis 
being  made  for  the  departure  of  the  band,  and  with- 
out waiting  for  the  soldiers  to  come  up,  at  once 
placed  the  old  chief  under  arrest  and  started  back 
with  him  to  the  agency. 

Efforts  to  Rescue  the  Chief. 

"Scarcely  had  the  officers  gotten  under  way  when 
the  friends  of  the  old  Indian  rallied  to  his  rescue. 
They  announced  their  determination  to  retake  him. 
and  a  terrible  fight  ensued.  The  police  were  sur- 
rounded, and,  though  greatly  outnumbered,  they 
fought  like  demons  and  succeeded  in  holding  their 
own  against  the  redskins  until  the  cavalry,  attracted 
by  the  firing,  came  up  on  a  quick  run  and  succeeded 
in  compelling  the  Indians  either  to  fly  or  surrender. 

"The  fighting  was  of  the  hand-to-hand  description, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  exceedingly  savage.  One 
of  the  Indian  police  jumped  on  Sitting-Bull's  horse 
as  soon  as  he  saw  the  old  man  fall  and  rode  back  for 
the  infantry,  which  arrived  on  the  scene  shortly 
after  the  cavalry  had  relieved  the  overmatched 
police.  Then  the  Indians  began  to  break  away, 
and  probably  one  hundred  of  the  braves  deserted 
their  families  and  fled  west,  up  the  Grand  River. 

The  Killed  and  "Wounded. 

"  When  the  smoke  of  battle  had  cleared  away  it 
was  found  that  Sitting-Bull  was  dead,  as  also  was  his 
son.  Crow  Foot,  and  six  braves.  Four  of  the  police- 
men, whose  names  could  not  be  learned,  were  also 
dead,  and  three  of  them  badly  wounded.  A  num- 
ber of  the  Indians  were  badly  injured,  but  managed 
to  escape  on  their  ponies.  Captain  Wallace,  com- 
manding Troop  K,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  was 
killed,  and  Lieutenant  Garlington  of  the  same  regi- 
ment was  shot  in  the  arm." 

After  the  death  of  Sitting-Bull  his  warriors 
.saw  the  hopelessness  of  continuing  the  strife 
and  surrendered,  December  twenty-.second, 
to  the  United  States  troops. 

General  William  Tecumseh  Sherman  died 
at    New    York    City,    February     14,     1891, 


892 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


aged  seventy-one  jeais.    The  interment  took 
place  at  St.  Louis,  with  military  honors. 
Important  action   was  taken  by  the  fifty- 


r.rst  Congress  on  the  question  of  immigra- 
tion. 

The  act  of  March  3,    1891,  provides  that 
the  following,  besides  Chinese  laborers,  shall 


be  excluded  from  admission  into  the  United 
States,  in  accordance  with  the  existing  acts 
regulating  immigration  :  "All  idiots,  insane 
persons,  paupers,  or 
persons  likely  to 
become  a  public 
charge, persons  suf- 
fering from  a  loath- 
some disease  or  a 
dangerous  conta- 
gious disease,  those 
who  have  been  con- 
victed of  a  felony 
or  other  infamous 
crime  or  misde- 
meanor involving 
moral  turpitude, 
polygamists,  and 
also  any  person 
whose  ticket  or 
passage  is  paid  for 
-with  the  money  of 
another  or  who  is 
assisted  by  others 
to  come,  unless  it  is 
affirmatively  and 
satisfactorily  shown 
on  special  inquiry 
that  such  person 
does  not  belong  to 
one  of  the  fore- 
going excluded 
J,'^  classes,  or  to  the 
^^^  classof  contract  la- 
borers excluded  by 
the  act  of  February 
26,  1885,  but  this 
section  shall  not 
be  held  to  exclude 
persons  living  in 
the  United  States  from  sending  for  a  relative 
or  friend  who  is  not  of  the  excluded  classes' 
under  such  regulations  as  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  may  prescribe  :    Provided,  that 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


S95 


nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to 
apply  to  or  exclude  persons  convicted  of  a 
political  offense,  notwithstanding  said  polit- 
ical offense  ma\'  be  designated  as  a  felony, 
crime,  infamous  crime,  or  misdemeanor, 
in\olving  moral  turpitude,  by  the  laws  of 
the  land  whence  he  came  or  by  the  court 
convicting." 

Mob  Law  in  New  Orleans. 

On  March  14,  1891,  eleven  Italians,  v.'ho 
had  been  accused  of  conspiracy  and  the 
murder  of  Chief  of  Police  Hennessy, 
were  lynched  in  New  Orleans  by  an 
enormous  mob,  who  broke  open  the 
jail.  The  Italian  Government  made  a  pro- 
test and  demanded  satisfaction  from  the 
United  States.  Dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Blaine's 
reply,  the  Italian  Minister  to  the  United 
States  was  recalled.  Our  government  finally 
paid  indemnity  for  the  lives  lost  at  New 
Orleans,  and  referred  all  judicial  action  to  the 
State  Courts  of  Louisiana,  thereby  restoring 
peaceful  relations  with  Italy. 

The  steamer  "  Itata,"  loading  at  San  Diego, 
California,  with  arms  and  ammunition  for  the 
Chilean  insurgents,  was  seized  on  May  6, 
1 891,  by  the  United  States  Government.  She 
sailed  the  following  day  with  the  United 
States  deputy  marshal  on  board.  The  war- 
ship "  Charleston  "  was  sent  in  pursuit,  and 
the  "Itata"  was  finally  turned  over  to  the 
United  States  oflficers  in  the  harbor  of  Iquique, 
June  fourth. 

An  International  Copyright  Law  went  into 
effect  July  I,  1 89 1,  according  to  proclamation 
by  President  Harrison.  The  Governments  of 
the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  France,  Bel- 
gium and  Switzerland  are  parties  to  the  same. 

The  Hon.  James  Russell  Lowell,  the  dis- 
tinguished author  and  plenipotentiary,  died 
at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  August  12, 
1 89 1 ,  aged  seventy-two  years.  The  necrology 
of  the  year   also  included  the  deaths  of  the 


two  eminent  historians,  George  Bancroft,  who- 
died  at  Washington,  January  seventeenth, 
aged  ninety,  and  John  Benson  Lossing,  who 
died  at  Chestnut  Ridge,  New  York,  June 
third,  aged  seventy-eight. 

The  Chilean  Affair. 

On  October  26,  1891,  the  United  States 
demanded  of  Chile  an  explanation  and  repara- 
tion for  the  attacks  in  the  streets  of  Valpa- 
raiso on  American  seamen  on  the  sixteenth 
instant,  and  the  subsequent  action  of  the 
Chilean  police.  The  affair  caused  much' 
excitement  throughout  the  country,  and  alsa 
indignation  at  what  was  considered  a  wanton- 
act  of  cruelty  and  an  insult  to  the  American 
flag.  President  Harrison  and  his  Cabinet 
took  prompt  action,  a  special  message  detail- 
ing the  outrage  was  sent  to  Congress,  and 
soon  a  satisfactory  explanation  and  apology 
by  Chile  ended  the  unfortunate  affair.  On. 
July  nineteenth  the  Secretary  of  State  an- 
nounced that  an  entirely  cordial  and  mutually 
satisfactory  settlement  had  been  reached 
between  the  government  of  the  United  States 
and  Chile,  respecting  the  indemnity  to  be- 
paid  by  the  latter  on  account  of  the  assault 
upon  the  crew  of  the  Baltimore.  Seventy- 
five  thousand  dollars  in  gold  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  families  of  the  two  men  who 
lost  their  lives  and  to  the  surviving  members 
of  the  crew  who  were  wounded. 

On  these\enth  of  June,  1892,  the  Repub- 
lican Convention  met  at  Minneapolis.  The 
nomination  of  President  Harrison  had  been- 
considered  a  foregone  conclusion  up  to  June 
fourth,  when  the  country  was  startled  by  the 
news  that  Secretary  Blaine  had  resigned  from 
President  Harrison's  Cabinet.  A  letter  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Blaine  in  the  preceding  February 
announced  that  under  no  consideration  would 
he  consent  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Presi- 
dency. This  letter  was  very  generally  ac- 
cepted in  good  faith,  and  there  was  a  general 


894 


ADAIINISTRATION    OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


conviction  that  Mr.  Blaine  was  entirely 
out  of  the  race.  It  was  known,  however, 
that  for  some  time  before  the  Convention 
assembled,  persistent  efforts  had  been  made 
by  enemies  of  the  administration  to  induce 
Mr.  Blaine  to  reconsider  his  letter  of  Feb- 
ruary, and  allow  his  name  to  be  used  at  Min- 
neapolis ;  and  when  he  suddenly  resigned 
from  the  Cabinet  by  a  curt  letter,  and  his 
resignation  was  accepted  by  President  Har- 
rison in  a  letter  equally  brief  and  barren  of 
all  complimentary  expressions,  it  was  com- 
monly believed  that  the  "  Plumed  Knight  " 
had  decided  to  seek  the  nomination. 

President  Harrison  Renominated. 

There  was  consequently  great  excitement 
preceding  the  organization  of  the  Conven- 
tion and  during  its  progress.  It  became  evi- 
dent at  once  that  there  would  be  a  hard 
contest  between  the  two  leading  candidates. 
The  States  at  their  Conventions  had  strongly 
indorsed  the  administration  of  Presid  nt 
Harrison,  and  many  of  the  delegates  had 
been  instructed  to  vote  for  his  renomination 
in  the  National  Convention.  His  friends, 
after  they  recovered  from  the  first  shock 
which  followed  the  announcement  of  Mr. 
Blaine's  resignation,  rallied  bravely,  and 
remained  firm  to  the  end. 

Minneapolis  was  the  scene  of  animated 
discussions  and  unique  popular  demonstra- 
tions. The  loud  huzzahs  for  Blaine  showed 
that  he  had  a  strong  hold  upon  the  popular 
heart;  but  the  thoughtful  mass  of  delegates 
who  were  to  decide  the  question  remained 
true  to  the  President,  and  worked  diligently 
and  wisely  to  secure  his  nomination. 

The  brilliant  eloquence  of  Chauncey  M. 
Depew,  of  New  York,  awakened  an  unpar- 
alleled scene  of  enthusiasm  as  he  placed  Mr. 
Harrison  in  nomination  before  the  Conven- 
tion. Mr.  Blaine  was  nominated  by  Senator 
Wolcott,  of  Colorado. 


When  the  vote  was  taken  it  was  found  to 
be  as  follows:  Harrison,  S3S^;  Blaine,  l82|; 
McKinley,  182;  Reed,  of  Maine,  4;  Robert 
Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  i.  On  motion  of  Gov- 
ernor McKinley,  of  Ohio,  who  was  chairman 
of  the  Convention,  the  nomination  was  made 
unanimous.  The  Hon.  Whitelaw  Reid,  of 
New  York,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency. 

The  platform  which  was  adopted  by  the 
Convention  was  highly  commended  as  a 
sound  exposition  of  the  great  principles  of 
the  Republican  party. 

Ex-President  Cleveland  Nominated. 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  of 
1S92  was  held  in  Chicago  June  twenty-first  to 
June  twenty-third.  It  was  conceded  before 
the  Convention  assembled  that  ex-President 
Cleveland  would  again  receive  the  nomina- 
tion for  the  Presidency,  and  the  result  on  the 
first  ballot  proved  the  prediction  to  have  been 
correct. 

The  vote  was  as  follows  :  For  Mr.  Cleve- 
land, 616I3  ;  for  Senator  Hill,  of  New  York, 
112;  for  Governor  Boies,  of  Iowa,  103;  for 
Senator  Gorman,  of  Maryland,  ^6}4 ;  for 
Hon.  A.  E.  Stevenson,  of  Illinois,  16^^  ;  for 
Senator  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  1 5  ;  for  Wil- 
liam R.  Morrison,  of  Illinois,  5  ;  for  ex-Gov- 
ernor Campbell,  of  Ohio,  2  ;  for  Governor 
Robert  E.  Pattison,  of  Pennylvania,  i  ;  for 
Hon.  William  C.  Whitney,  of  New  York,  i  ; 
for  Governor  Russell,  of  Massachusetts,  i. 

Ohio  moved  the  rules  be  suspended  and 
Mr.  Cleveland  made  the  nominee  by  acclama- 
tion. Governor  Flower,  of  New  York,  sec- 
onded the  motion  to  make  the  nomination 
unanimous.  The  motion  to  suspend  rules 
and  declare  Mr.  Cleveland  nominee  by  accla- 
mation was  carried. 

Hon.  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  of  Illinois,  was 
nominated  unanimously  for  the  office  of  Vice- 
President. 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 


S95 


"  The  People's  Party  of  the  United  States  " 
was  formed  at  a  convention  at  Cincinnati, 
May  4,  1891.  The  first  National  Convention 
was  held  in  Omaha,  Nebraska,  July  i, 
1892.  On  July  fourth  the  nominations  were 
made,  resulting  in  the  choice  of  General 
James  B.  Weaver  as  the  nominee  for  Presi- 
dent, and  George  Field,  of  Virginia,  for  Vice- 
President.  The  platform  adopted  demanded 
the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver,  a 
graduated  income  tax,  the  establishment  of 
postal  savings  banks,  the  operation  of  the 
railroads,  the  telegraph  and  telephone  by  the 
government,  and  the  election  of  senators  by 
direct  vote  of  the  people.  The  convention 
also  approved  of  the  Sub-Treasury  plan  of 
the  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  adopted  other 
resolutions  demanding  a  free  and  fair  ballot, 
and  opposing  the  granting  of  subsides  to  any 
private  corporation  for  any  purpose. 

Prohibition  Party. 

The  National  Convention  of  the  Pro- 
hibition Party  opened  in  Cincinnati,  on  the 
morning  of  June  29,  1892,  and  continued  in 
session  until  July  first.  The  platform  declared 
that  the  liquor  traffic  is  a  foe  of  civilization, 
and  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  alcoholic 
liquors  as  a  beverage  should  be  suppressed; 
favored  female  suffrage ;  declared  that  an 
increase  of  the  volume  of  money  is  needed, 
and  its  volume  should  be  fi.xed  at  a  definite 
sum  per  capita,  and  made  to  increase  with 
population ;  favored  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  silver  and  gold ;  declared  that 
tariff  should  be  levied  only  as  a  defence 
against  foreign  governments  which  levy  tariff 
upon  or  bar  out  our  products  from  their 
markets,  revenue  being  incidental ;  favored 
government  control  of  railroads  and  tele- 
graphs, and  stricter  immigration  laws;  con- 
dcnmncd  alien  ownership  of  land;  favored 
arbitration  for  settling  national  disputes, 
while  speculation  in  margins,  the  cornering 


of  grain,  and  the  promotion  of  trusts  and 
pools  should  be  suppressed.  The  party 
pledged  itself  to  grant  just  pensions,  and 
affirmed  that  it  was  opposed  to  any  appro 
priation  of  public  money  for  sectarian  schools. 

Lockout  at  Homestead. 

On  June  29,  1892,  the  managers  of  Car- 
negie &  Co.'s  steel  works  at  Homestead, 
Pennsylvania,  closed  their  establishment,  and 
five  thousand  employes  ceased  work.  An 
attempt  was  made  by  the  company  to  intro- 
duce non-union  laborers,  and  in  order  to 
protect  them,  as  well  as  to  retain  possession 
of  the  plant,  a  Pinkerton  force  of  three  hun- 
dred  armed  men  was  sent  by  boat  to  Home- 
stead. They  attempted  to  land  on  the  morn- 
ing of  July  6,  when  a  sanguinary  contest 
took  place,  resulting  in  the  death  of  several 
men  on  each  side  and  the  wounding  of  many 
more.  The  next  day  the  Pinkerton  force 
was  withdrawn,  and  the  sheriff  of  Allegheny 
county  telegraphed  to  Governor  Pattison  for 
a  force  of  State  militia  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  hold  the  company's  property. 

After  some  delay  the  Governor  ordered 
out  the  entire  militia  of  the  State,  under  com- 
mand of  General  Snowden.  The  troops 
arrived  on  the  twelfth,  and  were  quartered  in 
and  around  the  town,  their  presence  having 
a  restraining  effect  upon  the  strikers.  On 
the  fourteenth  General  Snowden  placed  the 
borough  of  Homestead  under  martial  law. 
On  July  twenty-third  an  Anarchist  named 
Berkman  attempted  to  assassinate  Mr.  H.  C. 
Frick,  chairman  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Frick  was  shot  twice,  but  not 
fatally.  His  assailant  was  captured  and 
lodged  in  jail.  Subsequent  developments 
revealed  a  plot  of  the  Anarchists  to  take  the 
lives  of  leading  capitalists. 

What  was  designated  as  the  Bland  Silver 
Bill  was  defeated  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives at  Washington  on  the  thirteenth  of  Jul>-. 


396 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 


1892,  by  a  vote  of  154  to  136.  The  bill, 
which  provided  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver, 
had  previously  passed  the  Senate  by  a  small 
•najority. 

Cyrus  W.  Field,  the  projector  of  the  first 
A«-lantic  cable,  died  July  12,  1892,  at  the  age 
of  seventy  three. 

Canadian  Tolls. 

On  the  twentieth  of  August  President 
Hirrison  issued  a  proclamation  intended  to 
secure  just  commercial  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  Canada.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Dominion  had  made  a  practice 
of  discriminating  against  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  in  the  use  of  the  Welland 
Canal,  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Washing- 
ton, concluded  May  8,  187 1.  The  President 
maintained  that  this  discriminating  system 
was  unjust  and  unreasonable.  He  therefore 
directed  that  from  and  after  September  i, 
1892,  until  further  notice,  a  toll  of  20  cents 
per  ton  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  on  all 
freight  of  whate\er  kind  or  description  pass- 
ing through  the  St.  Mary's  Falls  Canal  in 
transit  to  any  port  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada, 
whether  carried  in  vessels  of  the  United  States 
or  of  other  nations;  and  to  that  extent  he 
suspended  from  and  after  said  date  the  right 
of  free  passage  throui;h  said  St.  Mary's  Falls 
Canal  of  any  and  all  cargoes  or  portions  of 
cargoes  in  transit  to  Canadian  ports. 

During  August,  1892,  alarming  reports  of 
the  spread  of  cholera  in  Europe  caused  our 
government  to  take  action  intended  to  pre- 
vent the  introduction  of  the  pestilence  in  the 
United  States.  On  Septemb-r  1st,  President 
Harrison  issued  a  proclamation  subjecting 
all  vessels  from  infected  ports  to  a  quarantine 
of  twenty  days. 

George  W.  Curtis,  the  eminent  author, 
journalist,  and  orator,  died  August  31,  1892, 
aged  sixt>-cight  years. 

The  poet  John  G.  Whittier  died  on  Sep- 
tember 7,  1892,  aged  eighty-four  years. 


BENJAMIN    HARRISON. 

The  arrival  of  the  steamer  "  Kite  "  at  St. 
John,  Newfoundland,  September  12,  1892, 
ended  one  of  the  most  successful  Arctic  ex- 
peditions ever  made.  The  commander  was 
Lieutenant  Peary,  of  the  United  States  Navy. 
On  his  arrival  he  telegraphed  to  the  Navy 
Department  at  Washington  as  follows: 
"  United  States  Navy  claims  highest  discov- 
eries on  Greenland,  east  coast.  Independence 
Bay,  82  degrees  north  latitude,  34  degrees 
west  longitude,  discovered  July  4,  1892. 
Greenland  ice  cape  ends  soutl"  of  Victoria 
Inlet.  The  highest  point  heretofore  attained 
on  the  east  coast  is  about  75  or  "jj  degrees, 
and  was  made  by  Holdenby,  a  German.  The 
highest  point  on  the  west  coast  was  83,  made 
by  Lockwood  and  Brainard,  of  the  Greely 
expedition."  Lieutenant  Peary's  expedition 
was  rich  in  scientific  treasures  and  geograph- 
ical discoveries. 

The  buildings  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  at  Chicago  were  dedicated,  the 
ceremonies  beginning  on  the  nineteenth  of 
October,  and  continuing  to  the  twenty- 
second.  Distinguished  persons  were  present 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  including  Vice- 
President  Morton  and  members  of  President 
Harrison's  Cabinet.  There  were  militar>- 
and  civic  parades,  and  orations  by  Hon. 
Chauncy  M.  Depew^  and  Hon.  Henry  W'at- 
terson. 

On  October  25,  1892,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Lavinia  Scott,  wife  of  President  Harrison, 
died,  aged  sixtj-  years.  Funeral  services  were 
held  at  the  White  House,  Washington,  and 
at  Indianapolis.  The  interment  was  at  the 
latter  place  on  October  28th. 

The  national  election  on  November  8th 
resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Democratic; 
party  by  a  large  majority.  The  official  re- 
turns showed  that  Cleveland  and  Stevenson 
obtained  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
electors,  or  fifty  five  more  than  a  majority  of 
I  the  Electoral  College. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF 

On  January  ii,  1893,  General  Benjamin 
F.  Butler  died  at  Washington,  aged  seventy- 
five  years.  He  became  prominent  during  the 
civil  war  by  the  capture  and  occupation  of 
New  Orleans. 

Death  of  James  G.  Blaine. 
Closely  following  the  death  of  General 
Butler  occurred  that  of  James  G.  Blaine  at 
his  residence,  in  Washington,  on  January 
twenty-seventh.  From  1S62  he  served  four- 
teen years  in  Congress  as  Representative 
from  Maine,  and  during  the  last  three  terms 
he  was  Speaker  of  the  House.  In  the  Repub- 
lican nominations  for  the  Presidency  in  1876 
and  18S0  he  was  defeated  by  Hayes  and 
Garfield.     Appointed  United  States  Senator 


in  1876.  he  served   till 


and  acted  as 


SecretaryofStateunderGarfield,  but  resigned 
after  Garfield's  assassination.  He  was  the 
Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in 
1884,  but  was  defeated  by  Cleveland. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  18S0,  he  received 
the  portfolio  of  Secretary  of  State  in  Presi- 
dent Harrison's  Cabinet. 

In  the  long  and  intricate  controversy  with 
Great  Britain  respecting  the  Behring  Sea  fish- 
eries, i\Ir.  Blaine  vigorously  maintained  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  and  showed  him- 
self a  master  of  diplomacy.  By  his  speeches 
and  writings  he  was  known  as  an  advocate 
of  protection  to  American  industries,  and  he 
made  this  one  of  the  leading  issues  in  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1884. 

To  his  ability  as  a  statesman  was  added 
the  charm  of  varied  accomplishments,  a  com- 
manding personal  appearance,  great  contro- 
versial power,  and  those  eminent  gifts  which 
distinguish  the  persuasive  orator  and  suc- 
cessful leader.  Always  intensely  American 
in  his  convictions  and  sympathies,  his  con- 
duct of  the  State  Department  at  Washington, 
aimed  to  maintain  our  national  prerogatives, 
57 


BENJAMIN    HARRISON.  897 

and  to  extend  our  influence  among  the  other 
powers  of  the  globe. 

Early  in  February,  the  question  of  the 
anne.xation  of  Hawaii  was  brought  to  the 
attention  of  Congress,  accompanied  with 
news  of  a  revolution  in  the  Islands.  On 
January  fifteenth,  the  Queen  tried  to  get  the 
Cabinet  to  sign  a  new  constitution  that  dis- 
franchised all  foreigners  and  put  the  whole 
government  in  the  hands  of  the  native  poli- 
ticians. The  Ministers  refused,  and  when 
threatened  by  the  Queen,  fled  for  their  lives. 
They  returned  later  and  induced  the  Queen 
to  postpone  her  stratagem.  There  was  a  pub- 
lic meeting  in  front  of  the  palace.  The  Queen 
announced  the  failure  of  her  plans,  and  a 
native  orator  demanded  the  lives  of  the  Min- 
isters. 

Committee  of  Public  Safety. 

Early  in  the  evening,  citizens  met  and 
formed  a  committee  of  public  safet)^  On 
January  sixteen,  the  United  States  steamship, 
Boston,  landed  three  hundred  men,  fully 
armed.  They  marched  to  the  office  of  the 
Consul  General  of  the  United  States.  The 
marines  were  sent  to  the  American  Legation, 
while  the  sailors,  with  two  Gatling  guns, 
camped  for  a  time  on  private  grounds.  The 
committee  of  public  safety  rapidly  completed 
its  organization,  and  made  arrangements  for 
the  proclamation  of  a  provisional  government 
and  its  protection  by  armed  force. 

Commissioners  soon  arrived  in  Washing- 
ton to  conduct  negotiations  with  our  govern- 
ment with  a  view  of  forming  a  protectorate 
of  the  Islands  or  annexing  them  to  the 
United  States.  A  treaty  of  annexation  was 
concluded  between  Secretary  of  State  Foster, 
and  the  Commissioners,  and  on  January 
twenty-first  was  transmitted  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  No  action  with  a  view  to 
annexation  was  taken  by  Congress. 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 


Second  Administration   of  Grover  Cleveland. 

Second  Inauguration  of  President  Cleveland — The  New  CaKinet — Extraordinary  Session  of  Congress—. 
Repeal  of  the  Sherman  Silver  Law — New  Tariff  BiU — The  Bill  Passes  the  House  of  Representatives — 
Discussion  in  the  Senate — Over  Six  Hundred  Amendments — Senate  Bill  Rejected  hj  the  House — After- 
wards Passed — The  President  Refuses  to  Sign  the  Bill — Bland  Seigniorage  Bill — Utah  Admitted  as  a 
State— Congress  Investigates  the  Relations  of  the  United  States  to  Hawaii — Subsequent  Events. 


ON  THE  4th  of  March,  1893, 
Grover  Cleveland  entered  for 
the  second  time  upon  his  duties 
as  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  ceremonies  of  inauguration  drew  visitors 
to  Washington  from  all  parts  of  the  countrj^, 
and  were  of  the  usual  imposing  character. 
Mr.  Cleveland  announced  the  members  of 
his  Cabinet  as  follows  : 

Secretary  of  State,  Walter  0.  Gresham, 
of  Illinois ;  Secretarj'  of  the  Treasury,  John 
G.  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky ;  Secretary  of  War, 
Daniel  S.  Lamont,  of  New  York;  Attorney- 
General,  Richard  Olney,  of  Massachusetts ; 
Postmaster-General,  Wilson  S.  Bissell,  of 
New  York  ;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Hilary  A. 
Herbert,  of  Alabama  ;  Secretar}-  of  the  Inte- 
rior, Hoke  Smith,  of  Georgia ;  Secretary  of 
Agriculture,  Julius  S.  Morton,  of  Nebraska. 
Congress  was  called  together  in  extraordi- 
nary session  August  7th,  and  received  a  mes- 
-sage  from  President  Cleveland.  The  main 
object  of  the  message  was  to  recommend  the 
immediate  repeal  of  what  was  known  as  the 
Sherman  law,  relating  to  the  purchase  of 
silver  by  the  government  for  coinage.  The 
session  was  preceded  by  a  period  of  great 
financial  depression,  the  closing  of  many 
manufacturing  e.stablishments  and  a  general 
disturbance  of  the  industrial  and  business 
interests  of  the  country.  A  bill  for  the 
repeal  of  the  obnoxious  law  was  introduced 
into  the  House  of  Representatives  by  Hon. 
William  L.  Wilson,  of  West  Virginia,  and 
898 


after  brief  discussion,  was  promptly  passed 
by  a  large  majority',  August  28th. 

The  bill  then  went  to  the  Senate,  where  a 
protracted  struggle  ensued,  attended  at  times 
by  bitter  personalities,  and  by  "  filibustering  " 
on  the  part  of  the  minority,  thereby  prevent- 
ing the  majority  from  declaring  its  expressed 
will.  At  length  the  bill  passed  the  Senate, 
October  30th,  by  a  \-ote  of  fort\--three  to 
thirty-two. 

The  New  Tariff  Bill. 

The  second  session  of  the  Fifty-third  Con- 
gress began  on  the  first  Monday  of  Decem- 
ber, 1893.  The  most  important  business 
was  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  bill.  The  new 
Tariff  bill  derived  its  name  from  ]\Ir.  Wilson. 
Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee. 

Preliminary  work  was  begun  upon  the 
bill  by  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of 
the  House,  in  October,  1893,  during  the  e.xtra 
session  called  by  the  President  for  the  repeal 
of  the  Sherman  Silver  act.  It  was  reported 
to  the  Hoi'se  on  December  19,  and  on  Janu- 
ary 8,  1894,  it  began  to  be  discussed  in  that 
body.  It  passed  the  House,  Februaiy  i,  by  a 
vote  of  204  to  140,  having  been  modified  in 
only  one  important  feature — sugar  being 
made  free  of  duty.  On  the  2d  of  February 
it  was  reported  to  the  Senate  and  at  once 
referred  to  the  Finance  Committee. 

Promptly  on  receiving  the  Wilson  bill,  the 
Finance  Committee  save  over  its  task  to  a 


SECOND   ADMINISTRATION    OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


899 


sub-committee,  consisting  of  Mills,  Jones 
and  Vest,  who  completed  a  bill  on  tariff- 
reform  lines,  making  few  changes  in  the 
Wilson  bill.  This  was  reported  to  the  full 
committee  on  February  26.  Thereupon  Mr. 
Gorman  called  together  the  Democratic 
caucus  to  instruct  the  sub-committee  to  go  to 
work  again  and  reconstruct  the  bill  so  that  it 
would  suit  the  Protectionist  Democratic 
Senators. 

A  New  Bill  Reported. 

The  sub-committee  made  a  new  bill, 
"amending  "  the  Wilson  bill  in  several  hun- 
dred particulars,  and  altering  its  character  in 
a  Protectionist  sense.  It  was  reported  to  the 
Senate  on  March  20,  but  was  still  unsatisfac- 
tory. On  May  5,  ]\Ir.  Gorman  called  another 
caucus  to  secure  unanimity,  after  which,  on 
May  8,  some  four  hundred  new  amendments 
were  reported. 

"  The  Senate  bill  "  had  assumed  its  final 
form.  On  July  3  it  passed  the  Senate,  and 
on  the  7th — the  House  rejecting  the  634 
Senate  amendments  in  gross — consideration 
of  points  of  disagreement  between  the  two 
Houses  was  begun  in  the  conference  com- 
mittee. The  Senate  conferees  presented  an 
ultimatum — "  the  Senate  bill  as  it  is  or  no 
tariff  legislation." 

The  Hou.se  conferees  demanded  free  raw 
materials  and  no  protection  for  sugar,  but  in 
vain.  On  July  19,  Mr.  Wilson  reported  the 
continued  disagreement  to  the  House,  at  the 
same  time  making  public  the  President's 
letter  insisting  on  free  raw  materials.  In  the 
Senate,  Mr.  Gorman  replied  in  a  defiant 
.speech,  full  of  personal  flings. 

After  a  week  of  sensations,  Senator  Hill's 
proposal  to  recede  from  the  amendments 
putting  a  duty  on  ore  and  coal  was  voted 
down  and  the  bill  sent  back  to  conference. 
After  some  further  dickering  by  the  "  com- 
promisers "  and  an  attempt  on   the  part  of 


Mr.  Hill  to  kill  the  bill  in  the  Senate,  the 
House  became  alarmed  at  the  supposed 
prospect  of  failure  of  all  tariff  legislation, 
and  on  August  13  passed  the  Senate  bill. 
On  the  .same  day  the  House  passed  four  bills, 
putting  sugar^  coal,  ore  and  barbed  wire  on 
the  free  list,  but  they  were  not  acted  on  by 
the  Senate. 

The  President  neither  signed  nor  vetoed 
the  Tariff  bill  and  it  became  a  law  without 
his  signature,  taking  effect  August  28,  1894. 

Next  in  general  importance  to  the  Tarifi 
and  Silver  Repeal  bills,  were  two  measures 
which  passed  both  the  Senate  and  the  House, 
one  to  receive  the  approval  of  the  President, 
and  the  other  to  be  returned  to  the  body 
whence  it  came,  accompanied  by  a  \-eto  mes- 
sage. These  were  the  Bland  Seigniorage 
bill,  which  was  vetoed,  and  the  bill  repealing 
"all  statutes  relating  to  Supervisors  of  Elec- 
tions and  Special  Deput\^  Alarshals." 

Action   Concerning  the  Chinese. 

Another  important  measure  enacted  into 
law,  was  that  providing  that  all  Chinese  now 
in  the  United  States  should  register  in  the 
offices  of  Internal  Revenue  Collectors. 

An  act  enabling  Utah  to  enter  the  Union 
was  also  enacted,  the  same  to  go  into  effect 
July  4,  1S95.  Acts  enabling  New  Mexico 
and  ArizoVia  to  become  States,  were  passed 
by  the  House. 

Other  bills  which  became  laws  during  the 
session,  were  to  give  effect  to  the  award  ren- 
dered by  the  Bering  Sea  Arbitration 
Tribunal ;  to  permit  the  construction  of  a 
bridge  across  the  Hudson,  between  New 
York  City  and  the  New  Jersey  shore ;  to 
permit  the  construction  of  a  bridge  across 
the  Delaware  at  Frankford,  Philadelphia ; 
extending  the  limits  of  the  port  of  New  York 
so  as  to  include  Yonkers;  making  Labor 
Day  a  legal  holiday ;  extending  for  one  year 
the  time  for  final  proof  and  payment  of  lands 


900 


SECOND   ADI^IIXISTRATION   OF   GROVER   CLEVELAND. 


claimed  under  the  public  land  laws;  reducing 
the  time  of  enlistments  in  the  army  from  five 
to  three  years ;  to  promote  the  efficiency  of 
the  naval  militia  by  allowing  the  naval 
reserves  of  a  State  the  use  of  a  war  vessel 
for  manoeuvres;  to  exempt  the  articles  of 
foreign  exhibitors  at  the  Inter- State  Fair  at 
Tacoma,  Washington,  from  the  payment  of 
duties;  joint  resolutions  conferring  diplomas 
upon  designers,  inventors,  and  expert  artisans 
who  assisted  in  the  perfection  and  production 
of  exhibits  awarded  medals  or  diplomas  at 
the  World's  Fair;  providing  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  commission  to  the  Antwerp  Inter- 
national Exposition ;  permitting  taxation  of 
National  Bank  notes,  and  authorizing  the 
condemnation  of  land  at  Gettysburg  for 
marking  the  lines  of  battle  and  the  position 
of  troops,  and  for  opening  avenues,  etc. 

During  the  session  about  Sooo  bills  were 
introduced  in  the  House  and  referred  to  the 
various  committees.  These  measures  covered 
every  conceivable  subject  of  legislation.  The 
committees  acted  on  about  1 500  of  them. 

About  Soo  of  them  were  passed  by  the 
House  and  sent  to  the  Senate,  but  owing  to 
the  extended  debate  on  the  Tariff  bill  in 
the  latter  body  they  did  not  receive  its 
consideration. 

The  policy  of  the  Administration  with 
reference  to  the  admission  of  Hawaii,  and 
more  particularly  Secretary  Gresham's  allega- 
tion that  Queen  Liliuokalani's  overthrow  was 
accomplished  through  the  presence  of  United 
States  marines  in  Honolulu,  formed  a  subject 
of  a  long  inquiry  by  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations.  Dozens  of  witnesses 
were  examined,  and  the  committee  finally 
made  a  report  which  was  construed  to  mean 
a  vindication  of  both  Commissioner  Blount 
and  Minister  Stevens,  the  Administration  and 
the  Provisional  Government.  The  report  was 
not  considered  in  the  Senate,  but  the  matter 
was  settled  by  the  adoption  of  a  resolution 


practically  indorsing  all  parties  concerned, 
and  reaffirming  the  Monroe  doctrine  with 
respect  to  Hawaii. 

During  the  session  there  were  sent  to  the 
Senate  by  the  President  2461  messages  con- 
taining nominations.  Inasmuch  as  some  of 
these  messages  contained  more  than  arc- 
usual,  notably,  in  the  case  of  military'  and 
naval  promotions,  a  fair  estimate  of  the  total 
number  would  be  3000.  Of  these,  all  were 
acted  upon  but  about  fifty.  The  most  cele- 
brated cases  that  resulted  in  rejection,  were 
those  of  ]\Iessrs.  Hornblower  and  Peckham, 
both  of  New  York,  nominated  to  be  Asso- 
ciate Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

During  the  session  there  were  created  by 
death  and  resignation  five  vacancies  in  the 
Senate  and  eighteen  in  the  House. 

Subsequent  events  included  t^vo  issues  of 
bonds  to  maintain  the  gold  reserve,  Another 
issue  was  provided  for,  and  the  subscription 
was  opened  in  New  York,  February  20, 1895. 
Subscriptions  for  g6o,000,ooo  were  made  in 
a  few  minutes. 

On  April  8,  1895,  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  delivered  a  decision  respect- 
ing the  Income  Tax  law,  which  declared 
that  the  Federal  Government  had  no  author- 
ity to  collect  a  tax  on  incomes  derived  from 
state,  county  and  municipal  bonds. 

A  message  sent  to  Congress  by  President 
Cleveland  concerning  the  dispute  between 
Great  Britain  and  Venezuela  awakened  great 
interest  throughout  the  country,  and  led  to 
the  formation  of  a  Commission  for  investiga- 
tion. 

On  January  4,  1896,  President  Cleveland 
issued  a  proclamation  admitting  Utah  as  a 
state  into  the  Union. 

Bids  for  g  100,000,000  of  4  per  cent,  bonds 
were  opened  at  the  Treasury  Department, 
Thursday,  February  6,  1896.  There  were 
nearly  4700  distinct  offers,  aggregating 
nearly  $700,000,000. 


</ 


CHAPTER  L. 
Cuba  and  Venezuela. 

Story  of  Cuban   Insurrections — Great  Revolution  of  1S48— Gallant  Uprising  of  the  People  for  Life  and  Liberty Long 

and   Bitter  Struggle — Political   Situation  in   Cuba — Insurrection   of   1895-96 — Boundary   Line   Dispute   between 
Venezuela  and  Great  Britain — The  Monroe  Doctrine  Asserted. 


SIXCE  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  Cuba  has  been  the  scene  of 
revolutions  or  uprisings  of  one  kind 
or  another.  The  direct  aim  of  most, 
if  not  all,  of  these  has  been  to  free  the 
island  from  Spanish  control.  The  city  armed 
natives,  joined  by  bands  of  stragglers  and 
aided  by  filibusters,  have  struggled  without 
organization  against  drilled,  uniformed  and 
comparatively  well-equipped  regular  troops 
representing  Spain.  ^ 

For  a  long  time  insurrection  was  tlie  term 
applied  to  these  uprisings.  At  first  and, 
indeed,  until  recently,  it  may  be  doubted  if 
these  uprisings  had  the  genuine  sympathy 
of  the  Cubans  as  a  body.  And,  conse- 
quently, they  were  foredoomed  to  be  failures- 
But  the  history  of  these  struggles  is  re- 
plete with  brave  deeds  and  exhibitions  of 
personal  courage  and  strategy  that  would 
do  credit  to  a  body  of  men  familiar  with 
the  science  of  warfare  and  accustomed  to 
facing  danger  on  the  battle-field. 

The  Spanish  colonies,  Cuba  excepted,  1 
gained  their  independence  in  1820-21.  Boli- 
var was  their  successful  leader,  and  when 
he  had  freed  the  other  provinces  of  Spain 
he  turned  his  attention  particularly  to  Cuba. 
But  for  a  time  his  project  failed  ;  some  revo- 
lutionists allege  that  it  was  the  refusal  of  the  ' 
United   States  to   countenance    such    efforts 


which  prevented  their  success.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  efforts  of  the  islanders  to  throw 
ofifthe  Spanish  yoke  came  to  nothing  mate- 
rial. But  Bolivar  and  his  fellow-conspirators 
were  determined  and  sought  by  every  means 
in  their  power  to  stir  up  rebellion  in  the 
island.  Commissioners  were  sent  to  Cuba 
to  create  sentiment  favorable  to  revolution. 
They  were  soon  seized  by  the  Spanish  au- 
thorities and  executed.  Bolivar's  plan  came 
to  a  dismal  end. 

Revolution  was  in  the  blood  of  many  of 
the  Cubans,  however,  and  not  many  years 
later  it  had  manifestation.  From  1848  to 
1S54  small  and  ill-planned  uprisings  took 
place.  Certain  elements  in  the  Southern 
States  assisted  in  encouraging  these  insur- 
rections. 

There  was  for  some  time  in  Southern  cir- 
cles a  project  looking  to  the  annexation 
of  Cuba  and  its  division  into  four  States, 
each  of  which,  of  course,  would  have  been 
entitled  to  representation  in  Congress,  giv- 
ing the  South,  perhaps,  eight  Senators  and 
sixteen  Representatives,  and  so  throwing 
the  balance  of  power  here  into  the  hands  of 
the  slavery  advocates. 

The  most  important  of  these  movements 
was  that   headed   by    Narciso    Lopez,  who 
had  served   in   the   Spanish   arm}'  as  a  gen- 
eral of  division,  but  who,  on   going  to  Cuba, 
901 


902 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


espoused  the  cause  of  the  revolutionists. 
He,  with  Crittenden,  the  Kentuckian,  with  a 
force  of  some  400  Americans  and  200 
Cubans,  set  out  from  New  Orleans,  landing 
at  Cardenas,  on  the  north  coast  of  Cuba,  and 
captured  it  by  assault. 

The  victory  was  a  hollow  one,  for  the  time 
had  been  ill-advised  and  the  country  did  not  ' 
rise. 

Finding  themselves  without  support  and 
seeing  that  without  aid  from  the  Cubans, 
they  must  be  captured  or  driven  into  the  ] 
sea,  the  invaders  returned  to  Key  West.  I 
The  Cubans  on  that  occasion  regarded  the 
movement  as  one  solely  in  the  interest  ofi 
slavery,  and  believed  its  projectors  inspired  1 
by  mercenary  motives.  j 

His  Star  in  the  Ascendant. 

But  Lopez  was  not  to  be  cast  down  by  one 
failure.  He  made  a  second  attempt,  and 
landed  at  Bahia  Honda.  There  he  encoun- 
tered a  force  of  Spanish  troops,  under  Gen- 
eral Henna,  and  put  them  to  rout.  The 
Spanish  commander  was  killed,  and  for  the 
time  the  star  of  Lopez  was  in  the  ascendant. 

Still  the  country  did  not  rise.  Lopez,  in  the 
western  end  of  the  island,  where  Spanish 
troops  were  strongest  and  the  revolution- 
ary' spirit  weakest,  soon  found  himself  sur- 
rounded and  overpowered.  Crittenden,  who 
was  to  have  joined  him,  remained  on  the 
coast,  and  finally  attempted  to  escape  by 
taking  to  the  open  sea  in  boats.  He  was  j 
captured,  with  fifty  of  his  men,  and  all  were 
put  to  death  in  Havana. 

The  execution  was  marked  by  atrocities, 
the  news  of  which  rang  through  the  civil- 
ized world. 

The  forces  of  Lopez,  overpowered  by 
Spanish  troops,  were  dispersed  with  ease,  j 
The  commander  himself  was  garroted. 

The  island  was  quiet  for  a  time  then,  but  | 
not  for  long.     Other  attempts  to  raise  the 


country  up  to  1854  were  those  of  Pinto,  a 
Spaniard  of  revolutionist  tendencies;  Es- 
trampes  and  Aguero,  the  last-named  of 
whom  freed  all  his  slaves  before  he  raised 
the  rebel  standard.  He  was  the  first  out- 
spoken abolitionist  in  Cuba.  He  and  the 
other  leaders  were  captured  after  a  brief 
struggle  and  executed. 

Minor   Insurrections. 

There  were  some  unimportant  risings  after 
that,  but  none  of  note  until  after  the  Ameri- 
can civil  war.  This  conflict  abolished  sla- 
very. Then  the  Southern  States  had  no 
further  object  in  meddling  with  Cuba.  The 
filibustering  movements  died  out.  It  re- 
mained for  Cuba  to  attempt  to  work  out  its 
own  salvation. 

In  1868  came  the  hour  which  thousands 
of  patriots  hailed  as  the  dawn  of  deliver- 
ance; for  on  October  10,  of  that  year,  Ces- 
pedes  raised  the  five-barred  flag  at  Vara. 
He  was  a  lawyer  and  logical  above  all 
things  ;  so  to  begin  with  he  freed  his  two 
hundred  slaves  and  they  followed  him  to 
battle  to  a  man.  The  entire  eastern  end  of 
the  island  rose  against  the  Spaniards  at  the 
call  of  Cespedes,  but  the  men  were  without 
arms  or  discipline.  Their  spirit  was  un- 
questioned, but  they  were  of  little  utility 
against  well-armed  and  disciplined  forces. 

Their  leaders  were  Maximo  Gomez,  who 
is  now  commander-in-chief  of  the  revolution- 
ary forces  ;   Marmol  and  Figueredo. 

The  centre  of  the  island,  called  Cama- 
guey,  flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  Lucia  and  the  Agramontes  in  No- 
vember, and  as  enthusiasm  and  confidence 
came  with  numbers  the  beginning  of  1889 
saw  Las  Villas  in  rebellion  with  14,000  men, 
among  whom  there  were  not  more  than  100 
armed  with  effective  firearms.  To  oppose 
these  unarmed  and  undisciplined  enthusiasts 
there  were  15,000  regulars. 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


903 


The  western  end  of  the  island  proved 
cold,  but  even  there  small  uprisings  were 
fomented.  They  were  put  down  without  dif- 
ficulty. 

Aid  from  without  was  not  wanting.  In 
December,  186S,  General  Quesada  landed 
with  the  first  expedition  from  Nassau,  bring- 
ing the  first  consignment  of  arms  and  muni- 
tions of  war.  The  revolutionist  cause 
prospered,  and  on  April  10,  1869,  a  new 
government  was  constituted  and  a  House  of 
Assembly  established.  Cespedes  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  provisional  government,  and 
Quesada  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces. 

Proclamation  of  Freedom. 

The  governinent,  which  had  little  beyond 
its  name,  issued  a  proclamation  giving  free- 
dom to  all  the  negroes  in  the  island — a  mat- 
ter which  gave  great  offence  to  the  Spaniards, 
even  those  of  liberal  tendencies. 

Ten  years  of  desultory  warfare  followed. 
The  revolutionists  held  the  centre  of  the 
island  and  the  mountains,  but  were  unable 
to  obtain  an}-  standing  in  the  seaports,  as 
their  flag  was  not  recognized  there  by  the 
great  powers,  although  it  was  duly  saluted 
from  time  to  time  by  the  South  American 
Republics.  The  United  States  did  not  recog- 
nize the  revolutionists,  despite  the  efforts  of 
General  Rawlings  and  Senator  .Sherman  to 
that  end. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  send  arms  to  the 
insurgents.  There  were  continual  attempts 
at  blockade  running.  Some  of  these  expe- 
ditions evaded  capture,  but  others  were  taken 
by  Spanish  troops  and  the  leaders  were 
promptly  executed.  The  most  notable  was 
that  of  the  Virginius,  under  Captain  Frj'. 
The  Virginius  put  out  from  Kingston, 
Jamaica. 

The  capture  of  the  Virginius  and  the  sum- 
mary execution  of  American  citizens  by  the 
Spanish  authorities    so  excited  this    nation 


at  the  time  that  war  with  Spain  seemed  cer- 
tain. This  was  one  of  the  most  notable  inci- 
dents in  Cuban  history,  at  least  in  point  of 
:  American  interest. 

Public  Agitation. 
Had  the  popular  voice  been  heeded  at 
that  time  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulty 
would  have  been  impossible.  Feeling  ran 
so  high  throughout  the  country  that  public 
meetings  were  held  all  over  the  country 
denouncing  the  execution  as  a  butchery,  and 
warlike  preparations  were  begun  in  many 
cities.     In  some  cases  ships  were  prepared 

j  to  go  to  sea  in  anticipation  of  an  immediate 
declaration  of  war. 

;  The  voyage  of  the  Virginius  was  begun  in 
November  of  1873.     The  steamer  was  pur- 

;  sued  by  the  Spanish  warship   Tornado,  and 

!  captured  within  sight  of  the  Morant  Point 
Light-house,  at  the  east  end  of  Jamaica. 
She  was  towed  at  once  into  Santiago  de 
Cuba,  despite  the  fact  that  she  was  flying  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  and  was  in  British  waters. 
Fifty- three  of  her  men  were  shot  in  a  public 
square  in  Santiago,  in  some  instances  after 
they  had  been  given  a  trial  lasting  only  ten 
minutes. 

;      Among    them  was    Captain    Joseph    Fry, 

,  who  commanded  the  ship;  Bernade  Varona, 
W.  A.  C.  Ryan,  Jesus  del  Sol  and  Pedro 
Cespedes.  There  was  no  United  States 
cruiser  within  reach  of  Santiago,  but  the 
British  man-of-war  Niobe  arrived  in  time  to 
prevent  further  slaughter  of  American  and 

I  English  subjects.  Her  commander,  Sir 
Lambon  Lorraine,  acted  with  quickness  and 

,  determination. 

"  Shoot    another    Englishman    or  Ameri- 
can," he  said,  "  and  the  Niobe  will  bombard 

I  the  city." 

I  Then  the  slaughter  ceased.  Both  the 
United  States  and  England  protested  through 

'  their  representatives,  and  sent  men-of-war  to 


c,04 


CUBA  AND   VENEZUELA. 


protec:  the  other  prisoners.  The  survivors  I 
were  dehvered  up  to  the  rescuing  ships  and 
brought  to  New  York,  and  the  Vb-ginms, 
with  a  hole  in  her  bottom,  sank  off  Frying 
Tan  Shoals. 

The  Difficulty  Settled. 

The  return  of  the  survivors  and  an  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  shooting  | 
only  served  to  fan  into  fierce  blaze  the  fire  of 
popular  indignation.  The  general  voice  was 
for  war  with  Spain,  and  General  Sickles,  then  \ 
American  Minister  in  Madrid,  had  already 
asked  to  be  recalled,  and  was  preparing  to  I 
leave  the  capital.  Final  1}%  however,  the  mat- 
ter was  adjusted  diplomatically.  The  Spanish 
Government  paid  an  indemnity  for  the  Amer- 
ican subjects  shot  with  General  Ryan  and 
Thomas  Ryan,  and  the  war  cloud  blew  over. 

But  in  Cuba  the  revolutionists  continued  1 
their  fight  for  supremacy.  For  five  years — 
until  1878 — they  strove  against  terrible  odds 
in  the  centre  of  the  island  and  in  the  moun- 
tains. At  last  they  saw  that  the  lack  of 
arms  and  supplies  and  of  money  to  purchase 
either  had  made  the  struggle  a  hopeless  one, 
and  they  decided  to  make  peace. 

A  treaty  was  signed,  by  which  Spain 
granted  the  native  Cubans  certain  liberties, 
promised  to  reform  their  administration  in 
some  measure,  and  recognized  the  freedom  . 
of  all  the  slaves  who  had  fought  in  the  ! 
Cuban  army.  It  had  been  a  long  and  des- 
perate fight.  Quesada  had  been  succeeded  ' 
as  general-in-chief  by  General  Thomas  Jor-  ' 
dan,  formerly  General  Beauregard's  chief  of 
staff  and  a  West  Pointer.  He  lent  much 
strength  to  the  cause,  but  abandoned  it  as 
hopeless  after  a  year's  campaigning  in  the  ' 
face  of  overwhelming  odds,  and  with  a  few 
arms  and  scant  supplies.  After  him  came  ] 
Agramonte,  but  he  died  in  a  year,  and  then,  ' 
when  the  rebel  cause  seemed  to  be  prosper- 
ing,   General    Gomez   took   command.     He 


invaded  the  western  part  of  the  island  and 
almost  reached  Matanzas,  but  he,  too,  saw 
that  he  could  not  gain  ground  with  unarmed 
men  and  withdrew  his  forces.  That  was  in 
1876,  and  from  that  time  the  revolution 
waned  until  the  treat>'  of  El  Zanjon  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1878. 

Still  there  was  not  entire  quiet.  In  the 
east  end  of  Cuba  General  Maceo  refused  to 
recognize  the  treat}',  and  continued  to  fight 
for  eleven  months,  only  to  fail  in  the  end 
and  be  driven  from  Cuban  soil. 

The  Latest  Uprising. 

The  treaty  concessions  were  by  no  means 
liberal  enough  to  maintain  order  for  any 
length  of  time.  In  1889  General  Garcia 
tried  again.  He  had  been  captured  in  Cuba 
in  1875  and  sent  to  a  fortress  in  Spain.  He 
shot  himself  while  in  prison  ;  but  the  bullet 
failed,  and  when  he  recovered  he  made  his 
escape  and  reached  the  United  States. 

Here  he  conferred  with  Jose  Marti,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Cuban  revolutionar)'  party, 
1S95-96,  and  they  planned  another  expedi- 
tion to  Cuba.  They  landed  and  held  their 
ground  for  six  months,  only  to  find  that  the 
country  was  not  ripe  for  revolt.  The  Cubans, 
weary  of  continual  turmoil  and  bloodshed, 
longed  for  quiet.  At  last  Garcia  was  cap- 
tured and  sent  once  more  to  Spain. 

From  this  time  dates  the  autonomist  party, 
started  by  a  group  of  men  who  maintained 
that  experience  would  not  ju.stify  further 
attempts  to  gain  freedom  for  Cuba  by  force 
of  arms,  and  that  the  island's  hope  lay  in 
peaceful  measures  alone.  The  part}'  gained 
a  footing  very  rapidly ;  indeed,  its  existence 
and  doctrine  had  much  to  do  with  the  failure 
of  General  Garcia. 

Despite  the  efforts  of  the  peace  part}',  how- 
ever, there  were  revolutionist  leaders  who 
were  ready  to  try  again.  In  1884  Generals 
Gomez  and  Maceo  visited  the  United  States 


CUBA   AND    VENEZUELA. 


905 


and  Central  America  with  a  view  of  prepar- 
ing for  another  invasion.  The  movement 
was  opposed  bitterly  by  the  home-rule  party 
in  Cuba  and  was  abandoned.  Small  and  ill- 
advised  attempts  at  revolution  followed  from 
time  to  time  after  that,  notably  those  headed 
by  Limbana  Sanchez,  Benitez  and  Aguero. 

The  home-rulers,  in  the  meantime,  were 
attempting  to  get  what  concessions  they 
could  from  Spain  by  peaceful  means.  In 
1890  they  became  restless  again.  The 
peace  policy  did  not  prosper.  Cuba  was 
growing  uneasy  again.  The  concessions, 
small  and  unsatisfactory  at  all  times,  began 
to  be  regarded  as  sops  which  Spain  dis- 
tributed to  maintain  peace.  They  gave  no 
promise  of  more  liberal  treatment  in  future. 
I^.Ien  began  to  say  that  the  native  Cubans 
were  cheated  at  the  polls,  and  in  time  their 
representatives  went  to  the  Cortes  no  more. 

Changes   in  Cuba. 

For  fourteen  years  the  home-rulers,  led 
by  such  men  as  Govin  Monture,  Figueroa, 
Fernandez,  De  Castro  and  Siberga,  had  made 
most  vigorous  fights  at  the  polls,  and,  not- 
withstanding conservative  frauds,  had  sent 
their  best  orators  to  the  Spanish  Parliament. 
It  was  to  no  purpose.  The  home-rulers 
spoke  to  empty  benches  in  Spain,  and  no 
party  there  recognized  them.  The}-  suc- 
ceeded, nevertheless,  in  forcing  the  conserva- 
tives in  Cuba  to  modify  their  polic\-  and  aided 
manfully  to  complete  the  emancipation  of  the 
negro,  following  the  Cuban  constitution, 
which  declared  that  "all  men  are  free." 
With  the  economic  part\^  the}-  forced  the 
government  to  celebrate  the  Spanish-.A.mcri- 
can  treaty,  without  which  the  fate  of  the 
island  was  sealed. 

The  conservatives  divided  into  two  groups, 
one  leaning  toward  union  with  the  Cubans 
on  economic  questions,  and  hoping  secretly 
for  the  annexation   of  Cuba  by  the  United 


States.  They  were  demoralized  by  the  re- 
fusals of  the  liberals  from  the  polls,  the 
autonomists  having  declared  that  unless  the 
obnoxious  suffrage  laws,  which  gave  the 
Spaniards  a  sure  majority  at  the  polls  and 
disfranchised  the  Cuban  rural  population, 
were  abolished,  the}'  would  never  go  to 
Parliament  again. 


The   Liberal  Party. 

The  Spanish    liberals    really    formed    the 


economist  party  to  obtain  commercial  con- 
1  cession  and  secure  a  treaty  with  the  United 
j  States,  and  bv' joining  hands  with  the  Cubans 
I  they  forced  Spain's  hand  in  the  matter. 

But  this,  like  the  other  efforts  to  restore 
I  quiet  and  content,  proved  a  failure.  The 
!  Cubans  complained  that  in  return  for  the 
treaty  and  its  benefits  to  the  island,  Spain 
imposed  new  taxes,  which  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced all  the  good  that  had  been  done. 
Representatives  were  sent  to  the  Spanish 
Parliament  again,  the  home-rule  contingent 
demanding,  as  of  old,  electoral  reform  suffi- 
cient to  guarantee  just  representation. 

It  was  then  that  the  Cuban  revolutionary 
party  began  to  gain  prominence — the  party 
which  has  drawn  the  sword  now — and  as- 
serted boldly  that  peaceful  measures,  look- 
ing to  freedom  and  equality,  had  failed,  and 
that  Cuba  must  take  up  arms  again  and  drive 
the  Spanish  soldiers  into  the  sea.  Such  talk 
was  dangerous  on  Cuban  soil.  Leaders  of 
the  party  who  were  not  already  in  exile  left 
Cuba  and  began  to  plan  from  the  outside,  to 
raise  money,  to  stir  up  the  native  population 
by  secret  agents — in  a  word,  to  prepare  the 
island  for  one  grand  united  effort  to  be  free. 
While  this  sentiment  was  being  nursed  at 
home  and  outside  of  Cuba  the  peace  party 
was  still  at  work  on  its  own  lines.  In  1894 
the  reform  wing  of  the  Spaniards  joined  the 
Cubans  in  their  fight  against  the  Spanish 
conservatives.     They  secured  some  reforms, 


9o6 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


but  these,  the  Cubans  say,  are  a  mere  farce, 
as  the  proposition  now  being  passed  upon 
is  the  establishment  of  a  council  in  Cuba  in 
which  the  Spanish  element  will  predominate. 
This  council  was  to  consist  of  thirty  mem- 
bers, of  which  fifteen  were  to  be  appointed 
by  the  crown,  and  the  remainder  elected. 
The  method  of  electing,  the  Cubans  contend, 
would  insure  a  majority  for  the  Spaniards, 
and  in  any  event  the  council  might  be  dis- 
solved at  pleasure  by  the  Captain-General, 
Callejas. 

The  Cubans  want  universal  suffrage,  and 
have  been  unable  to  secure  it,  as  the  Span- 
iards have  insisted  upon  certain  property 
qualifications. 

Spread  of  the  Insurrection, 
On  the  14th  of  March,  1895,  Marti  and 
Gomez,  the  Cuban  exiles,  with  a  handful  of 
companions,  landed  at  Baracoa,  on  the  east- 
ern coast  of  Cuba,  and  proclaimed  the  re- 
public. The  effect  of  this  bold  move  was 
instantaneous.  The  news  spread  from  end 
to  end  of  the  island,  and  although  the  friends 
of  Cuba  thought  the  moment  ill-timed,  hun- 
dreds of  sympathizers  flocked  to  the  patriot 
standard.  Like  a  prairie  fire  before  a  brisk 
breeze  the  single  spark  of  insurrection  fired 
the  dry  tinder  of  the  oppressed  Cubans,  and 
the  rebellion  grew  in  volume  as  it  flew  west- 
ward. 

This  is  not  Spain's  first  experience  of  the 
temper  of  her  colony.  For  the  past  seventy 
years  con.spiracy,  insurrection,  rebellion  and 
red  war  have  followed  one  another  in  endless 
progression.  A  few  words  will  suffice  to 
explain  the  cause  leading  up  to  the  conflict 
of  1895-96. 

Cuba  became  a  possession  of  .Spain  by  the 
right  of  discovery  on  Columbus'  second 
voyage.  He  named  it  Juana,  after  the  son 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  it  has  suc- 
cessively been  known  as  Juana,  Fernandina, 


Santiago,  Ave  Maria  and  Cuba,  the  latter 
being  the  native  name  of  the  Queen  of  the 
Antilles.  It  was  colonized  by  Spain,  and  its 
early  history  is  a  series  of  sacks  and  ravages 
by  European  foes.  Not  until  the  rule  of 
Captain-General  Las  Casas,  beginning  1790.. 
did  prosperity  begin. 

A  Wise    Administration. 

Under  his  guidance  agriculture  and  com- 
merce flourished,  and  the  condition  of  the 
native  population  was  ameliorated.  The 
effect  of  his  sagacious  rule  was  felt  for  over 
thirty  years,  and  when  Napoleon  deposed 
the  royal  family  of  Spain,  every  member  of 
the  Cabildo  took  oath  to  preserve  the  island 
for  their  monarchy,  and,  going  even  further^ 
they  declared  war  against  the  French  con- 
queror. This  much  to  show  the  instinctive 
feeling  of  the  colony  toward  the  mother 
country. 

Spanish  coffers  were  empty  with  the  re- 
storation of  the  Bourbons  in  the  person  of 
Ferdinand  VII.,  and  Spain's  mistress  looked 
with  hungiy  eyes  upon  the  rich  island  with 
her  1800  miles  of  seacoast,  gemmed  with 
prosperous  ports  and  her  plantations  of  in- 
digo, sugar,  tobacco  and  fruit.  It  was  For- 
tunata's  purse  wherein  Spain  might  dip  her 
fingers  and  forever  find  it  full  to  overflowing. 
With  this  discover}^  came  oppressive  taxa- 
tion. With  the  gradual  impoverishment  of 
Spain  came  added  demands.  Then  the  de- 
privation of  all  civil,  political  and  religious 
liberty  and  the  exclusion  of  Cubans  from  all 
public  stations,  and  in  order  to  enforce  this 
i  the  Cubans  were  taxed  to  support  a  standing; 
army  and  navy — their  gaolers. 

With  their  oppression  came  their  desire 
for  liberty.  In  1829  the  Black  Eagle  con- 
spiracy arose.  The  purpose  of  this  was 
to  throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  It  was  sup- 
pressed, but  was  followed  in  1840  by  an 
insurrection  of  the  colored  population.    After 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


907 


smouldering  and  blazing  for  a  while  the  fires 
of  insurrection  were  smothered  only  to  break 
out  eight  years  later  in  a  genuine  conspiracy 
of  the  Cubans  under  the  leadership  of  Nar- 
ciso  Lopez.  This  rebellion  was  quelled  and 
Lopez  fled.  In  1S50  he  landed  in  Cuba  with 
600  men  from  the  United  States.  He  made 
a  third  attempt  in  185 1,  and  together  with 
most  of  his  companions  was  captured  and 
executed  by  the  Spanish  authorities. 

Insurgents   Recognized. 

The  Reformist  party,  which  sprang  up  at 
this  time,  succeeded  in  getting  an  inquiry  of 
the  abuses  at  Madrid,  with  the  result,  how- 
ever, of  increased  taxation.  In  1868  the 
Advance  party  in  Cuba  rose  in  the  district 
of  Bayamo,  and  on  October  10,  186S,  signed 
a  declaration  of  independence  at  jManzanillo. 
Their  first  successes  were  so  great  that 
almost  all  the  Spanish-American  republics 
recognized  the  insurgents  as  belligerents. 
After  a  war  of  ten  years,  that  was  confined 
to  the  mountainous  regions  east  of  the  town 
of  Puerto  Principe,  the  rebellion  was  put 
do."n.  To  confine  it  to  that  localit>'  the 
-Spanish  troops  built  a  great  fortified  trench, 
known  as  La  Trocha,  across  the  entire  width 
of  the  island,  in  the  western  portion  of  the 
State  of  Puerto  Principe.  It  was  here  that 
Captain-General  Campos  drew  up  his  forces 
last  summer  to  prevent  the  eastward  march  j 
of  the  insurgents,  who  were  now  heavily  re- 
inforced. 

All  during  the  summer  of  1895  the  insur- 
gent leaders  were  organizing  their  forces  and 
receiving  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  people  were  flocking  to  the  standard  of 
revolt,  and  during  October,  1895,  Gomez  and 
Maceo,  with  ease,  penetrated  the  lines  of  the 
Spanish  captain-general,  crossing  La  Trocha, 
and  causing  the  regular  troops  to  fall  back 
to  a  line  just  east  of  Remedios.  The  insur- 
gents still  pushing  on,  this  was   followed  by 


a  retreat  of  Campos  to  Santa  Clara,  in  the 
province  of  Santa  Clara,  still  further  west. 

Gomez  and  Maceo  were  now  in  supreme 
authority,  for  Marti  died  just  as  the  com- 
mand started  west.  This  blow  to  the  insur- 
gent cause  was  more  than  offset  by  the 
character  of  the  people  among  which  they 
found  themselves.  Of  all  the  provinces  of 
Cuba,  Santa  Clara  is  the  most  outspoken  and 
loyal  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  The  ranks  of 
Gomez  and  Maceo  were  increased  by  thou- 
.sands  of  volunteers  of  an  intelligence  and 
physical  strength  superior  even  to  those  of 
Santiago.  Horses  were  procured  in  abund- 
ance, and  the  bulk  of  the  insurgent  army  was 
formed  into  a  speedy  and  well-equipped  cav- 
alrj'.  They  were  armed  with  rifles,  and  car- 
ried with  them  an  abundance  of  ammunition. 

Fully  Armed. 

Each  man  also  carried  a  machete,  which  is 
a  long,  heavily-weighted  iron  knife,  used  by 
the  sugar  planters  to  cut  the  cane,  and  by  all 
travelers  to  open  up  paths  through  the  heavy 
tropical  underbrush.  They  are  terrible  weap- 
ons in  the  hands  of  the  Cubans,  and  the 
Spanish  troops  fear  them  more  than  the 
rifles.  The  insurgents  took  no  supply  train 
with  them.  A  stray  pig  or  fowl  supplied 
them  with  supper,  while  an  ox  meant  dinner 
for  a  company.  Thus  prepared  the\-  turned 
their  faces  toward  the  setting  sun  and  Ha- 
vana. 

All  this  while  Campos,  the  Spanish  gen- 
eral, was  "  concentrating,"  according  to  the 
official  dispatches.  In  other  words,  he  was 
drawing  dead  lines  across  the  island  at  points 
where  he  announced  that  he  would  bring  the 
insurgents  to  a  pitched  battle.  Each  suc- 
cessive dead-line  was  further  west  than  the 
one  preceding  it.  And  each  time  the  insur- 
gents slipped  by  the  troops,  leaving  a  harried 
country  behind  them.  Railroads,  bridges  and 
roads  were  destroyed ;  plantations  burned  and 


yo8 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


store-houses  empty.  The  troops,  under  the 
spur  of  necessity,  followed  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, leaving  the  insurgents  in  jjossession  of 
the  country  to  the  east. 

In  this  way  not  only  did  the  Cubans  make 
this  remarkable  march  westward,  but  they 
garrisoned  it.  In  Santiago  the  insurgents 
kept  the  Spanish  forces  in  the  fortified  cities, 
and  in  a  short  time  two  large  expeditions 
successfully  landed  at  that  end  of  the  island. 
One,  armed  with  cannon,  fired  upon  and 
crippled  the  Xiieva  Espatia,  of  the  Spanish 
navy,  while  such  leaders  as  Rabi,  Martinez 
and  Aguirre  were  fighting  as  valiantly  there 
as  Gomez  and  Maceo  in  the  province  of 
Matanzas. 

Similar  reports  came  from  Puerto  Principe  j 
and  Santa  Clara,  showing  that  the  insurgents 
had  complete  control  of  the  interior  of  these  i 
provinces.  But  Campos  claimed  that  it  was 
his  plan  to  get  the  insurgents  between  his  | 
forces  and  Havana  and  crush  them  as  a  nut 
is  crushed  in  a  nut-cracker. 

j 
General  Campos  Repulsed. 

Then  came  decisive  attacks  by  the  insur- 
gents. Campos  was  driven  from  pillar  to 
post,  changing  his  headquarters  from  Santa 
Clara  to  Cienfuegos,  from  Cienfuegos  to  Pal- 
millas,  from  Palmillas  to  Colon,  from  Colon 
to  Jovcllanos,  from  Jovellanos  to  Limonare,  ; 
from  Limonare  to  Guanabana,  and  from 
Guanabana  to  Havana,  where  he  was  feted  as 
a  conqueror  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  and 
where  he  received  telegrams  of  congratula- 
tion from  the  Queen  Regent  of  Spain  and  | 
her  Prime  Minister. 

Just  prior  to  this  noisy  w-elcome,  namely 
on  December  24,  1895,  General  Maximo 
Gomez,  at  the  head  of  12,000  men,  by  a  feint, 
turned  the  flank  of  the  Spanish  commander 
at  Colon,  and  passing  the  sleepy  old  seaport 
of  Matanzas,  marched  straight  on  to  a  point 
only  fifty  miles  from   Havana,  Campos  with  ' 


all  his  80,000  pickea  Spanisn  troops,  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  Christmas  and 
New  Year's  passed  and  the  insurgents  were 
still  there,  marching  and  countermarching  in 
three  columns,  holding  Spain  at  bay,  and 
waiting  for  additional  supplies  of  ammunition 
and  arms  before  pushing  on.  The  grave 
question  now  was  what  the  insurgents  would 
do  ?  Havanna  was  in  an  agony  of  suspense 
and  preparing  for  a  siege.  The  loyalty  of  the 
citizens  was  questionable,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  Grande  Civil,  or  local  militia.  Campos 
and  all  his  troops  seemed  unable  to  cope 
with  the  situation.  It  was  believed  that 
should  the  insurgents  push  on  and  take 
Havana,  the  defeat  of  Spain  and  the  liberty 
of  Cuba  would  arrive. 

Advent  of  General  Weyler. 

The  next  move  on  the  part  of  Spain  was 
to  recall  General  Campos,  his  campaign  in 
Cuba  having  proved  a  failure.  He  was 
replaced  by  General  Weyler,  whose  tyran- 
nous policy  and  barbarous  cruelties,  when 
previously  commanding  the  Spanish  forces 
in  the  island,  are  well  known. 

The  steamer  Alfonso  XIII.  arrived  at 
Havana,  February  10,  1896,  having  on  board 
General  Valeriano  Weyler,  the  new  Captain 
General  of  Cuba;  Nicolau,  Marquis  of  Tene- 
riffe ;  and  Generals  Enrique,  Barges,  Ferde- 
rico  Ochando,  Miguel  Melquiso,  Marinues 
Ahumada,  Luis  Castelloi,  Sanchez  Bernal 
and  Juan  Arolas,  the  latter  being  the  hero  of 
Jolo,  Philippine  Islands. 

The  entire  city  was  brilliantly  decorated 
in  honor  of  the  occasion  and  the  bay  was  a 
splendid  sight,  all  the  warships  and  merchant 
craft  present  being  decorated  with  bunting. 
The  wharfs  were  crowded  with  people  at  an 
early  hour  and  all  the  steamers  and  tugs 
were  loaded  with  sightseers.  The  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  the  Bourse,  all  the  big  com- 
mercial houses  and  government  departments. 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


909 


the  Canarian  Association,  General  Weyler's 
countrymen  and  others,  crowded  upon  the 
chartered  steamers  or  about  the  landing- 
place. 

The  troops  and  volunteers  were  turned 
out  to  a  man,  together  with  the  fire  depart- 
ment and  police,  and  for  a  long  time  no 
such  brilliant  display  had  been  witnessed  in 
Havana.  Among  the  high  military  officers 
present  were  Generals  Suarez  Valdez,  Pando, 
Marin  and  Navarro,  Admiral  Yanas  and 
staff.  Colonel  Castanedo,  Major  Moriano  and 
many  others. 

Enthusiastic  Reception. 

General  Weyler  was  welcomed  by  tne 
City  Council  on  board  the  Alfonso  XIII. 
He  was  presented  with  an  address  of  wel- 
come and  assurance  of  loyalty.  At  eleven 
o'clock  the  Captain  General  came  ashore 
and  was  received  by  General  Marin  and 
staff.  The  streets  were  packed  with  people, 
who  displayed  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  In 
fact,  rarely  has  a  distinguished  person  been 
received  so  warmly  as  was  General  Weyler 
when  he  landed.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
considerable  real  enthusiasm  was  manifested, 
in  addition  to  the  greetings  which  would 
naturally  be  bestowed  upon  the  representa- 
tive of  Spain. 

The  balconies  in  all  the  streets  about  the 
water  front  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Palace 
were  full  of  ladies  in  holiday  attire,  and  they 
showered  flowers  upon  the  new  eommander 
as  he  passed.  Besides,  numerous  floral  offer- 
ings of  the  most  beautiful  description,  princi- 
pally in  the  shape  of  crowns,  were  presented 
to  the  general,  who  expressed  his  thanks  in 
each  case  in  a  few  brief  words.  He  seemed 
to  be  much  pleased  with  his  reception,  and 
upon  arriving  at  the  Palace  formally  took 
over  the  duties  of  the  captain-generalship, 
taking  the  oath  of  fealty  over  a  crucifix  and 
upon  a  Bible.     General  Marin  administered 


j  the  oath  of  office  and  soon  afterward  he 
received  the  local  military  and  civil  authori- 
ties, the  different  corporations  and  the  bishops 
and  priests. 

The  German  warships  which  were  in  the 
I  harbor  saluted  the  arrival  of  General  Weyler, 
as  did  all  the  Spanish  warships  in  port  and 
I  the  forts  ashore.  The  Loyalists,  of  course, 
1  were  out  in  the  strongest  force  possible ; 
I  but  it  may  be  said  that  the  entire  popula- 
I  tion  of  Havana  turned  out,  and  hardly  a 
I  representative  of  the  shipping  or  business 
interests  of  the  city  failed  to  make  the  day 
a  holiday. 

Cheers  and  Cannonading. 
I  After  the  reception  of  the  local  military 
and  civil  authorities,  corporations  and  clergy 
,  was  completed,  General  Weyler  appeared 
,  upon  the  balcony  of  the  palace  and  reviewed 
I  the  troops.  His  appearance  before  the  pub- 
!  lie  was  the  signal  for  a  long  outburst  of  the 
most  enthusiastic  cheering,  the  firing  of  can- 
non and  the  sound  of  martial  music,  all  the 
bands  in  the  city  being  stationed  at  different 
points.  In  addition  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cit\'  proper,  thousands  of  people  flocked  into 
the  cit}-  from  all  directions  before  daybreak. 
Accompanying  General  Weyler  were  Cap- 
tains Gelaber  and  Linares,  who  are  known 
as  "  military  editors."  They  were  to  have 
charge  of  the  press  censorship,  and  it  was 
rumored  that  there  would  be  considerably 
more  difficulty  experienced  in  this  connection 
by  the  correspondents  in  the  future.  The  press 
regulations  had  been  considerably  relaxed, 
and  not  much  difficulty  had  been  experienced 
in  getting  average  matter  upon  the  cable. 
But,  it  was  thought,  the  new  captain-general 
would  be  very  severe  with  correspondents 
who  sent  false  accounts  of  Cuban  successes 
or  in  any  way  brought  about  the  publication 
of  false  news.  By  this  it  was  not  meant  that 
General  Weyler  intended  to  interfere  with 


9IO 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


the  proper  liberty  which  the  press  can  be 
allowed  in  war  time.  It  really  meant  only 
that  he  would  do  everything  possible  to  pre- 
vent the  sending  out  of  news  undoubtedly 
false. 

A  disinterested  observer  of  the  situation 
wrote  as  follows,  under  date  of  February  lo, 
1896: 

"  So  far  as  the  general  situation  is  con- 
cerned there  is  not  much  change.  Indeed, 
no  change  of  importance  is  expected  for 
some  days.  General  Weyler  will  first  devote 
himself  to  a  complete  review  of  the  opera- 
tions already  undertaken,  and  he  will  then 
figure  out  the  situation  as  it  actually  exists. 
For  this  purpose,  almost  immediately  after 
taking  the  oath  of  fealty,  he  caused  orders  to 
be  sent  to  all  the  commanders  in  the  field  to 
draw  up  promptly  and  forward  to  headquar- 
ters here  complete  returns  of  the  condition 
of  their  commands,  together  with  the  state  of 
railroads,  telegraphs  and  public  thorough- 
fares and  the  probable  location  and  strength 
of  the  enemy  in  their  neighborhoods. 

Reasons  for    this  Action. 

"  This  action  upon  the  part  of  General 
Weyler  is  supplementary  to  the  regular 
report  and  returns  which  were  handed  over 
to  liim  by  General  Marin  after  the  new  cap- 
tain-general had  been  sworn  in.  While  it  is 
no  reflection  upon  General  Marin  or  the 
other  Spanish  commanders  here  or  in  other 
parts  of  Cuba,  the  captain-general  took  this 
step  in  order  thoroughly  to  go  over  the 
ground  himself,  and  possibly  in  view  of  the 
sensational  reports  which  have  been  circu- 
lated by  agents  of  the  insurgents  and  others 
to  the  effect  that  large  quantities  of  stores, 
arms  and  ammunition  are  missing  from  the 
different  depots  and  have  found  their  way 
into  the  hands  of  the  insurgents.  Between  this 
and  the  tales  of  wholesale  dishonesty  circu- 
lated here  and  elsewhere  there  is  quite  a  dif- 


ference, and  noboay  here  believes  that  there 
has  been  any  treachery  of  importance." 

General  Marin,  who  has  been  appointed 
captain-general  of  Porto  Rico,  is  expected  to 
leave  for  his  new  post  to-morrow. 

W^eyler's  Plans  of  Campaign. 

The  exact  plan  of  campaign  of  General 
Weyler  is  not  known,  but  it  is  believed  that 
it  will  be  a  very  different  one  from  that  of 
Campos.  He  is  likely  to  call  in  all  of  the 
small  detachments  of  troops,  which  have 
from  the  first  had  such  a  weakening  effect 
upon  the  Spanish  operations,  and  will  try  to 
drive  the  insurgents  into  a  position  from 
which  they  cannot  escape  without  a  pitched 
battle.  General  Weyler  will  also  do  every- 
thing possible  to  muster  as  strong  a  force  of 
cavalry  as  he  can.  Considerable  reinforce- 
ments of  this  branch  of  the  service  have 
already  arrived  here,  and  more  are  expected 
during  the  week. 

Some  reports  credit  the  insurgents  with 
desiring  to  concentrate  all  their  scattered 
detachments  and  columns  into  one  body,  and 
so  bring  the  insurrection  to  a  direct  issue. 
But  Spaniards  here  who  are  well  posted  on 
the  situation  say  that  there  is  no  truth  in  the 
report  that  the  insurgents  will  make  any 
effort  to  risk  a  pitched  battle. 

Captain- General  Weyler  clearly  defined 
the  policy  he  intended  to  pursue  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  campaign  for  the  suppression  of 
the  insurrection.  Before  he  had  been  at 
Havana  many  hours  he  issued  the  following 
proclamation  : 

"  To  the  People  of  Cuba :  Honored  by 
Her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  and  her  govern- 
ment, with  the  command  of  this  island,  under 
the  difficult  circumstances  now  prevailing,  I 
take  charge  of  it  with  the  determination  that 
it  shall  never  be  given  up  by  me,  and  that  I 
shall  keep  it  in  the  possession  of  Spain,  will- 
ing as  she  is  to  carry  out   whatever  sacrifice 


CUBA   AND    VENEZUELA. 


shall  be  required  to  succeed,  as  she  has  been 
in  the  past. 

"  I  rely  upon  the  gallantry  and  discipline 
of  the  army  and  navy,  upon  the  patriotism, 
never  to  be  subdued,  of  the  volunteer  corps, 
and  more  especially  upon  the  support  that 
I  should  be  given  by  the  loyal  inhabitants, 
born  here  or  in  Spain. 

"  It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  I  shall 
be  generous  with  the  subdued  and  to  all  of 
those  doing  any  service  to  the  Spanish 
cause.  But  I  will  not  lack  in  the  decision 
and  energy  of  my  character  to  punish  with 
all  the  rigor  that  the  law  enacts  those  who 
in  any  way  shall  help  the  enemy,  or  shall 
calumniate  the  prestige  of  our  name. 

"  Putting  aside  at  present  any  idea  of  pol- 
itics, my  mission  is  the  honorable  one  of 
finishing  the  war,  and  I  only  see  in  you  the 
loyal  Spaniards  who  are  to  assist  me  to 
defeat  the  insurgents.  But  Her  Majesty's 
government  is  aware  of  what  you  are  and 
of  what  you  are  worthy,  and  the  status 
of  peace  that  these  provinces  may  obtain. 
It  will  grant  you,  when  it  is  deemed  suitable 
to  do  so,  the  reforms  the  government  may 
think  most  proper,  with  the  love  of  a  mother 
to  her  children. 

"  Inhabitants  of  Cuba,  lend  me  your  co- 
operation, and  in  that  way  you  will  defend 
your  interests,  which  are  those  of  the  coun- 
try. 

"  Long  live  Spanish  Cuba  ! 

"  Your  General  and  Governor, 

"  Valeri.-vno  Wevler, 
"  Marquese  of  Tenerife." 

To  the  Volunteers  and  Firemen. 

General  Weyler  also  offered  the  following 
address  : 

"Volunteers  and  Firemen:  Being  again 
at  your  head,  I  see  in  \'ou  the  successors  of 
the  volunteers  and  firemen  who  fought  with 
me  in  the  previous  war  and,  with  their  brav- 1 


ery,  energy  and  patriotism,  brought  about 
peace,  defended  the  towns  and  cities,  and 
contributed  most  powerfully  to  save  Cuba 
for  Spain.  Remember  these  virtues  brighten 
your  spirits,  and,  relying  on  m\'  whole  atten- 
tion, m)-  decisive  support  and  my  utmost 
confidence,  lend  me  the  same  help  and  co- 
operation, and  with  the  same  ambition  save 
the  prestige  of  your  name  and  the  honor  of 
our  flag,  which,  forever  victorious,  should 
fly  over  this  island. 

To  the    Soldiers. 

"  Soldiers  of  the  army,  I  greet  you  in  the 
name  of  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  and  of 
the  government.  Having  the  honor  of  being 
at  your  head,  I  trust  that  at  my  command 
you  will  continue  to  show  the  bravery  in 
face  of  hardships  proper  for  the  Spanish 
soldier,  and  that  you  will  confer  new  wreaths 
to  add  to  those  already  attained  under  the 
command  of  my  predecessors.  Generals  Mar- 
tinez Campos  and  Sabas  Marin. 

"  On  my  part,  answering  to  the  great  sac- 
rifice made  by  the  nation,  and  using  the 
efforts  of  all  arms  and  bodies  in  the  work 
entrusted  to  each  of  the  organic  units,  I  will 
not  omit  anything  to  place  you  in  the  condi- 
tion for  obtaining  the  victory  and  the  return 
of  peace  to  this  island,  which  is  what  she 
longs  for. 

"  Sailors,  I  have  again  the  satisfaction  to 
be  at  your  side,  and  I  again  trust  that,  as  in 
Mindanao  recently,  you  will  lend  me  your 
powerful  co-operation  to  bring  peace  to  this 
island.  Thus  I  expect  surely  that  you  will 
afford  me  a  new  chance  to  express  my  thanks 
and  my  enthusiasm  to  the  Spanish  navy." 

The  following  circular  of  General  \Ve%-ler 
was  addressed  to  the  military  officers : 

"  I  have  addressed  my  previous  proclama- 
tions at  the  moment  of  my  landing  to  the 
loyal  inhabitants,  to  the  volunteers  and  fire- 
men, and  to  the  army  and  navy. 


912 


CUBA  AND   VENEZUELA. 


"  I  may  give  you  a  slight  idea  of  the  inten- 
tions I  have  and  the  measures  I  shall  follow 
as  Governor-General-in-Chief,  in  accordance 
with  the  general  desire  of  Spain,  and  with 
the  decided  aim  of  Her  Majesty's  govern- 
ment to  furnish  all  the  means  required  to 
control  and  crush  this  rebellion. 

The  Question   Argued. 

"  Knowing  this,  and  knowing  my  charac- 
ter, I  may  perhaps  need  to  say  no  more  to 
make  you  understand  what  is  the  conduct 
that  I  am  to  follow.  But  with  the  idea  of 
avoiding  all  kinds  of  doubt,  even  keeping  (as 
you  are  to  keep)  the  circulars  to  be  pub- 
lished, I  deem  it  necessary  to  make  some  re- 
marks. 

"  It  is  not  unknown  by  you  that  the  state 
in  which  the  rebellion  has  come  and  the  raid 
made  by  the  principal  leaders  recently,  which 
could  not  be  stopped  even  by  the  active  pur- 
suit of  the  columns,  is  due  to  the  indiffer- 
ence, the  fear  or  the  disheartenment  of  the 
inhabitants.  Since  it  cannot  be  doubted  that 
some,  seeing  the  burning  of  their  property 
without  opposition,  and  that  others,  who  have 
been  born  in  Spain,  should  sympathize  with 
the  insurgents,  it  is  necessary  at  all  hazards 
to  better  this  state  of  things  and  to  brighten 
the  spirit  of  the  inhabitants,  making  them  ; 
aware  that  I  am  determined  to  lend  all  my  j 
assistance  to  the  local  inhabitants.  So  I  am 
determined  to  have  the  law  fall  with  all  its 
weight  upon  all  those  in  any  way  helping  the 
enemy,  or  praising  them,  or  in  any  way  de- 
tracting from  the  prestige  of  Spain,  of  its 
army,  or  of  its  volunteers.  It  is  necessary 
for  those  by  our  side  to  show  their  intentions 
with  deeds,  and  their  behavior  should  leave 
no  doubt,  and  should  prove  that  they  are 
Spanish. 

"  Since  the  defence  of  the  country  demands  \ 
the  sacrifice  of  her  children,  it  is  necessary  ' 
that  the  towns   should  look  to  their  defence,  1 


and  that  no  precautions  in  the  way  of  scouts 
should  be  lacking  to  give  news  concerning 
the  enemy,  and  whether  it  is  in  their  neigh- 
borhood, and  so  that  it  may  not  happen 
that  the  enemy  should  be  better  informed 
than  we. 

"  The  energy  and  vigor  of  the  enemy  will 
be  strained  to  trace  the  course  of  our  line, 
and  in  all  cases  you  will  arrest  and  place  at 
my  disposal  to  deliver  to  the  courts  those 
who  in  any  way  shall  show  their  sympathy 
or  support  for  the  rebels. 

Enlistments  Called   For. 

"The  public  spirit  being  heatened,  you 
must  not  forget  to  enlist  the  volunteers  and 
guerillas  in  your  district,  this  not  preventing 
at  the  same  time  the  organization,  as  oppor- 
tunity offers,  of  a  guerilla  band  of  twenty- 
five  citizens  for  each  battalion  of  the  army. 

"  I  propose  that  you  shall  make  the  dis- 
positions you  think  most  proper  for  the  car- 
rying out  of  the  plan  I  wish,  but  this  shall 
not  authorize  you  to  determine  anything 
not  foreseen  in  the  instructions,  unless  the 
urgency  of  some  circumstances  should  de- 
mand it. 

"  I  expect  that,  confining  yourself  to  these 
instructions,  you  will  lend  me  your  worthy 
support  towards  the  carrying  out  of  my  plan 
for  the  good  of  the  Spanish  cause. 

"  Weyler." 

The  proclamation  produced  no  perceptible 
change  in  the  situation.  The  insurgents 
continued  to  land  arms  and  ammunition 
secretly  and  to  carry  on  their  peculiar  mode 
of  warfare.  No  great  battles  were  fought, 
and  in  the  majority  of  the  skirmishes,  the 
Spanish  troops  were  successful,  it  being 
apparently  the  policy  of  the  rebels  to  worry 
and  harass  their  enemy  instead  of  coming  to 
open  conflict.  Thus  far  it  has  been  the  his- 
tory of  Cuban  insurrection  repeated — a  work 
of  devastation,  a  scattered  warfare,  an  attempt 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


913 


by  Spanish  troops  to  rout  or  capture  the 
insurgents,  yet  without  success.  Spain  has 
maintained  a  large  army  in  Cuba  which 
seems  to  be  incapable  of  bringing  order  out 
of  confusion. 

We  come  now  to  the  trouble  between 
Venezuela  and  England,  with  some  state- 
ments showing  the  spirit  and  intent  of  what 
is  known  as  the  American  Monroe  Doctrine.  ' 

The  Venezuelan  Question.  I 

For  fifty-five  years  the  location  of  the 
boundary  line  between  British  Guiana  and 
Venezuela  has  been  in  dispute.  Nine  times 
the  line  has  been  surveyed  by  British  engi- 
neers, and  each  time  it  was  unsatisfactory  to 
the  South  American  Republic,  and  was  not 
accepted.  The  two  governments  agreed  that 
neither  nation  should  occupy  the  ground 
claimed  by  both  until  the  controversy  should 
be  settled,  and  the  question  has  dragged 
along  in  a  neglected  way  until  recent  events 
have  opened  the  old  wound  afresh. 

Some  time  ago  one  Sergeant  Behrens  and 
two  companions  of  the  British  constabulary 
on  duty  in  Guiana,  were  discovered  on  the 
disputed  strip  of  land,  and  through  some 
clashing  with  the  authority  of  the  Venezuelan  i 
Government,  were  arrested  and  taken  into 
custody  as  trespassers  on  Venezuelan  soil. 
The  English  Government  contended  that  the 
arrest  had  been  made  on  British  soil,  and 
demanded  redress  for  the  action,  as  unlawful 
and  an  insult  to  British  citizens.  The  Vene- 
zuelan Government  protested  that  the  arrest 
had  occurred  on  its  own  soil,  and  therefore 
Behrens  was  amenable  to  the  laws  of  the 
Republic. 

Thus  the  question  was  brought  to  a  crisis. 
Venezuela  offered  to  arbitrate  the  whole 
matter,  but  Great  Britain  insisted  on  the  sur- 
render to  itself  of  a  large  and  important  por- 
tion of  the  disputed  territory,  and  would  then 
submit  to  arbitration  what  was  left.     The  evi-  ! 


dence  thus  far  obtainable  on  the  question  of 
the  boundaries  was  somewhat  wrapped  in  the 
uncertainties  of  the  terms  of  the  original  ces- 
sion to  England  of  Guiana,  which  was 
acquired  from  Holland  in  1814,  and  the 
world  cannot  form  an  accurate  idea  of  the 
merits  of  the  controversy  until  a  tribunal  of 
arbitration  has  sifted  them  out. 

There  are,  however,  certain  features  of 
England's  position  which  give  color  to  the 
suspicion  generally  entertained  by  the  Amer- 
ican press,  that  that  nation  was  afraid  to  trust 
its  case  to  arbitration,  and  was  bulldozing  the 
weaker  Government  of  the  South  American 
State  out  of  a  very  large  portion  of  its  terri- 
tory. Most  people  believed  that  Great  Bri- 
tain's scruples  were  none  too  fine  to  attempt 
this,  and  in  the  public  mind,  at  least,  the 
burden  of  proof  in  the  dispute  rested  upon 
her.  The  property  at  issue  includes  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  lying  between 
the  Orinoco  and  Esequibo  Rivers,  and  is 
believed  to  contain  valuable  gold  and  silver 
deposits. 

Reply  from  the  British  Premier. 

The  question  between  these  Governments 
becomes  of  special  interest  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  in  view  of  the  action  that 
our  representatives  at  Washington  have  taken. 
Some  time  ago  Secretary  of  State  Olney 
addressed  a  communication  to  the  British 
Government  reminding  it  that  the  United 
States  expected  it  to  observe  the  restrictions 
which  the  Monroe  Doctrine  placed  upon  the 
operations  of  European  powers  on  American 
soil.  Lord  Salisbur)-  replied  that  the  matter 
was  of  so  great  moment  as  to  require  further 
consideration  before  answering. 

Judging  from  the  widely  varying  com- 
ments of  the  press,  it  would  seem  that  in  the 
public  mind  the  real  meaning  of  that  famous 
doctrine  is  as  uncertain  as  is  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  rights  of  tlie  foreign  countries  to 


914 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


whom  the  doctrine  is  now  sought  by  some 
to  be  applied 

The  principle  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
originated  not  with  President  Monroe,  but — 
oddly  enough,  as  it  now  seems — with  a  great 
English  Premier.  In  the  year  1815  the 
Governments  of  Russia,  Austria  and  Prussia 
concluded  a  treat)-  known  as  the  "  Holy 
Alliance,"  by  which  they  pledged  mutual 
support  in  all  militar>'  operations  of  every 
kind.  After  a  few  years  the  alliance  was 
joined  by  France,  and  it  then  became  known 
as  the  defender  of  the  divine  right  of  mon- 
archy, and  the  powerful  combination  used  its 
armies  to  suppress  popular  movements  for 
liberty  in  a  number  of  countries,  notably  in 
Spain. 

Congress  of  Nations. 

The  Alliance  made  such  progress  in  the 
objects  of  its  existence,  that  in  1823  steps 
■were  taken  to  call  another  congress  of  the 
Powers  with  the  view  of  crushing  the  revo- 
tionary  governments  in  Spanish  America. 
At  this  point  the  Prime  Minister  of  England, 
George  Canning,  saw  in  the  new  proposal 
a  menace  to  his  own  country  in  that  the 
growing  commerce  of  England  with  the 
Spanish-American  Republics  would  be  di- 
verted if  those  countries  returned  to  the 
condition  of  colonies  of  Spain  or  of  any  other 
Power. 

Mr.  Canning  then  proposed  to  the  United 
States  Minister,  Mr.  Rush,  that  the  two  gov- 
ernments unite  in  a  protest  against  the  inter- 
ference of  the  allies  with  the  affairs  of  the 
Spanish-American  States.  This  was  the 
origin  and  the  first  public  proposal  of  the 
principle  which  has  since  become  the  most 
famous  rule  in  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
United  States.  President  Monroe  and  his 
Cabinet  gave  the  subject  anxious  considera- 
tion. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  in   commenting  on  the 


proposal,  used  this  language :  "  Our  first 
and  fundamental  maxim  should  be  never  to 
entangle  ourselves  in  the  broils  of  Europe ; 
our  second,  never  to  suffer  Europe  to  inter- 
meddle with  cis- Atlantic  affairs.  While  Eu- 
rope is  laboring  to  become  the  domicile  of 
despotism,  our  endeavor  should  surely  be  to 
make  our  hemisphere  that  of  freedom.  One 
nation  most  of  all  could  disturb  us  in  this 
pursuit ;  she  now  offers  to  lead,  aid  and  ac- 
company us  in  it.  By  acceding  to  her  propo- 
sition we  detach  her  from  the  bands,  bring 
her  mighty  weight  into  the  scale  of  free  gov- 
ernment, and  emancipate  a  continent  at  one 
stroke." 

When  Congress  assembled  in  the  month  of 
December  following  Mr.  Canning's  proposal, 
President  Monroe  in  his  annual  message  de- 
fined in  carefully  chosen  words  the  principles 
by  which  he  proposed  to  be  guided  in  the 
matter  of  the  threatened  interference  of  the 
allies.  The  statements  touching  on  this  for- 
eign policy  are  included  in  the  following 
extract  from  his  message,  almost  every  phrase 
of  which  has  become  a  classic  in  interna- 
tional history  : 

Only  Injuries  Resented. 

"  Of  events  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe 
(Europe)  with  which  we  have  so  much  inter- 
course, and  from  which  we  derive  our  origin, 
we  have  always  been  anxious  and  interested 
spectators.  The  citizens  of  the  United  States 
cherish  sentiments  the  most  friendly  in  favor 
of  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  their  fellow- 
men  on  that  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  the  wars 
of  the  European  Powers  in  matters  relating 
to  themselves  we  have  never  taken  any  part, 
nor  does  it  comport  with  our  policy  to  do  so. 
It  is  only  when  our  rights  are  invaded  or 
seriously  menaced  that  we  resent  injuries  or 
make  preparation  for  our  defence. 

"  With  the  movements  in  this  hemisphere, 
we  are,  of  necessity,  more  immediately  con- 


CUBA  AND   VENEZUELA. 


915 


nected,  and  by  causes  which  must  be  obvious 
to  all  enlightened  and  impartial  observers. 
The  political  s)-stem  of  the  allied  Powers  is 
essentially  different  in  this  respect  from  that 
of  America.  This  difference  proceeds  from 
that  which  exists  in  their  respective  govern- 
ments. And  to  the  defence  of  our  own, 
which  has  been  achieved  by  the  loss  of  so 
much  blood  and  treasure,  and  matured  by  the 
wisdom  of  their  most  enlightened  citizens, 
and  under  which  we  have  enjoyed  unexam- 
pled felicit>-.  this  whole  nation  is  devoted. 

Dangerous  to  Our  Safety. 

"  We  owe  it,  therefore,  to  candor  and  to 
the  amicable  relations  existing  between  the 
United  States  and  those  Powers  to  declare  that 
•we  should  consider  any  attempt  on  their  part 
to  extend  their  system  to  any  portion  of  this 
hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  our  peace  and 
safety.  With  the  existing  colonies  or  de- 
pendencies of  any  European  Power,  we  have 
not  interfered  and  shall  not  interfere.  But 
with  the  governments  who  have  declared 
their  independence  and  maintained  it,  and 
whose  independence  we  have,  on  great  con- 
sideration and  on  just  principles,  acknowl- 
edged, we  could  not  view  any  interposition 
for  the  purpose  of  oppressing  them,  or  con- 
trolling in  any  other  manner  their  destiny,  by 
any  European  Power,  in  any  other  light  than 
as  the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposi- 
tion toward  the  United  States. 

"  Our  policy  in  regard  to  Europe,  which 
was  adopted  at  an  early  stage  of  the  wars 
which  have  so  long  agitated  that  quarter  of 
the  globe,  nevertheless  remains  the  same, 
which  is,  not  to  interfere  in  the  internal  con- 
cerns of  any  of  its  Powers ,  to  consider  the 
Government  de  facto  as  the  legitimate  Gov- 
ernment for  us ;  to  cultivate  friendly  relations 
with  it,  and  to  preserve  those  relations  by  a 
frank,  firm  and  manly  policy,  meeting,  in  all 
instances,  the  just   claims   of  every  Power, 


submitting  to  injuries  from  none.  But  in 
regard  to  these  continents,  circumstances  are 
eminently  and  conspicuously  different. 

"  It  is  impossible  that  the  allied  Powers 
should  extend  their  political  system  to  any 
portion  of  either  continent  without  endan- 
gering our  peace  and  happiness  ;  nor  can  any 
one  believe  that  our  Southern  brethren,  if 
left  to  themselves,  would  adopt  it  of  their  own 
accord.  It  is  equally  impossible,  therefore, 
that  we  should  behold  such  interposition,  in 
any  form,  with  indifference.  If  we  look  to 
the  comparative  strength  and  resources  of 
Spain  and  those  new  Governments,  and  their 
distance  from  each  other,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  she  can  never  subdue  them.  It  is  still 
the  true  policy  of  the  United  States  to  leave 
the  parties  to  themselves  in  the  hope  that 
other  Powers  will  pursue  the  same  course." 

Comments  of  the  Press. 

The  leading  daily  papers  of  New  York 
waged  a  lively  war  of  words  over  the  proper 
application  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  arising 
out  of  the  varj'ing  interpretation  of  some  ex- 
pressions used  in  this  message.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  President  Monroe  had  reference 
solely  to  the  overturning  of  republican  forms 
of  government,  when  he  stated  that  an\'  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  European  Powers  to 
extend  "  their  system  "  to  any  portion  of  this 
hemisphere  would  be  considered  as  danger- 
ous to  our  peace  and  safety. 

The  only  loophole  for  controversy  is  the 
clause,  "  We  could  not  view  any  interposition 
for  the  puspose  of  oppressing  them  (the 
Spanish-American  republics)  or  controlling 
in  any  other  manner  their  destiny,  by  any 
European  Power."  Does  this  clause  forbid 
any  "  oppressing  "  of  whatsoever  kind  ?  Or 
does  it  constitute  an  appendage  to  the  pre- 
ceding clause  and  refer  only  to  "  oppress- 
ing "  when  coupled  with  the  intention  to  ex- 
tend the  monarchical  "  system  "  over  the  op- 


9i6 


CUBA   AND   VENEZUELA. 


pressed,  and  thus  establish  colonial  allegiance 
to  the  European  Power  who  may  be  the 
aggressor? 

Some  influential  newspapers  and  one  or 
more  jurists  of  prominence  extended  to  the 
word  "oppressing,"  as  used  above,  a  mean- 
ing of  almost  unlimited  scope.  The)-  con- 
strued it  to  cover  almost  any  sort  of  unfair 
dealing  by  a  European  Power  with  an  Amer- 
ican State.  The  second  interpretation,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  the  one  which  has  usu- 
ally guided  our  State  Department,  and  re- 
ceived the  support  of  Calhoun  and  Webster, 
as  well  as  the  published  opinions  of  one  or 
more  college  professors  of  international  his- 
tory. 

Seward's  Interpretation. 

This  view  was  also  clearly  expressed  by 
Secretary  Seward  in  a  note  of  instruction 
to  our  Minister  to  France  at  the  time  of  the 
collision  between  that  country  and  Mexico  in 
1862:  "France  has  a  right  to  make  war 
against  Mexico,  and  to  determine  for  herself 
the  cause.  We  have  a  right  and  interest  to 
insist  that  France  shall  not  improve  the  war 
she  makes  to  raise  up  in  Mexico  an  anti- 
republican  or  anti-American  government,  or 
to  maintain  such  a  government  there.  France 
has  disclaimed  such  designs,  and  we,  besides 
reposing  faith  in  the  assurances  given  in  a 
frank,  honorable  manner,  would,  in  any  case, 
be  bound  to  wait  for,  and  not  anticipate,  a 
violation  of  them." 

If  the  first  interpretation  be  the  proper 
one,  then  the  United  States  may  have  some 
right  to  insist  on  the  submission  to  arbitra- 
tion of  the  question  at  issue  between  Great 
Britain  and  Venezuela.  If,  however,  the 
second  interpretation  is  correct — and  the 
weight  of  authority  is  certainly  in  support  of 
it — then  there  is  as  yet  no  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  in  the 
Venezuelan    controversy,    and    the    United 


States  cannot  invoke  the  same  in  justification 
of  any  interference  in  behalf  of  the  South 
American  republic. 

The  tremendous  sensation  created  all  over 
the  world  by  President  Cleveland's  message 
to  Congress  in  December,  1895,  on  the  con- 
troversy between  Great  Britain  and  Ven- 
ezuela quieted  down,  and  the  general  belief 
among  Government  circles  was  that  an  ami- 
cable settlement  would  be  reached  by  the 
two  nations  most  intimately  concerned,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  further  action  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  well  known  that  the  Foreign  Office 
at  London  was  trjnng  to  bring  about  this 
result.  British  sentiment  seemed  to  incline 
more  and  more  toward  the  propriety'  of  mak- 
ing concessions,  if  necessary,  to  preserve 
peace  with  the  United  States,  and  very  strong 
speeches  were  made  in  Parliament  favoring 
arbitration  of  the  entire  dispute  and  recog- 
nizing the  justice  of  the  position  of  the 
United  States. 

A  Senate  Resolution. 

The  indications  were  that  President  Cleve- 
land's action  would  result  in  establishing  the 
force  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  in  its  broadest 
application,  and  its  efficacy  as  a  rule  of 
American  international  law  would  not  be 
disputed  in  the  future. 

The  Monroe  Doctrine  has  had  some  dis- 
cussion in  the  Senate,  arising  from  a  resolu- 
tion introduced  by  Senator  Davis,  of  Minne- 
sota, which  aimed  to  commit  Congress  to  a 
definite  positive  declaration  of  the  existence 
and  enduring  force  of  the  doctrine  in  the 
widest  meaning  which  American  construc- 
tion has  placed  upon  it.  The  resolution  was 
vigorously  opposed  by  a  few  of  the  Senators 
as  an  ill-timed  agitation  of  the  question,  an 
unwise  extension  of  the  meaning  of  the 
doctrine. 


TilU.MAS    A.    EDISON 


EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

COMPRISING 

Biographies  of  Distinguished  Statesmen,  Inventors,  Financiers,  Etc. 


THE  foregoing  history  of  the  United 
States  may  appropriately  close  with 
a  concise  account  of  the  most  fa- 
mous of  our  celebrities.  There  are 
names  that  shine  resplendent  in  the  firma- 
ment of  human  achievement,  and  with  them 
are  associated  triumphs  and  successes  that 
can  never  perish  from  the  annals  of  time.  Not 
alone  in  the  stormy  period  of  the  Revolution, 
or  during  the  sanguinary  struggle    of    the 


Civil  War,  do  we  gaze  upon  these  illustrious 
ones.  In  more  recent  historj^  there  are 
those  who  challenge  our  admiration,  and 
are  an  honor  to  our  country.  America  is 
rich  in  her  distinguished  citizens,  and  in 
every  walk  of  life,  in  every  pursuit,  we 
trace  the  footsteps  of  the  giants  who  have 
;  given  fame  to  the  Republic,  and  whose 
j  noble  deeds  and  achievements  are  among  her 
proudest  possessions. 


THOMAS  A.  EDISON. 


NO  inventor  since  the  world  began  has 
achieved  greater  distinction  than 
Thomas  A.  Edison.  He  is  noth- 
ing less  than  a  phenomenon  in 
the  realm  of  science,  more  especially  in  that 
part  of  it  which  relates  to  electricity.  His 
discoveries  have  been  the  wonder  of  the  age, 
and  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of 
inventors. 

We  find  him  at  the  age  of  ten  reading  the 
histories  of  Gibbon  and  Hume,  yet  his  biog- 
raphers assert  that  he  went  to  school  only 
two  months  in  his  boyhood.  Like  the  vast 
majority  of  those  men  who  have  left  a  deep 
impression  upon  their  time,  he  was  born  in 
poverty  and  obscurity,  being  conspicuously 
a  self-made  man.  His  education  was  under 
the  direction  of  his  mother,  yet  at  best  was 
but  superficial. 


Mr.  Edison  was  born  at  Alva,  Ohio,  Feb- 
ruary nth,  1S47.  As  soon  as  he  was  old 
enough  to  become  interested  in  any  study, 
he  showed  great  fondness  for  chemistry. 
This  indicated  the  bent  of  his  mind,  and  was 
a  prophecy  that  the  natural  sciences  would 
be  his  favorite  pursuit.  While  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  newsboy  on  a  railway  train,  he 
determined  to  learn  telegraphy.  Here  was 
the  beginning  of  that  remarkable  career,  and 
I  of  those  discoveries  Avhich,  if  they  have  not 
I  revolutionized  the  telegraph  system,  have 
certainly  promoted  its  efficiency  and  per- 
i  fected  its  instruments.  While  residing  at 
I  Adrian,  Mich.,  he  opened  a  shop  for  repair- 
ing telegraph  instruments  and  making  new 
machinery.  Subsequently,  at  Indianapolis, 
he  invented  his  automatic  repeater,  which 
I  was  greatly  in  advance  of  any  telegraph  in- 


91 8 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


strument  then  in  existence,  except  the  origi- 
nal one  invented  by  Professor  Alorse. 

Having  lived  a  short  time  at  Cincinnati, 
still  devoting  himself  to  electrical  science,  he 
removed  to  Boston,  where  he  startled  elec- 
tricians with  his  duplex  telegraph.  Many- 
attempts  had  previously  been  made  to  invent 
such  an  instrument,  yet  without  success. 
Mr.  Edison  was  still  a  young  man,  but  hav- 
ing shown  pre-eminent  abilities,  he  was  made 
president  of  the  New  York  Gold  Indicator 
Company,  and  moved  his  shops  to  Newark, 
N.  J.  He  did  not,  however,  remain  long  in 
the  latter  place,  but,  determining  to  devote 
himself  exclusively  to  the  work  of  invention, 
he  established  himself  permanently  at  Menlo 
Park,  where  he  has  an  extensive  laboratory 
and  is  occupied  constantly,  with  a  large 
corps  of  assistants,  in  his  various  researches. 

Mr.  Edison's  history  is  more  than  usually 
rich  in  incidents  of  an  interesting  character. 
When  he  was  selling  papers  and  candies  on 
the  trains  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  he 
was  making  a  hobby  of  chemistry.  At  this 
time  he  was  a  mere  boy.  Not  having  any 
other  facilities  for  experimenting,  he  con- 
structed an  amateur  laboratory  in  one  corner 
of  a  baggage-car.  When  other  boys  would 
have  been  at  play,  he  was  amusing  and  in- 
structing himself  in  that  corner.  During  his 
absence  one  day  a  bottle  of  phosphorus,  by 
being  upset,  or  in  some  way  broken,  set  the 
car  on  fire.  Grave  doubts  were  entertained 
as  to  tlic  propriety  of  having  so  dangerous 
a  lad  on  board  the  train,  and  the  baggage- 
master  kicked  his  chemicals  and  apparatus 
out  of  the  car,  which  did  not,  however,  put 
an  end  to  the  boy's  passion  for  chemistry. 
He  improvised  another  laboratory  in  a  differ- 
ent place,  and  continued  his  studies  as 
before. 

Mr.  Edison  was  also  at  one  time  an  ama- 
teur printer,  and  the  publisher  of  a  paper 
which  bore  the  rather  high-sounding  title  of 


Tlic  Grand  Trunk  Herald.  It  came  about  in 
this  way :  on  one  of  his  trips  to  Chicago,  the 
publisher  of  one  of  the  daily  papers  in  that 
I  city  made  him  a  present  of  a  lot  of  worn-out 
type.  Thinking  that  this  could  be  used  to 
advantage,  Edison  established  his  journal, 
which  was  filled  with  items  of  news  that  were 
of  special  interest  to  the  hands  employed  on 
the  railroad.  During  the  great  battle  at 
Shiloh,  he  persuaded  the  telegraph  operators 
to  send  reports  of  the  engagement  to  the 
different  stations  along  the  road.  This  crea- 
ted an  immense  demand  for  papers,  and  the 
young  newsboy  reaped  a  handsome  profit  by 
supplying  them. 

About  this  time  an  incident  occurred 
which  has  had  an  important  influence  on  his 
life  from  that  day  to  this.  He  proved  him- 
self to  be  a  young  hero  one  day  by  saving 
I  the  child  of  a  telegraph  operator  from  being 
killed  by  a  train.  The  father  sought  to  re- 
ward him  in  some  way,  and  was  informed  that 
the  best  reward,  and  one  that  would  be  the 
i  most  acceptable,  would  be  to  teach  the  res- 
j  cuer  of  his  child  the  art  of  telegraphing. 
This  being  done,  the  lad  provided  himself 
with  wires  and  batteries,  and  soon  became 
quite  an  expert  in  the  use  of  telegraphic  in- 
struments. 

Naturally  a  mind  so  alert  was  constantly 
seeking  out  new  inventions.  He  never  saw 
an  instrument  without  immediately  asking 
himself  whether  it  could  not  in  some  way  be 
I  perfected.  Very  often  his  inventive  genius 
I  would  instantly  discover  something  that  had 
I  been  entirely  overlooked  by  the  original  in- 
ventor. Having  pursued  this  plan  all  his 
life,  his  name  has  become  identified  with  a 
vast  number  of  inventions  of  various  kinds- 
all  this  in  addition  to  his  own  original  dicov- 
eries. 

Having  perfected  himself  as  a  telegraph 
operator,  and  being  extremely  expert,  he 
readily  secured  a  situation  where  he  was  ex-. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


919 


pected  to  do  night  work,  and  was  required 
to  telegraph  the  word  "  Six  "  to  the  Superin- 
tendent, in  order  to  let  this  man  know  he 
was  at  his  post  and  wide-awake.  It  did  not 
take  him  long  to  contrive  a  machine  that  did 
the  work  for  him,  and  left  him  free  without 
interruption  to  pursue  his  favorite  study  of 
chemistry.  His  clever  trick  was,  however, 
discovered,  and  by  reason  of  it  he  lost  his 
situation. 

It  happened,  while  Mr.  Edison  was  resid- 
ing in  New  York,  that  one  day  the  Western 
Union  wire  to  Albany  gave  out,  and  no  mes- 
sages could  be  transmitted.  The  electricians 
of  the  company  were  baffled,  and  were  una- 
ble to  discover  the  trouble.  After  experi- 
menting a  number  of  days,  as  a  last  resort, 
they  called  in  Mr.  Edison.  He  obtained 
communication  with  Albany  by  way  of  Pitts- 
burg. Then  he  requested  the  best  operator 
at  the  other  end  of  the  line  to  sit  at  the  ma- 
chine, with  whom  he  experimented  for  a 
couple  of  hours  with  currents  of  different  in- 
tensit}-.  He  then  told  the  officers  of  the 
company  what  the  difficulty  was,  and  exactly 
where  it  was  located.  This  achievement 
gave  him  much  reputation,  and  proved  his 
pre-eminent  ability  as  an  electrician. 

One  of  Mr.  Edison's  famous  inventions  is 
the  Phonograph.  The  manner  of  its  dis- 
covery shows  the  readiness  with  which  he 
seizes  upon  every  new  fact,  even  ever>'  hint 
developed  in  the  study  of  electrical  science. 
He  was  at  work  upon  an  apparatus  for  record- 
ing a  telegraphic  message  by  making,  with  a 
needle,  indentations  on  a  piece  of  tin  foil 
wrapped  around  the  cylinder. 

The  message  would  thus  be  punctured  or 
indented  on  this  tin  foil,  then  by  substituting 
another  needle — blunt — for  the  sharp  one, 
and  turning  the  cylinder,  there  would  be  a 
vibration  as  the  needle  entered  into  and 
passed  out  of  the  indentation.  In  the  course 
of  the  experiments  he  turned   the  cylinder 


very  rapidly,  and  instead  of  a  succession  of 
"  clicks  "  a  musical  sound  was  produced. 
He  seized  the  idea,  and  the  Edison  Phono- 
graph is  the  result. 

The  perfected  Phonograph  of  to-da\-  con- 

\  sists  of  a  cylinder  of  wax,  or  other  plastic 
material,  which  is  revolved  either  by  hand, 
foot  power  or  an  electric  motor.  This  cylin- 
der, called  the  phonogram,  is  used  for  record- 
ing the  sound.  This  is  done  by  a  diaphragm 
such  as  is  used  in  a  telephone,  into  the  centre 
of  which  is  fastened  a  sharp  needle,  which 
rests  upon  and  just  touches  the  phonogram. 
When  the  words  are  spoken  the  diaphragm 
vibrates,  moving  this  needle  up  and  down, 
and  a  series  of  indentations  are  made  in  a 
spiral  line  on  the  phonogram,  which  is  turn- 
ing around  about  eighty-five  times  a  minute. 
To  make  the  Phonograph  speak,  or  repeat 
the  words,  another  diaphragm,  having  a 
blunt,  instead  of  a  sharp  needle,  is  placed  at 
the  starting  point,  and  the  phonogram  is 
made  to  revolve.  Of  course,  as  the  needle 
passes  over  the  indentations  it  vibrates  the 
diaphragm,  and  the  words  are  reproduced  as 
in  the  Telephone.     Thus  we  can  get  a  faith- 

j  ful  reproduction  of  instrumental  music,  songs, 
whistling,  conversation,  all  sorts  of  sounds, 

!  and  the  phonograms  can  be  packed  into  a 
mailing  tube,  and  sent  all  over  the  world  to 
be  used  as  often  as  desired. 

This  certainly  is  a  most  remarkable  inven- 
tion. It  shows  what  possibilities  are  con- 
nected with  the  science  of  electricity.  If 
there  are  more  wonders  in  heaven  and  earth 
than  are  dreamt  of  in  our  philosophy,  a  large 
proportion  of  them  find  their  home  in  Mr. 
Edison's  laboratory.  His  inventive  genius 
is  always  alert  and  active.  No  new  phase  of 
electricity  ever  presents  itself  without  start- 
ing the  inquiry  in  his  mind  as  to  how  it  can 
be  made  to  serve  some  useful  and  practical 
end.     He  has  been  so  successful  in  devising 

I  strange   things,  such  as  were  never   before 


920 


EMINENT  AMERICANS. 


dreamed  of,  that  he  has  been  given  the  ap- 
propriate title  of"  Wizard. " 

The  idea  of  the  Telephone  has  long  been 
in  existence.  It  was  first  practically  applied 
in  the  construction  of  toys.  One  called  the 
"  Lo\-er's  String"  was  made  in  1831,  and  is 
the  simplest  form  of  a  Telephone.  The  dis- 
coveries and  improvements  of  Mr.  Edison 
have  aided  greatly  in  perfecting  this  instru- 
ment. The  transmitter,  constructed  and  im- 
proved by  him  and  Blake,  is  combined  with 
the  Bell  Telephone  and  makes  the  Telephone 
of  general  use.  To  such  a  state  of  perfection 
has  the  instrument  been  brought  that  over 
long  distances,  even  between  some  of  our 
great  cities,  communication  can  be  success- 
fully carried  on. 

Special  mention  must  be  made  of  Mr. 
Edison's  invention  for  the  multiplication,  or 
printing  of  copies  made  by  pen  and  ink 
and  the  tj^pewriter.  This  is  found  very  ser- 
viceable in  large  establishments  that  send 
out  circulars,  etc.  Its  fundamental  principle 
is  the  stylus  or  point,  the  writing  implement 
of  man  since  the  art  was  first  invented.  It  is 
the  natural  tool  by  which  the  hand  can  trace 
characters,  and  it  is  this  stylus  or  point,  used  j 
in  the  instrument,  which  has  created  for  it  ' 
such  a  decided  and  permanent  popularit}^ 

The  sheet  of  paper  upon  which  the  copy 
is  to  be  printed  is  placed  upon  a  blotter 
resting  on  the  base-board  beneath  the  stencil 
sheet,  and  the  ink  roller  is  passed  over  the 
stencil  sheet,  forcing  the  ink  through  perfora- 
tions, thus  making  the  impression  upon  the  ' 
paper.  This  operation  is  repeated  until  the 
required  number  of  copies  are  obtained.  It 
is  a  quick  and  simple  process  of  reproducing 
letters  and  circulars  in  quantities  large  or 
small. 

One  of  the  latest  and  most  interesting 
inventions  of  Mr.  Edison  is  the  Kinetoscope, 
which    is  nothing  more    nor    less    than    the 


reproduction  of  motion.  The  observer  looks 
through  a  glass  into  a  small  cabinet  and  sees 
what  appear  to  be  living  figures.  They  may 
be  men  or  animals,  and  they  are  in  action. 
Thus  the  movements  of  horses,  children  at 
play,  men  and  women  walking,  exercises  in 
gymnastics,  etc.,  are  faithfully  reproduced. 
This,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  a  marvelous 
triumph  of  inventive  genius. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Mr.  Edi- 
son's ideas  have  entered  largely  into  all  the 
electrical  discoveries  of  recent  time.  He,  or 
his  assistants,  prompted  by  his  original  con- 
ceptions, have  contributed  largely  to  all  the 
scientific  journals  of  the  country.  His  inven- 
tions consist  of  improvements  in  the  electric 
light  and  the  telephone.  He  is  also  the  in- 
ventor of  the  phonograph,  the  quadruplex 
and  sextuplex  transmitter,  the  microphone, 
the  megaphone,  the  kinetoscope,  the  mimeo- 
graph, the  electric  pen,  etc. 

No  one  can  foresee  what  discoveries  are 
yet  to  be  made  in  the  science  of  electricity. 
The  field  is  as  wide  as  it  is  interesting. 
Already  the  marvels  are  on  every  side  of  us. 
Especially  is  the  thought  of  electricians  occu- 
pied with  the  endeavor  to  obtain  a  motive 
power  that  shall  supersede  steam.  That  this 
will  be  accomplished  is  certainly  within  the 
bounds  of  possibilitj^;  but  whatever  the 
future  discoveries  are  to  be,  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
dict that  Mr.  Edison  will  be  among  the  fore- 
most of  those  who  achieve  success  in  this 
department  of  science. 

In  person  Mr.  Edison  is  rather  tall,  some- 
what stocky,  with  smooth  face  and  a  youth- 
ful expression.  He  is  capable  of  a  great 
amount  of  work  and  has  been  known  to 
spend  sixty  hours  consecutively  in  his 
laboratory  without  sleep.  He  bears  the 
title  of  Count,  which  was  conferred  upon 
him  in  Italy,  in  honor  of  his  brilliant  dis- 
coveries. 


CHAUN-CF.V     M.     DEPEW 


CHAUNCEY   M.   DEPEW. 


THERE  are  Americans  who  do  not 
need  to  be  placed  in  official  posi- 
tion, who  do  not  need  to  be  Gov- 
ernors, Senators  or  Presidents,  to 
exert  a  commanding  influence  and  stand  in 
the  eye  of  the  nation.  They  are  capable  of 
winning  celebrity  in  more  private  walks. 
Some  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens  have 
ne\er  been  placed  to  any  considerable  extent 
under  political  responsibility.  There  are 
those  who  appear  to  be  naturally  outside  of 
office,  if  not  altogether  superior  to  it.  Their 
worth  lies  entirely  in  themselves,  irrespective 
■of  position  or  surroundings. 

If  one  were  asked  to  name  the  most  emi- 
nent citizens  of  ourcountryChauncey  Mitchell 
Depew  would  be  mentioned  as  one  of  them. 
His  fame  has  gone  into  all  parts  of  the  land, 
among  men  of  business,  politicians,  leaders 
of  thought,  those  who  are  especially  inter- 
ested in  moral  reform — in  fact,  among  all 
classes  of  our  citizens  Mr.  Depew  is  known 
for  his  estimable  qualities,  his  intellectual 
ability  and  his  genial  nature.  He  did, 
indeed,  at  one  time  hold  office,  but  this  was  i 
many  years  ago,  and,  while  he  has  always 
been  interested  in  politics,  and  has  even  been 
suggested  as  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  ' 
the  Presidency,  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
sought  distinctions  of  this  description. 

Mr.  Depew  is  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal 
education.  He  was  born  in  Peekskill,  N.  Y., 
April  23,  1834.  Even  in  his  boyhood  he  1 
was  a  gifted  declaimer,  and  gave  prophecy 
then  of  his  distinguished  career  as  an  orator.  , 
The  old  saying  that  "the  boy  is  the  father 
to  the  man"  is  illustrated  in  his  case.  He 
graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1856,  having 
taken  high  rank  during  his  course,  especially 
in  the  department  of  rhetoric  and  oratory. 
Many  were  the  contests  he  had  in  college,  j 
and  many  were  the  times  that  he  emerged  j 


from  them  with  complete  success.  His  social 
disposition,  his  breezy  manner,  his  happy 
knack  of  merry-making  and  his  fund  of  anec- 
dote, rendered  him  a  general  favorite. 

In  1858  he  began  practicing  law,  consider- 
ing that  this  profession  furnished  the  widest 
opportunities  for  such  abilities  as  he  could 
command.  His  public  career  as  an  orator 
was  begun  in  1856  in  the  Fremont  campaign. 
At  this  time  he  identified  himself  with  the 
young  Republican  party,  of  which  he  has 
since  been  a  prominent  and  enthusiastic 
member.  He  became  widely  known  through- 
out the  eastern  part  of  New  York  for  his 
pithy  and  eloquent  stump-speeches,  and  very 
soon  found  himself  in  favor  with  the  older 
leaders  of  the  party.  His  youth,  his  self- 
possession,  his  fluency,  his  grasp  of  the 
subjects  he  treated,  his  unbounded  enthu- 
siasm, drew  immediate  attention  and  marked 
a  coming  man. 

In  1 86 1  he  was  sent  to  the  Legislature  of 
New  York,  and  two  years  later  he  was 
elected  Secretary  of  State,  declining  a  re- 
election two  years  subsequently.  He  found 
it  necessary  to  devote  his  time  somewhat 
exclusively  to  his  profession,  considering 
that  this  was  his  legitimate  calling,  and  to 
pursue  it  would  prove  of  lasting  benefit  to 
him  in  the  end.  In  1866  he  was  chosen 
attorney  for  the  New  York  and  Harlem 
Railroad,  and,  three  years  later,  when  the 
railroad  was  consolidated  with  the  New  York 
Central,  he  became  general  counsel  of  the 
company.  He  was  elected  second  Vice- 
President  of  the  Central  Railroad  in  1882, 
and  the  following  year  President  of  the 
"  Vanderbilt    roads." 

In  person  Mr.  Depew  is  above  the  medium 
height,  has  prominent  features  and  a  clear, 
penetrating  voice  that  can  be  heard  b}-  the 
largest  audiences. 

921 


PHILIP  D.  ARMOUR. 


THE  ancient  classic  nations  were  in  the 
habit  of  speaking  of  the  seven  won- 
ders of  the  world.     If  we  were  asked 

to  give  a  list  of  the  seven  wonders  of 
America,  the  city  of  Chicago  would  most 
assuredly  be  one  of  them.  It  sits  like  a 
queen  at  the  feet  of  the  great  chain  of  lakes 
which,  taken  together,  are  nothing  less  than 
an  immense  inland  sea.  Its  growth  has  been 
rapid  and  phenomenal.  Within  the  memory 
of  living  men,  it  was  only  a  village,  located 
on  marshy  ground,  then  giving  no  promise 
of  becoming  the  great  metropolis  of  the  West. 
The  explanation  of  this  remarkable  growth 
is  something  which  does  not  especially  con- 
cern us.  That  location  has  had  much  to  do 
with  it  is  doubtless  true.  Here  is  a  wonder- 
ful centre  of  railroads,  branching  out  into  all 
parts  of  the  West.  Here  are  facilities  for 
navigation  which  are  unsurpassed  by  those 
of  any  inland  waters  on  the  face  of  the 
globe.  Lying  around  Chicago,  and  extend- 
ing through  leagues  of  fertile  territorj',  are 
farms  and  homesteads  which  have  sprung 
into  existence  with  startling  rapidity.  Chi- 
cago looks  out  upon  a  vast  country  that 
may  appropriately  be  called  the  garden  of 
America,  producing  grains,  cattle,  sheep  and 
swine,  in  almost  boundless  affluence.  Natur- 
ally these  must  all  have  a  market,  a  central 
point  for  distribution  to  other  parts  of  the 
country  and  the  eastern  world. 

While  all  these  causes  have  combined  to 
render  Chicago  a  city  whose  growth  has 
been  extraordinar>%  it  is  no  less  true  that 
much  is  due  to  the  enterprise  of  her  citizens, 
among  whom  are  numbered  men  of  broad 
ideas,  exceptional  business  ability,  and  an 
integrity  made  of  gold  unmixed  with  dross. 
One  of  these  citizens  whose  remarkable  suc- 
cesses have  given  fame  to  Chicago  is  Mr. 
Philip  D.  Armour — a  full-grown  man,  looked 

922 


at  from  every  point  of  view,  whose  business 
career,  whose  unimpeachable  character  and 
faithful  endeavors  in  every  walk  of  life,  have 
made  him  conspicuous  in  the  city  of  his  resi- 
dence and  widely  known  throughout  the 
country.  He  was  born  in  Stockbridge,  N. 
Y.,  May  16,  1832,  and  received  his  education 
in  the  district  school  of  his  native  town. 

Like  many  young  men,  he  was  under  the 
impression  that  some  other  part  of  the  coun- 
try than  the  one  in  which  he  was  born  and 

I  reared  would  afford  a  wider  field  for  activity 
and  success,  and  started  out  to  seek  his  for- 
tune, going  to  Cahfornia  in  185  i.  This  was 
only  two  or  three  years  after  the  discovery 
of  gold,  but  Mr.  Armour  found,  even  at  that 
time,  that  fortunes  are  not  picked  up  in  a  day, 
and  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment.     In 

i  1856,  he   left  California,  convinced   that   he 

!  could  do  better  elsewhere. 

Still,  it  is  true  that  even  at  this  time  he 
exhibited  those  qualities  of  industry,  tact  and 
perseverance,  which  have  since  distinguished 
him  and  are  really  the  secret  of  the  success 
that  has  made  him  a  millionaire,  or  it  would 
be  more  correct  to  say,  a  multi-millionaire, 
for  his  possessions  must  be  numbered  among 
the  millions.  Mr.  Armour  went  to  ]\Iilwau- 
kee,  Wio.,  where  he  embarked  in  the  com- 
mission business,  meeting  with  the  success 
that  might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  his 
ability.  He  saw  that  there  was  a  wide  and 
growing  field  in  the  provision  trade,  that  the 
West  was  destined,  if  not  to  feed  the  world, 
yet  to  contribute  largely  toward  it,  and  this 
led  to  the  widening  of  his  plans  and  the 
beginning  of  the  business  in  which  he  has 
made  his  fame  and  fortune. 

In  connection  with  John  Plankington,  of 
Milwaukee,  he  established  a  packing  house, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  devoted  to  the 
business  his  time  and  energies.     This  was  in 


PHILIP     D.     ARMOUR. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


9^3 


1863,  and  in  1868  the  Chicago  estabhshment 
of  P.  D.  Armour  &  Co.  was  founded,  which 
has  branch  houses  in  Kansas  City  and  New 
York,  and  extends  its  trade  all  over  the 
world.  These  packing  houses  are  immense 
establishments,  and,  except  by  actual  obser- 
vation, no  one  would  be  able  to  get  an  accu- 
rate idea  of  the  vast  business  that  is  carried  on. 

To  one  unused  to  such  sights,  the  rapidity 
with  which  live  animals  are  converted  into 
provisions,  ready  to  be  shipped,  is  something 
amazing.  Various  mechanical  arrangements 
are  in  use,  and  inventive  genius  has  employed 
itself  in  furnishing  facilities  for  expediting 
the  work.  Many  as  are  the  remarkable 
sights  of  Chicago,  a  visit  to  the  packing 
houses  of  P.  D.  Armour  &  Co.  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  one  that  is  seldom 
omitted  by  strangers.  That  a  business  should 
have  grown  up  in  a  few  years  so  large  as  to 
extend  itself  into  all  parts  of  the  world,  is  a 
high  tribute  to  the  enterprise  of  its  controlling 
head,  and  to  the  resources  of  the  great  West. 

Mr.  Armour  does  not  believe  in  turning 
his  business  over  to  others  and  merely  super- 
vising it  in  a  general  way.  Like  all  success- 
ful business  men,  he  has  a  rare  faculty  for 
dealing  with  details.  The  imprint  of  his 
hand  is  on  ever}^  part  of  the  great  enterprises 
he  carries  on  ;  his  personality  is  felt  every- 
where. Among  all  the  thousands  of  his 
employees  there  is  probably  not  one  who 
performs  the  daily  amount  of  labor  that  he 
does  himself.  He  is  not  a  man  to  merely 
say,  "  Do  this,  or  that,"  but  is  himself  a 
worker,  and  is  always  found  at  his  post. 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Armour  is  a  very 
benevolent  man,  giving  away  large  sums  of 
money  and  doing  this,  not  merely  by  spas- 
modic contribution,  but  as  a  daily  habit. 
He  not  only  gets,  but  he  gives,  and  in  this 
respect  his  ideas  and  activities  are  on  a  scale 
with  the  vast  plans  that  enter  into  his  busi- 
ness.    The  Armour   Mission   is   one  of  the 


i  religious  institutions  of  Chicago,  and  he  is 
not  content  merely  to  provide  the  ways  and 
means,  but  also  shows  his  interest  in  the 
work   by  his  personal   presence   and  super- 

I  vision. 

j  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Armour  is 
something  more  than  a  man  of  business,  con- 
fining his  thoughts  and  energies  entirely  to 
his  own  immediate  concerns.     As  a  citizen 

,  he  is  interested  in  public  affairs,  although  he 
has  never  sought  office.  He  has  been  willing 
that  others   should   occupy  positions   which 

I  could  have  been  filled  most  satisfactorily  by 
a  man  of  his  ability  and  character.     Honors 

i  would  have  been  placed  upon  him  by  his 
fellow-citizens  if  he  had  been  willing  to 
receive  them ;  but  he  has  never  sought 
them,  and  when  they  have  sought  him  he  has 
gracefully  declined. 

While  such  a  man  would  doubtless  have 
achieved  great  success  in  any  pursuit,  it 
seems  evident  that  Mr.  Armour  luckily  found 
the  one  to  which  he  was  especially  adapted. 
He  has  given  very  close  attention  to  it,  and 
from  first  to  last  has  been  a  working  man. 
He  has  no  time  to  waste.  With  him  life 
means  unremitting  labor  and  the  furtherance 
of  his  great  enterprises.  It  is  impossible  to 
conceive  of  a  man  possessed  of  his  energy 
and  business  capacity  contenting  himself 
with  meagre  results.  He  does  not  look  at 
obstacles  and  hesitate ;  he  masters  them  by 
the  force  of  his  will  and  the  energy  of  his 
active  nature.  His  honorable  career  is  well 
worthy  to  be  recorded  as  an  example  and 
a  stimulus  to  others  who  are  engaged  in 
industrial  pursuits. 

One  of  the  most  magnificent  presents 
Chicago  ever  received  was  from  him,  and  the 
Armour  Institute,  fully  endowed,  stands  not 
only  as  one  of  the  finest  ornaments  of  the 
city,  but  also  as  a  monument  that  will  per- 
petuate the  memory  and  philanthropic  dis- 

I  position  of  the  founder. 


THOMAS  B.  REED. 


THE  history  of  our  country  shows 
that  in  everj'  great  crisis  and.emer- 
gency  men  have  come  forward  who 
were  equal  to  the  occasion.  An 
extraordinary  demand  has  always  developed 
extraordinary  characters  and  has  been  fruit- 
ful in  remarkable  achievements.  From  the 
period  of  the  Revolution  down  to  the  pre- 
sent time,  statesmen  who  would  compare 
favorably  with  those  of  any  other  nation, 
have  appeared  upon  the  scene  of  action. 
Those  who  established  our  national  policy 
and  guided  the  young  republic  through 
its  early  career,  were  not  more  conspicuous 
than  those  who,  in  later  times,  have  shaped 
the  events  whose  record  is  written  upon  the 
enduring  pages  of  history.  It  is  but  just  to 
say  that  our  nation  has  been  gifted  with  wise 
and  able  statesmen,  nor  do  we  need  to  go  far 
back  to  discover  their  names. 

Stormy  times  always  bring  grand  men  to 
the  front,  the  occasion  affording  opportunity 
for  leaders  of  intellectual  force,  heroic  cour- 
age and  glowing  patriotism.  It  has  been  no 
light  task  to  guide  American  affairs  during 
the  period  immediately  following  our  great 
Civil  War.  The  conflict  of  opinions  has 
raged  under  the  dome  of  the  Capitol.  This 
was  only  to  be  expected,  for  a  nation  like 
ours,  covering  so  vast  an  extent  of  territory, 
the  life  of  which  is  composed  of  interests  so 
varied,  and  where  there  is  always  a  strong 
local  feeling,  must  find  that  there  will  be 
differences  of  opinion  respecting  many  ques- 
tions of  national  policy. 

Few  men  have  lately  occupied  more  public 
attention  than  Thomas  Brackett  Reed,  a  man 
constructed  on  a  broad  plan,  with  abundance 
of  material  put  into  his  original  composition, 
and  physically  and  intellectually  the  peer  of 
the  most  conspicuous  Americans  who  have 
gone  before  him.  As  a  party  leader,  he  has  ] 
924 


shown  pre-eminent  abilities,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  possesses  the  elements  of  personal 
popularity  to  a  remarkable  degree.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  gained  his  full  growth,  is  not 
confined  within  narrow  limits,  and  is  so 
ample  in  thought,  energy  and  deed,  that  he 
must  be  considered  a  grand  outgrowth  of 
American  institutions. 

Mr.  Reed  was  born  in  Maine,  October 
1 8th,  1839.  After  the  usual  common-school 
education,  which  the  most  of  American  boys 
are  fortunate  in  being  able  to  obtain,  he  con- 
tinued his  studies  and  graduated  at  Bowdoin 
College  in  i860.  The  choice  of  his  profes- 
sion was  that  of  law,  and  he  immediately 
began  its  study  after  leaving  College.  For  a 
short  time  he  was  diverted  from  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  becoming  acting  paymaster 
in  the  Navy  in  1864.  Here,  however,  he 
remained  only  a  year,  and  then  resumed  his 
profession. 

His  comprehensive  knowledge  of  current 
politics  and  his  sound  Republican  principles 
made  him  widely  known  in  his  own  localit}% 
and  he  was  honored  with  an  election  to  the 
lower  branch  of  the  Maine  Legislature  in 
1868.  At  the  next  election,  he  was  made 
Senator  and  was  transferred  to  the  upper 
house.  For  two  years  he  was  attorney- 
general  of  the  State,  and  city  solicitor  for 
Portland  for  a  term  of  four  years.  During 
all  this  time  his  reputation  was  extending, 
his  marked  qualities  were  showing  them- 
selves, his  strong  individuality  was  attracting 
observation,  and  it  became  evident  that  he 
had  abundant  qualifications  for  a  sphere  of 
the  widest  political  action. 

The  next  step  in  his  career  was  his  election 
to  Congress,  in  1876.  He  has  since  been 
continuousl}' re-elected,  a  fact  in  itself  afford- 
ing sufficient  evidence  of  his  great  popularity 
and  the  unbounded    confidence  reposed   in 


z^' 

1 

1 

fH  -^^ 

^^^^ 

\ 

"^ 

y 

A.  i.'^.. 

m:' 

^. 

,%^ 

THOMAS    B    REED 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


925 


him  by  his  constituents.  It  was  soon  ad- 
mitted in  Washington  that  a  man  of  extra- 
ordinary parts  had  taken  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  did  not  com- 
mit the  error  of  expressing  his  views  on 
every  Httle  subject,  on  every  httle  occasion, 
but  when  the  turning-points  came  and  mat- 
ters of  weighty  import  were  to  be  decided, 
'Sir.  Reed  stood  in  tlie  centre  of  the  arena,  a 
vahant  champion  of  his  party  faith,  and  an  op- 
Donent  with  whom  few  dared  to  measure  arms.  I 


Representatives.  Men  who  had  resorted  to 
the  most  unscrupulous  methods  for  defeating 
projects  which  they  did  not  favor,  were 
respectfully  but  firmly  told  to  take  a  back 
seat.  Rules  were  adopted  for  "  counting  a 
quorum,"  and  permitting  public  business  to 
be  transacted,  a  very  wise  and  indispensable 
proceeding,  as  would  be  said  by  any  man  of 
common  sense.  It  was  justly  concluded  that 
where  something  was  expected  to  be  done,  it 
was   the  height   of   idiocy  and  obstinacy  to 


Mr.  Reed  showed  an  intricate  knowledge  1  allow  a  small  minority  to  paralyze  all  action, 
of  parliamentary  law  and  usages,  having  |  resulting  in  the  doing  of  nothing, 
made  the  conduct  of  public  business  a  special  j  As  might  have  been  expected,  a  storm  of 
study.  He  was  quick  to  detect  any  blunder  criticism  was  awakened.  In  the  midst  of  it 
or  mistake  in  the  deliberations  and  modes  of  all  Mr.  Reed  stood  like  a  rock,  conscious 
procedure  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  '  that  he  was  right  and  that  the  position  he 
Naturally  he  became  the  leader  of  his  party, 
having  a  clear  and  comprehensive  conception 
of  its  principles,  and  being  able  to  express 
his  views  with  such  force  and  eloquence  as 
to  command  attention.  He  assumed  his 
position  at  the   front  without  effort,  without 


had  taken  was  a  public  necessity.  Americans 
do  not  like  a  weak  man.  They  had  found  a 
strong  one,  and  the  entire  approbation  of  his 
party  sustained  Mr.  Reed  and  applauded  his 
administration.  He  was  unmoved  by  assaults, 
bitter  criticisms,  storms  of  vituperation.  His 
courting  favor,  purely  upon  his  own  merits  !  enemies  gave  him  the  title  of  "  Czar,"  berated 


as  a  statesman  of  broad  views,  generous  im- 
pulses, magnetic  force  and  calm  judgment. 

He  became  the  central  figure  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  in  the  Fifty-first  Con- 
gress was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House.  It 
soon  became  evident  that  a  man  of  stern  will 
and  remarkable  executive  ability  was  in  the 
chair.  Business  was  to  go  on.  The  country 
expected  legislation  and  was  to  have  it.    The 


what  they  called  his  tyranny,  yet  inwardly 
respected  him  and  bowed  before  the  majesty 
of  his  will.  Time  has  justified  fully  the 
position  Mr.  Reed  assumed,  and  the  very  rules 
which  the  minority  opposed  they  were  com- 
pelled to  adopt  when  they  became  the  majority. 
Mr.  Reed's  views  upon  great  public  ques- 
tions are  so  well  known  as  to  require  little 
reference    here.     Suffice    it    to    say,   he  is  a 


subterfuges  and  delays  for  defeating  measures  I  thorough  American,  believes  in  a  strong  for- 


of  public  importance  were  to  be  branded  as 
infamous.  The  old-time  usages  and  rules 
which  blocked  legislative  machinery  were  to 
be  dragged  forth  and  slain,  as  .Samuel  hewed 
Agag  in  pieces  before  the  Lord  in  Gilgal. 

Of  course,  there  was  a  stir  among  the  dry 
bones.  It  had  never  been  so  seen  in  Wash- 
ington before.  A  new  man  was  at  the  helm, 
a  new  life   and  vigor  were  infused  into  the 


eign  policy,  is  an  advocate  of  reasonable  pro- 
tection to  American  industries,  and  stands 
with  his  windows  open  to  the  light,  ready  for 
any  and  all  measures  that  will  promote  the 
widest  public  welfare. 

In  personal  characteristics  and  force  of 
character  Mr.  Reed  is  a  typical  American 
and  seems  abundantly  able  to  bear  the  re- 
sponsibilities which  have  fallen  to  his  lot  as 


deliberations   and  actions  of   the   House    of   a  public  man. 


MELVILLE  W.  FULLER. 


LAWYERS  of  high  reputation  are 
found  in  all  parts  of  our  country, 
and  here,  more  than  in  almost  any 
other  profession,  it  is  difficult  to 
draw  distinctions  and  say  that  one  is  superior 
to  another.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  profession 
of  law  exhibits  keen  intellectual  ability  and 
marked  oratorical  power. 

Some  members  of  the  profession  have  been 
eminent  as  jurists,  such  as  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  and  Chief  Justice  Chase.  Others 
have  been  eloquent  pleaders,  like  Webster 
and  Choate.  Others  have  excelled  in  that 
intellectual  acuteness  which  is  especially  re- 
quired in  untangling  the  meshes  of  the  law. 

It  is  true  that  very  able  jurists  have  been 
placed  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Yet  these  never  have  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of 
legal  talent.  Others  of  equal  ability  might 
have  been  elevated  to  the  same  position,  ful- 
filling its  duties  with  equal  efficiency. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  did  not  have  a 
national  reputation  until  he  was  nominated 
for  Chief  Justice  by  President  Cleveland  and 
promptly  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  That 
such  an  honor  is  great  is  universally  con- 
ceded ;  it  is  one  of  the  highest  that  can  be 
conferred.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Supreme 
Court  is  peculiarly  the  pride  and  glory  of  our 
country.  Although  this  was  said  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Court  and  appears  to  have  a  touch 
of  self-praise  about  it,  nevertheless  it  must 
be  admitted  to  be  true.  Here  is  the  tribunal 
of  last  resort.  Here  questions  are  decided 
which  pertain  even  to  the  Constitution  and 
government  of  the  country.  Matters  of  the 
gravest  import  are  constantly  before  the 
Court,  vast  interests  hinging  upon  their  de- 
cision. Beyond  this  tribunal  there  is  no 
appeal.  Its  word  is  final  and  is  not  to  be 
disputed.  Its  decisions  pass  into  laws,  into 
principles  of  action,  and  even  become  a  part 
of  our  unwritten  Constitution. 
926 


History  furnishes  a  record  of  many  tribu- 
nals, some  just,  some  unjust,  some  cruel,  some 
merciful,  some  pure,  and  many  corrupt,  but 
in  all  the  long  story  of  civilization  from  an- 
cient Egypt  down  through  the  Greek  and 
Roman  Empires  to  the  present  day,  there 
can  be  found  no  judicial  organization  more 
worthy  of  high  honor  and  profound  respect 
than  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Intimately  interwoven  as  its  proceedings 
have  been  with  the  national  and  individual 
life  of  our  people,  calmly  deciding,  as  it  has, 
matters  of  the  gravest  import,  involving  vast 
measures  of  wealth,  political  consequences 
unmeasurable  in  mere  money,  and  questions 
on  the  turn  of  which  hung  millions  of  lives, 
no  taint  of  suspicion  ever  sullied  its  honor, 
the  serious  charge  has  seldom  made,  even  in 
the  heat  of  sectional  strife  and  bitterness,  that 
its  decision,  or  the  decisions  of  its  individual 
members,  were  guided  by  aught  save  the 
cold,  passionless  mandate  of  the  law,  clothed 
with  the  significance  that  each  one  attached 
to  its  utterance. 

It  was  characterized  by  an  eminent  jurist 
as  "  The  court  which  interprets  the  living 
voice  of  the  Constitution."  "  In  whatever 
has  concerned  the  national  welfare,  this  court 
has,"  he  said,  "  always  stood  for  the  con- 
science of  the  people  of  the  United  States." 

The  character  and  eminence  of  its  mem- 
bers must  ever  be  a  subject  of  deepest  inter- 
est to  all  Americans,  for  it  is  readily  conceiv- 
able that  without  a  Marshall,  a  Waite,  a 
Storey  and  a  Chase,  as  Chief  Justices,  our 
national  and  political  development  might 
have  proceeded  upon  lines  far  different  from 
the  ones  which  it  has  followed. 

The  position  held  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
the  importance  of  the  cases  brought  to  its 
judgment  and  the  far-reaching  effects  of  its 
decisions,  require  jurists  of  the  most  profound 
learning,  the  widest  experience,  the  utmost 


MELVILLE    W.     FULLER. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


)27 


patience  and  candor,  and  personal  characters 
above  reproach.  That  JMr.  Fuller  meets  these 
requirements  to  a  most  eminent  degree,  is 
universally  admitted.  He  was  born  in  Au- 
gusta, Maine,  February  ii,  1833,  and  twenty 
years  later  graduated  from  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege, an  institution  which  has  been  peculiarly 
favored  in  its  distinguished  graduates.  Hav- 
ing studied  law  at  Harvard  College,  Mr. 
Fuller  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  his  native  cit%-  in  1S55. 

His  mind  seems  to  have  had  a  leaning 
toward  journalism,  and  he  became  the  editor 
of  the  Augusta  Age,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  became  prominent  in  local  politics,  having 
been  made  president  of  the  Common  Council 
during  his  editorship.  In  1S56  he  was 
elected  City  Attorney.  But,  like  many  young 
men  born  and  reared  in  New  England,  he 
was  seized  with  the  Western  fever,  and  de- 
termined to  go  West  to  find  a  wider  field  for 
his  energies.  He  removed  to  Chicago,  where, 
for  thirty-two  years,  he  conducted  a  highly 
successful  law  practice,  having  gained  imme- 
diately a  wide  reputation  for  legal  acumen, 
and  for  honorable  methods  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  cases. 

At  the  same  time,  he  did  not  divorce  him- 
self from  public  affairs.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Illinois  Constitutional  Convention  in 
1862,  and  of  the  Illinois  House  of  Represen- 
tatives in  1863.  A  strong  Democrat,  he 
served  as  a  delegate  to  all  the  national  Con- 
ventions from  1864  to  1880  inclusive,  and 
was  always  prominent  in  the  councils  of  his 
party,  where  his  word  had  the  greatest  influ- 
ence. His  successful  career  naturally  pointed 
to  a  higher  position  of  service  than  he  had 
hitherto  occupied.  Not  only  the  men  of  his 
own  party,  but  his  fellow-citizens  generally 
looked  upon  him  as  an  able,  honorable  and 
upright  man. 

When  President  Cleveland  selected  him  to 
fill  the  vacancy  on  the  Supreme  Bench  of  the 


United  States  caused  hy  the  death  of  Chief 
Justice  Waite,  the  choice  was  pronounced  a 
wise  one  b}-  those  who  knew  Mr.  Fuller  best. 
Those  who  had  not  known  him  were  some- 
what surprised  at  his  selection,  but  subse- 
quent events  have  justified  the  wisdom  of  the 
choice.  He  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate 
July  20,  1888,  and  took  the  oath  of  office  on 
the  8th  of  October  following. 

In  the  social  life  of  Washington,  Mr.  Fuller 
and  his  family  are  widely  known,  making  it 
a  point  to  entertain  their  friends  and  show 
attention  to  strangers.  Their  delightful  hos- 
pitalities are  widely  extended  and  thoroughly 
enjoyed.  A  large  family  of  daughters,  bright 
\  and  well  educated,  lend  attraction  to  the 
home.  These  have  been  reared,  not  after  the 
straight-laced  fashion,  but,  while  placed  under 
judicious  parental  restraint,  they  have  been 
allowed  such  freedom  as  develops  individu- 
ality of  character,  and,  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent, independence  of  action.  They  think 
for  themselves,  have  opinions  of  their  own, 
and  are  fully  equal  to  all  the  social  func- 
tions in  which  thej-  are  required  to  take 
part. 

Mr.  Fuller  has  received  the  degree  of 
LL.D.  from  Bowdoin  College,  and  also  from 
the  Northwestern  University.  This  is  simply 
the  recognition  of  those  distinguished  abilities 
which  have  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the 
highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  land.  In 
person  he  is  of  medium  height  and  build, 
and  not  at  all  remarkable  for  what  we  are  in 
the  habit  of  calling  "  presence."  His  hair  is 
white  and  is  worn  long;  his  face  smooth, 
with  the  exception  of  a  somewhat  heavy 
mustache.  His  features  are  clear  cut,  giving 
evidence  of  the  scholar  and  the  thinker. 

His  decisions  are  marked  by  learning,  pro- 
found insight  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  and 
a  simplicity  and  clearness  of  expression 
which  render  them  capable  of  being  compre- 
hended by  the  average  mind. 


JOHN  WANAMAKER. 


THE  career  of  no  business  man  in 
the  United  States  has  been  more 
successful  than  that  of  John  Wana- 
maker.  From  the  poor  boy  to  the 
foremost  merchant  of  our  time,  is  an  amazing 
step.  Others  may  be  accounted  self-made 
men,  miracles  we  might  call  them  of  energy 


exhibiting  itself  under  all  circumstances. 
The  man  who  is  a  natural-born  leader  is 
pretty  sure  to  lead  wherever  you  place  him. 
He  carries  in  his  own  strong  will  and  iron 
arm  successes  beyond  the  reach  of  feebler 
men.  Such  an  one  does  not  need  to  have 
greatness  thrust   upon  him ;  he   is  great  al- 


and achievement,  but  to   no  other  does  the  i  ready.     The  world  always  has  estimated,  and 
term  phenomenal  apply  with  as  much  force    always  will  estimate,  men  by  their  successes. 


as  it  does  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch 

Not  only  is  Mr.  Wanamaker  the  greatest 
merchant  in  America,  he  is  also  one  of  our 
greatest  men.  By  this  we  do  not  mean  that 
he  is  brilliant  from  all  points  of  view,  that  he 
is  a  profound  scholar  or  a  great  orator,  but 
in  all  the  elements  which  go  to  form  a  true 
and  noble  manhood,  a  man  successful  in  all 
his  undertakings,  and  a  private  and  public 
citizen  of  pre-eminent  worth  and  influence, 
he  may  be  considered  unique. 

It  has  been  quite  customary  for  instruc- 
tors of  the  rising  generation  to  point  to  Mr. 
Wanamaker  as  a  shining  example  for  young 
men.  The  young  as  well  as  the  old  learn 
best  from  object  lessons.  That  Mr.  Wana- 
maker should  have  been  selected  so  fre- 
quently as  a  pattern  for  imitation  is  not 
surprising  to  those  who  know  him  best. 
Standing  conspicuously  as  he  does  before 
the  public,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
he  should  have  his  critics,  perhaps  even 
enemies.  All  positive  characters  do  have 
them,  and  it  is  greatly  to  their  credit  that  the)- 
do.     What  impresses  one  especially  is,  that 


Judged  by  this  inevitable  standard,  Mr. 
Wanamaker  is  a  Saul  among  the  Prophets. 

He  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  July  ii, 
1838  ;  attended  a  country  school  until  he  was 
fourteen,  and  there  obtained  about  the  only 
education  he  ever  received.  His  first  place 
was  that  of  messenger  boy  with  the  publish- 
ing house  of  Troutman  &  Hayes,  at  the  ex- 
ceedingly modest  salary  of  $1.25  a  week.  He 
lived  over  four  miles  from  the  store,  and 
footed  it  morning  and  evening,  eating  at 
noon  the  plain  lunch  brought  with  him  from 
home,  put  up  for  him  by  a  loving  mother's 
hands.  Subsequently  the  family  lived  for  a 
time  in  Kosciusko  County,  Indiana,  but  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia  in  1856,  where  young 
Wanamaker  eventually  obtained  employment 
in  Tower  Hall,  then  the  largest  clothing 
house  in  that  city. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  in  1861, 
when  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  he 
married  Miss  Brown,  and,  having  obtained  a 
very  small  capital,  he  went  into  the  clothing 
business  in  partnership  with  his  brother-in- 
law.     Here  the   qualities  of  the   man  began 


Mr.  Wanamaker    has  so  many  sides  to  his  i  to  show  themselves,  and  he  became  conspic- 


character,  and  shows  so  much  of  genius,  not 
only  in  one  direction,  but  in  many.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  if  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  any  other  pursuit  than  the  mercan- 
tile, he  would  instantly  have  come  to  the  front. 
The  secret  of  all  this  is  simply  in  the  man 
himself.  Having  the  ability,  it  cannot  help 
928 


uous  for  that  business  shrewdness,  push, 
and  perseverance,  enterprise,  courage,  and 
breadth  of  views  which  have  distinguished 
him  ever  since. 

Of  course,  the  business  prospered  and 
grew  rapidly,  until  in  time  his  clothing  house 
became  the   largest  in  America.     A  second 


JOHN     WANAilAKUR. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


929 


store  was  opened  in  the  city,  and  afterwards 
several  branch  houses  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  It  is  noticeable  that  from  early 
manhood  Mr.  Wanamaker  devoted  himself 
enthusiastically  to  religious  work,  his  activity 
in  this  respect  keeping  pace  with  that  dis- 
played in  his  business.  He  established  a 
mission  school  in  what  was  then  a  poor, 
neglected  part  of  the  city,  so  infested  with 
rough,  criminal  characters,  that  it  was 
scarcely  safe  for  a  respectable  citizen  to  walk 
through  its  streets  after  nightfall. 

This  mission  has  grown  to  amazing  pro- 
portions. It  was  the  forerunner  of  the  great 
Bethany  Church  and  Sunday-schools,  which 
have  attracted  attention,  not  merely  in  Phila- 
delphia, but  in  all  parts  of  the  countr\-.  It 
may  as  well  be  said  here  that  in  connection 
with  Bethany,  advantages  have  been  offered 
to  young  persons  in  humble  circumstances 
for  the  study  of  various  secular  branches,  a 
knowledge  of  which  is  intended  to  prepare 
them  for  business  life.  Moreover,  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  for  the  founding  of 
an  institute  which  will  cost  from  one  to  two 
million  dollars,  where  at  a  nominal  rate 
young  persons  of  both  sexes  can  pursue 
academical  studies,  and  have  ample  opportu- 
nities for  manual  training.  This  is  one  of 
Mr.  Wanamaker's  crowning  achievements. 

After  the  Centennial  Exhibition  of  1876, 
with  the  financial  management  of  which  he 
was  prominently  connected,  he  opened  the 
great  general  store  in  Philadelphia  which 
continues  to  be  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
age.  It  occupies  an  entire  square  in  one 
direction  and  half  this  space  in  another.  The 
building  was  once  a  large  freight  depot,  and 
when  Mr.  Wanamaker  conceived  the  idea 
of  opening  a  store  of  such  gigantic  dimen- 
sions it  was  freely  prophesied  that  he  would 
fail.  Notwithstanding  all  reports  to  the  con- 
trary, there  has  doubtless  never  been  a  time 
when    Mr.  Wanamaker  was    anvwherc  near 

09 


the  point  of  failing.  Failure  does  not  seem 
to  be  in  the  man. 

Mr.  Wanamaker's  methods  of  conducting 
business  have  shown  his  original  genius. 
These  have  been  quite  different  from  those 
long  pursued,  being  especially  noticeable  in 
the  liberality  shown  to  the  public.  They  are 
made  to  feel  quite  at  home  in  the  great 
establishment,  are  treated  with  the  utmost 
courtesy,  and  if,  after  making  purchases, 
these  are  not  satisfactory,  they  can  be  re- 
turned. The  theory  is,  that  to  treat  the 
public  liberally  pays. 

Quite  naturally  Mr.  Wanamaker  became 
prominent  as  a  citizen  and  public  man.  He 
appeared  to  have  no  ambition  for  office,  but 
for  many  years  was  fully  occupied  with  the 
management  of  his  vast  concerns.  His  coun- 
sel and  advice  were,  however,  often  sought, 
and  it  is  probable  that  no  preferment  within 
the  gift  of  his  native  city  would  have  been 
denied  him.  But  he  was  destined  to  hold  a 
much  higher  position  and  one  that  would 
identify  him  with  the  affairs  of  the  nation  at 
large.  Having  many  times  declined  public 
office,  in  1889  he  accepted  the  portfolio  of 
Postmaster-General  in  President  Harrison's 
Cabinet,  and  introduced  into  the  department 
the  most  approved  business  methods.  His 
efficient  administration  did  much  toward 
perfecting  and  extending  the  postal  service. 

Mr  Wanamaker  has  long  been  distin- 
guished for  his  liberal  contributions  to 
benevolent  work,  and  it  is  certain  that  more 
than  one  institution,  endowed  by  his  munifi- 
cence, will  stand  as  a  monument  to  his  busi- 
ness capacity  and  liberal  spirit. 

He  takes  the  view  that  a  considerable  part 
of  his  vast  estate  should  be  distributed  dur- 
ing his  lifetime  under  his  own  care  and 
supervision.  He  is  not  willing  merely  to 
part  with  his  money  when  compelled  to  by 
grim  death,  after  the  example  of  a  great 
manv. 


CHARLES   FREDERICK   CRISP, 


M 


R.  CRISP  has  been  a  well-known 
figure  in  Congress  since  the  period 
of  his  first  election.  He  had 
gained  a  wide  celebrity  in  Geor- 
gia, liad  shown  himself,  in  various  ways,  to 
be  a  man  suited  to  leadership,  and  his  eleva- 
tion to  the  House  of  Representatives  was 
only  to  be  expected,  and  was  a  worthy  tribute 
to  the  man.  He  seems  to  have  been  by 
nature  marked  out  for  political  life,  and  it 
will  be  generally  admitted  that  in  Washington 
he  found  his  appropriate  sphere. 

Mr.  Crisp  was  born  in  Sheffield,  England, 
January  20,  1845.  His  parents  were  Ameri- 
cans, temporarily  residing  in  England,  and 
returned  to  this  country  in  1846,  when  the 
subject  of  the  sketch  was  about  one  year 
old.  Thus,  although  Mr.  Crisp  is  not  a  na- 
tive of  the  United  States,  he  comes  as  near  it 
as  one  possibly  can,  being  distinctively  Am- 
erican by  parentage  and  education. 

The  family  having  settled  in  Georgia,  the  i 
boy  was  placed  in  the  common  schools,  where 
he  received  his  education.  While  quick  to 
learn  and  exhibiting  qualities  of  mind  much 
above  the  average,  he  also  displayed  marked 
traits  which  have  been  prominent  through 
all  his  subsequent  career.  He  was  indepen- 
dent, positive,  aggressive,  and  self-reliant. 
He  was  not  in  the  habit  of  allowing  any  of 
his  rights  to  be  invaded  without  showing 
quick  resentment.  In  time,  he  became  a 
leader  among  the  young  men  by  whom  he 
was  surrounded,  and  over  whom  he  exerted 
great  influence. 

Even  at  this  period  he  seemed  to  combine 
in  a  remarkable  degree  wise  foresight  and 
judgment  with  impetuous  force.  He  was 
evidently  born  to  be  a  power  in  whatever 
sphere  or  circumstances  placed  him.  He 
shared  the  spirit  of  the  South  which  flamed 
out  in  secession,  and  in  this  he  was  only  like 
930 


the  great  body  of  young  men  in  the  Southern 
States.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  quite 
largely  the  Confederate  Army  was  composed 
of  this  class.  They  were  strong  in  their  con- 
victions ;  they  were  eager  for  action  in  the 
field ;  they  were  willing  to  take  risks  and 
make  sacrifices.  They  did  not  count  their 
lives  dear  to  them,  and  history  shows  that 
tens  of  thousands  of  them  fell  upon  the 
battle-field,  reddening  its  sod  with  their  warm 
blood. 

In  1861  Mr.  Crisp  entered  the  Confederate 
army  as  a  lieutenant.  He  saw  a  good  deal  of 
active  service  in  the  field,  showed  himself  to 
be  a  good  soldier,  and  won  the  approbation 
of  his  superiors.  He  was  a  prisoner  of  war 
from  May,  1864,  until  June,  1865.  After  his 
release  he  studied  law,  and  practiced  first  at 
Ellaville,  and  afterward  at  Americus,  Ga., 
which  latter  place  became  his  subsequent 
home.  He  quickly  took  high  rank  in  his 
profession,  and  gained  rapid  prominence, 
being  well  thought  of  by  older  lawyers  as 
well  as  by  the  community  in  which  he  lived. 

In  1872  he  was  appointed  solicitor-general 
of  the  South-western  Judicial  Court,  and  held 
that  office  until  the  middle  of  1877,  when  he 
became  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the 
same  circuit.  He  showed  himself  to  be 
fully  equipped  for  the  exacting  duties  of  his 
position,  lending  dignity  to  his  office,  and 
evincing  that  impartial  spirit  which  properly 
belongs  to  the  occupant  of  the  judicial  bench. 
He  could  have  remained  in  this  position  if  he 
had  chosen,  but  whether  satisfied  with  his 
successes  or  not,  his  fellow-citizens  had 
already  expressed  their  wishes  to  have  him 
represent  them  at  Washington. 

He  resigned  from  the  bench  in  September, 
1882,  to  accept  the  Democratic  nomination 
for  Congress.  He  was  permanent  president 
of  the  Democratic  Convention  which  assem- 


CHARLES    FREDERICK     CS.ISP. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


931 


bled  in  Atlanta  in  April,  1883,  to  nominate  a 
caaciiuate  for  governor.  Thus  his  steps  ail 
seemed  to  be  in  the  natural  order  of  things, 
one  following  the  other  in  a  kind  of  logical 
sequence.  He  was  elected  to  the  Forty- 
eighth  Congress,  and  immediately  took  high 
rank  among  the  members  of  the  House, 
being  prominent  on  all  occasions  in  the 
deliberations  of  his  party,  and  regarded  as 
one  of  the  wisest  and  most  efficient  leaders. 

When  the  Democratic  party  came  into 
power  with  Mr.  Cleveland's  second  adminis- 
tration, Mr.  Crisp  was  unanimously  selected 
to  assume  the  responsible  duties  of  Speaker 
of  the  House,  and  was  chosen  to  that  position. 
His  knowledge  of  parliamentary  law,  his  ex- 
perience upon  the  floor  of  Congress,  his 
character  for  impartial  judgment,  gained 
when  connected  with  the  courts  of  his 
adopted  State,  all  marked  him  out  as  pos- 
sessing the  necessaiy  qualifications  for  the 
Speakership.  During  the  sessions  of  the 
Fifty-second  Congress  he  added  greatly  to 
his  reputation,  and  it  was  generally  conceded 
that  he  was  a  worthy  successor  of  the  able 
presiding  officers  who  had  gone  before  him. 

Even  his  political  opponents  agreed  that 
his  rulings  and  decisions  showed  at  all  times 
careful  consideration,  and  were  unbiased  by 
prejudice. 

In  manner,  Mr.  Crisp  is  a  type  of  the  cul- 
tivated gentleman,  urbane,  cordial,  courteous, 
and  approachable  upon  all  occasions.  Pos- 
sessed of  great  independence  and  resolution, 
always  looking  at  public  questions  from  a 
practical  point  of  view,  firm  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  his  opinions,  and  immovable  as  a 
rock  when  conscious  that  he  is  in  the  right, 
he  affords  a  central  point  around  which  the 
sentiment  of  his  party  shapes  itself  In  de- 
bate, he  is  incisive,  fluent,  forcible,  and  ordi- 
narily shows  a  thorough  study  and  complete 
grasp  of  his  subject. 

He  has  proved  himself  to  be  a  formidable 


antagonist,  and  many  are  the  weapons  of 
lesser  men  that  have  been  broken  upon  his 
shield,  and  have  fallen  harmless  at  his  feet. 
At  times  his  utterances  are  bold  and  almost 
defiant,  yet  his  evident  sincerity  assures  him 
a  respectful  hearing,  while  the  honesty  of 
his  convictions  is  always  plainly  apparent. 
Taking  him  all  in  all,  he  is  a  typical  repre- 
sentative of  the  locality  from  which  he  comes 
and  of  the  party  whose  ideas  and  principles 
he  holds  with  tenacity-  and  expounds  with 
such  marked  ability. 

After  the  shifting  fortunes  of  political  par- 
,  ties  had  deprived  Mr.  Crisp  of  his  position  at 
j  the  head  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  he 
resumed  his  place  on  the  floor  to  represent 
again  the  district  that  had  repeatedly  hon- 
ored him.  He  did  not  seem  to  lose  interest 
in  national  legislation,  but,  although  acting 
with  the  minority,  and  knowing  beforehand 
that  measures  advocated  by  himself  and 
friends  were  not  certain  to  be  passed,  he  did 
not  relax  his  vigilance,  or  in  any  way  dimin- 
ish his  efforts  in  behalf  of  what  he  deemed 
essential  to  the  public  welfare. 

By  common  consent  he  was  the  leader  of 
his  party,  and,  being  so  regarded,  he  had 
the  chief  voice  in  its  deliberations.  His  en- 
tire history  as  a  public  man  had  been  so  free 
from  mistakes,  and  so  contrary  to  the  in- 
trigues of  the  mere  self-seeking  partisan,  that 
he  commanded  the  utmost  respect  and  confi- 
dence. It  was  sufficient  to  know  what  were 
his  views  on  public  questions  in  order  to 
gather  around  him  a  strong  and  lo}'al  band 
of  supporters. 

Not  that  he  has  ever  been  in  the  habit  of 
exercising  a  domineering  spirit,  or  of  show- 
ing any  attempt  to  override  the  honest  con- 
victions of  other  men.  His  appeal  has  always 
been  to  reason  and  common  sense.  Mr. 
Crisp's  native  qualities  have  been  his  success; 
at  the  same  time  they  have  been  quickened 
by  a  broad  culture  and  large  experience. 


MARSHALL  FIELD. 


GIVEN  the  man   and  the   opportu-  j 
nitj%  and  the  combination  is  com-  ! 
plete.     The    opportunity  is    the 
great  West,  even  the  world  ;  the 
man  is  ilarshall  Field. 

There  is  no  special  merit  in  being  an 
Eastern  boy  or  being  born  even  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Yet,  in  numerous  instances,  our 
Eastern  boys,  who  are  the  flowering  and  the 
growth  of  a  hard-headed,  industrious,  thrifty 
ancestry,  have  honored  their  parentage,  have 
amassed  fortunes  and  risen  to  enviable  posi- 
tions in  every  walk  of  life.  It  is  useless  to 
say  that  nothing  depends  upon  the  kind  of 
stuff  of  which  a  young  man  is  made.  No 
one  can  sharpen  a  stick  and  make  of  it  a 
razor. 

That  enterprises  should  be  conducted  on  a 
grand  scale  in  Chicago  and  other  parts  of  the 
West,  is  only  to  be  expected.  Man's  plans 
appear  to  follow  nature's,  and  nature's  plans 
in  America  are  broad  and  comprehensive. 
Our  rivers  are  more  than  rivulets,  our  prairies 
are  more  than  garden  patches,  our  Northern 
lakes  have  a  suggestion  of  the  sea  about 
them,  and  in  keeping  with  this  breadth  and 
fulness  is  American  enterprise.  We  are  an 
ambitious,  nervous,  pushing,  money-making 
people.  The  Eastern  boy,  in  fact,  every  boy, 
has  dreams  of  a  fortune. 

Marshall  Field  was  born  in  Conway,  Mass., 
in  1835.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  that, 
too,  in  a  locality  where  it  is  no  easy  matter 
to  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one 
grew  before.  It  was  not  needful  that  the 
father  should  make  fortunes  and  successes  for 
the  son  ;  the  son  had  fortunes  and  successes 
in  himself  He  went  to  Chicago  in  1856  and 
obtained  employment  in  the  wholesale  dry- 
goods  house  of  Cooley,  Wadsworth  &  Co., 
afterward  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co.,  and  subse- 
quently the  John  V.  Farwell  Company. 


In  1S60  he  obtained  an  interest  in  the  con- 
cern, but  in  1S65  Mr.  Field  and  L.  Z.  Leiter 
withdrew  from  the  house,  and  in  connection 
with  Potter  Palmer  organized  the  firm  of 
Field,  Palmer  &  Leiter.  Air.  Palmer  with- 
drew in  1867,  and  the  firm  became  Field, 
Leiter  &  Co.  Since  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Leiter,  in  1881,  the  house  has  been  known  by 
the  name  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co. 

To  say  that  its  business  has  been  extended, 
not  only  throughout  America,  but  into  other 
parts  of  the  world,  until  it  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  extensive  of  its  kind  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  speaks  volumes  for  the  tact  and 
enterprise,  sound  judgment  and  persevering 
energy  of  those  who  have  had  the  manage- 
ment of  it.  While  Mr.  Field  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  men  of  ability  and  not  capable  of 
making  many  mistakes,  his  guiding  thought 
and  practical  business  talent  have  been  dis- 
played throughout. 

This  great  mercantile  establishment  has 
branches  in  Paris,  Manchester,  Yokohama 
and  other  foreign  centres,  and  carries  on  a 
business  that  amounts  to  many  million  dollars 
a  year — just  how  many  it  would  be  difficult  to 
say,  for  the  reason  that  in  every  mercantile 
establishment  the  volume  of  business  may 
vary  according  to  times  and  circumstances. 
The  amount  of  labor  involved  in  starting, 
extending  and  conducting  a  business  of  such 
vast  proportions  can  be  known  only  to  those 
by  whom  the  burden  has  been  borne. 

Let  no  one  suppose  for  a  moment  that  there 
has  been  any  recklessness  which  rushes  on 
without  taking  any  thought  of  consequences. 
There  has  been  a  conservative  management 
on  the  one  hand,  and  a  bold,  energetic,  for- 
ward movement  on  the  other.  There  has 
been  nothing  whatever  in  the  nature  of  wild 
speculation.  There  has  been  no  jumping  at 
chances,  but  in  a.  straightforward,  mathema- 


MARSHALL     FIELD. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


933 


tical  way,  business  has  been  pushed,  and  the 
results  could  almost  be  foreseen.  This  seems  | 
to  have  been  the  great  cardinal  principle  on  I 
which  Mr.  Field  has  always  acted.  When  \ 
financial  depressions  have  come,  and  every 
morning's  bulletin  made  startling  announce- 
ments of  failures,  he  has  been  able  to  meet 
the  emergencies  and  conquer  all  threatening 
disaster.  It  is  said  that  his  rule  is  to  never 
borrow,  never  give  a  note,  never  to  speculate- 
in  stocks,  and  to  buy  for  cash. 

He  has  never  considered  himself  under 
any  obligation  to  be  influenced  by  the  whims 
and  caprices  of  the  hour.  When  others  have 
departed  from  sound  business  principles  and 
have  extended  credits  in  order  to  quicken 
the  pulses  of  trade,  he  has  marked  the  line  of 
danger  and  has  pursued  an  opposite  course. 

Moreover,  he  has  always  conducted  his 
dealings  with  a  view  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  public,  guaranteeing  the  quality  of  the 
goods  sold,  and  absolutely  refusing  to  sell 
goods  of  inferior  character.  Confidence  is 
one  of  the  corner-stones  of  sound  and  suc- 
cessful business.  The  man  who  deals  hon- 
estly and  justly,  who  is  willing  to  make  his 
word  good,  and  who  will  stand  by  every 
statement  made,  is  the  one  who  will  draw 
custom  and  reap  a  corresponding  benefit. 
Honesty  is  not  only  right,  but  it  is  the  best 
policy.  All  policy  aside,  honesty  should  be 
the  rule  of  action  because  it  is  right. 

In  Mr.  Field's  long  business  career,  he 
has,  of  course,  encountered  difficulties,  and 
has  sometimes  been  placed  in  trying  posi- 
tions. He  was  a  sufferer  from  the  great  fire 
in  1 87 1,  which  laid  a  large  part  of  Chicago 
in  ashes.  Although  well  insured,  so  many 
of  the  insurance  companies  failed  that  his 
losses  were  immense.  He  turned  away  from 
the  smouldering  ruins  of  his  establishment, 
and  with  new  energy  and  courage  started 
afresh.  On  the  corner  of  State  and  20th 
Streets  were  some  horse-car  sheds  that  had 


been  spared  by  the  fire ;  these  were  rented, 
business  was  re-established,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  new  stores  were  ready  to  be  occu- 
pied. Other  buildings  have  been  erected  since, 
as  they  were  needed,  equipped  with  all  facili- 
ties and  admirably  adapted  to  their  purpose. 

In  1873  came  the  great  panic  which  affect- 
ed the  business  of  the  entire  countrj-.  Few 
such  periods  of  depression  have  ever  been 
known,  and  many  of  the  strongest  concerns, 
some  of  which  were  almost  becoming  vener- 
able through  their  long  careers  of  prosperity-, 
were  compelled  to  succumb.  But  Mr.  Field's 
house  owed  nothing,  had  an  excellent  class 
of  customers,  who  had  paid  their  bills  up  to 
within  two  months  of  the  time  when  the 
panic  fell  with  such  disastrous  results,  and  it 
stood  like  a  rock.  Never  has  there  been  a 
time  since  it  was  founded  when  it  could  not 
promptly  meet  its  obligations. 

The  business  continued  to  grow  steadily 
until,  in  1885,  it  was  necessary  to  erect  ano- 
ther building.  This  was  constructed  of 
granite  and  sandstone,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
substantial  and  conveniently  arranged  dry- 
goods  establishments  in  the  world.  Building 
after  building  has  been  added  to  the  retail 
store  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of  the 
business. 

Mr.  Field  has  never  been  infatuated  with 
the  idea  of  making  money  merely  to  hoard 
it  up.  His  charities  are  large  and  without 
ostentation.  He  has  been  a  public-spirited 
citizen,  taking  an  interest  in  all  that  con- 
cerned the  growth  and  welfare  of  Chicago. 
Many  institutions  have  profited  by  his  liberal 
bequests.  He  gave  one  million  dollars  to 
the  Columbian  Museum  fund,  has  been  a 
large  contributor  to  the  Chicago  Universit}-, 
and  in  numberless  private  channels  has  shown 
his  benevolent  spirit.  It  is  but  simple  truth 
to  say  that  he  is  a  noble  specimen,  not  only  of 
the  merchant-prince,  but  of  the  highest  type 
of  man. 


JOHN  SHERMAN. 


OUR  Civil  War  and  the  stirring 
times  that  followed  it  have 
developed  some  statesmen  of 
distinguished  ability,  who  will 
long  be  remembered  and  honored  for  the 
invaluable  services  they  have  rendered  to 
the  nation.  There  is  ahvaj-s  a  large  class  of 
people  prating  about  the  "  good  old  times," 
telling  how  superior  the  early  statesmen 
were  to  those  of  more  recent  date,  glorifying 
the  founders  of  the  Republic,  and  implying 
that  with  their  death  a  large  part  of  our 
national  capacity  for  public  affairs  went  out 
of  existence,  never  to  return. 

It  is  well  to  be  patient  with  those  who  live 
in  the  shadow  of  bygone  days,  although  we 
may  be  compelled  to  pity  their  simplicity. 
They  show  very  little  knowledge  of  current 
history,  if  they  imagine  that  all  the  virtue 
and  all  the  statesmanship  belong  to  a  past 
generation.  With  all  due  respect  to  the 
ability  of  that  great  class  of  heroes  and 
patriots  whose  deeds  have  given  lustre  to  our 
early  American  history,  it  must  yet  be  re- 
membered that  there  are  giants  in  these 
days,  and  that  the  next  generation  will 
outline  their  figures  in  grand  proportions,  as 
we  do  those  of  former  times. 

The  name  of  John  Sherman  has  been 
closely  associated  with  our  national  affairs 
for  more  than  thirt}'  years.  During  this  long 
jjeriod  few  men  have  wrought  more  valiantly, 
have  stood  out  more  prominently  in  the  eye 
of  Ihe  nation,  have  marked  their  career  with 
greater  achievements  or  have  committed 
fewer  mistakes.  An  eminently  wise  and  safe 
man  he  has  been.  Always  strong  in  his 
party  convictions,  he  has  yet  been  something 
more  than  a  politician.  He  was  originally 
freighted  with  material  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  fill  every  position  he  has  occupied,  so 
that  it  has  never  been  said  of  him  that  he 
934 


was  unequal  to  the  occasion.  From  early 
manhood  he  has  given  to  the  public  an  im- 
pression of  massive  strength,  great  intellectual 
insight,  close  familiarity  with  public  affairs, 
unswerving  integrity,  and  an  ability,  espe- 
cially in  the  matter  of  finances,  second  to 
that  of  no  other  man  in  the  nation.  To 
write  Mr.  Sherman's  history  is  to  write  his 
eulog)-. 

He  was  bom  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  May  lo, 
1823.  When  he  was  but  six  years  old  his 
father  died,  leaving  a  large  family  in  reduced 
circumstances,  and  he  was  subsequently 
adopted  by  a  relative  living  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
Ohio.  At  the  age  of  twelve  a  sister  took 
charge  of  him  and  put  him  in  a  school  at 
Lancaster,  where  he  acquired  an  education. 

He  studied  law  with  his  brother,  C.  T. 
Sherman,  at  Mansfield,  where  he  afterward 
practiced  for  ten  years,  and  where  he  was 
married,  in  1848,  to  a  daughter  of  James 
Stewart.  He  was  looked  upon  as  a  rising 
man,  and  gained  a  distinction  which  was  not 
confined  to  the  limits  of  his  profession.  His 
neighbors  and  friends  believed  that  he  pos- 
sessed unusual  qualifications  for  public  life. 

In  1855  he  was  elected  to  the  34th  Con- 
gress in  the  interest  of  the  Free  Soil  party, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  35th  and  36th  Con- 
gresses. He  became  a  power  on  the  floor 
and  in  committees,  and  was  recognized  as 
the  foremost  man  in  the  House,  particularly 
in  matters  affecting  finance.  He  was  again 
elected  to  Congress  in  i860,  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  chosen  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  where  he  at  once  became  a  leader. 
After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  he  and 
Thaddeus  Stevens  prepared  the  bill  for  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States,  which 
was  passed  by  Congress  in  the  winter  of 
1866-67. 

In    March,    1877,    Senator    Sherman    was 


JOHN    SHERMAN 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


935 


appointed  by  President  Hayes,  Secretary  of 
tlie  Treasury,  a  position  which  he  retained 
until  the  close  of  Mr.  Hayes'  administration, 
in  1 88 1,  when  he  re-entered  the  Senate,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  member  ever  since, 
having  discharged  his  duties  with  such  fidel- 
ity and  efficiency  as  to  insure  his  continual 
re-election.  Few  men  have  ever  had  such 
confidence  placed  in  them,  and  few  have  ever 
done  so  little  to  disappoint  it.  Having  made 
the  subjects  of  Finance  and  Revenue  a  special 
study,  he  was  looked  upon  as  eminently 
fitted  for  his  position  in  the  Cabinet,  and 
when  he  returned  to  the  Senate  and  there 
found  grave  problems  confronting  the  coun-  ; 
try,  he  addressed  himself  earnestly  to  the 
task  of  solving  them  and  putting  the  finances 
of  the  nation  upon  a  sound  basis.  It  was 
due  to  liis  management,  while  at  the  head  of 
the  Treasury,  that  the  resumption  of  specie  , 
payments  was  effected  in  1879,  without  dis-  ' 
turbance  to  the  financial  or  commercial  inter- 
ests of  the  country.  Naturally  he  has  been 
brought  into  close  relations  with  capital,  with 
banks  and  bankers,  with  monej^ed  men  of  ^ 
every  description,  who  have  placed  great 
reliance  on  his  judgment  and  advice. 

He  was  a  prominent  candidate  for  the 
Republican  presidential  nomination  in  18S0, 
and  again  in  1888,  but  if  this  was  ever  seri- 
ously his  goal  of  ambition,  he  stopped  short  ' 
of  gaining  the  prize.  Lacking,  probably,  in 
some  of  those  magnetic  qualities  which  be- 
long to  a  great  popular  leader,  he  has  never  j 
been  able  to  command  a  following  large 
enough  to  place  him  at  the  head  of  his  party 
in  a  presidential  campaign.  His  intellect  is 
cold  and  keen,  his  manner  is  dignified  and 
somewhat  reserved;  he  means  business,  and 
that  only,  so  constantly,  that  he  has  never 
drawn  around  him  a  sufficient  number  of 
influential  men  who  were  willing  to  make  him  j 
their  idol  and  .stake  everything  upon  his  1 
advancement.  i 


Mr.  Sherman  would  not  be  selected  as  a 
shining  example  of  the  brilliant  statesman. 
He  is  not  possessed  of  that  peculiar  magne- 
tism by  which  many  other  prominent  men  in 
the  nation  have  been  distinguished,  but  he  is 
a  fine  type  of  those  substantial,  useful  quali- 
ties by  which  the  best  results  are  always 
brought  about.  He  has  never  aimed  to 
startle  the  public  by  dash  and  enthusiasm. 
His  mind  is  judicial,  and  as  a  jurist  he  would 
be  preeminent. 

His  ripe  age,  calm  judgment,  and  devotion 
to  his  constituents  on  the  one  hand,  and  to 
his  own  political  faith  on  the  other,  have 
drawn  to  him  universal  respect.  His  life  is 
one  that  is  well  rounded  and  complete.  Es- 
pecially has  he  shown  himself  familiar  with 
our  national  finances,  upon  which  he  has 
long  been  an  authority. 

That  his  service  in  Washington  has  been 
as  useful  as  it  has  been  protracted,  will  be 
denied  by  no  one.  He  was,  until  1893, 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Re- 
lations, and  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Finance,  the  Committee  on  Organization, 
Conduct  and  Expenditures  of  the  Executive 
Departments,  the  .Select  Cominittee  on  the 
Quadro-Centennial  and  the  Committee  on 
Rules. 

In  person  Mr.  Sherman  is  very  tall  and 
somewhat  spare.  He  has  a  nervous,  ener- 
getic temperament,  and  is  capable  of  great 
endurance  and  of  a  vast  amount  of  v/ork. 
Having  risen  from  the  poverty  of  boyhood 
to  the  commanding  heights  of  personal 
power  and  influence,  he  affords  a  fine  illus- 
tration of  the  ample  success  within  the  grasp 
of  every  young  American  possessed  of  abil- 
ity, industry  and  laudable  ambition.  He 
lias  left  his  imprint  upon  the  recent  history 
of  our  country,  which  cannot  be  written  with- 
out frequent  reference  to  the  important 
measures  conceived  and  fostered  by  his  wise 
and  eminent  statesmanship. 


LEW  WALLACE. 


M 


OST  men  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  as  authors  have  been 
authors  only,  devoting  their  en- 
tire time  and  energies  to  literary 
pursuits.  This  ma}-  be  said  of  Washington 
Irving,  Henry  W.  Longfellow,  Dr.  J.  G. 
Holland,  and  many  others  whose  works  have 
been  widely  known  and  read.  Occasionally 
some  brilliant  genius  like  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne has  been  compelled  to  combine  busi- 
ness pursuits  with  literary  labors  in  order 
to  obtain  the  very  necessary  commodities  of 
bread  and  butter.  There  is  in  our  country  a 
growing  class  of  writers  who  aim  to  devote 
themselves  exclusively  to  authorship,  realiz-  j 
ing  that  in  this  way  only  the  best  work  can 
be  accomplished.  j 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  some 
of  our  most  popular  fictions  have  been  writ- 
ten amidst  exacting  labors,  not  at  all  con- 
nected with  authorship ;  for  example,  Mrs. 
Stowe's  famous  story,  which  has  been  more 
extensively  read  than  any  other  similar  pro- 
duction, and  which  was  penned  amidst  oner- 
ous household  duties  and  the  most  absorbing 
cares.  This,  however,  is  no  evidence  against 
the  truth  of  the  statement,  that  here  as  else- 
where, to  make  the  most  of  the  pursuit 
requires  that  it  should  be  followed  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others.  It  seldom  happens 
that  any  one  individual  shows  particular 
aptitude  for  more  than  one  calling.  The 
merchant  must  be  a  merchant  only,  the 
teacher  must  be  only  a  teacher,  the  clergy- 
man only  a  clergyman,  the  lawyer  only  a 
lawyer,  the  farmer  a  farmer  only. 

In  the  person  of  General  Lew  Wallace  we 
have  the  example  of  a  man  who  has  been 
successful  in  several  directions  and  has  ex- 
hibited an  unusual  combination  of  talents, 
He  was  born  at  Brookville,  Franklin  County, 
Indiana,  in  1 827.  He  was  fortunate  in  hav- 
93^ 


ing  good  advantages  for  education  in  his 
boyhood,  and  always  showed  himself  to  be  a 
diligent  and  painstaking  scholar.  He  began 
the  study  of  law,  but  upon  the  outbreak  of 
the  Mexican  War  his  patriotic  ardor  and 
spirit  of  adventure  carried  him  into  the  army, 
where  he  became  a  lieutenant  of  Indiana 
volunteers.  Returning  from  active  service 
in  the  field,  he  practiced  law  at  Covington 
and  Crawfordsville  in  his  native  state. 

He  lived  a  comparatively  uneventful  life 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  when 
he  immediately  came  to  the  front,  fired  ap- 
parently with  the  old  war  spirit  of  earlier 
days.  He  was  appointed  adjutant-general  of 
Indiana  and  became  colonel  of  volunteers. 
At  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  he  com- 
manded a  division,  and  was  promoted  major- 
general  of  volunteers  in  March,  1862.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
and  in  1863  prevented  the  capture  of  Cincin- 
nati by  General  Kirby  Smith.  His  success 
at  this  time  showed  that  he  possessed  mili- 
tary ability  of  no  mean  order. 

His  troops  were  defeated  by  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  at  Monocacy,  July  9,  1864. 
General  Early  was  marching  upon  Wash- 
ington with  28,000  men,  while  Wallace  had 
only  5,800;  yet  with  this  inferior  force  he 
detained  Early  for  some  days,  and  thus  en- 
abled Grant's  troops  to  reinforce  Washing- 
ton before  the  Confederates  could  get  there. 
Yet,  by  reason  of  incompetency,  supposed  or 
real,  he  was  removed  from  his  command  by 
General  Halleck,  but  was  reinstated  by  Gen- 
eral Grant.  He  was  mustered  out  of  volun- 
teer service  in  1 865  ;  returned  to  the  practice 
of  law  at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana;  was  Gov- 
ernor of  Utah  from  1878  to  1 88 1,  and  served 
from  1 88 1  till  1885  as  United  States  Minister 
to  Turkey. 

He   afterwards    devoted    himself    to   the 


,K\V    WALLACE. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


937 


practice  of  law  and  to  literature  at  his  home 
in  Crawfordsville.  From  the  stirring  public 
life  he  had  led  hitherto,  he  settled  down  into 
quiet  pursuits.  No  one  would  have  been 
likely  to  predict  that  a  man  of  his  make-up 
would  have  an}'  idea  of  devoting  himself  to 
authorship,  but  the  old  Scotch  saying  that, 
"  What  is  in  the  heart  must  come  oot  o'  the 
heart,"  is  fully  illustrated  in  his  case.  Mr. 
Wallace  was  born,  not  merely  to  be  a  soldier 
and  diplomat,  but  also  a  writer  of  unusual 
merit. 

His  conceptions  are  bold  and  original  ;  he 
has  the  gift  of  imagination  and  the  happy 
facult)-  of  combining  characters  and  circum- 
stances in  his  works,  in  a  way  that  awakens 
the  interest  of  his  readers,  and,  considering 
the  large  sale  of  his  publications,  he  must  be 
considered  one  of  the  most  successful  authors 
of  the  day. 

Mr.  Wallace  has  issued  two  widely-read 
novels,  namely,  "  The  Fair  God,  A  Story  of 
the  Conquest  of  Alexico,"  and  "  Ben  Hur,  A 
Tale  of  the  Christ."  The  former  was  pub- 
lished in  iS73,the  latter  in  iS8o.  The  chief 
reputation  of  the  author  is  built  upon  "  Ben 
Hur,"  which  furnishes  graphic  pictures  of 
Jewish  life  and  character,  and  weaves  around 
the  central  figure  of  the  story  an  air  of  cap- 
tivating romance.  Many  of  the  incidents 
are  worked  out  with  the  most  exacting  atten- 
tion to  details.  The  work  begins  in  a  style 
somewhat  prosaic,  yet  gradually  becomes 
more  interesting  as  it  progresses;  and  al- 
though it  cannot  be  read  so  hurriedl)-  as 
lighter  works  of  fiction,  once  begun  it  is 
likely  to  be  finished. 

Mr.  Wallace  is  also  the  author  of  a  "  Life 
of  Benjamin  Harrison,"  published  in  1888. 
Another  work,  entitled  "  The  Boyhood  of 
Chri.st,"  was  issued  during  the  same  year. 
In  1893  he  published  "The  Prince  of  India," 
yet  it  is  true  of  him,  as  of  other  writers,  that 
there    is    one    work    which    constitutes    the 


crowning  achievement  and  the  author  cannot 
surpass  himself  The  later  works  of  Mr. 
Wallace  have  added  little  or  nothing  to  his 
fame. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  his  writings  are  not 
in  the  ordinary  realm  of  fiction.  He  makes 
no  attempt,  as  most  novelists  do,  to  portray 
the  great  master  passion  of  the  human  heart. 
Yet  he  deals  with  all  the  emotions,  weaves 
I  together  the  facts  of  histor_\-,  depicts  charac- 
ters of  an  unusual  type,  and  for  these  reasons 
can  lay  claim  to  a  large  measure  of  origi- 
nality. 
1  There  are  multitudes  of  writers  of  light 
fiction,  in  fact,  fiction  so  frothy  and  unsub- 
stantial that  it  has  only  a  momentar)-  life, 
and,  it  may  be  said,  ought  not  to  have  even 
that.  Like  a  flood  it  comes,  and  the  one 
compensation  is  that  it  goes  as  fast  as  it 
comes.  There  is  nothing  in  it  of  permanent 
endurance.  It  whiles  away  a  passing  hour 
of  the  "  summer  girl,"  and  of  that  class  of 
readers  who  have  a  mania  for  novels  of  the 
sensational  order.  Only  now  and  then  comes 
a  work  :f  transcendent  merit  which  makes  it 
a  thing  of  life. 

It  will  doubtless  be  conceded  that  Mr. 
Wallace's  works  are  not  of  the  former  class. 
They  are  written  so  carefulh-  and  are  of  such 
a  high  order  that  they  are  likely  to  be  known 
and  read  in  after  time. 

Mr.  Wallace  is  courtly  and  affable,  an 
agreeable  friend  and  companion,  showing  the 
cultivated  scholar  and  gentleman  under  the 
rugged  exterior  of  the  soldier,  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  the  rough  life  of  the  camp  and 
the  field.  He  has  often  appeared  upon  the 
platform  as  a  lecturer  and  with  considerable 
success.  He  affords  a  striking  example  of 
what  may  be  accomplished  by  untiring  indus- 
try and  those  natural  endowments  which,  if 
not  far  above  the  average,  can  be  made  to 
take  on  strength  and  lustre  by  their  diligent 


FRANCES  E.  WILLARD. 


IN  every  walk  of  life  where  it  is  possible 
for  woman  to  display  her  talents,  her 
success  has  been  conspicuous.  Our 
country  has  every  reason  to  be  proud 
of  those  members  of  the  gentler  sex  who  have 
commanded  attention  in  authorship,  some- 
times in  business,  especially  in  works  of  re- 
form, and  whose  influence  has  always  been 
upon  the  side  of  good  morals,  higher  educa- 
tion, and  the  development  of  the  noblest 
womanhood. 

While  our  progress  as  a  nation  has  been 
rapid  and  such  as  to  draw  the  wondering 
attention  of  the  world,  it  is  not  all  due  to 
soldiers  or  statesmen.  Our  history  could 
not  be  correctly  written  without  mention  of 
those  women  who,  in  the  walks  of  private 
life,  and  frequently  in  more  public  spheres, 
have  made  their  influence  felt  and  have  been 
leaders  of  thought  and  public  opinion. 

One  of  our  most  distinguished  American 
women  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  No  one 
is  more  widely  known  or  universally  re- 
spected. She  is  possessed  of  talents  of  an 
unusual  order,  a  warm  and  earnest  spirit, 
untiring  energy,  the  ability  to  influence 
others,  and  seems  to  be  lacking  in  none 
of  those  qualities  essential  to  successful 
achievement. 

Miss  Willard  is  known  throughout  the 
country  for  her  devotion  to  the  cause  of  re- 
form, especially  that  branch  of  it  embraced 
in  Temperance  work.  She  has  attended 
meetings  and  conventions,  and  has  lectured 
in  every  part  of  the  land,  and  has  always 
been  received  with  the  attention  due  to  her 
position  and  character  and  the  worthy  ob- 
jects she  seeks  to  promote.  She  is  eloquent 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  very  fluent  in 
.speech,  possessed  of  unusual  tact,  and  has 
been  heard  by  multitudes  who  arc  in  the 
938 


habit  of  affirming  that  they  "  do  not  care  to 
hear  a  woman  speak  in  public." 

It  may  be  truthfully  said  that  her  career 
exhibits  all  those  elements  which  go  to 
make  one  independent,  aggressive,  and  pro- 
gressive likewise.  Throughout  her  life  she 
has  never  thrust  herself  into  notice,  but  has 
simply  embraced  the  opportunities  open  to 
her,  and  has  entered  the  field  of  usefulness 
when  she  heard  the  call  for  service.  She  was 
born  in  Churchville,  N.  Y.,  September  28, 
I S39,  and  was  educated  at  Milwaukee  and 
the  Northwestern  Female  College  at  Evans- 
ton,  111.,  from  which  she  graduated  in  1859. 
She  became  Professor  of  Natural  Science 
there  in  1862,  and  was  principal  of  Genesee 
Wesleyan  Seminary  in  i866-'67. 

Considering  that  no  person's  education  is 
complete  without  those  advantages  furnished 
by  travel  and  contact  with  the  world,  she 
spent  two  years  abroad,  and  then  returned 
to  become  Professor  of  Esthetics  in  North- 
western University  and  Dean  of  the  Woman's 
College.  This  position  she  filled  from  1S71 
to  1874,  and  there  developed  her  system  of 
self  government,  which  has  attracted  wide 
attention  and  has  been  adopted  by  other 
educators.  She  became  convinced  at  this 
time  that  there  was  a  work  for  her  to  do  in 
connection  with  the  cause  of  Temperance. 

In  consequence  of  this  decision  she  gave 
up  all  other  engagements  in  1874  to  identify 
herself  with  the  W^oman's  Christian  Tem- 
perance Union.    She  was  immediately  made 

I  corresponding  secretary,  discharging  the 
duties  of  this  office  until  1879,  when  she 
was  elevated  from  the  position  of  secretary 
to  that  of  president. 

In  1876  she  assisted  Dwight  L.  Moody  in 
liis  evangelistic  work  and  rendered  efficient 

I  service.      During   these   years   she  traveled 


FRANXES     E.     WILLARD. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


939 


through  the  country-,  addressing  legislatures 
and  people's  meetings  in  behalf  of  temper- 
ance and  prohibition.  She  organized  the 
Home  Protection  Movement,  and  sent  an 
appeal  from  nearly  two  hundred  thousand 
people  to  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  asking 
for  the  Temperance  ballot  for  women.  She 
has  always  been  of  the  opinion  that  the  great 
reforms  needed  in  America  will  never  be 
brought  about  until  women  are  permitted  to 
vote,  having  a  voice  not  merely  in  domestic 
affairs,  but  in  public  measures  for  the  welfare 
of  the  communitj'.  Some  of  her  hardest 
work  has  been  done  in  the  advocacy  of  this 
project. 

On  the  death  of  her  brother,  Oliver  A. 
Willard,  in  1879,  she  succeeded  him  as  chief 
editor  of  the  Chicago  Evening  Post,  but  re- 
signed soon  afterward  to  devote  all  her 
time  to  the  work  which  was  dear  to  her 
heart,  and  in  which  she  had  exerted  a  wide 
and  commanding  influence.  In  1886  she 
accepted  the  leadership  of  the  White  Cross 
movement  in  the  societies  founded  by  her- 
self and  obtained  enactments  in  many  states 
for  the  protection  of  women. 

In  1888  she  was  made  president  of  the 
American  branch  of  the  International  Council 
of  Women  and  of  the  World's  Christian 
Union.  In  1892  she  visited  England,  and 
received  an  enthusiastic  welcome  from  the 
friends  of  reform  in  that  country.  She  was 
at  the  head  of  the  Women's  Committee  of 
Temperance  Meetings  at  the  World's  Fair  in 
1893.  She  is  the  editor-in-chief  of  the  Union 
Signal,  a  journal  of  large  circulation,  and 
has  issued  nine  volumes,  containing  addresses 
and  other  matter  connected  with  those  reforms 
in  wliich  she  has  been  so  conspicuous  a 
figure. 

Miss  Willard  bears  her  honors  v/ith  be- 
coming modesty  and  grace.  Although  a 
positive  character,  she  is  never  bold  or  ob- 
trusive, giving    evidence   constantly   of  the 


cultivated  lady,  the  considerate  adviser,  and 
the  warm-hearted,  genial  friend.  In  person 
she  is  a  little  above  the  medium  height,  has 
a  clear-cut  intellectual  face,  is  always  self- 
possessed  and  affable  in  manner. 

\  In  Miss  Willard's  career  we  have  a 
graphic  illustration  of  the  influence  woman 
can  exert  upon  all  the  great  questions  of  the 
day.  She  and  others  rightly  believe  that  the 
great  fountain  of  a  pure  national  life  is  the 
home.  This  must  be  carefullj-  guarded,  and 
the  rising  generation  must  be  correctly 
taught.  Sound  morals  must  be  inculcated, 
and  the  noblest  aims  held  up  to  view. 

But  what  kind  of  a  home  can  that  be 
which  is  cursed  by  the  power  of  drink  ? 
What  is  to  be  done  with  this  great  evil  that 

I  throws  its  withering  blight  over  the  whole 
land  ?  If  women  can  be  excused,  even  com- 
mended and  applauded,  for  showing  an  in- 
terest in  public  questions,  urging  on  all  true 
reforms,  it  surely  is  in  the  present  case, 
since  by  efforts  to  check  and  destroy  the 
evil  of  intemperance  much  is  done  for  the 
salvation  and  the  uplifting  of  the  home.  We 
are  mainly  concerned  with  Miss  Willard's 
crusade,  which  could  not  be  carried  on 
without  bringing  her  into  public  notice  and 
incurring  the  criticism  that  she  is  stepping 
out  of  the  domestic  sphere.  Let  her  and 
all  others  step  out,  if  thereby  lasting  good 
shall  come  to  the  country. 

.Slie  will  be  identified  with  Temperance 
work  and  other  reforms  as  long  as  she  lives, 
and  the  best  and  truest  womanhood  will  owe 
her  a  debt  of  profound  gratitude.  She  stands 
for  what  is  noblest  in  her  se.x,  and  may  be 
congratulated  upon  having  escaped  hostile 
criticism  to  so  large  an  extent. 

The  best  wishes  of  her  country-women 
are  with  her  in  her  great  labor  of  love. 
There  are  many  sympathetic  souls  who  pray 
that  her  life  may  long  be  spared,  and  her 
influence  widely  extended. 


WILLIAM  B.  ALLISON. 


THE  career  of  this  distinguished  Sena- 
ator  affords  another  striking  proof  of 
the  power  and  influence  belonging  to 
the  individual  man.  Money  talks  for 
some  men,  social  influence  for  others,  learn- 
ing and  culture  for  others,  and  brains  for 
others.  The  last-named  element  of  success 
belongs  especially  to  Mr.  Allison.  Combined 
with  it  is  his  sterling  integrity  and  a  charac- 
ter that  has  never  been  called  in  question. 

For  a  long  time  he  has  stood  in  the  halls 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  taking  an  active 
part  in  all  its  deliberations  and  debates.  He 
is  considered  a  statesman,  eminently  wise  and 
safe.  While  it  may  be  said  that  he  has 
gained  large  experience  in  Congress,  it  may 
also  be  said  that  he  brought  his  experience 
with  him.  He  was  a  man  of  public  affairs, 
prominent  and  widely  known  before  going 
to  Washington.  It  was  but  natural  that, 
having  gained  a  local  celebrity,  he  should  be 
transferred  to  the  wider  field. 

His  native  state  is  Ohio,  where  he  was 
born  at  Perry,  Wayne  County,  March  2,  1829. 
Like  many  others  who  have  molded  the 
affairs  of  the  nation,  he  spent  his  early  years 
upon  a  farm.  While  the  pursuit  of  agricul- 
ture is  honorable  and,  fortunatel)-,  is  univer- 
sally considered  so,  it  is  proverbial  that  far- 
mers' boys  rebel  against  the  hard  labor  and 
monotonous  life  incident  to  a  farm  and  seek 
some  other  calling. 

These  sons  of  farmers  constitute  some  of 
the  best  timber  we  have  in  the  nation.  Their 
surroundings  arc  not  generally  luxurious, 
they  are  trained  to  habits  of  industry,  they 
usually  obtain  at  least  a  good  common-school 
education,  and  by  the  sheer  force  of  intellec- 
tual ability  and  perseverance,  they  often  rise 
to  positions  of  great  honor  and  usefulness. 
It  did  not  take  long  for  Mr.  Allison  to  out- 
grow the  farm.  He  had  an  ambition  which 
940 


could  not  be  gratified  by  any  such  pursuit. 
He  was  educated  at  Allegheny  College,  Pa., 
and  at  the  Western  Reserve  College,  Ohio, 
after  which  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  and 
practiced  his  profession  in  Ohio  until  1857. 
He  wished  to  locate  farther  west,  where  he 
could  be  identified  with  a  growing  town.  He 
removed  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where  he  has 
since  made  his  home.  Being  by  nature  a 
citizen  of  public  spirit,  interested  in  all  that 
concerned  the  town  of  his  adoption,  he  soon 
became  widely  known,  and  was  not  more 
widely  known  than  he  was  respected.  His 
gift  of  speech  was  such  as  to  inspire  confi- 
dence. Matters  of  grave  responsibility  were 
at  once  committed  to  his  hands.  Like  many 
lawyers,  he  anticipated  public  life  and  politi- 
cal preferment. 

He  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago 
convention  that  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln 
for  the  presidency  in  i860, and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  became  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the 
governor  of  Iowa.  When  the  war  broke  out 
he  was  among  the  first  to  offer  his  services  to 
the  government,  being  willing  to  let  his  pro- 
fession suffer  in  order  to  help  maintain  the 
cause  of  the  Union.  He  rendered  valuable 
service  in  raising  troops  and  organizing  vol- 
unteer regiments  for  the  war.  Those  were 
stirring  times,  and  the  exigencies  brought 
into  prominence  many  men  who  might  other- 
wise have  remained  in  comparative  obscurity. 

In  1862,  Mr.  Allison  was  elected  to  the 
38th  Congress  as  a  Republican.  He  served 
in  this  capacity  with  such  fidelity  and  dis- 
tinction that  he  was  re-elected  to  the  three 
succeeding  Congresses.  His  re-election,  his 
neighbors  were  accustomed  to  remark  face- 
tiously, was  chronic.  He  served  continuously 
as  a  member  of  that  body  from  December  7, 
1863,  until  March  3,  1871.  Often  he  was 
appointed  on  important  committees, and  being 


WILLIAM    B    ALLISON. 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


941 


a  willing  worker,  was  soon  known  as  one  of 
tlic  most  industrious  members  of  the  House. 

At  the  same  time,  he  kept  in  close  touch  ; 
with  his  constituents  at  home.  The_\-  marked 
his  achievements  and  were  proud  of  his  ad- 
vancement in  the  estimation  of  the  public. 
He  was  always  found  ar  the  post  of  dut\', 
never  shuffled  or  evaded  any  question  of 
importance,  was  always  willing  to  have  his 
opinions  known,  and  was  always  able  to  give 
a  reason  for  the  faith  that  was  in  him. 

In  1873,  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature 
of  Iowa  to  the  United  States  Senate  to  suc- 
ceed James  Harlan,  and  since  that  time  has 
been  re-elected  almost  without  opposition. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  he  has  had  one  of 
the  longest  terms  of  service  that  has  fallen 
to  the  lot  of  any  public  man.  There  are  no 
sensational  elements  in  his  character.  He 
does  not  glare  like  a  meteor  nor  astonish 
others  by  ill-considered  and  unexpected 
methods.  Mr.  Allison's  character,  attain- 
ments and  public  services  have  been  such  as 
to  point  to  him  for  a  presidential  nomination. 
Accordingly,  on  several  occasions,  his  name 
has  been  mentioned  in  the  national  Republi- 
can Conventions.  While  he  has  had  a  large 
following,  and  many  prominent  men  in  the  , 
Northwest  and  elsewhere  have  endor.sed  him, 
others  have  distanced  him  in  the  race. 

It  is,  however,  a  high  distinction  to  be 
prominently  named  for  a  presidential  nom- 
ination. Such  an  honor  can  never  be  con- 
ferred upon  a  weak,  insignificant  man.  Mr. 
Allison  is  one  who  fully  justifies  the  confi- 
dence of  the  public  and  whose  elevation  to 
the  highest  position  in  the  nation  would  be 
fittingly  bestowed. 

It  is  frequently  tiie  case  that  men  of  repu- 
tation diminish  and  appear  to  disadvantage 
as  one  gets  near  to  them.  They  do  not 
stand  out  in  all  the  grand  proportions  pic- 
tured by  our  imagination.  " 'Tis  distance 
lends  enchantment  to  the  view,"  and  as  they 


are  looked  at  from  afar  they  are  apt  to  be 
invested  with  very  heroic  qualities.  Then, 
as  we  get  a  nearer  view,  the  charm  is  dis- 
pelled, and  the  delusion  and  disappointment 
become  apparent.  Very  few  men  gain  much 
by  a  close  inspection.  \Vc  aie  apt  to  place 
our  public  men  on  a  pedestal,  and  look  up 
to  them  with  a  kind  of  awe.  Upon  a  nearer 
approach  we  find  that  they  stand  on  the 
ground,  and  perhaps  are  not  so  very  far 
above  the  common  level. 

It  has,  however,  been  said  of  Mr.  Allison, 
that  the  near  view  is  the  one  most  favorable. 
He  bears  acquaintance  remarkably  well,  and 
while  not  showy  or  dazzling,  there  is  much 
about  him  to  be  commended,  and  the  service 
he  has  rendered  as  a  national  legislator  forms 
the  record  of  an  honored  page  of  our  history. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Allison 
indicates  strength  of  body  and  of  mind.  He 
is  large  and  well  formed.  His  face  is  not  that 
of  a  scholar,  but  rather  the  man  of  affairs. 
He  is  a  type  of  the  sturdy,  honest,  practical 
man,  who  conveys  at  once  the  impression  of 
good  sense  and  the  possession  of  a  level 
head.  In  his  speeches  he  does  not  circum- 
navigate his  subject,  but  comes  at  it  at  once. 
He  always  speaks  to  the  point.  Having 
'■  something  to  say  and  being  able  to  say  it, 
others  are  willing  to  listen  and  be  instructed. 

He  has  the  rare  faculty  of  saying  what  he 
means  and  clothing  his  thoughts  in  such 
language  that  no  double  interpretation  can 
be  put  upon  his  statements.  The  quaint  old 
adage  of  calling  a  spade  a  spade  applies  in 
his  case.  As  a  type  of  the  useful  citizen,  the 
able  legislator,  the  genial  and  hearty  friend, 
the  man  of  culture,  breadth  and  fullness,  Mr. 
Allison  is  conspicuous.  Such  men  at  the 
head  of  public  affairs  give  st.^biIity  and  con- 
fidence to  the  nation.  Our  country  has  been 
favored  with  many  of  this  description,  and 
among  this  galaxy  of  shining  ones  must  be 
placed  the  subject  of  this  brief  biograpliy. 


RICHARD  OLNEY. 


A  POSITION  in  the  Cabinet  at  Wash- 
ington requires  abiUty  of  a  high 
order.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the 
positions  of  Attorney-General  and 
Secretary  of  State.  An  Attorney-General 
must  add  to  profound  legal  knowledge  a 
sound  judgment,  a  wise  discretion,  and  execu- 
tive ability  equal  to  that  of  any  manager  of  a 
large  and  exacting  business.  It  is  not 
enough  that  he  should  be  merely  a  shrewd 
lawyer,  a  man  skilled  in  the  supposed  tricks 
of  the  profession,  nor  is  it  expected  that  he 
should  practice  any  of  the  unscrupulous  arts 
that  are  so  often  charged  upon  the  members 
of  the  bar. 

A  Secretary  of  State  is  expected  .^  be  a 
statesman.  1  Ic  must  understand  the  polic)- 
of  the  government,  and  know  by  a  kind 
of  instinct  what  position  to  take  upon  all 
critical  questions.  He  must  be  a  profound 
student  of  international  law  and  be  well 
acquainted  with  our  relations  to  foreign 
governments. 

That  Richard  Olney  meets  these  unusual 
demands  in  an  eminent  degree,  is  universally 
conceded.  B)'  natural  ability  and  broad  cul- 
ture, he  is  amply  qualified  for  the  positions 
lie  has  held  at  Washington. 

He  was  but  little  known,  except  in  his 
native  State  of  Massachusetts,  when  called 
to  the  Cabinet  during  the  second  administra- 
tion of  President  Cleveland,  although  it 
must  be  said  that  his  associates  considered 
him  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  his  time. 
He  comes  from  one  of  the  oldest  New  Eng- 
land families,  and  has  back  of  him  a  sturdy 
stock  and  ancestry  which  have  had  so  much 
to  do  in  molding  the  nation  and  shaping  its  | 
history. 

He  was  born    in   Oxford,  Mass.,  in    1835, 
and  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  twenty- 
one  graduated  with  high  honors  from  Brown  i 
942 


University,  at  Providence,  R.  I.  In  college 
he  was  distinguished  for  close  application  to 
his  studies,  rare  scholarship  and  excellent 
literary  ability.  He  was  easily  the  peer  of 
the  brightest  and  most  brilliant  of  his 
class.  He  seemed  to  be  able  to  do  easil}' 
what  others  could  do  only  by  the  hardest 
labor. 

After  his  graduation  he  entered  the  Har- 
vard Law  School,  and  in  two  years  completed 
the  course.  Thus,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  he  was  prepared  to  enter  upon  his  pro- 
fession. He  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to 
associate  himself  with  Judge  B.  F.  Thomas, 
a  descendant  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  the  pub- 
I  lisher  of  the  old  Tlioinas  Almanac,  a  publi- 
I  cation  known  everywhere  in  Massachusetts, 
and  regarded  with  a  feeling  almost  akin  to 
veneration.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  the 
well-known  journal,  The  Worcester  Spy. 
1 86 1  Mr.  Olney  married  the  daughter 
Judge  Thomas,  thus  uniting  two  distinguished 
families. 

Efibrts  have  been  made  in  Massachusetts 
to  make  Mr.  Olney  one  of  the  judges  on  the 
Supreme  Bench  of  the  State,  but  on  two 
occasions  he  has  declined  the  honor,  and 
also,  for  the  most  part,  has  separated  himself 
from  political  life.  His  ambition  appeared 
to  lie  in  other  directions,  and  many  positions 
of  honor  would  have  been  conferred  upon 
him  if  he  had  been  willing  to  accept  them. 
He  did,  however,  in  1874,  represent  Roxbury 
in  the  State  Legislature,  proving  himself  to 
be  a  useful  member  of  that  body  and  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  duties  of  a  repre- 
sentative. In  1876  he  was  a  candidate  for 
Attorney-General  of  the  State  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  but  was  defeated  with  the  other 
candidates  of  his  party. 

He  has  been  counsel  for  two  big  western 
railroads,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa 


to  I 

he  I 

In  I 

of  ' 


RICHARD     OLNEY. 


EAIINENT   AMERICANS. 


'^43 


Fe  and  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy. 
This  shows  the  estimate  placed  upon  his 
legal  ability.  His  work  is  always  thorough, 
his  arguments  are  logical  and  presented  with 
admirable  skill,  he  is  quick  to  take  advantage 
of  the  weak  places  in  the  case  of  his  oppo- 
nent, he  exhibits  a  complete  mastery  of  law, 
and,  withal,  impresses  others  as  a  man  of 
honor  and  high  character.  His  political 
party  has  alwa\-s  placed  great  confidence  in 
his  judgment,  and  in  all  critical  periods  have 
sought  his  counsel  and  advice.  [ 

It  is  said  that  during  the  first  administra- 
tion of  President  Cleveland  his  name  was 
favorably  considered  for  the  position  of  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court; 
but  the  President  did  not  quite  reacli  the 
point  of  sending  his  name  to  the  Senate  for 
coniirmation.  That  he  would  have  been  an 
able  member,  an  ornament  of  that  dignified 
body,  is  doubted  by  none  who  are  acquainted 
with  his  qualifications  and  his  admitted  in- 
tegrity. 

In  1893  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Cleveland  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  where  his  strength  of  character,  his 
eminent  ability  and  profound  knowledge  of 
international  law  have  made  him  conspicuous. 
Upon  the  death  of  Secretary  Gresham,  which 
occurred  May  28,  1895,  Mr.  Olney  was  made  < 
Secretary  of  State.  He  has  had  the  hand- 
ling of  some  very  important  matters  con- 
nected with  the  foreign  policy  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  has  acquitted  himself  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  command  the  admiration  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  He  believes  in  a  vigorous 
policy,  yet  one  that  is  always  founded  upon 
right  principles.  He  never  takes  a  position 
which  he  is  unable  to  defend  and  maintain. 

He  is  a  man  of  method,  carrying  on  his 
work  always  in  an  orderly  way,  and  showing 
marked  attention  to  those  details  upon  which 
success   in  any  pursuit  so  largely  depends,  i 


]  He  is  not  accustomed  to  do  things  in  any 
fitful  or  spasmodic  manner,  but  on  the  con- 
trary always  shows  cool  judgment  and  calm 
deliberation.  There  is  an  absence  of  impulse 
and  recklessness  of  decision  which  helps  to 
fit  him  for  his  official  duties. 

E.xhibiting  these  characteristics,  he  soon 
gained  the  confidence  of  public  men  in  Wash- 
I  ington.  What  opportunities  in  public  life 
j  may  lie  before  him  no  one  can  predict ;  nei- 
j  ther  would  any  one  be  surprised  if  he  were 
1  to  have  larger  responsibilities  placed  upon 
him. 

A  recent  biography  saj's:  "  Mr.  Olney  is  a 
man  of  dignified  bearing,  one  who  appre- 
ciates the  responsibilities  of  the  position  he 
occupies,  and  his  reputation  is  that  of  a  pro- 
found legal  scholar,  whose  judgment  on 
questions  of  law  is  seldom  at  fault." 

Mr.  Olney  is  a  substantial,  well-built  man, 
capable  of  a  great  amount  of  labor  ;  he  has 
a  genial,  pleasant  face,  but  never  gives  one 
the  impression  that  he  is  courting  popularitJ^ 
His  manner  is  calm,  yet  his  addresses  are 
full  of  force,  always  engaging  the  attention 
of  his  hearers.  There  is  a  sharp  expres- 
sion to  his  eyes  and  a  forward  thrust  of  the 
head  which  seems  to  indicate  a  disposition 
to  see  his  way,  and  a  determination  to  go 
I  straight  through  everj^  matter  that  occupies 
his  attention. 

Although  not  widely  known  when  he  went 
to  Washington,  he  has  become  a  man  of 
national  reputation.  The  best  elements  of 
manhood  enter  into  his  composition.  He  is 
a  wise  and  safe  counsellor,  is  possessed  of 
marked  individuality,  and  must  be  considered 
as  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  his  pro- 
fession. His  comparatively  quiet  yet  suc- 
cessful career  furnishes  a  good  example  to 
the  rising  generation  of  lawyers.  It  shows 
what  can  be  done  by  ability  well  applied  and 
by  industry  that  never  tires. 


JAMES  WHITCOMB  RILEY. 


ANEW  generation  of  writers  has 
come  forward,  with  characteris- 
tics widely  different  from  those 
of  their  predecessors  in  the  field 
of  literature.  Their  writings  are  more  dis- 
tinctively American — perhaps  it  would  be 
more  appropriate  to  say — West-American. 
There  is  a  breeziness  about  them — an  off- 
hand dash — a  disregard  of  conventionalities 
which  we  do  not  discover  among  such  men 
as  Irving,  Bryant,  Longfellow  and  others, 
who  may  be  said  to  have  created  our  litera- 
ture and  stamped  it  with  their  genius. 

Both  fiction  and  poetrj'  have  taken  on 
what  may  be  called  a  new  style.  The  aim  to 
entertain,  to  present  the  humorous  side  of 
things,  to  make  a  quick,  even  though  super- 
ficial impression,  is  very  apparent. 

It  would  be  unjust,  however,  to  deny 
unusual  merit  to  the  new  class  of  authors. 
They  are  splendidly  endowed.  To  brilliant 
native  talent  many  of  them  add  great  indus- 


James  Whitcomb  Riley  has  been  given 
the  title  of  the  "Hoosier  Poet  of  America." 
This  is  partly  owing  to  the  State  in  which 
he  was  born  and  lives.  He  has  been  a  con- 
tributor for  some  years  to  current  literature, 
showing  in  his  writings  so  much  of  pith  and 
pungency,  together  with  a  healthful  moral 
tone,  that  his  productions  have  been  widely 
read  and  enjoyed. 

He  was  born  in  Greenfield,  Indiana,  in 
1S52.  In  his  bo)'hood  he  often  accompanied 
his  father,  who  was  an  attorney,  as  he  went 
from  place  to  place  transacting  his  business, 
and  thus  early  came  into  contact  with  the 
world,  which  has  so  much  to  do  with  the 
education  and  development  of  the  young 
mind.  At  an  early  age  he  left  home  to  fol- 
low the  calling  of  a  wandering  sign-writer. 

For  a  time  he  was  connected  with  a  thea- 
trical troupe,  and  showed  some  aptitude  for 
revising  and  adapting  pla}-s.  He  also  began 
to  show  a  talent  for  song-writing  and  impro- 


try,  a  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature,  [  vising  lines  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  thus 
and  are  able  to  discern  what  is  demanded  b_\-  indicating  that  he  had  a  ready  wit,  and  not 
the  popular  taste.  They  simply  write  as  the  '  merely  the  kind  which  is  studied  up  and 
time  and  the  people  require  that  they  should.  I  manufactured  for  the  occasion. 
While  the  writer  helps  to  form  national'  Over  the  name  of  "Benjamin  F.Johnson, 
character,  it  is  also  true  that  the  national  :  of  Boone,"  he  began,  about  the  year  iS75,to 
character  helps  to  form  him. 

Americans  are  almost  omnivorous  readers. 


They  devour  newspapers  and  periodicals  by 
the  million.  There  is  a  large  and  probably 
growing  class  who  are  cultivated  in  the  broad 
sense  of  the  term,  who  are  students  of  science 
and  philosophy,  and  who  have  a  keen  relish 
for  thoughtful,  substantial  works,  such 
as  instruct  the  mind  and  promote  scholar- 
ship, but  the  number  of  those  who  are 
patrons  of  light  literature  is  so  great  that 
authors  in  tliis  field  multiply  very  rapidly, 
and  may  find  sufficient  encouragement  to 
cause  them  to  make  authorship  a  pursuit. 
944 


'  contribute  verses  in  the  Hoosier  dialect  to 
the  Indianapolis  papers.  These  attracted 
considerable  attention,  sugge.sting  an  inter- 
esting field  of  literature,  which  he  resolved, 
sooner  or  later,  to  occupy.  It  was  evident 
that  dialect  poems  were  relished  by  the  pub- 
lic, and  as  these  were  written  upon  subjects 
near  at  hand,  and  such  as  appealed  to  the 
popular  heart,  Mr.  Riley  found  himself  grow- 
ing in  favor,  and  from  that  day  has  continued 
in  active  literary  work. 

He  is  gifted  in  the  art  of  imitation,  which 
was  shown  by  his  writing  a  piece  after  the 
style  of  Edgar  Allen  Poe  that  was  accepted 


■ 

'qfllj^        ^^^^B 

jj^j 

iM 

^B 

Qr^il 

JAMES     WHIILOMH     kILl  \ 


EMINENT   AMERICANS. 


945 


by  many  critics  as  the  work  of  that  author. 
Such  a  feat  as  this  required  something  more 
than  ordinary  talent.  Poe's  writings  have 
an  individuality  peculiarly  their  own,  and  to 
be  a  successful  imitator  of  thcni,  one  must 
possess  literary  ability  somewhat  akin  to  that 
of  the  gifted  author  of  "The  Raven"  and 
"  The  Bells." 

Mr.  Riley  finally  accepted  an  engagement  \ 
with  the  Indianapolis  Journal,  and  has  also  ^ 
been  a  constant  contributor  to  various  peri-  j 
odicals.  In  addition  to  many  dialect  pieces,  | 
he  has  published  poems  of  a  more  serious 
character,  proving  that  he  possesses  ability 
for  the  graver  as  well  as  the  lighter  strains 
of  thought  and  feeling. 

He  has  issued  a  number  of  volumes,  in- 
cluding "  The  Old  Swimmin'  Hole,"  "  After- 
whiles,"  "  Neighborly  Poems,"  "  Pipes  o' 
Pan,"  "  Green  Fields  and  Running  Brooks," 
"  Rhymes  of  Childhood,"  "  The  Flying 
Islands  of  the  Night,"  and  others.  His  works 
abound  in  pictures  of  Western  life,  and 
around  the  most  commonplace  objects  he 
throws  a  peculiar  charm.  Like  the  ballads 
of  Carlton,  many  of  his  songs  deal  with  the 
farm,  the  old  homestead,  the  old  arm-chair, 
the  boys  who  whistle  and  shout  and  play, 
and  the  old  people  whose  eyes  are  already 
growing  dim  and  whose  forms  are  bending 
toward  the  grave.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
much  of  his  popularity  is  due  to  the  subjects 
which  he  treats.  These  are  always  such  as 
to  afford  a  fine  opportunity  for  sentiment  and 
wholesome  moral  lessons.  While  his  writ- 
ings are  intended  to  engage  the  attention  of 
the  reader  and  furnish  entertainment,  they 
are  nearly  always  pointed  with  a  moral,  and 
there  is  something  worth  storing  in  the 
memory. 

No  one  could  form  an  accurate  estimate 
of  Mr.  Riley's  writings  and  leave  out  what 
may  be  called  the  human  element  that  is 
always  prominent.     There  is  no  attempt  to 


reach  the  towering  heights  of  the  English 
poets  of  earlier  times.  No  stately  measures 
of  verse  appeal  to  the  most  cultivated  mind 
and  arouse  the  admiration  always  accorded 
to  genius.  There  is,  however,  a  genius  less 
commanding  and  imposing.  Mr.  Riley  de- 
scends into  the  common  walks  of  life,  and 
makes  himself  at  home  with  ordinary  peo- 
ple. His  language  is  so  simple,  his  meaning 
is  so  clearly  comprehended,  there  is  such  an 
evident  comprehension  of  everyday  life,  that 
not  as  a  stranger,  but  as  a  friend,  does  he 
step  into  the  home. 

Much  of  Mr.  Riley's  popularity  is  un- 
doubtedly due  to  the  dialect  noticeable  every- 
where in  his  work.  Often  the  same  thought 
clothed  in  different  phraseology  would  be 
comparatively  tame,  but  by  the  dialect  used 
it  takes  on  a  different  complexion,  and  comes 
home  to  the  reader  with  much  greater 
force. 

Mr.  Riley  has  often  appeared  as  a  public 
reader  of  his  own  works.  He  has  met  with 
a  large  degree  of  success,  being  able,  gen- 
erally, to  command  large  and  interested  audi- 
ences. It  is  not  always  that  an  author  suc- 
ceeds in  the  endeavor  to  interpret  his  own 
writings  before  a  critical  audience.  Dickens 
was  able  to  do  this,  but  there  has  never  been 
more  than  one  Dickens,  and  it  will  be  long 
before  the  world  will  see  his  like  again. 

Mr.  Riley  has  been  much  sought  after  for 
the  platform,  and  has  succeeded  in  giving  full 
meaning  to  those  dialect  pieces  in  the  pro- 
duction of  which  he  has  exhibited  so  much 
of  literary  skill  and  ability.  Whether  his  work 
will  be  lasting,  or  will  ever  add  greatly  to 
the  fame  of  American  literature,  is  a  question 
which  we  do  not  need  to  discuss,  and  one 
upon  which  there  might  be  a  difference  <  f 
opinion.  His  career,  however,  points  him 
out  as  a  man  of  mark,  whose  distinction  has 
been  justly  gained,  and  who  merits  the  suc- 
cess that  has  crowned  his  labor. 


REV.   CHARLES  H.    PARKHURST,  D.D. 


THE  late  Reverend  Howard  Crosby, 
D.  D.,  was  for  many  years  Presi- 
dent of  the  Society  for  the  Preven- 
tion of  Crime,  a  large  and  influen- 
tial organization  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Crosby,  it  was  con- 
ceded that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
person  possessing  the  peculiar  qualifications 
necessary  for  the  position  he  had  held  with 
such  distinguished  ability  and  efficiency.  Dr. 
Parkhurst  had  been  favorably  known  as  a 
member  of  the  organization,  was  noted  for 
intellectual  ability  and  zeal  in  the  work  of 
reform,  and  the  choice  of  the  society  placed 
him  at  its  head. 

It  became  evident  immediately  that  a  man 
of  great  courage,  political  insight,  enthusiasm 
in  carrying  out  his  objects,  and  able  to  com- 
mand the  co-operation  of  the  most  influential 
men  in  New  York,  was  now  fully  identified 
with  the  great  reform  movements  contem- 
plated by  the  society.  His  strong  person- 
ality was  immediately  felt.  For  several 
years  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  noted 
figures  in  New  York,  applauded  by  some, 
and  execrated  by  others. 

Dr.  Parkhurst  was  born  in  Framingham, 
Mass.,  April  17,  1842.  He  came  from  a 
vigorous  stock,  containing  a  pretty  strong 
infusion  of  old  Puritan  element.  Thought- 
ful and  studious  in  his  boyhood,  he  marked 
himself  out  for  the  career  of  a  professional 
man,  and  having  become  an  earnest  and 
devout  adherent  of  the  Christian  faith,  his 
family  and  friends  naturally  set  him  aside  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry. 

Accordingly  he  prepared  for  college  and 
graduated  from  Amherst  in  1866.  He  did 
not  consider  that  his  education  would  be 
complete  if  confined  within  narrow  limits  of 
thought,  or  favored  with  only  meagre  advan- 
tages. He  studied  theology  at  Halle,  Ger- 
946 


man}',  in  1S69,  and  at  Leipsic  in  1872  and 
1873,  during  the  intervals  of  which  studies 
he  was  principal  of  the  High  School  in 
Amherst,  and  professor  of  Williston  Semi- 
nary at  Easthampton,  Mass.  Thus  it  seems 
that  he  was  in  no  excessive  hurry  to  enter 
upon  his  life-work,  being  occupied  with 
laying  broad  and  deep  foundations  upon 
which  to  rear  a  superstructure  of  strength 
and  commanding  proportions. 

From  1874  to  1880,  he  was  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  at  Lennox,  Mass., 
where  he  became  widely  known  for  his  emi- 
nent pulpit  ability.  His  congregation,  espe- 
cially during  the  summer  months,  contained 
many  persons  of  culture,  who  enjoyed  his 
keen,  intellectual  discourses  and  looked  upon 
him  as  one  of  the  rising  men  in  the  ministry. 
Upon  the  death  of  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  who 
had  long  been  the  pastor  of  the  Madison 
Square  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York 
City,  and  who  was  a  man  of  peculiar  gifts, 
the  church  sought  far  and  near  for  a  suitable 
successor.  Not  being  very  successful  in  the 
attempt,  attention  was  turned  toward  Dr. 
Parkhurst,  who  was  chosen  as  pastor  in 
1880. 

Since  this  period  he  has  occupied  one  of 
the  most  influential  positions  in  New  York. 
The  church  has  been  largely  attended,  the 
aggregation  of  wealth  is  great,  the  culture 
and  refinement  of  the  congregation  are  con- 
spicuous, merchants  and  professional  men 
are  found  there  in  large  numbers,  and,  added 
to  large  benevolent  contributions,  is  the  mis- 
sionary work,  in  which  many  of  the  mem- 
bers take  a  special  personal  interest. 

In  1893  Dr.  Parkhurst  became  prominent 
through  his  efforts  to  make  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Crime  true  to  its  name. 
He  saw  no  reason  why  a  society,  organized 
for  a  special  purpose,  confessedly  a  good  one, 


EMINEX  r   AMERICANS. 


947 


should  not  be  active  and  accomplish  some- 
thing for  the  welfare  of  the  city.  He  had  no 
fear  of  those  petty  criticisms  aimed  at  minis- 
ters who  take  some  interest  in  public  affairs. 
Dr.  Parkhurst  considered  that  his  profession 
had  not  only  the  right  to  promote  all  true 
reform,  but,  in  fact,  was  bound  to  do  it. 
Those  who  were  disturbed  in  their  nefarious 
business  were  the  ones  who  were  so  anxious 
that  he  should  keep  to  what  they  jailed  his  : 
legitimate  work. 

He  felt  that  his  position  would  be  stronger 
and  his  influence  more  widely  felt  if  he  could 
speak  of  the  gigantic  evils  in  New  York 
from  personal  observation.  He  wanted  the 
facts  that  did  not  come  by  hearsay.  Vague 
insinuations,  statements  that  could  easily  be 
doubted  and  opinions  based  upon  guesses 
\vcre  not  the  amniLinition  with  which  to  load 
his  guns,  trained  against  the  enemy.  He 
wanted  facts,  and  such  only  as  came  within 
the  sphere  of  his  personal  knowledge. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  Dr.  Parkhurst 
went  about  his  work  in  the  right  way.  Con- 
vinced himself  from  his  own  observation,  he 
was  able  to  convince  others.  In  company 
with  judicious  friends  he  stepped  into  the 
haunts  of  vice,  some  of  them  almost  under  ' 
the  shadow  of  his  own  church,  and  others  of  j 
palatial  gorgeousness  located  in  some  of  the 
most  respectable  and  aristocratic  quarters  of 
the  city.  Each  new  .step  in  the  inve.stigation 
convinced  him  of  the  enormity  of  the  evils 
on  every  side  and  of  the  connivance  of  city 
officials  in  allowing  them  to  exist.  His 
blood  was  stirred,  and  he  came  forth  like  a 
prophet  of  old  to  denounce  the  wickedness 
that  cursed  the  city. 

When  he  began  his  crusade  he  was  fully 
armed  and  equipped  with  the  facts  he  had 
gathered.  Even  with  these  a  smaller  man 
v.ould  have  made  little  or  no  impression,  but 
embodied  in  him  were  intellectual  power, 
commanding  force   of  speech,  a  position   in 


the  pulpit  second  to  that  of  none,  a  mighty 
array  of  influential  men  and  ample  resources 
for  the  great  struggle.  The  downfall  of  the 
corrupt  political  organization  that  ruled  the 
city  was  assured.  The  rotten  fabric  trembled 
to  its  base  under  the  strokes  of  the  sturdy 
foe,  who  had  decreed  its  overthrow. 

It  is  said  that  in  college  Dr.  Parkhurst's 
professor  of  rhetoric  criticized  his  style  of 
writing  very  severely,  but  there  are  few 
public  men  who  can  put  so  much  into  a  sin- 
gle sentence.  His  thoughts  are  at  once  bold 
and  striking,  and  his  style  is  pre-eminently 
concise  and  original.  He  has  contributed  to 
various  magazines  and  has  published  several 
volumes,  including  "  The  Forms  of  the  Latin 
Verb,  Illustrated  by  Sanskrit,"  "  The  Blind 
Man's  Creed,  and  other  Sermons,"  and  "  Pat- 
tern in  the  Mount,  and  other  Sermons." 

In  person  Dr.  Parkhurst  is  of  medium 
size,  compactly  built  and  a  fair  specimen  of 
muscular  Christianity.  His  great  courage, 
persistence  and  untiring  energy  have  made 
him  the  most  successful  political  leader  of 
the  day,  and  givn  him  a  wide  and  enviable 
fame. 

Nor  has  his  influence  been  confined  to 
New  York  City  alone,  but  other  cities 
throughout  the  country  have  patterned  by 
the  movement  he  has  inaugurated,  and  have 
taken  active  steps  for  the  investigation  of 
municipal  evils  and  misrule.  He  addressed 
large  audiences  in  a  number  of  towns,  pre- 
.senting  the  plan  of  reform  of  which  he  is  the 
acknowledged  chief  exponent,  and  thus 
awakened  public  interest  which  resulted  in 
organized  effort. 

Dr.  Parkhurst's  career  teaches  especially 
the  lesson  of  strong  and  persistent  courage 
and  endeavor  in  the  face  of  opposition.  The 
consciousness  of  being  in  the  right  always 
arms  a  man  with  aggressive  weapons,  and 
keeps  him  firm  and  patient,  even  though 
robbed  for  the  moment  of  success. 


CLAUS  SPRECKELS. 


NOT  as  a  scholar,  orator  or  statesman, 
is  Claus  Spreckels  known,  yet  his 
name  is  famiUar  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific.  In  the  great  chan- 
nels of  trade  and  business  a  wonderful  suc- 
cess has  attended  his  efforts,  and  he  has  built 
up  one  of  the  largest  fortunes  in  the  world. 
It  is,  then,  as  a  business  man  that  he  is  to  be 
considered,  and  as  such  his  life  affords  valu- 
able lessons  by  which  younger  men  of  our 
generation  may  well  profit.. 

Mr.  Spreckels  was  born  in  Lamstedt,  King- 
dom of  Hanover,  in  July,  1828.  His  earh- 
life  was  spent  in  Germany,  where  his  oppor- 
tunities for  education  were  none  of  the  best. 
Had  he  remained  in  his  native  land,  it  is  not 
likely  that  he  would  have  become  a  million- 
aire, for  the  chances  would  have  been  much 
fewer  and  the  opportunities  more  limited. 

When  twenty  years  old  Mr.  Spreckels 
came  to  America  and  went  to  Charleston,  S. 
C,  in  pursuit  of  employment.  He  obtained 
a  situation  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store.  He 
had  no  thought  of  remaining  as  a  mere  clerk, 
but  had  his  eye  upon  the  proprietorship  of 
the  place.  In  two  years  he  owned  the  store 
and  largely  extended  its  trade.  Going  into 
the  wholesale  business,  he  became  an  im- 
porter, and  was  verj'-  soon  known  in  com- 
mercial circles  throughout  the  South.  Wish- 
ing for  a  wider  field  of  operations,  he  removed 
his  business  to  New  York  City  in  1855. 

Having  a  brother  who  was  engaged  in  the 
grocery  trade  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Spreckels 
left  the  East  and  went  to  that  city  to  reside. 
He  soon  bought  out  his  brother  and  contin- 
ued the  business.  A  year  later  he  started 
what  was  known  as  the  Albany  Brewery. 
His  shrewd  business  foresight  was  fully  jus- 
tified by  the  results.  The  business  sprang  at 
once  into  prominence  and  promised  a  fortune 
for  its  founder.  He  soon  disposed  of  his 
948 


grocer}-  business,  devoted  his  time  and  ener- 
gies to  the  brewery,  and  so  continued  until 
1863. 

Mr.  Spreckels  had  long  had  his  mind  fixed 
upon  sugar  refining,  and  the  time  had  now 
come  for  him  to  realize  his  ambition  in  this 
respect.  He  sold  out  his  interest  in  the 
brewery,  and,  with  others,  founded  the  Bay 
Sugar  Refineiy.  Being  a  practical  man.  and 
wishing  to  gain  a  more  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  sugar  business,  he  went  to  Europe  to 
familiarize  himself  with  the  process  of  manu- 
facturing beet-root  sugar.  He  meant  to  learn 
the  process  from  the  beginning,  and  with  this 
in  view  he  actually  entered  the  great  refinery 
at  Magdeburg  as  a  workman.  Few  men  pro- 
bably would  have  been  willing  to  come  down 
to  such  a  capacit)^  after  they  had  already 
acquired  what  was  considered  an  ample  for- 
tune, but  it  is  the  practical  man  whose  knowl- 
edge of  his  pursuit  is  complete  who  alwaj's 
carries  off  the  palm. 

Having  gained  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  Sugar  Refining  business,  Mr.  Spreckels 
returned  to  San  Francisco  and  immediately 
built  another  and  larger  refiner}^  In  1867 
he  organized  the  great  corporation  of  the 
California  Sugar  Refinery,  of  which  he  be- 
came the  president  and  was  the  principal 
owner.  The  vast  business  carried  on  b}-  this 
company  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  the  Pacific 
coast.  It  refines  fifty  million  pounds  of  sugar 
every  year.  The  whole  country  may  be  said 
to  be  a  market  for  this  immense  product. 
The  success  of  this  great  concern  is  almost 
entirely  due  to  the  enterprise  and  skillful 
management  of  its  founder.  Not  merely  the 
general  oversight,  but  to  a  large  extent  the 
minor  details,  are  constantly  under  his  eye. 

Mr.  Spreckels  possesses  a  nervous  temper- 
ament, strong  features,  and  has  a  prompt  and 
incisive  manner  of  doing  business. 


CLAUS     SPRECKELS. 


APPENDIX. 


The  World's   Columbian   Exposition. 

Preparations  for  the  Celebration — Action  of  Congress — Chicago  Fixed  Upon  as  the  Location — ^Jackson 
Park — Government  Exhibit  Building — Administration  Building — Mines  and  Mining  Building — Electrical 
Building  —  Department  of  Agriculture  —  Machinery  Hall  —  Fisheries  Building  —  Magnificent  Aquaria^ 
Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts — Building  for  Fine  Arts — Transportation  Building — Horticultural  Hall — 
Palace  of  Mechanic  Arts — Midwaj-  Plaisance — Close  of  the  Fair. 

across  the  seas,  and  a  mighty  throng  of 
American  citizens,  pressed  the  electric  button 
which  set  in  motion  the  miles  of  shafting,  the 
innumerable  engines  and  machines,  and  the 
labyrinth  of  belting  and  gearing  which  made 
up  the  machinery  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition.  At  the  same  moment,  a  National 
salute  pealed  forth  from  the  gun,  the 
"Andrew  Johnson,"  lying  off  the  Exposition 
grounds,  in  Lake  Michigan ;  700  flags 
released  from  their  "stops,"  at  a  concerted 
signal,  swung  loose,  and  streamed  out  under 
the  sky  in  scarlet,  yellow  and  blue,  thus  pro- 
claiming the  opening  of  America's  celebra- 
tion of  her  birth  and  progress. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Milburn, 
D.D.,  Chaplain  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
after  which  a  poem,  written  by  Mr.  W.  A. 
Crodutt,  was  read.  Then  followed  addresses 
by  the  Hon.  George  R.  Davis,  Director- 
General  of  the  Exposition,  and  President 
Cleveland. 

As  the  President  was  concluding  the  final 
sentence  of  his  address,  his  eyes  wandered 
to  the  table  that  was  close  at  his  left  hand. 
Upon  this  was  the  button,  the  pressure  upon 
which  was  to  start  the  machinery  and  make 
the  opening  of  the  Exposition  an  accomplished 
fact.  It  was  an  ordinary  form  of  Victor  tele- 
graph key,  such  as  is  in  use  in  most  telegraph 
offices,  except  that  it  was  of  gold,  instead  of 
steel,  and  a  button  of  ivory,  instead  of  rubber. 
949 


EARLY  in  1891  active  preparations 
were  commenced  for  the  appro- 
priate celebration  of  the  four  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  discovery 
of  America  by  Columbus.  As  the  centennial 
anniversar}'  of  American  independence  in 
1876  had  been  commemorated  by  an  Liter- 
national  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  in  which 
nearly  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth 
participated,  it  was  resolved  to  celebrate  the 
discovery  of  the  New  World  by  an  exhibi- 
tion of  grander  proportions  as  the  only 
suitable  method  of  giving  dignity  to  the 
great  occasion.  The  whole  countiy  became 
interested  in  the  project,  and  it  was  advo- 
cated with  unanimity  by  the  newspaper  press. 

The  act  of  Congress,  which  definitely 
selected  Chicago  as  the  city  in  which  the 
Exposition  should  be  held,  and  which  fixed 
the  dates  of  the  celebration  to  be  held  in 
1892,  and  the  formal  opening  and  closing  of 
the  Exposition  in  1893,  was  approved  by  the  [ 
President  of  the  United  States,  April  25, 1890. 

Jackson  Park,  where  the  Exposition  build- 
ings were  located,  is  beautifully  situated  on 
Lake  JMichigan,  having  a  lake  frontage  of 
two  miles,  and  embraces  586  acres. 

On    Monday,  the  first  day  of  May,  1893, 
in   the   presence   of  300,000   people,  Grovcr 
Cleveland,    President    of  the    United  States,  ^ 
surrounded  by  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  I 
by  a  distinguished  representation  from  lands  | 


950 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITIOX. 


It  rested  upon  a  pedestal  upholstered  in  navy 
blue  and  golden  yellow  plush,  and  on  the 
sides  of  the  lower  tier,  in  silver  letters,  were 
the  significant  dates,  1492  and  1893.  As  the 
last  words  fell  from  the  President's  lips  he 
pressed  his  finger  upon  the  button. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  demonstration, 
difficult  of  imagination,  and  infinitely  more 
so  of  description.  At  one  and  the  same 
instant  the  audience  burst  into  a  thundering 
shout,  the  orchestra  pealed  forth  the  strains 
of  the  Hallelujah  Chorus,  the  wheels  of  the 
great  Ellis  engine  in  Machinery  Hall  com- 
menced to  revolve,  the  electric  fountains  in 
the  lagoon  threw  their  torrents  toward  the 
sky,  a  flood  of  water  gushed  from  the 
McMonnies  Fountain  and  rolled  back  again 
into  the  basin,  the  thunder  of  artilery  came 
from  the  vessels  in  the  lake,  the  chimes  in 
Manufactures  Hall  and  on  the  German  Build- 
ing rang  out  a  merry  peal,  and,  overhead, 
the  flags  at  the  tops  of  the  poles  in  front  of 
the  platform  fell  apart  and  revealed  two 
gilded  models  of  the  ships  in  which  Colum- 
bus first  sailed  to  American  shores. 

Flags  of  All  Nations. 
At  the  same  moment  also  hundreds  of 
flags,  of  all  nations  and  all  colors,  were 
unfurled  within  sight  of  the  platform.  The 
largest  was  a  great  •'  Old  Glory,"  which  fell 
into  graceful  folds  from  the  top  of  the  center 
staff  in  front  of  the  stand.  The  roof  of  the 
Manufactures  Building  was  gorgeous  in  red 
gonfalons,  while  the  Agricultural  Building 
was  dressed  in  ensigns  of  orange  and  white. 
It  was  a  wonderful  scene  of  transformation, 
and  amid  it  all  cannon  continued  to  thunder 
and  the  crowd  to  cheer.  It  was  fully  ten  min- 
utes before  the  demonstration  subsided.  Then 
the  band  played  "America"  and  the  exercises 
were  at  an  end.  The  Columbian  Exposition 
was  open  to  the  nations  of  the  world.  It  was 
precisely  the  hour  of  noon  when   President 


Cleveland    touched    the    button    and    thus 
declared  the  opening  an  accomplished  fact. 
We   begin    our   description   of  the    great 
Exposition  with  the 

Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building. 

This  was  the  largest  building  of  the  Expo 
sition.  It  had  the  appearance  of  being  four 
separate  buildings,  yet  connected  and  grouped 
around  a  large  interior  court.  It  was  located 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  park  near  the  lake 
shore.  There  was  a  waterwa)'  on  the  south 
and  west  sides.  Figures  can  convey  but 
little  idea  of  the  size  of  this  structure,  which 
was  the  largest  ever  built  for  an  Exposition. 
It  was  1,688  feet  m  length,  and  788  feet  in 
width.  The  floor  space  comprised  an  area 
of  about  thirt}'-  acres,  to  which  must  be  added 
ten  acres  of  floor  space  in  the  galleries. 

Four  buildings  were  under  one  roof,  which 
had  an  unbroken  span  through  the  center  of 
the  building  388  feet  wide  and  1400  feet  long. 
Running  through  the  center  north  and  south 
was  an  avenue  fifty  feet  wide,  appropriately 
named  Columbia  Avenue.  Another  avenue 
of  the  same  width  crossed  the  building  from 
one  side  to  the  other.  The  arched  roof  was 
150  feet  high.  This  gigantic  structure  was 
symmetrical,  although  its  immense  and 
shapely  proportions  did  not  at  first  impress 
the  visitor  looking  from  the  outside,  because 
of  other  buildings  in  the  immediate  vicinity 

In  order  to  g-'-'e  an  idea  of  its  size,  it  has 
been  estimated  chat  an  ordinary  ten-story 
building  could  be  carried  through  the  main 
hall  without  touching  the  top  or  sides  ;  that 
the  largest  church  in  the  world,  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome,  would  occupy  only  one-third  of  the 
space;  that  six  buildings  like  the  Chicago 
Auditorium,  minus  the  towers,  could  easily 
stand  inside  the  central  hall.  The  immensity 
of  the  structure  and  the  wonder  of  its  com- 
pletion grew  upon  the  observer  until  he  was 
almost  overwhelmed  with  the  magnitude  of 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


9-r 


the  edifice  and  the  task  of  erecting  it. 
The  long  array  of  columns  and  arches  on 
the  sides  was  relieved  from  monotony  by 
elaborate  ornamentation,  in  which  female 
figures,  symbolical  of  the  various  arts  and 
sciences,  formed  a  conspicuous  and  very  at- 
tractive part.  There  were  also  designs  show- 
ing in  relief  the  seals  of  the  different  States 
of  the  Union  and  the  various  foreign  nations. 
These  were  of  vast  size  and  in  keeping  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
building.  The  square  pillars  that  supported 
the  arches  of  the  fagades  between  the  win- 
dows were  the  only  exterior  parts  without 
decoration.  The  idea  of  strength  and 
solidity  was  apparent  everywhere. 

Fluttering   Festoons. 

Over  the  great  arches  of  the  doorways 
were  the  figures  of  Cupids  holding  long  flut- 
tering festoons.  The  upper  cornices  were 
decorated  with  ornamental  vases,  in  which 
were  planted  flag-poles  for  displaying  the  flags 
of  various  nations.  The  fluttering  of  these  in 
the  winds,  showing  a  combination  of  the 
gayest  colors,  gave  to  the  immense  building 
a  holiday  appearance,  and  at  the  same  time 
suggested  that  within  its  vast  enclosures  were 
condensed  the  treasures  of  the  world. 

And  while  treading  the  twenty  miles  of 
streets  in  this  vast  building,  and  gazing  upon 
the  profusion  of  exhibits  worth  untold 
millions  of  money,  one  could  realize  the  say- 
ing, that  "  the  grandest  effect  of  the  Exposi- 
tion would  be  educational  in  its  character." 
Here  the  world  would  see  what  the  world 
had  done.  Here  monarchs  would  learn  that 
there  are  uncrowned  monarchs  whose 
achievements  are  no  less  magnificent  than 
those  of  the  minds  that  rule  nations  and  the 
swords  that  win  battles.  All  this  was  worth 
the  time,  toil  and  money  required  for  the 
Columbian  celebration. 

All  observers  were  impressed,  not  merely 


with  the  greatness  of  the  Exposition,  but 
with  the  quality  of  it.  The  finest  handicraft, 
the  gems  and  fabrics  wrought  by  the  most 
consummate  skill,  the  master  paintings  of 
artistic  genius,  the  choicest  products  of  the 
earth,  marked  the  grandeur  of  the  age  and 
the  point  which  the  human  mind  has  reachec 
in  every  department  of  its  activity. 

Worth   More  Than  Money. 

The  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Build- 
ing cost  31,500,000,  yet  what  is  money  in 
comparison  with  the  objects  gained  ?  Al- 
though Americans  have  been  charged  with 
being  lovers  of  the  "  Almighty  Dollar," 
they  do  not  love  it  any  more  than  other 
nations  love  their  typical  coins,  for  money 
rules  the  world,  and  within  certain  limits 
money  ought  to  rule.  Yet  when  America 
resolved  upon  an  Exposition  such  as  was 
never  known  before,  she  did  not  consider 
that  money  would  be  uselessly  expended. 
Tlie  nation  edorsed  the  undertaking,  the  sep- 
arate States  bore  their  part,  and  private  and 
public  enterprise  marshalled  their  forces  and 
led  the  way  to  the  sublime  triumph.  The 
nation  felt  a  pride  in  her  great  celebration, 
and  although  the  Exposition,  it  was  hoped, 
would  pay  for  itself,  yet  this  was  a  secondary 
consideration.  To  commemorate  the  great 
discovery  of  Columbus  and  show  the  pro- 
gress of  America  and  the  world  down  to  the 
present  time,  was  the  only  lofty  aim  and 
noble  purpose. 

The  Department  of  Manufactures  was  di- 
vided into  thirty-three  groups,  sub-divided 
into  more  than  two  hundred  classes,  and 
included  the  varied  industries  which  employ 
the  countless  machines  in  present  use,  and 
every  form  of  handicraft.  In  this  department 
the  United  States  holds  a  high  place,  for  this 
has  been  a  century  of  invention,  and  the 
needs  of  this  new  country  have  called  for 
many    ingenious   devices   for  the    saving  of 


95^ 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


labor.  The  wonders  of  Oriental  skill,  the 
treasLues  of  European  industry-,  the  skill  of 
American  inventions  and  processes,  were  all 
set  in  order  behind  the  gleaming  fagades  of  a 
classic  temple,  under  a  sky  which  little  more 
than  half  century  ago  looked  down  on  a 
great  lake  without  a  sail  and  a  waste  of 
marsh  land  peopled  only  by  wandering 
savages. 

The  Department  of  Liberal  Arts  gave  the 
chief  honor  and  prominence  to  education, 
and  it  acted  wisely,  for  it  includes  all  arts. 
Music,  science,  literature,  physical  science,  in 
short,  all  things  that  educate  and  uplift,  that 
ease  the  downward  tension,  that  broaden  the 
faith  and  the  understanding,  had  place  and 
illustration  in  this  department.  It  included 
the  newest  deductions  of  physiology  and 
science,  and  the  most  remote  findings  of 
archseological  research.  It  proclaimed  the 
universality  of  knowledge  and  stretched  full 
hands  to  the  wide  world. 

Superb  Exhibits. 

The  Hall  of  Manufactures  and  Liberal 
Arts  naturally  contained  the  most  compre- 
hensive classification  of  all  the  exhibit  halls. 
Its  contents  were  limited  to  the  finished 
material  in  each  line  of  industry  represented, 
and  no  machinery  was  allowed  within  its 
doors  except  the  light  shafting  and  incidental 
apparatus  connected  with  some  of  the  small 
displays,  where  the  proper  exhibition  of  a 
certain  line  demanded  a  working  exhibit.  In 
every  other  case  the  rule  was  enforced 
against  anything  like  an  infringement  on 
the  province  of  the  machinery  classification. 

Machineiy  Hall  was  a  palace  of  the 
mechanic  arts.  It  was  especially  constructed 
for  exhibiting  machinery  in  motion,  the 
power  for  this  purpose  being  supplied  from 
an  adjoining  building. 

Extending  around  the  main  hall  inside 
were  two  galleries  and  two   exterior  arcades 


with  a  width  of  fifty  feet.  The  main  entrance 
was  75  feet  high,  located  in  the  center  of  the 
north  side  and  opposite  the  south  entrance  of 
the  Administration  Building.  This  entrance 
had  a  semi-circular  portico  with  Corinthiaii 
columns  sixty  feet  in  height.  The  idea  of 
ornamentation  was  not  lost  sight  of,  and  so 
the  portico  was  furnished  with  a  dome  and 
balustrade,  while  above  each  column  was  a 
statue. 

Pavilions  were  built  at  the  corners  of  the 
main  structure  fifty  feet  square  and  sur- 
mounted by  domes.  One  of  the  main  feat- 
ures was  the  east  portico  facing  the 
Agricultural  Building,  which  stood  across  the 
canal.  This  portico  was  square,  with  Corin- 
thian colums  and  a  pediment  containing  an 
emblematic  design  in  relief,  in  which  Chicago 
was  represented  as  introducing  to  the  nations 
a  company  of  inventors  and  mechanics  who 
were  showing  their  various  mechanical 
achievements. 

The  exterior  of  the  building  was  covered 
with  "  staff,"  which  was  a  composition  of 
plaster  of  Paris,  Portland  cement  and  jute 
from  New  Zealand.  This  material  was  used 
in  the  construction  of  nearly  all  the  buildings, 
for  the  reason  that  it  can  be  moulded  into 
any  shape,  while  at  the  same  time  it  possesses 
great  strength.  It  is  easily  colored  in  imita- 
tion of  marble,  and  this  circumstance  gave  to 
the  great  cluster  of  buildings  at  Jackson  Park 
the  name  of  the  "  White  City." 

Celebrated  Symbolic  Figures. 
On  the  top  of  Machinery  Hall  were  placed 
eight  symbolic  figures  of  immense  size.  One 
represented  Victory  holding  a  wreath  in  her 
hand,  the  symbol  of  triumph.  Another  was 
typical  of  Fire,  and  the  figure  was  repre- 
sented as  holding  in  her  right  hand  thunder- 
bolts, and  in  her  left  a  burning  brand,  the 
one  suggesting  the  fire  of  the  skies  and  the 
other  the  fire  of  earth.     Above  the  windows 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION.  953 

tal  and  labor  here  found  the  true  ground  of 
mutual  confidence,  the  one  in  diminished  cost 
of  production,  the  other  in  higher  wages  as 
the  result  of  skillful  training  in  the  mechani- 
cal arts. 


.vere  spaces  occupied  by  cherubs  and  curious 
little  genii  holding  in  their  hands  the  tools 
and  implements  of  the  various  mechanical 
industries. 

Spires  rising  to  a  height  of  I03  feet  sur- 
mounted the  two  open  towers  above  each  of 
^he  porticos.  The  Columbus  idea  was 
shown  in  the  architecture  which  was  Span- 
ish in  its  features,  presenting  beautiful 
columns  in  double  rows  upon  which  were 
displayed  as  decorations  the  arms  of  Spain 
and  the  portrait  of  Columbus.  Immense 
pieces  of  machinery  were  scattered  through- 
out the  building,  not  the  least  interesting  of 
which  was  the  elevated  traveling  crane 
Jocated  in  each  of  the  three  naves  for  moving 
machinery.  These  cranes  were  also  used  for 
transporting  visitors  from  one  end  of  the 
building  to  the  other. 

Inventions  of  World-Wide  Fame. 

Machineiy  Hall  contained  within  its  spa- 
cious walls  the  most  remarkable  triumphs 
cf  invention.  It  would  require  a  skilled 
;riachinist  to  understand  manj^ofthe  intricate 
and  complicated  devices  there  exhibited.  The 
exhibits  comprised  inventions  of  world-wide 
fame,  and  were  studied  by  throngs  of  people 
constantly  expressing  their  amazement  at  the 
achievements  of  mechanical  ingenuity. 

Not  only  was  the  visitor  impressed  with  the 
great  variety  of  machinery,  embracing  all  sorts 
of  inventions  for  all  sorts  of  purposes,  but  the 
mechanical  construction  of  it,  its  accuracy  and 
perfection  of  detail,  were  none  the  less  appa- 
rent. There  were  machines  which  seemed  to 
be  able  to  do  almost  everything  except  talk. 
What  an  amount  of  thought,  patient  contri- 
vance, steady  and  intricate  working  of  brain 
and  hand  were  represented  in  this  marvelous 
building  ! 

The  artisans  of  Europe  and  America  here 
studied  that  which  concerns  them  most  —  the 
development  of  labor-saving  devices.     Capi- 


To  Save  Labor. 

In  the  great  Machinery  Hall  every  labor- 
saving  device  known  to  modern  science  was 
represented.  The  development  of  motors  for 
the  transmission  of  power  was  illustrated  by 
the  most  magnificent  engines,  boilers  and 
pumps  ever  constructed.  The  modern  science 
of  fire-fighting  had  its  demonstration  in  every 
variety  of  fire  engines,  hose  carts,  escapes, 
stand-pipes  and  chemical  apparatus  that  has 
been  evolved  by  the  brain  of  veteran  fire- 
fighters. Machinists'  small  tools  and  the  im- 
meruse  steam  hammeis  and  trip  hammers  for 
forging  and  working  metals  were  shown  in 
all  the  more  recent  devices.  Wonderful  ma- 
chines for  the  manufacture  of  textile  fabrics 
and  clothing  were  shown. 

Marvelous  appliances  for  turning  wood  and 
all  kinds  of  steam,  electric  and  hand  power 
sawing  and  planing  machines  were  among  the 
exhibits.  The  most  recent  inventions  in 
type-setting  machines,  printing,  stamping 
and  embossing  and  book-making  machines 
were  shown.  Lithography,  zincography  and 
color-printing,  photo-mechanical  and  other 
mechanical  processes  of  illustrating  were 
represented  in  a  large  variety  of  modern 
inventions. 

In  machinery  for  working  stone,  clay  and 
other  minerals,  for  the  preparation  of  food, 
and  for  use  in  all  the  mechanical  arts,  the 
machinery  exhibit  was  prodigal  in  its  displays. 

The  progress  of  invention  is  the  progress 
of  the  world  to  the  popular  mind.  Mechani- 
cal arts  have  developed  in  this  century,  and 
especially  in  the  latter  half,  not  by  strides, 
but  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Hard  work  has 
been  relegated  to  the  effete  nations.    Europe 


954 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


and  America  have  substituted  brain  for  brawn 
in  the  application  of  machinery  to  all  the 
wants  of  human  production.  Between  these 
two  countries  there  is  a  constantly  growing 
rivalry  in  the  creation  of  new  devices  for  sav- 
ing manual  labor. 

In  the  mammoth  corridors  of  Machinery 
Hall  at  the  World's  Fair  the  zenith  of  the 
nineteenth  centurj^  progress  in  the  mechani- 
cal arts  was  reached,  and  the  artisans  of  every 
civilized  clime  learned  something  of  practical 
benefit  from  the  unfolded  genius  of  the  world's 
greatest  inventors. 

The  department  of  machinery  was  also  a 
live  exhibit,  differing  in  this  respect  from 
almost  every  other  department.  Within  its 
massive  walls  was  the  ceaseless  hum  of 
machinery  in  motion.  From  the  le\«iathan 
power  plant  at  the  south  of  the  main  b'liiding 
radiated  the  energy  that  set  in  motion  the 
wheels  of  the  entire  E.xposition.  Within 
Machinery  Hall  itself  miles  of  shafting,  pul- 
leys and  belting  connected  with  the  thousands 
of  exhibits  that  were  in  motion  every  day 
during  the  Fair. 

The  fascination  of  moving  machinery  is 
more  than  an  attraction  to  the  skilled  artisan 
merely.  It  draws  the  general  public,  and,  as 
at  the  Centennial  E.xhibition  in  1876,  Ma- 
chinery Hall  was  the  center  of  the  largest 
and  most  continuous  crowds.  Its  situation 
on  the  grounds  was  favorable  to  its  being  a 
popular  display,  as  it  was  near  the  main  en- 
trance and  immediately  adjacent  to  the  great 
railroad  terminal  within  the  grounds. 

Electricity  Building. 

According  to  agreement  among  the  archi- 
tects of  the  buildings  around  the  quadrangle 
the  Electricity  Building,  like  the  rest,  had  an 
open  portico  extending  along  the  whole  of 
the  south  faqade,  the  lower  or  Ionic  order 
forming  an  open  screen  in  front  of  it.  The 
various   subordinate   pavilions  were   treated 


with  windows  and  balconies.  The  details  oi 
the  exterior  orders  were  richly  decorated  and 
the  pediments,  friezes,  panels  and  spandrils 
received  a  decoration  of  figures  in  relief,  with 
architectural  motifs,  the  general  tendenc)-  of 
which  was  to  illustrate  the  purposes  of  the 
building.  The  friezes  of  the  Ionic  order  boi 
in  each  bay  the  name  of  a  discoverer  or  inven- 
tor associated  with  the  development  of  the 
science  of  electricity,  thus  setting  forth  a  bio- 
graphical history  of  the  science. 

The  color  of  the  exterior  was  marble,  but 
the  walls  of  the  hemicycle  and  of  the  various 
porticos  and  loggias  were  highly  enriched 
with  color,  the  plasters  in  these  places  being 
decorated  with  scagliola  and  the  capitals  with 
metallic  effects  in  bronze. 

The  Lightning  Tamed. 

Each  great  exposition  has  furnished  a  sort 
of  milestone  to  mark  the  progress  of  man  in 
the  arts  and  sciences.  America  made  two 
revelations  to  the  world  at  Chicago  in  her  art 
and  electrical  displays.  Out  of  the  myriad 
forms  of  beauty  will  come  no  new  school  of 
art.  The  people  of  the  Western  world  have 
simply  proved  their  right  to  rank  with  the 
older  nations. 

It  was  the  fundamental  aim  of  Chief  Elec- 
trician Barrett  and  his  assistant.  Dr.  Hornsby, 
to  prove  that  electricity  is  not  a  "  mysterious 
force"  (the  well-worn  excuse  for  ignorance), 
that  it  is  not  in  its  infancy,  and  that  it  is  not 
"a  dangerous  thing  to  tamper  with."  They 
strained  every  point  to  prove  that  that  it  is 
as  certain  a  quantity  as  steam,  quite  as  easily 
made  and  far  more  easily  controlled. 

'Twas  Franklin  first  who  caught  the  horse. 
He  was  harnessed  by  Professor  Morse. 

From  the  great  battery  of  boilers  in 
Machinery  Hall  came  primarily  the  force 
that  the  dynamos  applied  to  the  operation  of 
arc  and  incandescent  lights,  power  motors 
for  various  industrial  purposes,  the  charging 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


955 


of  storage  batteries  for  the  working  of 
vehicles  on  land  and  water,  the  supply  of 
search  lights,  the  intramural  railway,  electric 
fountains,  giant  cranes,  and  for  almost  every 
conceivable  purpose. 

All  Underground  Wires. 

Not  a  wire  was  allowed  above  the  ground, 
the  circuits  being  all  established  by  means  of 
wooden  tunnels  laid  to  every  part  of  the 
grounds  and  buildings,  and  through  these 
subways  the  wires  were  carried  on  insulators 
fastened  to  the  two  sides,  having  a  space  in 
the  middle  large  enough  for  attendants  to  pass. 

There  were  seven  thousand  arc  lights  for 
service,  twentj'-five  hundred  of  which  were 
about  the  grounds  and  the  balance  inside  of 
the  buildings.  The  lamps  on  the  grounds 
were  placed  upon  ornamental  iron  posts  12 
feet  high  at  intervals  of  about  50  feet.  They 
were  located  with  special  reference  to  the 
landscape  arrangement  and  the  lines  of  the 
buildings.  As  the  World's  Fair  was  a  small 
city  within  itself,  a  fair  idea  was  given  of  arc 
light  service  for  municipal  lighting.  No 
attempts  at  outside  arc  decoration  were  made, 
excepting  in  the  cases  of  a  few  of  the  State 
buildings,  where  they  lighted  up  the  statuary 
for  night  views. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the 
interior  lighting  of  the  great  buildings  was 
far  more  brilliant  than  anything  of  the  kind 
in  the  past,  the  general  idea  being  to  have  a 
2,000-candle  power  lamp  for  ever\-  1,000 
square  feet  of  space.  In  the  great  Manu- 
factures Building  only  was  there  an  attempt 
at  artistic  decoration  in  arc  lighting. 

In  that  massive  building  there  were  five 
big  chandeliers  of  arc  lights.  Four  of  them 
carried  sixty  lamps  each,  and  the  fifth  sup- 
ported seventy-five.  These  were  all  suspended 
from  the  steel  arches.  Workmen  reached 
them  by  climbing  up  the  arch  to  a  ladder 
against  the  rods  which  supported  the  chan- 


deliers, descending  this  ladder  70  feet  to  the 
chandelier.  They  were  then  140  feet  above 
the  floor.  The  lamps  were  hung  in  pairs 
and  sustained  by  cords  which  pas.sed  over 
insulated  pulleys,  each  lamp  balancing  the 
weight  of  its  mate.  Between  them,  in  the 
rim  of  the  chandlier,  the  workmen  walked 
securely  about  their  work,  or  crossed  from 
one  side  to  the  other  on  the  great  bridge. 

There  were  twelve  hundred  arc  lights  in 
this  building.  There  were  five  hundred  in 
the  Agricultural,  three  hundred  and  fifty  in 
the  Transportation,  two  hundred  and  fifty  in 
the  Horticultural,  two  hundred  in  the  Mines, 
fifty  in  the  Fisheries  and  seventy-seven  in  the 
Illinois  State.  This,  it  must  be  remembered, 
was  aside  from  the  exterior  service — the  arc 
lamps  that  lighted  the  grounds. 

The  incandescent  lighting  was,  of  course, 
the  great  feature  of  attraction  in  lighting, 
almost  all  the  decorative  lighting  being  of 
that  style.  Visitors  observed  one  fact  at 
night  which,  perhaps,  not  one  in  ten  thousand 
would  discover  by  day.  There  was  a 
uniform  cornice  level  on  all  the  buildings  60 
feet  from  the  ground.  This  line  was  marked 
at  night  by  lines  of  incandescent  light.  The 
little  bulbs  were  placed  at  narrow  intervals, 
seemingly  only  a  few  inches  when  viewed 
from  the  ground. 

Floral  Beauties. 

The  Administration  Building  in  particular 
was  studded  with  lamps  from  foundation  to 
dome.  All  about  the  grand  canal  and  in  the 
basin  a  row  of  lamps  like  a  living  line  of 
light,  set  just  above  the  water  service,  lent  a 
splendor  that  no  dream  could  excel.  Each 
light  was  repeated  in  the  water  by  a  dancing 
counterpart,  and  both  lent  a  charm  to 
handsome  gondolas  and  water  craft  of  every 
form. 

About  the  Wooded  Island  and  on  the 
borders  of  flower  beds  everywhere  incande.s- 


956 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


ent  lights  brought  out  the  beauties  of  flower 
and  foliage  as  in  the  radiance  of  the  sun. 
Every  point  of  importance  was  so  clustered 
about  with  light  as  to  command  attention 
and  win  admiration.  On  the  dome  of  the 
Agricultural  Building  the  great  golden  figure 
of  "  Diana "  stood,  poised  and  free  of 
movement  to  every  point  of  the  compass. 
Below  her  was  a  sunken  space — the  corona 
of  the  dome — and  in  this  circle,  hidden  from 
view,  was  arranged  a  multitude  of  lights 
which  revealed  her  splendid  figure  as  in  the 
very  eye  of  a  calcium  reflector. 

The  absence  of  other  lights  near,  together 
with  her  height,  produced  the  effect  of  a  gold 
goddess  swinging  in  midair,  but  inside  the 
buildings  the  work  was  even  more  elaborate. 
One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  Fair 
was  the  sixteen  thousand  incandescent  lights 
in  the  Fine  Arts  Building,  where  there  were 
two  miles  of  reflecting  screens.  There  were 
no  arc  lamps  in  this  building,  but  the  flood 
of  incandescent  light  searched  out  every 
beauty  in  the  pictures. 

Gorgeous  Colors. 

One  of  the  daintiest  bits  of  lighting  in  all 
the  Fair  was  the  Wooded  Island,  where  the 
Japanese  had  their  pavilion.  The  Frenchmen 
of  the  Orient  themselves  contributed  to  the 
happiness  of  the  inspiration  by  bringing  with 


them  shades  and  reflectors  for 


use  m  prepar- 


ing the  various  effects,  and  the  result  was 
extremely  beautiful.  Quaint  gables  of  the 
Hooden  or  Phoenix  Palace  were  studded  with 
prettily  shaded  colored  lights,  the  graceful 
curves  that  accentuate  the  Japanese  architec- 
ture were  brought  into  relief  by  clusters  here 
and  there,  and  the  gorgeous  colors  of  the 
building  were  emphasized  in  the  same  way. 
Exhibitors  in  all  the  departments  exhausted 
their  resources  in  the  preparation  of  their 
booths  and  pavilions,  fantastic  lighting  being 
no  small  factor  in   their  success.     Some   of 


the  most  beautiful  lighting  in  the  Exposition 
was  done  in  the  various  State  and  foreign 
buildings,  the  1,760  lights  in  the  New  York 
building  being  arranged  to  make  the  effect 
worthy  of  special  distinction. 

Interesting   Demonstrations. 

Within  the  Electrical  Building  was  the 
exhibit  proper  of  the  new  things  in  electri- 
city. Here  was  followed  out  the  plan  laid 
down  for  the  balance  of  the  Exposition,  to 
demonstrate  in  a  practical  way  the  every-day 
uses  of  electricity.  The  visitor  was  able  to 
see  not  only  that  electricity  can  be  useful  to 
him  in  almost  all  phases  of  life,  whether 
social  or  commercial,  but  he  was  brought  so 
closely  in  contact  with  the  "  deadly  fluid " 
and  saw  so  plainly  all  its  workings  that  he 
was  able  to  judge  for  himself  whether  it  is  to 
be  still  called  "  deadly  "  and  "  dangerous,"  or 
whether  it  is  only  one  of  the  giant  forces  of 
the  universe,  brought  to  its  knees  before  the 
great  intellect  of  man  and  made  to  do  his 
bidding. 

The  visitor  was  allowed  to  lay  his  hands 
on  the  "  deadly  trolley  "  without  ill  effects. 
He  saw  one  hundred  thousand  volts  of 
current,  more  than  thirty  thousand  times  as 
much  as  New  York  uses  to  execute  crimi- 
nals, completely  under  the  control  of  the 
operator  and  handled  by  him  so  carefully  and 
expeditiously  as  to  suggest  no  danger  what- 
ever to  human  life.  He  was  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  electric  current,  and  the 
lesson  taught  was  that  this  deadly  agent  was 
perfectly  harmless  when  confined  to  its 
appropriate  mechanism,  and  that  there  is  no 
need  of  its  getting  the  upper  hand. 

So  visitors  were  given  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  electricity  much  as  Hermann 
acquaints  his  audiences  with  legerdemain, 
but  in  this  case  the  trick  was  followed  by  the 
rational  explanation. 

As   the   great  machines  whirred  ami  spit 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


95- 


and  sparkled  in  the  brilliantly  lighted  hall  it 
was  interesting  to  make  a  tour  with  an  official 
of  the  department  and  have  explanations  of 
the  things  to  be  seen. 

The  key  to  the  e.xhibit  was  found  in  the 
inscription  in  great  gilt  letters  written  over 
the  statue  of  Franklin,  around  the  hemicycle 
that  formed  the  main  entrance,  eripiiit  cceIo 
fulme7i  sceptrumqiie  tyrannis,  which,  being 
liberally  interpreted,  means  that  the  wild 
lightings  have  been  caught  and  tamed. 

A  Fountain  of  Fire. 

The  electric  illumination  within  the  World's 
Fair  grounds  at  night  was  something  far 
more  comprehensive  than  has  ever  before 
been  attempted.  Thousands  of  dollars  were 
expended  in  preparing  for  night  displays 
that  far  eclipsed  anything  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  With  all  the  great  buildings  ablaze, 
the  water  in  the  lagoon  a  sea  of  light,  and 
the  magnificent  MacMonnies  fountain  in 
front  of  the  Administration  Building  throwing 
out  in  water}'  jets  all  the  colors  of  the  rambow, 
a  grand  spectacle  was  presented. 

Endless  rows  of  incandescent  bulbs  were 
arranged  along  the  shores  of  the  lagoon, 
canals  and  inlets ;  all  the  buildings  surround- 
ing the  Grand  Court,  as  it  is  called,  including 
the  peristyle,  casino  and  music  hall,  blazed 
with  the  glare  of  arc  and  incandescent  lamps, 
arranged  in  effective  and  tasteful  designs, 
while  powerful  search-lights  on  the  towers 
of  the  larger  structures  more  than  turned 
night  into  day  on  the  grounds.  Projected 
upon  a  scale  of  uparalleled  splendor,  the 
illumination  of  the  Exposition  palaces  and 
grounds  easily  surpassed  all  other  sights  at 
Jackson  Park. 

The  main  feature  of  the  illumination,  the 
central  factor  of  it  all,  was  the  MacMonnies 
fountain.  It  was  the  most  striking  piece 
of  ornamentation  on  the  grounds.  B\'  day 
and    night   it   was    the    great  attraction  for 


visitors,  and  its  beauty  and  attractiveness 
were  augmented  by  two  electric  fountains  of 
mammoth  size,  the  largest  ever  constructed. 
These  were  located  on  either  side  of  the 
MacMonnies  group,  and  consisted  of  two 
circular  basins,  each  sixty  feet  in  diameter, 
Ihe  bottoms  of  which  were  four  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  water  in  the  grand  canal  or 
basin. 

Water  for  the  jets  was  furnished  through 
twenty  four-inch  mains  branching  from  a 
thirty-six-inch  pipe  connected  with  the 
gigantic  pumps  in  Machinery  Hall,  just 
across  the  way.  Eighteen  water  jets  were 
grouped  in  a  circle  on  the  outer  edge  of  each 
basin  about  the  main  central  orifice,  by  which 
it  threw  a  two-inch  stream  to  the  height  of 
1 50  feet.  Immediately  about  this  were  seven 
jets  of  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
further  to  the  outside,  describing  a  larger 
circle,  was  a  row  of  six  1 14^-inch  jets  inter- 
mingled with  still  another  of  ^-inch  pipes. 
Individual  jets,  so  arranged  as  to  get  the 
best  artistic  effect,  made  a  total  of  1 52  streams 
in  each  fountain,  every  one  of  which  could 
be  thrown  into  action  at  the  same  time. 

Startling  Effects. 

These  fountains  were  illuminated  by  thirty- 
eight  arc  lamps,  each  using  one  hundred 
amperes,  and  their  rays,  of  varying  colors, 
were  deflected  by  parabolic  reflectors.  The 
mechanism  used  to  change  the  combinations 
of  water,  light  and  color  was  located  in  the 
basin,  and  the  operators  in  charge  were 
directed  by  electric  signals  from  one  of  the 
high  towers  on  Machinery  Hall. 

When  these  fountains  were  playing  tlie 
effects  produced  were  startling.  The  combi- 
nations possible,  because  of  the  large  number 
of  jets  and  lights  provided,  were  practically 
innumerable.  What  interested  the  spectators 
more  than  anything  else  was  the  "  set  pieces," 
as   they  were   known.     These  were  on  the^ 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


958 

same   style    as    set    pieces    in    a    fireworks 

display. 

These  set  pieces  were  sometimes  huge 
flowers,  lilies  outlined  in  clear  white  water, 
with  the  slender  stamen  indicated  by  the 
central  jet,  sheaves  of  wheat,  criss-cross 
fences  of  gold,  showers  of  rubies  and  other 
precious  stones ;  and  other  similar  effects 
were  produced  by  an  ingenious  combination 
of  colored  light  thrown  upon  the  rising  and 
falling  streams  of  water.  It  cost  at  least 
$100,000  to  erect  these  fountains  and  get 
them  ready  for  work  and  from  $500  to 
gl.OOO  per  night  to  operate  them. 

Agricultural  Building. 

To  the  average  mind  an  agricultural  dis- 
play suggests  bushels  of  corn,  stacks  of  oats, 
sheaves  of  wheat  and  the  other  naked  pro- 
ducts of  the  field.  Primarily  this  idea  is 
correct,  but  the  world  is  far  advanced  beyond 
the  primary  stage.  Every  combination  into 
which  the  food  products  enter  or  of  which 
they  can  by  any  possibility  form  a  part; 
every  invention  which  tends  to  make  the 
work  of  man  easier  in  inducing  the  soil  to 
yield  up  its  favors  ;  the  liquids  as  well  as  the 
solids,  which  are  the  result  of  man's  ingenuity 
in  compounding  and  mixing  were  .shown  in 
the  Agricultural  Building,  with  the  result 
that  effects  were  produced  and  combinations 
made  that  were  bewildering. 

Taste  and  artistic  sense  were  shown  in  the 
general  arrangement  of  the  displays  in  this 
structure,  which  was  in  itself  a  beautiful 
object  and  worthy  of  close  and  critical  .study. 
Its  interior  was  marred  in  a  measure  in  con- 
sequence of  the  demands  made  upon  it  for 
spaces  in  which  to  arrange  exhibits,  galleries 
iiaving  been  thrown  across  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  displays  for  which  there  was  no 
room  on  the  main  floor. 

Its  general  design  was  at  once  bold  and 
{leroic.     On  either  side  of  the  main  entrance 


were  mammoth  Corinthian  pillars  fifty  feet 
in  height,  while  on  each  corner  and  from 
the  center  of  the  building  pavilions  were 
reared.  The  corner  pavilions  were  connected 
by  curtains,  forming  a  continuous  arcade 
around  the  top  of  the  structure.  The  rotunda 
was  surrounded  by  a  mammoth  glass  dome 
130  feet  in  height.  All  through  the  main 
vestibule  statuary  was  placed  illustrative  of 
the  industry  of  agriculture,  while  similar 
designs  were  grouped  all  around  the  grand 
entrances  in  the  most  elaborate  manner. 

At  first  sight  of  the  interior  of  the  building, 
owing  to  the  great  variety  of  displays  made, 
the  visitor  gained  the  impression  of  a  mighty 
jumble  of  colors — a  vast  fair  in  which  each 
exhibitor  had  sought  to  outdo  his  neighbor 
in  the  matter  of  brightness  or  adornment. 
The  world  had  been  ransacked  for  every 
imaginable  article  of  food  stuffs,  and  more 
than  half  the  space  under  the  great  roof  was 
taken  up  with  the  contribution  of  foreign 
nations. 

Mountains  of  Food. 

Everywhere  there  was  a  sense  of  crowding, 
of  things  put  together  in  the  very  smallest 
space  possible,  but  this  was  owing  to  the 
desire  of  the  chief  of  the  department  to  get 
all  he  could  inside  the  walls.  Symmetry  of 
form  was  sacrificed  to  this  requirement,  but 
such  a  defect  was  hardly  noticed  by  the 
average  visitor.  His  desire  for  something 
huge  was  gratified ;  he  saw  great  stacks  of 
product  piled  all  around  him  and  reaching 
high  into  tiie  air;  mountains  of  food  stuffs 
on  all  sides.  All  varieties  of  taste  were 
catered  to  in  the  individual  displays,  but  the 
ensemble  was  not  altogether  pleasing.  It 
was  only  from  the  east  and  west  galleries 
that  the  visitor  obtained  an  idea  of  the 
immensity  of  the  general  display. 

If  harmony  was  not  obtained,  however, 
there    could  surely   be    no   complaint   ns  to 


THE  WORLDS  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


959 


variety.  The  designers  of  the  paviHons, 
booths  and  other  structures  upon  the  main 
floor  and  in  the  galleries  gave  full  vent  to  their 
imaginations.  Mosques,  towers,  castles, 
temples,  pagodas  and  structures  embracing 
eveiy  known  variety  of  architecture  crowded 
ipon  each  other  in  pleasing  confusion,  and 
'ffered  to  the  beholder  a  vision  of  what  has 
been  in  the  building  line  since  the  world 
began,  and  what  may  be  expected  in  years  to 
come  where  the  laws  and  regulations  regard- 
ing such  things  are  lax. 

Europe's  Contributions. 

The  main  floor  of  the  great  hall  was 
divided  between  foreign  countries  and  the 
States  composing  the  great  American  Union. 
Other  nations  than  the  United  States  occu- 
pied the  space  north  of  the  grand  or  central 
aisle,  which  ran  east  of  the  main  entrance, 
and  the  various  States  were  to  the  south  of 
it. 

There  was  no  reason  why  the  visitor 
should  be  dazzled  by  the  multiplicity  of  dis- 
plays if  he  kept  the  plan  of  arrangement  in 
his  head.  When  he  reached  the  galleries  it 
was  somewhat  different,  for  there  he  came 
across  exhibits  of  every  conceivable  kind, 
representing  the  work  of  thousands  of  private 
individuals  and  presenting  a  bewildering 
array. 

Naturally  enough  the  Agricultural  Build- 
ing was  nothing  more  than  sample  room  for 
Mother  Earth.  It  was  essentially  a  business 
place.  In  the  Horticultural  Building  were 
displayed  nature's  fripperies  and  gewgaws, 
her  ball  gowns  and  reception  dresses,  but 
here  was  what  is  necessary  to  the  life  of  man  ; 
ihe  substantials,  the  foundations  of  his  health 
and  prosperity.  Sweetness  and  light,  how- 
ever, were  imparted  to  the  display  by  the 
trimming  of  its  component  parts  into  artistic 
forms,  but  on  the  whole  the  man  who  entered 
the  Agricultural    Building   did  so  with  the 


idea  that  i  vas  the  place  with  which  the  life 
of  the  country  was  most  closely  connected, 
and  hence  was  more  representative  of  the 
country  than  any  other  structure  on  the 
grounds. 

But  as  to  the  displays  of  the  nations  from 
over  the  sea.  The  mighty  countries  of  the 
European  continent  were  here  prepared  to 
assert  themselves  and  claim  the  attention 
they  consider  their  due.  Great  Britain, 
France,  Russia,  the  wheat  field  of  Europe, 
and  Germany  were  given  the  largest  areas, 
and  these  were  divided  to  the  best  advantage. 

Horticultural  Exhibit. 

Loveliest  of  all  that  the  world  offered  to 
the  memory  of  Columbus  in  the  city  of  white 
palaces  was  the  splendid  horticultural  display. 
Mr.  John  Thorpe,  w  ho,  it  had  been  humor- 
ously remarked,  could  make  a  dry  stick 
blossom,  was  the  real  head  of  this  depart- 
ment. He  presided  over  a  vast  building, 
from  the  middle  of  which  arose  a  glass  dome 
122  feet  high  and  i8o  feet  in  diameter. 

But  the  most  notable  point  in  horticul- 
ture was  the  outdoor  exhibition.  Right  in 
front  of  the  huge  building  was  a  wooded 
island  in  the  lagoon.  From  its  shores  trailed 
aquatic  plants  in  curious  patterns.  At  the 
southern  end  was  a  garden  of  fifty  thousand 
roses  laid  out  in  a  labyrinthal  design  and 
surrounded  by  a  garlanded  fence  of  roses 
eight  feet  high.  In  the  center  was  a  pagoda 
covered  with  clematis  of  all  hues.  This 
garden  contained  over  sixteen  thousand 
varieties  of  the  roses. 

There  were  forty-eight  exhibitors,  and 
they  revived  many  of  the  roses  that  were 
once  fashionable  but  have  been  forgotten. 
Two-thirds  of  roses  are  hardy,  and  the  rest 
are  tender,  like  tea  roses  and  other  varieties 
that  need  the  protection  of  hothouses  as  a  rule. 
The  finest  display  came  from  Belfast,  Ireland, 
but   California,  Holland  and  Germany  were 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


960 

close  competitors.     The  beauty  and  fragrance 

of  this  spot  may  be  imagined  by  the  fact  that 

the  margin  of  each  group  of  roses  was  made 

up  of  flowering  honeysuckles  trailing  on  the 

ground. 

Just  south  of  the  rose  garden  were  the 
rhododendrons  of  England,  Holland,  Bel- 
gium and  America  grouped  for  effects  of 
massed  color,  and  scattered  among  them 
were  hundreds  of  Japanese,  European  and 
American  lilies. 

Turning  northward  on  the  little  island  the 
visitor  came  to  a  plateau  of  old-fashioned 
English  garden  flowers,  the  sort  of  things 
Lord  Bacon  mentions  in  his  quaint  plan  of  a 
perfect  garden.  Here  were  marigolds,  Sweet 
Williams,  primroses,  larkspurs,  Michaelmas 
daisies  and  scores  of  other  sentimental 
suggestions. 

Then  came  a  large  group  of  trees  and 
shrubs  gathered  together  for  strange  con- 
trasts of  leaves  and  showing  departures  from 
normal  types.  There  were  quivering  aspens, 
tall  poplars,  beeches,  birches,  willows,  maples, 
elms,  ashes  and  similar  trees,  all  leading 
toward  a  dainty,  sweet-smelling  garden  of 
annual  flowering  plants  like  sweet  peas  and 
mignonette. 

Floral  Loveliness. 

The  Japanese  garden  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  sights  on  Wooded  Island.  It  was 
cared  for  by  Japanese  gardeners  in  costume, 
and  working  with  primitive  apparatus.  All 
sorts  of  dwarfed  pines,  cedars  and  other 
growths  mingled  their  fantastic  shapes  in  the 
general  plan,  from  which  the  visitor  could  at 
a  glance  see  the  origin  of  much  that  is  wild 
and  grotesque  in  the  decorative  art  of  Japan. 
There  were  many  wonderful  palm.s  and 
stunted  trees  that  have  grown  for  centuries 
and  are  still  vigorous.  The  Eastern  effect 
was  heightened  by  rockwork  and  tinkling, 
murmuring  waterfalls. 


Coming  back  from  the  island  by  a  graceful 
bridge,  in  the  roadway  facing  the  east  faijade 
of  the  Horticultural  Building,  one  could  see 
spread  out  before  him  a  gorgeous,  spectacu- 
lar display  of  massed  crimson,  scarlet,  orange 
and  salmon-colored  French  cannas  displayed 
by  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey. 

This  magnificent  field  of  color  was  a 
thousand  feet  long  and  eighty  feet  deep.  It 
contained  over  twenty  thousand  plants  in 
bloom.  And  behind  this  royal  scarlet  pomp, 
in  the  recesses  between  the  main  entrance 
an  1  the  wings,  were  planted  over  a  hundred 
thousand  pansies.  Thirty-seven  thousand  ol 
them,  selected  for  the  beauty  of  their  tints^ 
were  combined  in  one  vast  scroll-like  design. 
There  were  in  this  exhibit  six  hundred  and 
forty  varieties  of  pansies,  representing  the 
growers  of  the  whole  world.  The  cannas 
and  pansies  were  out  of  doors,  and  formed  a 
striking  base  for  the  fine  architecture  of  the 
monster  building. 

The  Art  Palace. 

In  a  matchless  white  palace  of  pure  Ionic 
order  the  art  producing  nations  of  the  world, 
for  the  first  time,  entered  upon  a  serious 
competition  with  the  painters  and  sculptors 
of  America.  The  structure  itself  was  worthy 
of  the  pictured  grandeur  that  stretched  for 
miles  under  its  roof.  Every  line  was  full  ol 
quiet  beauty.  From  portal  to  portal  it  was 
a  noble  sermon  on  architecture.  In  looking 
upon  this  building  one  could  scarcely  imagine 
how  it  could  have  been  otherwise,  it  was  all 
so  natural,  so  harmonious,  so  blended  to  its 
purpose  without  apparent  effect. 

Here  were  gathered  the  best  modern- 
works  of  America,  France,  England,  Ger- 
many, Holland,  Russia,  Spain,  Belgium, 
Italy,  Austria,  Norway,  Sweden,  Japan,  Den- 
mark and  Mexico,  all  carefully  selected  by 
separate  national  juries  and  hung  upon  the 
walls  as  representative  creations.     There  can 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


96 1 


be  little  doubt  that  this  was  the  most 
important,  as  well  as  the  most  extensive, 
display  of  contemporaneous  art  that  has 
yet  been  made  in  any  country,  not  ex- 
cepting even  that  of  the  Paris  Exposition. 
Old  masters  were  excluded,  so  that  Ameri- 
cans could  now  see  for  themselves  the 
position  which  their  country  occupies  in 
comparison  with  other  countries. 

This  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
America  that  such  an  exhibition  could  have 
been  possible,  for  in  1876,  when  the  Phila- 
delphia Exposition  was  opened,  there  was 
scarcely  any  American  art  to  speak  of  But 
the  honest  critic  who  walked  through  the 
five  acres  of  galleries  must  admit  that 
America  now  holds  a  high  place  in  the  art 
world.  Americans  can  carry  their  heads 
erect. 


Dore's   W^orld-Renowned   Paintings. 

The  collection  of  the  works  of  Gustave 
Dore,  which  is  the  finest  collection  of  religious 
pictures  in  the  world,  was  exhibited  at  the 
World's  Fair.  This  collection  was  valued 
at  half  a  million  dollars. 

The  Dore  collection  comprised  thirty-two 
large  oil  paintings  and  many  of  the  original 
sketches  in  black  and  whitefrom  which  these 
were  painted.  With  the  collection  were 
many  landscapes,  showing  the  versatility  of 
the  great  artist,  and  also  many  proofs  of 
engravings  signed  by  him.  No  artist  of 
modern  times  has  appealed  so  strongly  to 
the  religious  sentiment  of  Christians  as  this 
renowned  Alsatian,  whose  powerful  concep- 
tions, both  as  an  illustrator  and  painter,  have 
placed  him  in  the  front  ranks  among  the 
remarkable  men  of  this  or  any  other  time. 

Perhaps  no  building  among  the  scores  at 
Jackson  Park  was  more  eagerly  sought  or 
studied  with  more  interest  than  the  Woman's 
Building.  The  place  occupied  by  woman  in 
the   serious   work    of  the    world    and    her 


accomplishments  in  addition  to  being  graceful 
and  beautiful  were  shown  at  the  World's 
Fair.  There  were  collected  and  placed  in 
attractive  form  object  lessons  displaying  to 
the  best  advantage  her  progress  and  enlarged 
sphere  of  usefulness  that  startled  those 
people  who  have  regarded  women  as  merely 
pedestals  for  bonnets  and  as  types  of  frivolity. 
Under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Potter 
Palmer  the  Lady  Managers  did  wonders. 
More  of  the  real  results  of  the  Exposition 
than  they  will  ever  get  credit  for  can  be 
traced  to  their  endeavors.  Co-operating 
with  the  central  body  were  women  of  push 
and  energ}'  all  over  the  country,  and  in  many 
states  the  news  that  a  great  Exposition  was 
to  be  held  was  first  carried  to  the  citizens  by 
the  gentler  sex.  In  Te.xas,  for  instance,  they 
did  the  pioneer  work  that  resulted  in  a  display 
being  sent  by  voluntary  contributions,  the 
constitution  of  that  state  preventing  the 
Legislature  from  making  appropriations  such 
as  were  set  aside  by  other  commonwealths. 

The  Nobility  Interested. 

The  first  labors  of  the  women  managers 
before  they  decided  on  the  sort  of  exhibits 
that  should  be  made  were  to  enlist  the 
co-operations  of  foreign  countries.  In  Eng- 
land, Queen  Victoria  and  Princess  Christian 
were  induced  by  Mrs.  Palmer  to  join  the 
movement.  Then  there  came  in  the  Duchess 
of  Abercorn.  Lady  Salisbury,  Mrs.  Bedford 
Fen  wick.  Lady  Henry  Somerset,  Baroness 
Burdett-Coutts  and  a  number  of  others 
equally  public-spirited.  In  France,  Mme. 
Carnot  was  president  of  a  committee:  in 
Germany,  Princess  Frederick  Carl ;  in  Itah-. 
Queen  Margherita ;  in  Belgium,  the  Queen 
of  the  Belgians,  and  in  Russia  the  Empress 
enthusiastically  indorsed  the  idea  of  a 
woman's  exhibit. 

The  responses  to  the  calls  from  the  central 
body  showed  the  strides  that  have  been  made 


962 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


by  women  in  what  has  been  termed  their 
"  emancipation."  No  previous  Exposition 
has  ever  had  a  display  of  women's  work  Hke 
this,  and,  what  is  of  more  importance,  in  no 
Exposition  did  woman  ever  have  the  voice 
that  she  had  in  this 

United  States  Government  Building. 

Our  Government  exhibit  was  one  of  the 
best ;  comprising  a  multitude  of  rare  and 
valuable  exhibits;  in  short,  it  was  nothing 
less  than  a  great  national  school  in  which 
thousands  of  object  lessons  gave  visitors  an 
insight  into  the  methods  of  administering  the 
various  departments  at  Washington.  Even 
people  who  thought  themselves  well  informed 
on  the  functions  of  the  Federal  administration 
were  astonished  at  the  great  variety  of  matters 
that  the  wonderful  old  gentleman  Uncle  Sam 
attends  to. 

There  were  prepared  displays  of  selected 
cereals,  tobacco  and  vegetable  fibres;  exhibits 
of  stuffed  birds  ;  the  fishes  that  swim  in  our 
American  waters ;  whale  boats  and  fishing 
implements ;  lighthouses  and  life-boats ;  big 
guns  and  other  weapons  of  war;  geological 
and  mineral  specimens ;  and  rare  coins  and 
bank  notes. 

The  department  of  relics  was  rich  in 
treasures,  comprising  everything  that  illus- 
trates the  early  and  later  histo:y  of  our 
country. 

The  naval  exhibit  of  the  United  States 
Government  was  nearly  all  contained  in  the 
composite  battle-ship  Illinois,  which  stood  in 
Lake  Michigan  almost  in  front  of  the  huge 
building  devoted  to  manufactures.  Few 
people  who  saw  the  formidable  guns  and 
turret  of  the  Illinois,  which  seemed  to  stand 
guard  over  the  Fair  grounds  and  protect 
them  from  invasion  by  water,  realized  until 
they  came  very  close  to  her  that  she  was  not 
a  floating  ship  of  war.  This  brick  ship  was 
the  idea  of  Commodore  R.  W.  Meade. 


Her  Gatling  and  Hotchkiss  guns,  of  which 
she  had  a  battery,  seemed  to  stand  upon 
decks  that  had  been  washed  with  the  spray 
of  the  ocean.  Steam  and  smoke  issued  from 
her  funnel,  her  steam  whistle  blew  as  if  to 
warn  adjacent  craft  that  she  was  about  to 
sheer  off"  from  the  wharf,  and  real  naval 
officers  in  full  uniform  paced  her  quartet 
deck.  In  spite  of  that  fact  she  was  fi  rmly  buih 
into  the  mud  of  the  lake  and  couldn't  have 
been  moved  with  a  derrick.  She  would  no( 
have  floated  even  if  bricks  and  mortal 
floated,  for  she  had  no  bottom. 

Everything  was  shown  that  pertains  to  a 
first-class  battle-ship,  and  the  great  interest 
in  our  naval  armaments  was  exhibited  in  the 
crowds  who   constantly  thronged  the  vessel. 

The  Fisheries  Building. 

The  Fisheries  Building  embraced  a  large 
central  structure  with  two  smaller  buildings 
connected  w'th  it  on  each  end  by  arcades. 
The  extreme  length  of  the  building  was 
i,ioo  feet  and  the  width  200  feet.  It  was 
located  to  the  northward  of  the  United  States 
Government  Building.  In  the  central  portion 
was  the  general  Fisheries  exhibit.  In  one  of 
the  other  buildings  was  the  Angling  exhibit 
and  in  the  other  the  Aquaria. 

One  part  of  the  exhibition  was  prepared 
by  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  and 
one  of  the  annexes  to  the  main  building 
contained  glass  tanks  filled  with  denizens  of 
the  deep  living  almost  in  a  state  of  nature. 

Besides  these  live  fish,  which  included 
specimens  of  those  that  live  in  salt  water, 
there  were  complete  collections  of  the  imple- 
ments  used  in  catching  and  curing  them. 
Canada  sent  her  fishing  vessels,  staunch  and 
seaworthy,  from  which  her  people  take  the 
cod,  and  there  could  be  seen  also  the  birch 
bark  canoes  from  which  the  Indians  of  the 
Pacific  coasts  lure  the  salmon. 

Fishing  has  not   received  much  attention 


564 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


at  international  exhibitions.  London  had  an 
exposition  devoted  entirely  to  fisheries,  but 
in  Chicago  a  very  great  deal  was  done  to 
illustrate  the  industr>%  and  that,  too,  without 
any  American  precedents. 

Norwegian  stock  fish  and  cod  liver  oil 
were  there  in  large  quantities.  They  gave  a 
sea  flavor  to  the  atmosphere,  and  you  could 
almost  see  the  fish  jumping  in  the  nets  and 
hear  the  boat's  keel  rubbing  on  the  beach 
and  the  swash  of  the  surf  if  you  closed  your 
eyes  for  a  moment.  All  sorts  of  canned  fish 
from  Old  Norway  were  piled  up,  and  there 
was  a  fisherman's  hut  from  Loffoden  showing 
how  two  or  three  boat's  crews  bunk  in  a 
roughly  built  pine  board  box. 

Gloucester,  Mass.,  which  is  not  too  proud 
to  own  up  that  its  greatness  is  due  to  its 
fisheries,  staked  out  a  lot  of  space  in  which 
it  gloried  in  the  fact.  It  told  of  the  past  and 
present  condition  of  its  industries.  A  model 
of  the  town  as  it  was  one  hundred  years  ago 
with  cob  whar\'es  and  cheap  little  fish  sheds, 
was  shown,  and  then  the  town  proudly 
pointed  to  a  model  of  a  section  of  the  town 
as  it  is  to-day.  How  the  wharves  and  the 
warehouses  have  grown !  The  very  men 
who  paced  the  piers  in  miniature  seemed  to 
have  a  sense  of  their  increased  worth. 

A  Happy  Family  of  Fishes. 

Swimming  around  the  tanks,  apparently 
contented,  though  without  very  much  intelli- 
gence on  their  faces,  were  trout,  goldfish, 
perch  and  a  large  variety  of  specimens  from 
the  lakes.  In  a  central  pond  were  some 
catfish  and  pike.  It  was  necessary  to  assort 
the  trout  according  to  their  sizes,  as  they  are 
cannibals. 

An  interesting  exhibit  was  that  of  the 
American  Anglers.  It  included  fishing  boats, 
tents  and  furniture.  There  was  a  display 
also  of  flies,  rods,  reels  and  tackle  and  some 
young  women  engaged  in  tying  flies  on  the 


hooks  and  making  fishing  lines.  Primitive 
boats  and  tackle  used  by  the  Indians  of  the 
Amazon  and  the  more  modern  appliances 
were  in  the  exhibit  from  Brazil.  They 
contrasted  strangely  with  the  steel  rods  and 
the  graceful  flies  of  North  America. 

As  the  building  was  on  the  banks  of  the 
lagoon  arrangements  were  made  for  tourna- 
ments at  fly  casting,  bait  fishing,  trolling  and 
skittering  during  the  Fair.  Several  Ashing 
camps  which  showed  tents,  log  huts  and 
portable  houses,  were  kept  up  on  the  bank, 
and  anglers  were  able  to  sneer  at  the 
appliances  used  by  others  and  explain  the 
virtues  of  those  affected  by  themselves. 

Transportation  Building. 
Except  for  the  doorway  of  retreating 
arches,  the  architectual  gem  of  the  whole 
Exposition,  no  particular  attempt  at  adorn- 
ment was  made  on  the  Transportation  Build- 
ing. Every  nook,  nave,  corridor  and  grand 
gallery  were  built  for  a  purpose.  It  was 
planned  and  built,  more  than  any  building  in 
Jackson  Park,  for  its  use  in  properly 
displaying  ancient  and  modern  methods  of 
transportation.  Being  in  this  highest  sense 
useful  it  was,  according  to  Socrates,  in  the 
highest  sense  beautiful.  The  display  inside 
of  the  hall  was  bewildering  in  its  range  and 
variety.  The  whole  history  of  transportation, 
from  birch  bark  canoes  to  steamships,  and 
from  pack  horses  to  palace  cars  was  unfolded 
in  a  manner  never  to  be  forgotten.  Looking 
down  from  the  galleries  upon  the  acres 
and  acres  of  exhibits,  one  saw  a  monster 
black  steam  hammer  for  forging  armor  plates 
which  towered  above  the  second  story,  a  row 
of  famous  locomotives  facing  out  from  the 
annex  like  a  herd  of  elephants,  a  full  section 
of  colossal  ocean  steamships,  and  scattered 
about  here  and  there,  thousands  of  objects 
that  told  the  story  of  how  man  has  gradually 
annihilated  space. 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAX  EXPOSITION. 


965 


The  invention  and  development  of  the 
locomotive  and  railway  system  is  the  nine- 
teenth century  wonder.  Less  than  sixtj-- 
eight  years  since  the  first  passenger  railway 
ran  its  first  crude  train.  Now  the  great  civil- 
izer  has  penetrated  every  country.  About 
ten  acres  of  ground  floor  space  were  devoted 
exclusively  to  exhibits  pertaining  to  railway 
construction,  equipment,  operation,  manage- 
ment and  development.  Si.xty-four  modern 
locomotives  of  all  types  and  sizes  from  the 
two  one-hundred  ton  Decapod  engines  which 
stood  on  the  pedestals  between  the  Adminis- 
tration Building  and  the  Railway  Station  to 
the  fiv^e  ton  logging  locomotives  for  use  in 
the  forests  of  Michigan. 

In  the  Transportation  Building  was  the 
original  first  train  run  in  New  York,  the  name 
of  the  locomotive  being  "  De  Witt  Clinton." 
The  "  De  Witt  Clinton  "  was  built  at  the 
West  Point  foundry,  at  the  foot  of  Beach 
street,  New  York  City,  in  1831. 

This  engine  was  run  on  trial  trips  on  the 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  railroad  at  various 
times  from  Juh-  2,  1831,  until  August  9, 
when  the  first  regular  excursion  trip  was 
made. 

Passengers    Sho\A?ered  with   Sparks. 

The  conductor  mounted  a  small  seat 
attached  to  the  rear  of  the  tender  and  gave 
the  signal  for  starting  by  blowing  a  tin  horn. 
The  fuel  used  on  this  trip  was  dry  pitch  pine, 
coal  having  been  previously  tried,  but  did  not 
work  satisfactorily. 

As  there  was  no  spark  arrester  on  the 
stack  the  smoke  and  sparks  poured  back  on 
the  passengers  in  such  a  volume  that  they 
raised  their  umbrellas  as  shields.  The  covers 
were  soon  burned  off  these,  and  each  man 
whipped  his  neighbor's  clothes  to  put  out  the 
fire  started  by  the  hot  cinders. 

When  a  stop  was  made  at  the  water  station 
an  attempt  was  made  to  remedy  the  disagree- 


able jerks  resulting  from  the  slack  between 
the  coaches  by  wedging  a  rail  from  a  neigh- 
boring fence  between  each  car  and  tying  it 
fast  with  packing  yarn.  This  plan  succeeded, 
and  the  train  arrived  at  the  incline  plane  at 
Schenectady  without  accident.  After  the 
party  had  partaken  of  refreshments  in  Sche- 
nectady they  returned  to  Albany,  and  thus 
completed  the  first  regular  trip  of  a  locomo- 
tive and  train  in  New  York  State. 

The  space  devoted  to  wheeled  vehicles  was 
1 30,000  square  feet,  and  it  was  all  fitted  up 
with  new  wood  carpet  in  white  oak  strips, 
laid  out  in  handsome  patterns  and  finished  in 
oil.  Each  space  was  surrounded  with  hand- 
some ornamental  brass  railing  and  posts. 
This  exhibit  occupied  the  entire  north  end  of 
the  Main  Building  and  the  annex  and  about 
one-half  of  the  north  galler)'  in  the  Main 
Building. 

Great  Variety. 

On  the  first  floor  were  exhibited  carriages, 
wagons  and  vehicles  of  every  description.  In 
the  gallery  were  displayed  bicycles,  carriages 
and  wagon  hardware  and  saddlery  goods, 
There  was  a  historical  array  of  vehicles,  sad- 
dlery goods  and  bicycles.  An  effort  was 
made  to  show  the  evolution  of  these  indus- 
tries from  their  primitive  origins  down  to  the 
present  time. 

For  this  purpose  a  large  collection  was 
made  in  foreign  lands,  from  the  ancient  char- 
iot that  antedates  Christ  to  the  latest  thing 
out. 

There  was  shown  ever\'thing  from  the  old 
Mexican  cart  drawn  by  oxen  and  the  first 
bicycle  ever  made  to  the  finest  royal  and 
family  carriage  that  the  modern  builder  can 
produce.  The  luxurious  and  useful  modern 
brougham,  which  the  celebrated  makers  of 
the  world  are  displaying,  stood  alongside  the 
old  deacon's  celebrated  "  one  horse  shay." 
There  was  a  bewildering   collection  of  carts 


966 


THE  WORLDS  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


and  harness  from  Palermo,  land  sledges  from 
Punchal.acalache  from  Quebec,  and  a  volante 
from  Cuba.  The  ox  and  the  ass  appeared  in 
various  burden  bearing  capacities,  and  the 
harness  and  saddlery  abounded  in  most  useful 
and  economical  forms  as  well  as  in  the  elegant 
and  even  fantastic  styles. 

The  human  pack  animal  was  not  forgotten. 
He  appeared  as  the  Cargadores  of  South 
America  and  the  street  carrier  of  the  Orient. 
There  were  palanquins,  traveling  hammocks, 
and  sedans  from  remote  corners  of  the  globe 
as  well  as  of  remote  times,  illustrating  how 
one  class  of  mankind  drudges  that  another 
may  ride  in  luxury. 

Mines  and   Mining  Building. 

The  mining  e.xhibit  at  the  World's  Fair 
has  never  been  equalled  at  any  E.xposition. 
At  Philadelphia,  in  Paris  and  at  the  other 
big  shows  of  this  character  mining  has  had  a 
pavilion  to  itself,  but  it  has  never  been  made 
a  feature.  At  Chicago  there  was  a  splendid 
collection,  including  some  thirteen  thousand 
exhibits,  illustrating  all  the  valuables  that 
man  extracts  from  the  earth. 

Not  only  were  the  processes  shown  bj- 
which  the  crude  ore  is  fashioned,  but  the 
methods  by  which  the  ore  is  taken  from  tlie 
ground  and  treated  were  explained  by  costly 
working  models.  There  are  few  things 
about  mining  that  could  not  be  learned  in 
the  building  700  feet  long  by  350  wide  set 
apart  for  this  study. 

Cape  Colony  showed  the  output  of  the 
Kimberley  diamond  mines.  A  quantity  of 
the  blue  earth  in  which  the  diamonds  are 
found  was  sent  to  this  country  to  be  worked 
over  during  the  Fair.  There  were  two  or 
three  carloads  of  it  and  it  was  worth 
§200,000.  It  was  stored  outside  the  building 
and  guarded  by  men  armed  with  enormous 
pistols. 

A  force  of  Kaffirs  extracted  the  diamonds. 


First  of  all,  the  blue  earth  was  transported 
from  the  storage  place  to  the  South  African 
pavilion  by  means  of  an  underground  tram- 
wa\-  built  to  give  visitors  an  insight  into 
mining.  When  it  reached  the  pavilion  it 
passed  into  the  machinery  used  to  pulverize 
the  earth,  which  is  very  hard.  The  Kaffirs 
sorted  out  the  diamond  pebbles.  At  night 
they  guarded  the  diamond  earth  to  prevent 
it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  treacher- 
ous whites. 

In  the  Miners'  Hut. 

Copper  in  great  profusion  was  found  in  the 
exhibits  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  some 
from  the  Copper  Queen  Consolidated  Mines. 
New  Mexico  built  a  miners'  cabin  and 
covered  it  with  minerals.  It  was  the  sort  of 
place  the  miners  live  in  when  they  can't  get 
anything  better. 

Mining  and  stone  quarrying  and  stone 
working  machinery  was  arranged  under  the 
east  gallery,  where  there  were  to  be  found 
placer  and  hydraulic  implements  in  everj' 
shape.  It  was  shown  how  the  polishing  is 
done,  the  underground  haulage,  the  systems 
of  hoisting,  draining,  ventilating,  lighting, 
transporting  and  conveying  on  the  surface, 
drills,  boring,  blasting,  crushing,  screening 
and  "  sizing."  There  were  heavy  stamps  for 
crushing  ore,  most  of  them  full  size. 

In  the  model  room  were  representations 
of  mines,  shafts  and  tunnels  and  drifts  which 
gave  an  idea  of  a  miner's  work  that  could 
only  be  obtained  otherwise  by  a  trip  into  the 
caverns  of  the  earth. 

In  the  heavy  chemical  group  were  sulphurs, 
salts,  pigments  and  fertilizers.  Florida  and 
South  Carolina  showed  their  big  phosphat'.- 
beds.  Another  group  contained  the  cements, 
asphalts  and  mastics.  Included  in  this  was  a 
model  of  the  pitch  lake  of  Trinidad,  sent  by 
an  asphalt  firm.  The  clays  were  shown  by 
themselves,  and  in  one  part  of  the  gallery  a 


THE  WORLDS  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


Chicago  firm,  with  miniature  machinery, 
produced  and  baked  little  pressed  bricks  that 
they  gave  away  as  samples.  Here  also  was 
a  collection  of  graphite  arranged  by  a  Jersey 
City  firm  that  showed  all  the  uses  of  that 
material  from  crucibles  to  stove  polish. 
Adjoining  was  an  assortment  of  abrasives, 
such  as  grindstones.  It  is  a  noteworth\'  fact 
that  the  rouge  used  for  women's  faces  was 
classed  as  an  abrasive  and  was  placed  al'^ng- 
side  of  the  grindstones. 

Children's  Building. 

Wedged  in  between  the  Woman's  Building 
and  the  Horticultural  Building,  as  if  to  teach 
by  an  object  lesson  that  children  are  the 
buds  of  the  heart,  and  the  only  flowerets  in 
the  universe  more  attractive  to  women  than 
the  flowers  of  the  garden  stood  the  Children's 
Building  of  the  Exposition.  It  was  an 
Exposition  building,  however,  onl\-  in  the 
sense  that  it  was  on  the  Exposition  grounds. 
It  was  built  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers  and  with  money 
which  they  collected  all  over  the  United 
States,  there  being  only  eight  or  ten  States 
and  Territories  from  which  nothing  was 
received. 

The  Children's  Building  served  a  dual 
purpose.  It  was  educational  and  practical, 
and  devoted  to  both  during  the  Exposition. 
The  educational  feature  was  a  branch  which 
showed  mothers  how  to  train  the  little  ones 
entrusted  to  their  charge.  Simple  ways  of 
teaching  the  infant  mind  by  figure  and  illus- 
tration were  shown,  and  attendants  were 
always  on  hand  to  explain  the  system.  The 
practical  part,  aside  from  the  gynmasium, 
included  a  room  where  children  did  wood 
carving,  another  where  deaf  and  dumb  boys 
and  girls  could  go  and  find  companions,  and, 
best  of  all,  the  nursery. 

Two  rooms  on  the  first  floor  were  devoted 
to   this   purpose.     They  were  the   brightest 


967 

rooms  in  the  building,  and  were  presided 
over  by  trained  nurse  girls  dressed  in  striped 
dresses  and  wearing  white  caps.  There  were 
rows  of  cradles  for  the  very  little  people, 
rows  of  beds  for  those  a  little  older,  toys  ol 
all  kinds,  spring  chairs  hung  from  the  ceiling, 
where  babies  could  jump  up  and  down  and 
"go,"  and  in  the  center  was  a  place  they 
called  the  pond.  It  was  an  enclosure  fenced 
off  as  a  play-ground  for  the  little  people  who 
could  only  creep. 

On  the  roof  of  the  building  which  was 
their  especial  kingdom  was  a  great  garden, 
in  which  they  were  reigning  kings  and 
queens.  They  were  permitted  to  pla\'  with 
the  toys  considered  safe  for  them  and  that 
they  could  not  throw  over  the  battlement 
upon  the  heads  of  larger  and  less  happy 
passers-by.  They  had  the  shade  of  awnings, 
the  benefit  of  cool  breezes,  the  cheer  ot  music 
and  the  pleasure  that  games  gave  them.  In 
this  and  all  other  departments  the  toys  sent 
them  by  foreign  nations  and  American  manu 
facturerswere  proofs  of  genuine  philanthropy. 
By  far  the  greater  number  of  toys  from  any 
one  nation  were  French.  They  more  than 
any  other  were  of  the  ingenious  kind — the 
mechanical  devices  that  prove  ingenuity  in 
the  maker  and  skill  in  the  operator.  Many 
of  them  were  of  the  kind  that  may  be  enjoyed 
without  handling  by  the  children. 

The  State  Buildings. 

Nearly  every  State  and  Territory  in  the 
Union,  as  well  as  every  foreign  government, 
was  represented  on  the  Fair  grounds  by 
buildings,  in  which  were  special  exhibits  from 
those  States,  such  as  soils,  mineral  products, 
grains  and  other  products,  and  also  club 
rooms  for  the  people  from  those  States,  which 
they  could  call  their  own  headquarters,  but 
all  of  these  were  open  to  the  public  free  of 
any  charge. 

These  State  buildings  presented  a  variety 


968 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


of  architecture  detailing  in  a  measure  the  j 
history  of  the  country.  They  contained  ex-  ] 
hibits  among  the  most  interesting  to  the  for- 
eign visitors,  because  they  showed  what  each 
State  is  able  to  produce  and  what  are  its 
natural  resources.  In  many  instances  they 
represented  State  Fairs  with  very  complete 
exhibits. 

Some  of  the  state  buildings  were  veritable 
palaces,  and  all  of  them  of  the  character  of 
homes,  with  their  handsomely  furnished  par- 
lors, reception-rooms,  reading  and  smoking- 
rooms,  broad  verandas  and  other  conven- 
iences for  visitors. 

Great  Britain    and  Colonies. 

The  British  exhibit  was  the  creation  of 
the  Society  of  Arts  of  London.  This  ven- 
erable society  was  founded  in  1754,  "for  the 
encouragement  of  the  arts,  manufactures, 
and  commerce  of  the  country."  The  British 
Government  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
commission  $125,000,  afterward  increased  to 
$300,000,  and  it  addressed  itself  to  the  task 
of  creating  an  exhibit  in  th^  most  prompt, 
systematic,  and  industrious  manner.  A  thor- 
ough organization  of  every  part  of  the 
Empire  and  its  dependencies  and  of  every 
branch  of  the  exhibit  was  made,  and  every 
subject  was  worked  up  in  the  most  intelligent 
and  scientific  manner. 

The  result  was  that  all  of  the  500,000 
square  feet  of  space  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  commission  was  speedily  taken,  leaving 
many  applicants  disappointed.  The  list  of 
colonies  represented  at  the  Exposition 
included  Canada,  New  South  Wales,  Cape 
Colony,  Ceylon,  British  Guiana,  Jamaica  and 
Trinidad.  In  addition  the  Government  of 
India  appropriated  $14,000  to  the  Indian  Tea 
Association's  exhibit  and  $3,500  to  the  Delhi 
Art  Manufacture  exhibit,  including  the  erec- 
tion of  the  India  Building. 

The  British  pavilion   in   the  Manufactures 


and  Liberal  Arts  Building  was  an  exact 
reproduction  in  English  oak  of  the  banquet- 
ing hall  at  Hatfield  House,  the  historic  home 
of  the  Cecils.  All  of  the  carvings  were  cut 
from  solid  oak — that  is  to  say,  each  figure 
and  panel  of  which  a  casting  was  taken  was 
not  pieced,  but  reproduced  from  one  block. 
By  a  process  of  "fuming  "  the  rich,  deep 
tone  of  antique  work  was  imparted  to  the 
carvings. 

Native  Products  of  Canada. 

The  selection  of  the  various  objects  of 
interest  from  Canada  was  made  by  experts 
appointed  especially  for  their  ability,  and  the 
selection  and  care  of  the  exhibits  cost  over 
$250,000. 

The  list  was  comprehensive  and  embraced 
all  the  domestic  animals,  grain,  seeds,  roots, 
fruit,  mineral,  timber,  wood,  manufactured 
goods,  fisheries  and  dairy  products.  Canada 
made  a  showing  in  every  large  building  on 
the  ground.  There  were  also  3,500  samples 
of  grains,  threshed  and  in  the  straw. 

The  mineral  exhibit  exceeded  125  tons  in 
weight  and  embraced  every  known  mineral, 
marble  and  granite  in  the  province.  There 
was  one  block  of  pure  nickel  weighing  4,600 
pounds,  and  twelve  cones  of  nickel  matt 
weighing  600  pounds  each,  and  one  sample 
of  the  ore,  the  richest  ever  yet  found,  weigh- 
ing ten  tons.  In  the  forestry  division  were 
samples  of  all  the  known  varieties  of  wood 
that  grow  in  Canada.  Each  piece  was  forty- 
two  inches  long  and  as  large  around  as  pos- 
sible. One  end  was  polished  to  show  the 
grain,  and  each  section  had  a  companion  sec- 
tion squared,  polished  and  engraved,  show- 
ing the  leaf  and  seed  of  the  variety. 

There  were  also  many  pieces  of  timber 
prepared  by  the  Indians  without  the  aid  of  a 
saw  and  carved  with  a  common  pocket-knife. 
This  Indian  carving  was  most  complete, 
one  piece  being  a  balcony,   belfry,  bell  and 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


-69 


chain — all  carved  out  of  one  solid  block — 
the  work  of  ten  years.  Everj^  article  was 
marked  with  its  full  history. 

As  a  souvenir  the  commissioners  gave 
away  a  lithograph  of  the  Parliament  build- 
ings and  a  catalogue  of  the  exhibit.  Among 
the  curious  things  were  the  first  piano  ever 
brought  into  Canada  and  the  first  mechani- 
cal device  for  grinding  grain,  a  small  hand 


Germany  and    Belgium. 

Never  since  the  first  great  World's  Fair 
was  opened  in  London,  nearly  half  a  century 
ago,  have  the  German  people  taken  so  lively 
an  interest  in  an  affair  of  the  kind  as  they 
exhibited  in  the  Columbian  Exposition.  As 
a  nation  they  made  displays  in  every  depart- 
ment at  the  Fair,  and  in  addition  the  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  made  distinct 
exhibits  that  compared  favorably  with  those 
prepared  by  their  business  rivals  of  other 
European  countries.  Germany's  exhibit  was 
the  pride  of  all  wlio  claim  allegiance  to  that 
country  or  whose  ancestors  came  from  that 
political  division  of  Europe.  The  German 
Building  overlooking  Lake  Michigan  was 
the  showiest  of  all  the  foreign  buildings. 

Armbruster  Bros.,  of  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main,  furnished  for  the  German  exhibit  in  the 
Manufactures  Building  the  beautiful  wrought 
iron  fence  which  separated  this  section  of  the 
exhibit  from  Columbia  avenue.  The  style  of 
the  work  was  highly  ornamental  and  the  cen- 
tral one  of  the  three  gates  was  the  largest 
piece  of  wrought  iron  art  work  ever  made. 
It  stood  forty  feet  high  and  was  twenty-two 
feet  in  width,  and  the  gates  alone  weighed 
eighteen    tons,    exclusive    of    the   elaborate 


The  fence  complete  represented  the  work 
of  150  of  the  firm's  most  skilled  workmen 
for  a  total  period  of  almost  six  months. 
Fruit  and  flowers  and  delicate  leaves  were 
hammered  from  the  iron  until  they  looked  to 
be  the  work  of  a  skillful  goldsmith,  instead 
of  the  brawny  wielders  of  sledge  hammers 
over  huge  anvils. 

The  central  gate  was  the  principal  feature 
of  this  exhibit.  Huge  bars  extended  from  the 
top  to  the  bottom,  filled  in  between  with  deli- 
cate tracery  work,  and  the  top  and  bottom 
were  each  marked  by  moldings  in  keeping 
with  the  whole.  Towering  high  above  the 
top  piece  was  a  basket  of  flowers,  hammered 
out  of  iron,  and  looking  as  life-like,  save  for 
the  color,  as  would  a  basket  of  wax  fruit  or 
flowers.  The  total  length  of  the  fence  was 
161  feet.  After  its  completion  it  was  set  up 
both  in  Frankfort  and  Berlin,  and  the  news 
of  its  excellence  brought  thousands  to  view 
it.  The  Emperor  himself  paid  it  a  visit  and 
expressed  his  admiration  of  its  workmanship 
in  unmeasured  terms  of  praise. 

Germany's  Crown  Jewels. 
Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  jewels,  be- 
longing to  the  German  Emperor  and 
Empress,  and  the  military  and  civil  celebrities 
of  Germany,  were  sent  to  Chicago  for  exhi- 
bition at  the  Fair.  The  jewels  are  literally 
priceless.  Aside  from  their  intrinsic  value, 
which  is  enormous,  they  possess  great  his- 
torical value,  and  were  they  lost,  money 
could  not  replace  them.  They  are  the  col- 
lection of  many  years,  and  were  loaned  offi  • 
cially  to  the  German  exhibit  at  the  Fair  by 
the  present  Emperor.  Besides  the  jewels  ol 
state,  there  were  large  quantities  from  firms 
posts  and  surmounting  top  piece.     The  side  j  and  private  citizens.     The    ornaments   were 


gates  were  30  feet  high  and  1 5  feet  wide,  and 
each  pair  weighed  thirteen  tons.  The  iron 
was  hammered  and  wrought  from  crude  bars 
entirely  by  hand-work. 


of  gold  and  silver,  studded  with   diamonds 
and  other  precious  gems. 

Belgium  is  famous  for  its  laces  and  its  lace- 
makers,  who  have  their  headquarters  at  Brus- 


970 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


sels.  The  ladies  expected,  therefore,  a  grand 
display  of  laces  in  the  Belgium  exhibit,  and 
they  were  not  disappointed.  Three  or  four  of 
the  leading  manufacturers  of  Brussels  had 
booths,  in  which  everything  in  this  line  that  is 
rare,  costly  and  bewitching  was  seen.  The 
pieces  exhibited,  some  large  and  some  small, 
were  so  much  finer  and  more  beautiful  than  are 
ordinarily  seen  that  thsy  might  be  regarded 
as  the  apotheosis  of  lace.  No  designs  were 
ever  so  rich  and  varied,  and  no  lace  was  ever 
so  airy,  gossamer-like  and  divine.  They 
looked  like  phantasm  in  thread  or  a  dream 
in  meshes. 

Rare  exhibits  were  furnished  by  France, 
Russia,  Austria,  Italy,  Spain,  Norway  and 
Sweden.  Whatever  these  countries  consid- 
ered as  characteristic  of  their  art,  agriculture, 
manufactures  and  handicraft  of  every  descrip- 
tion, was  shown  at  the  Fair.  These  nations 
furnished  exhibits  that  were  rich  in  painting, 
statuary,  textile  fabrics  and  historical  relics. 

A  reproduction  of  one  of  the  old  Viking 
ships  of  Norway  attracted  much  attention,  as 
did  also  the  three  ships  of  Columbus  sent 
from  Spain. 

Midway  Plaisance. 

A  great  variety  of  sights  occupied  the 
famous  Street  of  Nations.  Here  were  people 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth  showing  crowds 
of  visitors  what  was  characteristic  of  their 
respective  countries. 

If  the  last  Paris  Exposition  had  its  Eiffel 
Tower,  our  own  World's  Fair  had  its  Ferris 
Wheel,  nor  can  it  be  said  the  former  caused 
any  greater  sensation  than  the  lattei-.  The 
Ferris  Wheel  was  the  real  triumph  of  the 
Midway  Plaisance.  It  represented  better 
than  any  other  exhibit  the  genius  of  American 
invention.  It  looked  something  like  the 
paddle  wheel  of  a  steamer,  multiplied,  how- 
ever, a  hundredfold.  Instead  of  the  paddles 
it  had  passengers  cars,  and  when  it  revolved 


the  passengers  got  something  of  the  sensation 
that  a  fly  must  have  that  sits  on  the  side  of 
a  cart  wheel  and  feels  it  revolve.  The 
entire  structure  was  of  steel,  and  some- 
what resembled  a  huge  bicycle  wheel  revolv- 
ing between  two  towers.  The  principle  of 
construction  was  somewhat  similar  to  an  old 
English  breast  water-wheel,  in  that  it  consisted 
of  a  stiff  outer  crown  which  was  suspended 
from  the  center  axle  by  a  system  of  tension 
rolls.  The  wheel  practically  consisted  of 
two  wheels  placed  on  the  same  axle,  spaced 
a  distance  of  twenty-eight  and  one-half  feet 
apart,  and  held  together  by  struts  and  ties. 

A  Ride  Skyward. 

Imagine  a  wheel  264  feet  in  height,  and 
250  feet  in  diameter,  and  around  it,  suspended 
between  the  two  crowns  by  great  steel  trun- 
nion pins,  thirty-six  passenger  cars,  weighing 
nineteen  tons  apiece,  each  larger  than  the 
ordinary  railroad  coach  and  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  sixty  persons.  Imagine  this 
great  wheel,  with  its  living  freight  to  a  total 
of  2,160  souls  slowly  revolving.  Imagine 
the  sensation  of  being  carried  up  260  feet  on 
one  side  and  being  lowered  on  the  other,  and 
of  a  ride  skyward,  attended  by  magnificent 
views  of  the  Fair,  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  and 
the  surrounding  country  and  the  adjacent 
lake.  The  fears  of  the  timid  were  overcome 
when  they  saw  the  solid  appearance  of  the 
structure  and  the  ease  with  which  the  revo- 
lutions were  made. 

Among  the  interesting  sights  along  Midway 
Plaisance  was  a  reminder  of  Austria.  This 
was  a  reproduction  of  a  street  in  Old  Vienna. 
It  was  opened  to  the  public  with  jovial 
festivities,  the  ceremony  being  attended  by  a 
large  delegation  of  the  foreign  element. 

The  street  contained  thirty-five  buildings, 
a  city  hall,  a  church,  and  covered  a  space  590 
by  200  feet.  Many  articles  were  displayed 
from    the    windows    illustrating   the    typical 


THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION. 


971 


■industries  of  Viennese.  At  one  squatty  little 
shop  tea  could  be  obtained,  served  from  a 
majestic  Delft  teapot,  ornamented  with  paint- 
ings of  fat  little  shepherds  and  shepherdesses 
tending  pigs,  boats  sailing  on  the  air,  houses 
built  in  clouds,  and  sundry  other  Dutch 
Jantasies. 

On  a  number  of  days  the  paid  admissions 
-vere  over  300,000,  and  several  of  these  were 
ordinary  days  when  there  were  no  special 
attractions.  The  largest  attendance  was  on 
October  9th,  "  Chicago  Day,"  when  the  paid 
admissions  reached  the  enormous  figure  of 
over  700,000,  exceeding  by  over  300,000  the 
greatest  number  of  admissions  on  one  day  at 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889. 

Opened  in  Gladness — Closed  in  Sorrow. 
On  Saturday  evening,  Octobe.  28th,  Hon. 
Carter  Harrison,  Ma}or  of  Chicago,  was 
assassinated  in  his  own  house.  Both  the  city 
and  the  country  at  large  were  shocked  by  the 
untimely  death  of  the  chief  municipal  execu- 
tive  who    had  acted  an   important  part  on 


which  lay  at  anchor  off  the  grounds.  Twenty 
more  peals  followed.  All  the  flags  had  been 
at  half-mast;  but  when  the  twenty- first  gun 
was  fired  they  were  pulled  simultaneously  to 
the  flagstaff's  peak,  and,  after  fluttering  there 
for  a  moment,  as  if  in  farewell,  they  went 
down  for  the  last  time,  and  the  official  an- 
nouncement was  made  that  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  as  an  international 
affair  was  at  an  end.  Taps  were  sounded  and 
the  Innes  Band  played  "The  Star-spangled 
Banner."  This  was  a  ^spontaneous  demon- 
stration, and  for  the  first  time  the  people 
cheered. 


Tht 


Total  Admissions. 

following  are  the   official  figures  for 


the  paid  admissions  to  the  Fair;  May, 
1,050,037;  June,  2,675,113;  July,  2,760,263; 
August,  3,515,493;  September,  4,659,871, 
October,  6,816,435,  making  21,477,212.  The 
total  admissions  on  passes  were  2,052,188, 
making  a  grand  total  of  23,529.400. 

After  every  debt  of  the  World's  Fair  was 
many  of  the  public  occasions  connected  with  |  paid  there  remained  upwards  of  §1,000,000 


the  Exposition. 

The  official  time  for  closing  the  Fair  was 
October  30th.  Si.x  months  before  it  was 
opened  with  splendid  pagentry  and  a  thou- 
sand bright  new  banners  were  unfurled,  while 
a  hundred  thousand  spectators  cheered.  On 
the  closing  day  the  weather-stained  banners 
were  pulled  down  almost  in  silence.  Those 
that  represented  foreign  countries  were  not 
raised  again.  Only  the  American  flag  floated 
afterward  over  the  buildings.  A  public 
meeting  was  held  at  4.30  in  Festival  Hall 
which  naturally  assumed  almost  the  character 
of  a  memorial  service  to  the  dead  Mayor. 
Several  addresses  w-ere  delivered  and  resolu- 
tions were  passed,  but  there  was  no  ceremony 
by  Exposition  officials. 

At  5  o'clock  there  was  a  little  puff  of  smoke 
from  the  United  States  Steamer    Michigan, 


to  be  distributed  among  the  stockholders. 
Treasurer  Seeberger  made  this  pleasant 
announcement  on  the  closing  day.  The  E.x- 
position  Company  paid  out  §30,558,849.01, 
or  three  times  the  amount  the  managers 
expected  to  spend  when  they  commenced 
building  the  Fair.  The  gate  receipts  during 
the  E.xposition  period  proper  were  little  over 
§10,000,000.  Up  to  the  last  day  $3,300,000 
had  been  collected  from  concessionaires  by 
Mr.  Blackmer's  department,  and  nearly  §700, 
000  were  paid  before  he  took  hold.  The 
returns  from  those  who  held  concession 
privileges  was  one  of  the  big  surprises  of  the 
Fair.  Nobody  was  reckless  enough  to  pre- 
dict that  that  sum  would  be  realized.  The 
Paris  E.xposition  received  but  §8o,COO  from 
that  source,  while  the  Exposition  managers 
received  §1,200,000 


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